Monday, 24 Oct

We plan to visit Cube and JYP building before we head to Arirang. But we got lost! We got lost in around Seongsu area so we decide to look around the area instead of going back. We didnt find any extraordinary thing around the area cause most of the stores were closed. We decide to head to Arirang. And after visitting Arirang, we got lost for hours. Why this happened to us?

Arirang

After experiencing tons of enter and exit (get lost when we transferred to the same line for two hours), we finally arrived at the closest subway station to Arirang. I found out that the KTO website direction about “how to get there” is not reliable enough. We followed the direction and got stuck. We got helped from a grandpa that showed us a bus map to get there. But before the help, we asked to a grandma around the exit but she was very scared looking at us and running away. It looks like some korean really have serious problem with this. My friend said that most of them tend to avoid questions because they are not confident to speak in english. But do they know that foreigner can also speak korean? Another grandma showed us way to go to Samngakji in subway but she barely said nothing. She only directed us and asked us to follow her to enter the train. I know that she kept her question by herself. But there is always a story reverse sometimes, right? I found this grandma when I headed to airport asking a lot of questions in korean to foreigner. Lol. The foreigner (she is thai I believe) said to her that she cant speak korean and didnt understand at all and she was showing herself uncomfortable. Thats really funny. I smiled at her all the way to airport. She looked at me and smiled at me but couldnt say anything because we were sitting across each other. She was so cute.

Back to the arirang trip, we took a bus from the exit to Arirang broadcasting station based of what grandpa told us. It was quite close, though. I dissapointed when I saw bunch of youngster lining up for IOI comeback. It was two hours before the show, and they already lined up in front of the building. I need to confirm about the show invitation that I got from my email but there was no one. I saw some people wandering around the area but they didnt use any kind of identity card or something. I read from internet that someone will try to approach you if you wait around the building in the time of their recording. But no one helped. We left early because we spent so much times waiting and waiting. I met a japanese traveler and she said she want to go for the recording also. I asked her if she got the invitation and she showed us that she is a part of fancafe or something. But, they left her outside for the recording. They dont seems approaching foreigners that waiting around the area. I didnt know what happened afterwards, cause we left right away. We decided not take the bus because we studied the bus line when we were on our way head to Arirang. But the confidence stayed for only 15+minutes. We were lost again. Thanks to Yeouido for all similar buildings. We got helped from another grandpa when we stared at the big hole in front of us. It does looks like an exit door of subway, but doesnt seems like one. The grandpa said that it was an exit door, so we followed him entering the hole lol. The exit way was so scary cause it was like a cave and I coundnt find people except the three of us. The grandpa asked me multiple times the same question about how long I stay in Korea and I answered multiple times also, three days lol. He was confused cause I speak korean fluently, he was like “Not three days, three years?” lol. 

The worst part is coming right after the subway. We followed the apps and it was said there were like three stops after transferring to go to Samngakji station. But the second stop was in Noryangjin station! I realized that something wrong and asked a man immediately and he said I missed Samngakji station. Hell yeah. (I studied about how could we miss the station after the trip because it was mysterious and it turns out that we took the wrong train). We got off at Noryangjin station and decide to go directly to Namdaemun. Another nightmare was waiting for us. We transferred in Express Bus Terminal (?) station and the transfer hall was soooo huuugeeee. That was the biggest transfer hall ever for me. Another grandpa helped us how to go to Namdaemun and he was like “You need to go in and tap, then you can take the subway.” But we already tapped our card before, so if we did tap it would be counted as exit? This is happened before when we took the subway for the first time. I didnt count my tap and I couldnt get out in my last subway station. Fortunately, the subway guard let me out through emergency exit. Lol. We were so confused and not only us. Three korean grandmas were standing there and confused. The conclusion is some subway station need to retap to get to the transfer hall. Dont be like me, guys. Stupidity is always be the problem, everywhere Lol.  So make sure to study first!

