Day 5 of 8 in Seoul: Noryangjin Fish Market & Dragon Hill Spa

One of the highlight of our trip: Noryangjin Fish Market

Indeed, the early bird catches the worm, haha. My family decided to wake up earlier as compared to the usual timing. 

Needless to say, we hailed a cab to the our desired location, but we got pretty unlucky. The taxi uncle doesn't know where is the exact place, he dropped us somewhere in a village opposite the Fish Market. Thank God for my prepaid card... It is extremely essential to have internet connection although 70% of the time google maps aren't accurate.

Nevertheless, we traipsed around the unknown village navigating for the right directions to Noryangjin Fish Market after about 15 minutes?

Directions: Noryangjin Station (Seoul Subway Line 1), Exit 1. Walk 100m over the bridge

 You are required to walk pass a bridge before you reach the fish market. As long as you see a bridge, yes you are walking in the right direction.

A glimpse of the Noryangjin Station, I'm loving such scenic spot

After you are at the other end of the bridge, follow the signage and eventually you will find yourself getting immersed at the market which is right in front of you...

 A large scale of market that isn't available in Singapore manz

 King Prawn

Some expensive hairy crab

Look at the amount of seafood... This is merely 1 stall out of hundreds of it leh.

The moment you step into the fish market, trust me, there will be endless of sales interaction and the workers are incredibly hardworking. 

P.S. Communication barrier is not an issue here, most (or all) of them speak in chinese.

Decided to buy our food from this friendly woman :)

She is patient enough to answer our questions promptly & when she noticed that I'm busy snapping photos away, she even offered to hold those prawns and crabs for a better shot! Although we could not verify if her quote is acceptable or trying to cheat us, we had an amicable transaction before heading to the restaurant to indulge in our selected seafood!

 View of the cozy restaurant

 "What's on the table"

 Waiting patiently for our food to be served

& finally...

How Noryangjin Fish Market works:

1. Purchase the array selection of seafood from any stalls
2. Pay directly to the stall owner and their co-worker will usher you to a nearby restaurant (who will probably give commission to them)
3. Upon handing over your seafood to the restaurant worker, kindly inform them of how you want the foods to be prepared - Raw, steam or grilled
4. Enjoy!

Yes, you will definitely need to pay the restaurant a sum of money for preparing your food. This is the tricky part.

• There will be a fixed sum per headcount - 3,000won.
• Each variety of seafood cost ~5,000won.

However, if you prefer to eat it raw, I'm not sure if the preparation cost applies too, as we prefer our foods to be either steamed or grilled.

Time for mouthwatering #foodporn especially for seafood lovers...

 Grilled prawns

 Abalone and... I forgot what's that

 Scallops and MORE abalone...

Steamed Crab!

Please don't ask me about the price for individual seafood because different stalls charges differently and your haggling skills are pretty crucial as well. 

However, I do remember the exact pricing for their abalone. That friendly woman charges us 4 abalone for 10,000won, which equates to 2,500won per abalone. If we view this amount from Singaporeans' perspective, it is freaking worthy. However, we are unsure if we could get the same amount of abalone at a cheaper rate elsewhere in Korea. Well, probably the fish market at Busan?

Look at the abalone goodness... GIVE ME SOME NOW!

Although we spent a total of ~100,000won, it will definitely cost more if we were to eat the same amount in Singapore! Left the market with a contented stomach :)

Time for our next destination - Dragon Hill Spa (unfortunately it was quite a waste of our time but for the experience as a first timer in Korea, it is still acceptable)

Directions: Yongsan Station (Seoul Subway Line 1 & Jungang Line), Exit 1. Go towards My Wedding Hall Buffet. The sauna is located next to the buffet.

Waited for that freaking subway for close to 30 minutes, no joke man.

This is part of the reason why we prefer taking cab since there are 4 of us... Save money and time simultaneously (to a certain extent though, most of the time you might get caught in a jam)

Took pictures to kill time whilst waiting (im)patiently for the train to arrive.

We will never ever get to experience such an empty train in Singapore anymore.

(Except for the early morning trains)

Arrived :)

The marquee will definitely catch your attention once you exit Yongsan Station.

It is so huge that I actually stood in the middle of the road just to take this shot, lol

My brother didn't want to take the risk, so.... yeah this is the angle you will get if your photographer doesn't go the extra mile haha

 Paying the entrance fee first (11,000won per pax)

The reception area

*Do note that you are required to remove your shoes including your socks (i think) before you reach this area*

 Yes, the spa area is separated between Men and Women.

