If you are visiting Seoul for the first time, I recommend taking Seoul City Tour Bus. The tour bus stops at most of the famous attractions in Seoul city. The price is 12,000 won (about USD$10) for the unlimited ride within a day. You can hop on/ hop off at any stop you like. The intervals of the bus are between 25-30 minutes. There is a recorded speaking guide (with an earphone for every seat) that introduces each attraction in English/ Chinese/ Korean/ Japanese.
Since we do not know which place to go, my mum and I decided to get off at the stop where many people are getting off (means it is a popular place?). We noticed that most of the people get off at this place – Namsangol Hanok Village. So it is our first stop! 🙂
Namsangol Hanok Village is a relatively peaceful place in Seoul, which is a good contrast to the busy city and heavy traffic. This village is beautiful. It is also a good place to see the Korean culture and tradition. And the most importantly, the entrance to this place is free! But well, there are a lot of tourists here so don’t expect it is quiet here.
This is the best snack (stuffed with red bean) that I have in Seoul! It is bought from a small stall in outside of Namsangol Hanok Village.
The next Seoul City Tour Bus took us to Seoul Tower. We get off at this stop is because we noticed the surrounding view is very beautiful and magnificent from the mountain (nearby Seoul Tower). But we did not visit Seoul Tower. Anyway, it was a good decision to stop and look around this place for half an hour!
I bought a key lock for an important person from a shop here. 🙂
For some reasons my mother kept laughing at me on this photo below because of my hand gesture >.< I was pointing to Seoul Tower, and she thought it’s not my hand in the beginning.
Next, we stopped at Dongdaemun because it is a very popular place. Dongdaemun is famous for cheap apparel. There are A LOT OF choices for clothing here.
We did not go to the shopping plaza because we cannot find the way. (After we went back, I checked the images on google and realised that the building behind me in the photo below is Dongdaemun shopping plaza – the place that I was looking for! That was the place the bus dropped us off and I did not realise the plaza was just behind me). >.< We went to Dongdaemun market instead.
I bought a cardigan and a light sweater which cost only 6,000 won (about UDS5) in total. That was really cheap! My mother also bought a few bags and a cardigan here. However, I noticed not all of the clothes here are cheap, you have to look carefully and find the right deals (if you have time). I wish I could have more time to shop here.
The restaurant below was very crowded. It is the cheapest restaurant that I have been in Korea. The noodle costs only 3,000 won (USD$2.50) and it was delicious! Many people were queuing to eat here.
In the end of our trip, I realised…
The quality of the Seoul City Tour Buses is not the same – some of them are well maintained but some of them are in really bad condition, e.g. broken earphones, worn-out seat and reckless driver. I missed the last stop partly because the driver was driving too fast and it was too noisy (so I couldn’t hear the name of the stop), so eventually I have to take a taxi back to the hotel.
Anyway, I still recommend taking Seoul City Tour Bus especially if you are going with parents. It is not the cheapest option but it is an easy way to get around famous attractions at your own pace.
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