Namdaemun

We were so hungry after got lost for 4 hours. We decide to get something to eat. I screamed for halal foods and there are no ones. Hundreds foodstrucks and restaurant did sell something but they also sell meat etc so I refused to eat because they probably used the same cooking utensils to cook haram foods (The conservatism is still here now- thanks to my korean trip- and now I’m being very careful towards what I eat eventhough I live in Indonesia). When I start to give up, suddenly a small restaurant corner was found nowhere. It was filled by grandmas. Again, grandmas. Lol. What a fate! The place is selling noodles only. I confirmed there was no meat or haram foods so we ate it right away. It was around 4000 KRW-7000 KRW for each. Namdaemun is a place where you can buy almost everything in a very cheap price. I bought a T-Shirt that costs only 3400KRW. I bought souvernir (key chains) 6000 KRW for ten of them. My friend bought magnet 7000-8000 KRW for ten of them. Shopping in Namdaemun is definitely a must. Some of sellers are quite sensitive when we asked the price. My friend asked a shoe price and she was cursed in korean. Why didnt he display the price, then?

Namdaemun is quite close to Myeongdong shopping center. What you need is to walk from the information center in the center of Namdaemun straight to the intersection. You can find a building in front of the Namdaemun information center that provide toilets. The building was selling kid clothes and the toilets is located on the third floor. Now, I know that everyone seems very excited about my Myeongdong trip. But, Myeongdong story will be in the next chapter. Before closing the third chapter, I’m going to give you some advices for shopping in Namdaemun :

-Compare the price around the area. You can get better price if you’re going inside the market or find someone that knows your country or your culture. I found korean that had been living in Jakarta for 3 or 4 years and he gave me special price. And dont forget to bargain! It works! What you need to say is “khakha juseyo” (please give me some discounts).

-Namdaemun have a lot of building. Find the information about which particular building you’re looking for. I found out that in front of information center, there was a 4th floor building that selling a lot of kid clothes but there is almost no foreigners inside.

-And for the last one, spare your time and eat first before going around the area. Trust me, you can not go shopping on an empty stomach. 

See you guys in the 4th chapter. 

Good morning, fellas! Kali ini saya kembali dengan review sebuah pelembab multifungsi untuk seluruh tubuh. Saya sangat sadar  bahwa menjaga kelembaban kulit tubuh merupakan hal yang penting, khususnya karena kulit tubuh terekspos sinar matahari baik secara langsung dan tidak langsung. Seperti kita ketahui bersama, sinar matahari mempercepat proses penuaan kulit sehingga kulit harus dilindungi untuk mencegah percepatan proses penuaan. Pelembab yang akan saya perkenalkan ini adalah pelembab yang sudah saya gunakan sekitar dua setengah tahun terakhir. Pelembab ini telah menemani perjalanan panjang hidup saya dari mulai keadaan kulit saat normal, kering hingga sensitif. Pelembab ini berhasil memulihkan kulit tangan saya saat terkena alergi. Saat terkena alergi, kulit saya akan mengelupas keras sehingga terasa perih. Dengan mengaplikasikan Redwin Sorbolone Moisturizer, kulit saya jadi lebih tenang dan mengelupas dengan lembut (tidak terasa perih sama sekali) dan proses pengelupasan terjadi lebih cepat.  Saya juga sudah merekomendasikan pelembab ini ke banyak teman dekat dan mereka juga setuju bahwa pelembab ini superb.

Redwin Sorbolone Moisturizer

Poin plus dari pelembab ini adalah sangat cocok digunakan untuk kulit sensitif. Bagi orang-orang yang sensitif terhadap paraben, zat pewangi dan zat pewarna tidak perlu khawatir karena Redwin Sorbolone Moisturizer bebas dari ketiga bahan tersebut.  Redwin Sorbolone Moisturizer juga memiliki kemampuan pemulihan bagi kulit sensitif, tidak hanya melembabkan dan meremajakan. Poin ini menjawab bagaimana pelembab ini membantu kulit saya dalam recovery setelah alergi.

