Day 5: Edae, Sinchon, and Hongdae.

The agenda for Day 5 was packed to the brim. Luckily, we had a good night's sleep so we're all ready to check out the highly-raved Edae, Sinchon and Hongdae area. This is supposedly one of the most hip areas around Seoul, where a lot of youngsters hang out. Of which, Hongdae's club scene is one of the most famous. But clubbing isn't my thing and I didn't go into one during this 46 days, so I'm sorry there isn't much information I can give about it.

We started off the day at Ewha Woman's University, also known as Edae. This is because Koreans love to short-form all their words. Edae is a short form of "Ewha Yourja Daehakyo" (이화여자대학교). For instance, Hongdae, is also a short form of "Hongik Daehakyo" (홍익대학교). It follows the same idea, though not all universities' names have a short form. I'm amazed there is Sungdae, which is my school, Sungkyunkwan University (성균관대학교).

Anyway, I'm drifting area from the point. Edae, is famous for its nice landscape and structure. And it being a woman's university, the streets surrounding or leading to Edae from the Ewha Woman's University Subway Station, sell many clothings and shoes suitable for girls (mostly) in the teens or 20s. We definitely couldn't miss out on the amazing views of Edae, so we head straight to the university first to capture some photographs.

Shan and I purposely chose a Sunday, hoping that there were little people, and lucky for us, we were right! Below is a picture of the famous structure that looks like some staircases but inside, there were lots of classrooms. And also me snapping a photo infront of the prettiest building in the school (in my opinion). The staircase and the European style buildings must have made coming to school a much better experience.

Edae fashion street, however, didn't impress me as much as the university does. I don't feel that the clothings and shoes there were that cheap. You can find huge stores selling many designs of shoes and they can be cheap, but you never know until you ask. At least for me, the ones I liked, weren't cheap. After a while, you start to realise once there is a certain trend in Seoul, you see it everywhere in Seoul. And if it is quite a common piece of clothing, I would say, go to Express Bus Terminal Underground Shopping (will be discussed later) to get it.

After lunch, some shopping and exploring around Edae, we decided to go to Sinchon. Shan and I must have poor direction sense or something, we did not find the fashion area which everyone was raving about. After getting lost and seeing a rather boring Sinchon (we probably weren't at the right place), we decided to head over to Hongdae earlier. Even if you are not into clubs, Hongdae is still a nice place to hang out. And Koreans love to chill in cafes, and in Hongdae, there is the largest Hello Kitty cafe in Seoul!!

I'm not a fan of Hello Kitty, but I'm a fan of anything pink and cute. I am not too sure how many Hello Kitty cafes there are in Seoul, but so far, I know there is one in Hongdae, and there is another one in Daehangno (Hyehwa subway station). This one is two-storeys high and is pretty huge, and it's worth a visit unless you absolutely hate Kitty or anything girly. I couldn't remember the exact directions there, but don't worry, because in Hongdae, there are lots of ambassadors in red shirts around. They are there to help tourists, and you can find the one that speaks your language (most of the time, either English or Chinese or Japanese). They gave us a map and directed us here. It's pretty easy with the map.

We were lucky to come in when there was no one. I quickly snapped some photos of the cute interior before more people came in. And I got an amazing window seat to people-watch heheh.

Shan and I decided to take a chocolate banana waffles which was at 3,500won if I remember correctly. I also took the vanilla latte while Shan took the caramel latte. If I'm not wrong, one was 5,000won and the other 5,500won. For the prices and the nice ambience, I would love to come here again! Also, most cafes in Seoul has wifi, so you can sit there all day reading a book or doing your homework. In fact, the prices are cheaper than most cafes I know. Oh yes, it was a hot day but we ordered the hot lattes because we wanted the latte art. Please don't be dumb like us, iced lattes also have the latte arts. ): But iced tea don't.

Second reason why you should visit Hongdae: there is an awesome art scene around here. In Hongdae, you can find many many mural paintings. You also can find people performing with their guitar and just an amazing voice. They are doing it for nothing, no money or anything, but solely because they love art and music. It's amazing, I like how Hongdae is always so lively and warm. It's comparable to Myeongdong (my favourite place in Seoul). But Hongdae is populated with Koreans, go there if you want to have the Korean experience. Myeongdong, on the other hand, has many foreigners so you feel comfortable there. I shall discuss my love for Myeongdong in another entry.

Third reason why you should visit Hongdae: Trick eye museum. If you have not already known, the Trick Eye Museum features a good collection of two and and three dimensional trick art that were especially designed for photographs. There is one in Jeju too, but I think I read some reviews that the Hongdae one is better. But I can't guarantee okay, do your own homework.

And look, this is one of my most favourite picture everrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Trick Eye Museum is a place where you can easily spend 2 or 3 hours. There are many pieces of paintings all around so take your time to have a look. Even if you are there alone, don't worry! There are personnels situated in various parts of Trick Eye Museum to help visitors take photographs. Even if you cannot catch hold of any personnel, just politely ask any other visitor, I'm sure they will be more than willing to help you!

Dinner for that day was at Pal Ja Mak Chang, a restaurant specialising in selling grilled pig intestines. If you are a fan of Running Man, you will be glad to know that Pal Ja Mak Chang is a franchise outlet owned by HaHa and Kang Gary. The one at Hongdae is owned by HaHa, though I'm Gary's fan, but his was too far off. Personally, I love the warm BBQ-ing session, but I found makchang too tough for my liking. If you are a Singaporean who loves eating Kwaychap, nope, makchang is not exactly the same as the pig intestines in our Kwaychap. It is much tougher, and because it isn't marinated/soaked in the gravy, it has a rather strong smell and taste. The taste can be easily overwhelmed by the very awesome sauce which you wrap along with in the lettuce leaves. But no, the texture still isn't to my liking. The smell of BBQ lingers in your hair and clothes too. Nevertheless, BBQ is something you HAVE to do in Korea, either makchang or pork belly, and I will recommend makchang, because it is almost impossible to find Korean restaurants selling makchang in Singapore as far as I know. If you do know of any in Singapore, please let me knowwwwwww!