Jan 31, 20204 min read

The Great Escape Day 2: Seoul Sightseeing Tour & Solo Party!

First, let's talk about this hotel a little more. The good first. Again, super affordable. With the discount I got for booking on Agoda.com with the discount code from Klook, I only paid $107 for the 3 nights. It's also stupid close to the #4 Line. It feels longer because I'm wounded and limping uphill is not exactly an enjoyable feat, but it's literally 1 minute away. There are maybe 5 restaurants on the main street, Seolla is right there, and Namdaem Market is across the street. The bad...If you, like me have never met a chocolate cake or a french fry that you didn't like and are self-conscious about creaking floorboards, then you like me will tiptoe into this place like I do. The whole first floor, and the elevator, feel like they are going to collapse at any point. The room was fine though, minus the mold in the bathroom. The room was clean, they provided towels and slippers, and the floor is heated, but I didn't see any way to control it myself. This only became a problem in the morning when the shower was not getting hot, so I had to take what I like to call a "Bird Bath" in the sink where the water was hot.

I had my breakfast of Angel Picked Strawberries and the Earl Grey pound cake and some coffee and set out to the Rendezvous Point of the Double Decker Sightseeing tour that I booked for the day.

Sightseeing Tour

I wanted to do this when I visited Seoul during the summer but my friend talked me out of it, because it was so hot. I know what you are thinking, "taking an open-air double-decker tour in the winter sounds even smarter!" but it was like 45 or 50 degrees (Fahrenheit) so I was fine. Didn't even wear my coat.

I took the Traditional Culture Course. There are 20 stops. You get a wrist band so that you can hop on and off, Buses are usually 20-40 minutes apart. There was a T-Money scanner on the bus as well, so you may be able to use it as well. I'm not sure. There is an announcer (recorded) that announces each stop in English, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese.

Smart and dumb decisions were made in regards to timing. Since it was Lunar New Year the markets were closed so 6 of the stops were not available. Which means I missed out on Jeon Alley at Gwangjang Market. BUT the palaces were free to enter for the holiday, not that it's expensive to go in the first place but $3 saved is 6 fish cake sticks!

If you are interested in going on the sightseeing tour you can go you can check out their website. You can also go through Klook as I did!

Mr. Healing

If you are acquainted with Mr. Healing then you know that this alone is worth the trek to Seoul. I have been trying to find one in Suwon, to no avail. Mr. Healing is a chain of cafes. Most Seoul cafes have a gimmick or a theme. There is a picture cafe, the cafe inspired by the comic and K-drama W, even a Harry Potter-themed cafe! This cafe has a back room full of little cubicles with MASSAGE CHAIRS! A friend and I first found one in Cheonan when I was still there and I could always convince here to go back. For 13,000 won you get 1 hour in the chair and drink. It was well worth the extra train ride.

If you are looking for a Mr. Healing in Seoul, I went to the one at Sookmyung Women's University stop on Line #4. If you go up the stairs on Exit #6 it's right there, 3rd floor.

Solo Party

After two days of touring, I was exhausted. Like, having trouble standing exhausted. Mr. Healing just told my body I was tired, but I was right the pressure on leg did help. I dragged myself back up the hill to the hotel and went to sleep. Literally walked in the door and got into bed. I did not pass go, did not collect $200, changed clothes and went to bed. A couple of hours later, I woke up hungry! Again, remember that I decided to take this "Seoulcation" during Lunar New Year. I tried to order food from 2 different places and both times I got a text from the restaurant saying that they were backed up and were going to cancel my order.

I decided to go to the CU by the train and get some ramen and call it a night; just wore a coat over my pjs. What I didn't know was that the food carts in Namdeam Market were open! You know what that means right...SOLO PARTY! I got my $3 of fish cake sticks, and some kimchi jeon and vegetable jeon, and japchae to take back. Still stopped at CU and picked up some ramen and magkolli. Went back and watched some k-drama with no subtitles.