Aturan Penggunaan : Aplikasikan secukupnya secara merata pada kulit. Untuk hasil maksimal, gunakan setiap hari sehabis mandi pada kulit yang masih lembab atau setelah terpapar matahari.

Saat terbaik untuk mengaplikasikan pelembab adalah seusai mandi dan sebelum bersiap tidur. Kulit ber-regenerasi saat kita tidur sehingga sangat baik untuk mengaplikasikan pelembab sebelum tidur. Setelah mandi, kadar kelembaban kulit akan berkurang cukup drastis sehingga harus segera digantikan dengan mengaplikasikan pelembab. Selain itu, hendaknya kita membawa pelembab kemana pun kita pergi untuk pengaplikasian ulang untuk mencegah penuaan dan kulit kusam akibat sinar matahari. Redwin Sorbolone Moisturizer ini cukup travel friendly loh karena berukuran 100ml.

Mari kita bahas satu persatu kegunaan bahan-bahan di atas untuk kulit tubuh.

Air : Air penting untuk menjaga kelembaban kulit serta memberikan nutrisi penting untuk sel-sel kulit, mengisi ulang jaringan kulit dan meningkatkan elastisitas. Hal ini nantinya akan membantu menunda munculnya tanda-tanda penuaan, seperti keriput dan garis-garis halus.

Gliserin : Gliserin melindungi kulit dari sengatan sinar matahari yang dapat membuat kulit jadi gelap dan keriput. Gliserin juga dapat mencerahkan kulit dan membuat kulit tampak lebih segar, kenyal dan awet muda.

Sorbitol: Sorbitol yang dikenal juga sebagai glusitol biasanya digunakan sebagai pemanis buatan pada produk permen bebas gula. Sorbitol juga bermanfaat untuk menjaga kelembaban kulit jika digunakan dalam produk kosmetik. 

Minyak biji gandum : Manfaat minya biji gandum untuk kulit sangat beragam diantaranya adalah untuk mencegah gatal-gatal, meringankan iritasi, mengurangi kerusakan akibat matahari, mengatasi kulit pecah-pecah, melembabkan kulit dan mengurangi efek stretch mark (mengurangi rasa sakit dan efek stretch mark).

Dimana bisa mendapatkan Redwin Sorbolone Moisturizer :

Redwin Sorbolone Moisturizer bisa dibeli di Watsons/Guardian/Century. Saya pribadi membeli online di Sociolla karena sering ada diskon untuk Redwin Sorbolone Moisturizer.

Kulit tubuh kita sama pentingnya dengan kulit wajah. Jangan lupa untuk terus konsisten dalam menjaga kesehatan kulit dengan mengaplikasikan pelembab secara rutin dan minum air putih sesuai kebutuhan tubuh. See you di postingan selanjutnya!

Kunjungi Facebook Redwin Indonesia untuk mengetahui produk-produk lainnya. 

Sunday, 23 Oct

Bukcheon Hanok Village

It is officially our first day in Seoul. I plan to meet two of my friends in anguk station. We walked in to Bukcheon Hanok Village which it is close by to the station. I already prepared for a hiking trip at that day but in reality it was quite short trip. Naver Map said it takes about twenty minutes walking from Bukcheon to Gyeongbukgung but we entered behind so it was quite close somehow, thanks to our friend who has been staying for about one year in Korea. We visited Bukcheon at early day but many people were already there.  We  were lost at the beginning but bumped into Baek Inje Hanok Museum. We went straight down from Bukcheon to National Folk Museum.

