The 'rents come to visit (Day 3-4)

So as promised, the next day I brought my parents back to the Cheonggyecheon river to take more photos before heading to Dongdaemun Design Plaza and ultimately Ewha University and my school, Yonsei University. It was a day full of walking, eating, talking and taking the subway.

Went downstairs to my dad's "smoking and coffee corner" as expressed by my mum before we left for the river. Wanted to take some cool smoker shots and I think my mum's pulled off better hahaha.

 

Took a long walk along the outskirts of Myeong-dong and finally reached Cheonggyecheon river, however we didn't walk the entire thing, just 2 train stations down before we started walking towards Dongdaemun.

 

It was just a lot of walking while taking in the scenery. The place is really serene especially if there's nobody there in the middle of the day on a weekday. (It was a weekend and also not many people, not sure why) It's worth going if you're in Seoul for a holiday! After which, we went to the nearest station, where there was an impressively long underpass all the way to Dongdaemun Design Plaza, which I can safely say was at least a 25 minutes walk through 2 train stations (with not much shops nor life along the way)

We came across this trick-eye looking mural on the ground though

After what seemed like ages, we finally arrived at Dongdaemun Design Plaza. There isn't much to see anyway, since the place is usually for shopping. However, as a tourist, the things you hear about Korea on a holiday puts Dongdaemun on the top of the list. So for experience's sake, we came over just to take a look and I gave a brief explanation about the 5 mega malls situated here and how it's usually for night or even overnight shopping.

I know there's a huge amount of my parents photos but I guess you can tell how much I miss them from the amount that I took. Especially since I won't be seeing them for another few months to come, I wanted it to be a nice remembrance when I blog and remember the time when they came all the way here just to visit me and spend time with me.

Headed towards Ewha for lunch and also to see the schools. Walked around to get some snacks, and then into a cafe for some coffee and to rest before another long walk in the head (however, being still cool and unlike the humid weather in Singapore)

Went into Ewha Women's University (another tourist activity) and walked around the school to have a look at the architecture and to experience the popularity of this school that is situated around one of the most frequented cheap shopping areas of Seoul. Went in to take some photos to soak up the 아름다운ness (beauty) of the school.

Finally, it was a time. We went down the slope all the way to Yonsei University. I shared with them my disappointments when I saw the school for the first time.... in it's in-construction state. It wasn't as nice as I saw in pictures, neither was it ready for any sort of photo taking. The construction work was vast, and it took up most of the walkways. However, the photo of it when it's ready in 2015 looks pretty amazing and I can't wait. Doesn't really affect me since I'll be there in 2016 after the 1st year in Songdo, situated in Incheon.

Anyhoo, went deep into the school to show them the Gregorian-esque buildings and also the Business faculty. Wouldn't give up taking beautiful photos of my parents against amazing backdrops that you can't ever find in Singapore for the world.

Many said this looked like a scene in a Korean drama haha

My mum has a funny habit of saying or doing something when I say 3...

After the tiring walk all the way up the hill to the business faculty, we came back down to walk around Hongdae/Sinchon before getting dinner and heading back to the hotel. I, however, had to head back to Cheonan because I was having TOPIK exams the very next day, which I can proudly say, I have passed a 3! Which means I have secured going to the next phase (University) in the following year. Even though I haven't gotten a 5 yet, I've put my heart and mind at ease knowing that I won't be staying in Cheonan anymore after the winter semester ends.

Apparently there was some sort of festival happening in Sinchon, and it was a good experience for my parents to see the culture and happenings in the surroundings of my future school. My mum bought some souvenirs to give to her colleagues and relatives as well. (My mum dislikes buying useless stuff, rather things that can be of use, that also represents something about Korea)

Hand-made memo holders going for 3,000~

Taking a break from giving leaflets

A rare shot I managed to get

We ended off the night by having some street food. They kept comparing the street food with those that are in Taiwan, however I assured them that this was very different. As proof, we tried some, and I got them fishcake (어묵), blood sausages (순대), rice rolls (김밥), fried food (튀김), consisting of egg, vegetable, prawn and dumplings.

After which, I headed back to the Express Bus Terminal to go back to Cheonan to rest and prepare for the TOPIK exam the next day. Nothing much to update, took the exam and was really tired after... but went to Cheonan Terminal to pick up my parents because they also took a bus to come to Cheonan.

The amazing thing about my parents is that, I told them I wasn't able to stay with them in Seoul during the weekdays because I have class, and that they can stay in Seoul and I'll come up everyday after class, or some days even skip classes, however they chose to come down to boring Cheonan instead, stating that they're here in Korea to spend time with me, rather than a holiday and that 3-4 days was enough in Seoul to "look around". *so touched*

Anyway, picked them up, checked them into the hotel in Cheonan Terminal and then went around Cheonan Terminal, showing them the places I go to, that I eat at, where I study in cafes or have dessert, basically the only experience that you can get that's similar to Seoul without travelling hours.

I like how we all ended up wearing grey, even though we didn't plan to be in sync together haha

My mum was fairly impressed with the room, being that it only cost 40,000W per night ($52SGD~) and came with WiFi, television, air-conditioning (though it was already cold at night), toiletries, bath robes, towels and even free coffee/tea, and free drinks in the minibar. (Well, they have to spend 3 nights there so I guess they have to try to like it right?)

Tried this new place that opened recently since we couldn't decide what to eat. This is a pork ribs place that we've never eaten before so we decided to go in and have our dinner since it was pretty packed and seemed popular. The pork ribs came in many flavors but the one we ordered was the usual one (which turned out really really spicy omg) however, after washing it in the soup it was still edible (the gf on the other hand, enjoyed it very much)

It came with cheese to dip in and it was pretty delicious. My parents were pretty impressed with the plastic gloves that were given so that we can eat the ribs with our hands and not get it dirty. They should really bring the idea to Singapore, however it'll really be detrimental to the earth's health, on the other hand.

After dinner: desserts! We showed them our cup bingsu that we usually eat because it's cheaper and smaller, and also the crepe shop nearby. Ended up getting bingsu and also crepe so that we can all share and try.

My dad wanted some "entertainment" which usually means singing or drinking because that's what he usually does for his leisure back in Singapore. So I suggested getting some cocktails from the convenience store and going to a singing room (노래방). It was quite an enjoyable experience. I can say how much I missed hearing my dad's voice and also singing along with him like in the past.

Man, just typing this post makes me miss them so bad. And it's already almost 2am.... I'll update the rest on another day. Need to sleep and go for class tomorrow. It's been a pretty hectic week, up from the previous TOPIK exam up till now, and having another presentation tomorrow.

Till then~