 Got changed and we are here to experience all the facilities!

 The common living room area for all

 Their swimming pool is right behind that door!!! :( I always get depressed whenever I can play with the chlorine water but not swim. Where is my swimming costume? :(

OK I KNOW MY FACIAL EXPRESSION CONTRADICTS WHAT I WROTE BUT YEH, YOU GET IT.

Traditional Hardwood Kiln

Based on their official website here, it states that Traditional Hardwood Kiln provides a variety of medicinal efficacies such as skin care, anti-aging, fatigue recovery, boosting blood circulation etc. 

For this type of sauna, there are 3 small-scale sauna rooms (with indication of Low, Medium & High). Obviously I didn't try the most challenging room temperature la, I tested the 'Low' & 'Medium' room, it was quite refreshing although I was apprehensive about my contact lenses. When I couldn't tolerate the heat/in fear that my contacts would melt, I would dash towards the Icy room located directly opposite the area. DAMN SHIOK. 

I am so clueless of how those Koreans sleep in those charcoal kiln room.

We rested on the massage chairs right outside the sauna rooms for quite sometime. I noticed there were patches of perspiration on whoever came out of the 'High' room. I wanted to check if Koreans take a nap there but I got panicky whenever I spot their perspiration.

 Time to feed our stomach!

 One and only Bingsu we tried in Korea. 

Damn wasted I know.. but whenever we chance upon Bingsu cafe, we were battling against the cold weather so we don't really have the feel for it...

Tried this drink as I saw this on Peishi's instagram

This. drink. sucks. (I think this is Sikhye, a traditional sweet rice drink)

It doesnt taste like barley. It didn't taste like rice water. Rather, it tasted as though there's rice and milk mixed together, yet you get the "soil" flavour. omg I'm so terrible at describing the taste but if you're not adventurous in beverages, I strongly advise you to select other drinks instead.

Most frequently asked questions:

 Folded the Jjimjilbang Head Towel style~

How does the Dragon Hill Spa works?

• Upon paying for the entrance fee, they will issue a set of clothes based on gender, towel, an electronic wristband accompanied with a locker key (for your shoes and belongings)
• For spa areas, you can't enjoy it together with the opposite gender as you are not supposed to wear any clothing in the hot & cold pool areas
• The spa areas, sleeping rooms and saunas are the only complimentary activities that you are entitled to whereas the other activities/facilities would have a surcharge - that's when you have to pay via your electronic wristband, and upon returning all the towels and clothing, they will charge accordingly based on your electronic wristband (similar to how credit card works)

Mandatory Tourist shot @ Seoul station

Lotte Mart

I am so thankful for their Lotte Mart as it is the best mart I've ever been to! The prices are reasonable, there are toilets IN the supermarket, you're able to get the tax refund certified chop in the mart (so you can save your time at the airport) and basically you can find ANYTHING at the mart. Sorry I was so fascinated by what the Mart has to offer so there aren't any photos available for show haha!

This is also the place where I spent most of my money on - Innisfree products (semi-sponsored by Bro), Etude house face masks, souvenir and snacks for my friends, seaweed and testing their food! They are extremely generous when it comes to sampling okay, and the crowd is quite terrible... I have to squeeze my way out and we had a difficult time trying to push the trolley around.

Thankfully, our apartment is just 5 minutes away from Seoul station! Took a cab home and it only cost us the basic fare: 3,000won ^^

 Supper

Wah I didn't want to post this image up but believe it or not, it is making me drool at this moment leh...

Anyhow, my brother tempted me to get their highly raved fried chicken restaurant (similar to our fast food KFC??? BUT WAY BETTER) called the Kyochon Chicken. Their delivery is famous among Koreans as they will have it delivered to their apartment, accompanied with beer.... remember korean dramas that shows Fried chicken with beer as supper? 

However, we don't drink beer so here's a soft drink as a replacement. How do we go about it? Since the nearest Kyochon Chicken outlet is at Hongdae, we were too lazy to make a trip down JUST FOR THAT. Thanks to Tang (our host) as she came to our rescue! I merely whatsapp her to request if she could assist to order Kyochon for us; indicating which part of the chicken we would prefer and stuff like that, SHE REALLY CALLED THEM!

They provide complimentary delivery though, 17,000won is the standard price even if you order from their store. Thank you for the awesome creation, Kyochon's creator haha

Day 1 of 8 in Seoul: here

Day 2 of 8 in Seoul: here

Day 3 of 8 in Seoul: here

Day 4 of 8 in Seoul: here