Seoul Square (Gyeongbukgung Palace, Gwanghwamun Gate, Sejong Statue, Yi Shun Sin Statue, Sejong Museum)

We entered Gyeongbukgung from National Folk Museum which is located right behind. Sadly, we missed the guard changing ceremonial. We visited in Sunday morning so there were a lot of students coming to see the palace and also there was a flea market in front of Gwanghwamun Gate. I didnt really watch any of colosal drama so the palace area is quite new for me. I am quite upset now since I finished watching Scarlet Heart Ryeo drama and fell in love with the characters, why I didnt spend a lot of time in the palace area. I took some pictures with the palace guards. They are so tall. I accidentally speak to the guard men if they were tired. Lol. They put so much effort on their make up as a guard and standing for hours there, meanwhile people try to hold their arm for taking photos. I believed that they are part timer workers, which it can be found easily all around the country. Part time job is a common situation in Korea.

Right in front of Gwanghwamun, you can find Sejong statue and Yi Shun Sin statue (also a museum behind the statue which is free). Finally, I entered one of the Running Man site, Yi Shun Sin museum, which is quite famous for the war ship.  There is also a big korean post office nearby if you search for postcards and korean stamp. They have a small place for traveller who want to pray for the victims of Sewol accident. I hold my tears at that time cause they displayed all the victims there and most of them are students. I hope that their families are strong and living well. Gwanghwamun square are packed with a flea market every sunday. They sell shoes, clothes, accesories, bags, hanbok etc. Hanbok is quite cheap there. My friends bought some hanbok for his friends. It was about 10.000 won or equal 10USD. My friend told me that he bought so many stuffs back then when he first came to Korea in Gwanghwamun flea market. They sell second hand clothes and shoes which are very cheap but original. I found Nike, Reebok etc was sold at 15.000 won or 15USD in a very good condition.  I bought a coat which it cost 10USD. What impressed me a lot is I found the biggest subway exit in my life lol, the Gwanghwamun station is located right in front of the statue.

Tongin Market

I was following Cory youtube channel diligently before I went to Korea. One of the attraction place that I want to visit the most is Tongin Market. We can walk from Gyeongbukgung palace to the market but we decide to take the bus. The bus directions are written in korean, so better if you want to visit Korea please learn korean alphabet first. We pay 5000 won for a doshirak/lunch box and we got 10 coins. You can exchange the coins with any kind of food in the market. We got odeng tteokpokki, pajeon, mayak kimbab (I desperately want to try this), fruit salad, and sikhye (finally I got it). We shared our lunch box for two cause you’ll get a lot in one lunch box. For moslem, be careful of what you want to eat cause some foods are mixed with meat, for the example : kimbab are mostly mixed with ham.

K-Style Hub

We were looking for praying room. I know that K-Style Hub has one. We took the bus from Tongin Market to K-Style Hub. I had one thing that I’m quite confused about the bus driver in Korea. Some of bus driver asked us to get off from the bus (K-Style Hub and Arirang). We found out from the bus display that the place is not that we were looking for. We got off and what we find is our destination. Whats happen here, exactly? Lol. I just ... still confused. It was raining at that time. My accuweather told me that it was 8 celcius. So cold. The K-Style building was warm enough to make us stay. You can pay for about 10.000 won for experiencing cooking class or crafting class, but make sure the class is available at the time your arrival. There are some photozone where you can take photos with your favorite YG artists such as 2NE1, Big Bang and PSY.

Dongdaemun Design Plaza

We missed the opening hours of DDP yesterday night so we try to visit one more time. DDP is not as amazing as I see in youtube. There are a lot of walking and all the place are covered in white so it was boring enough for me personally. I got some beautiful postcards here. They were sold at 1000-2000 won each. I personally think visiting DDP at night is a lot better.

Ewha Womens University

We got only tired in DDP so we head to Ewdae. Shit, this is the most regrettable place for me. Simply because I didnt see alot around the area. I walked only for about one hour here and missed the famous shopping street which located left side of the university. I told myself that I will be back to visit this area one more time next time. The area is not really that crowdy maybe because it was raining? I saw bunch of cosmetic store all around the street. I visited almost all the stores lol. There are a lot of 50% sales when I visited Missha store, especially for their cushion line. I visited the famous Ewdae entrance gate and I dont know that it is actually a big library! Gosh! The entrance gate is covered with library both on the left and right side. That was so beautiful.  When we got back to the subway, we asked a man around. We finally met someone who can speak english fluently. Manse!  

Hongik University

Of course, we dont want to miss the opportunitty visitting Hongdae. Again, we only walked for about 30 minutes here so we got nothing. I definitely will be back here! I didnt even see the famous street perfomance here. There are a lot of cafes. There are so many people here. I cant see any of quiet place, all were packed! I think the most generous cosmetics store (in term of sample) are found here. I bought only one wash off mask from SkinFood and they gave toner and emulsion sample, also two other sample. 

Third chapter will be uploaded in few days! Stay tune! Follow the updates by entering your e-mail address on the blog bar or simply click follow! See you!

I just came back from my Seoul trip las week. I plan to share about what I’ve been doing in Seoul. The first chapter will be the itenerary. My itenarary changed a lot. I did plan more exciting itenarary but suddenly we want to visit Arirang broadcasting TV so that the itenerary changed.

Saturday, 22 Oct

Dongdaemun Gate

After checking in, we went straight to find Dongdaemun Gate. We took the subway from the Sinseoldong station to Dongdaemun station. We need to find the Dongdaemun gate cause personally I need to find a cosmetics store nearby. There always one or two person in charge of a subway station, so we asked which exit we need to take in order to get close to the gate. Sadly, they cant speak english. I asked about my destination : which I believe international tourist more familiar with the name Dongdaemun Gate which I cant think there is an official korean name of it. Shit. So that, we asked around in korean (yes I can speak korean, even though it’s my first time visiting Seoul) and they dont even recognize the place. I remembered Namdaemun also has one, so that I explained again in korean to the grandpa police and he recognized the gate. We follow his direction but cant find the gate. We try to enter every exit and finally we found the gate. It was satisfying!

Dongdaemun gate is more familiar as Heunginjimun Gate in Korea so that explains everything. I personally think visiting this place at the day will be better than at night. I cant take any photo of it because there is no enough lighting for taking photos. There a lot of stuffs to see around like cosmetics stores, socks store, bag and accesories stores, and many more. Dongdaemun is also very popular for travellers who want to buy cheap clothes and shoes. There are many shoes and clothing market nearby, for the example : Pyeonghwa Market. We visited the famous coffe shop Paik’s Coffe, which I’m not really sure that is quite famous in Korea lol. I recognized the owner is a famous korean chef. After we visited the coffee shop and try some delicious odeng and hotteok (which are very very cheap), we need to get back to the cosmetics store cause my friend need to buy something. Suddenly, an ahjussi (an old stranger in a suit) came to us and called us multiple times. He want to give us some fruits so I received the fruits. There was kind a misunderstading between us cause he offered us kkam which has multiple meanings. It can be a part of meat but also can be a fruit name so I was confused at that time but cant reject his offer. I didnt recognized that he was drunk at that time. It is kind a difficult to recognize a drunken man/people in Seoul cause most of them are still well behaved. I told my friend about what I’m going through and he said he experienced similar thing where a stranger old men suddenly bought him lots of fruits. For me, dongdaemun area is the most exciting place cause it was our first destination. We stayed at nearby guesthouse around dongdaemun as well.

Dongdaemun Design Plaza

We still have a lot of time. We went to DDP, of course by subway. We saw the famous shopping malls in Korea from afar like Doota etc. We already know that is very pricy so we didnt get in. I saw a lot of couples there. I didnt think that korean is “very open” in a relationship before my trip. In reality, skinship in public is kind a normal thing. Kissing in public is kind a normal there. We met an Indonesian student when we took some photo in front of DDP. He asked us to take a photo of him and we were offered to take a photo also. I dont know but it is kind a new experience for me cause I met many kind people in my trip. Sadly, DDP museum was closed at that time. But there are a lot of cosmetics store such as Tony Moly, Nature Republic, The Face Shop etc inside DDP building. 

Second Chapter will be up in two days! Stay tune!