Jagalchi Market,Busan,Korea

Assalammualaikum :)
Last Winter holiday, we had a great time savouring our holiday at the famous fish market around Busan Korea, The Jagalchi Market.We flew and had 'makan makan' there for few hours before we flew back to Japan as we had a class on the next day T___T.Once we arrived Busan(flew from Fukuoka by Busan Air), we charged our T-Money card at the seven -eleven and headed to Jagalchi.

 

 

 

Actually, it was our second time dining at the Jagalchi market.I love seafood sooooo much and craving for the fresh crab this winter, hence we had a flight to Jagalchi just for the delicious and yummy treat there.We had some barbecued abalone, Korean vegetables and side dishes, steamed giant lobster and hot and spicy soup of mixed seafood like clams, prawns,crab and many more.We had all of them for 120000KRW.The most expensive one was the lobster as it follows the market price-_-.You can bargain there even though you can't speak Korean.We just showed the figures using our fingers though.Haha.

 

We then wandered around the jetty adjacent to the Jagalchi market.The view was fantastic and relaxing.You can see the migrating ducks strolling around the sea when it's winter.BTW, if you ever come to Jagalchi on new year, do note that the main building of Jagalchi for dining is closed for holiday but there's still other buildings that offer the same service(buy and cook and have seafood meal) even though it's holiday.

 

 

Then we headed to Lotte Mall to see cool stuffs there.At the entrance, I spotted the big Brown bear from the Line apps..!!!!!! >_<We had some yummy ice cream(1800KRW per cup) and we even found the cool water purifier where you can drink water and small cups are provided there.We then wander around the Busan International Film Festival,BIFF Square and if you ever passed the path along the square, you'll see many hand printed movie celebrities along the road there.At last,we had a choco waffle at 2300KRW before heading back to Japan :) See you next March, Korea..!!!

Shopping in Busan,Korea

Assalammualaikum.

Last spring we went to Busan,Korea for shopping by Air Busan.It was our first time visiting Korea, so Aini was busy searching and reading lots of blogs to plan our journey.As me, I did the simple things.I just need to list out the places that I want to go and things that we should buy and give a try. I can count on her..~ huahahaha..~ Aini did end up with a good itinerary full with the train information including the station's name, time, prices and lines..! Since we've been studying in Japan, her skills in planning the journey had improved.. A LOT..!

At first, we listed out the places that may be interesting for us.. [Shinsegae Department Store Centre City,Nampodong,Gukje Market,KKangtong Market,Gwangalli Beach, Busan Aquarium, Jagalchi Fish Market]. We did not explore that much because we just have a day for touring around Busan. But,never mind. We planned to have a trip around Korea with both family together after our graduation day. Insyaallah.. Mostly we went to the market because I choose to.. hihi.. I love markets especially the one with long alleys..!

At first.. after arriving at Gimhae Airport,Busan, we went straight heading to Jagalchi..! Hihi.. Jagalchi is known as one of the best seafood markets in Korea.Seriously, there were so many stalls selling seafood stuffs and all selling almost the same thing.[pening tau nak pilih seafood apa nak isi perut!]We walked along through all the stalls to see what's interesting and worth it to have a try on. Surprisingly,the 'Ahjummas' doesn't get tired shouting and bargaining the products..!At last , we decided to enter the building and shop in there.We bought a lobster(30000krw), some abalone(10000krw), a medium sized fish(9000), and some shellfish. I got discounts when bargaining..!Yyyeeaayyy..!! Then we went upstair to get our seafood cooked. At the ground floor, there were many lines of stalls selling seafood and place for dining is on the 1st floor. You can choose which stall that you like to have a meal at. We get our lobster and abalone and shell fish steamed while for the fish we prefer deep fried with lemon juice.In Korea and Japan, usually if you go to a restaurant or a stall for meal, usually the drinks are provided.. free..! We ordered some side dishes like kimchi and seaweed and two bowl of rice.The price for everything was about 70000krw whish is affordable and reasonable for the service and satisfaction! The seafood were so fresh and the taste was so delicious.

Then we headed to Nampodong area.The Nampodong market and Gukje market was so close,just walking distance,so we save our transportation budget by just walking. There were so many things to see and we felt like we were at 'pasar malam' as we had in Malaysia..! Variety of clothes, food, bags, accessories and many more can be found there.If you take the subway , remember to drop at Exit #2 of Nampo Station (Subway Line 1).

We shopped like crazy as the prices were cheap and there were so much fun things to see. Do remember bargain to get discounts..!!Since vendors deal in both wholesale and retail sales, the average customer can purchase various items at incredibly inexpensive prices. I seriously get great discounts bargaining with the ahjummas. They were nice and treated visitors nicely.Some of them do speak English, but mostly can't. So they always have a calculator with them so that they can just show you the prices through calculator.. Learn a little bit of korea language might be helpful. [At least la 'eolma hae yo' = how much is this]..  The place was so crowded and you need to be extra be careful of your belongings.

Across from Gukje Market is Bupyeong Market. It’s often referred to as Kkangtong Market (kkangtong meaning ‘cans’ in Korean) since canned goods used to be the market’s primary type of merchandise.We didn't shop much here because we need to get on flight back to Japan and mostly things in the market are canned. We even shopped at the underground train station..!

Finished shopping we then headed to Suyeongno to stay a night at Ina's  house for a night before continuing our journey to Seoul on the next day.. :)

The souvenirs..! Family and friends.. here you go..~ hoho...

 

 

That's it.Thanks for reading :)

Travel Seoul

Assalammualaikum..!!!

Let's go to Koreaaaaaa!!! Hoho..

Last spring.. I don't know.. We planned in a short time and we'd been strolling around Korea crazily. It's quite absurd for making such decision in sudden but luckily Aini is expert in planning the intenerary for travelling.. sooo.. I just count on her for the journey and expenses and etc while i do all the reseach about foods and places to visit to! Yyeeeaayyy!!

Actually we headed to seoul from busan because we landed at Gimhae Airport,Busan by Peach Aviation.From Fukuoka to Busan,it took around 50 minutes to get there by plane. By that time, there were cheap fares i guess for spring season and we got emails for the fare prices. Do subscribe the air planes websites to get information about cheap fares or promotions if you do like travelling.. It helps a lot! Here are the places that we listed to visit to but of course we did not went to all of these because we only had a day a seoul. Since we planned to visit Korea again so it's not a problem and we leisurely enjoy our time at Korea!
We listed out some places that we would like to visit:

Myeongdong Market (countless shops and restaurants,korean products facial,skin consultation)

Ehwa Woman's University

Dongdaemun Market(very nice,full with neon lights at night,cheap and diverse clothes,)

Itaewon(Halal food,Mosque,Islamic view in Korea)

Lotte World

Insadong(Traditional teas,pottery,hanji[traditional paper],traditional Korean crafts,ceramics,accessories)

Gwanghang Market

Namdaemun Market(Mainly sell crops,fruits,sundries,textile goods,utensils,imported goods)

N Seoul Tower

Bukcheon Hanok Village

T Money

We downloaded some apps for travelling like korea transit apps and triposo. Do plan your journey and list down all the time and prices and stops for the train or busses! There are tons of apps you can use to check out all the informations. We rent a pocket wifi from the Global wifi and pick it up at the Fukuoka Airport.It is easy to rent via global wifi through internet and just bring along your pasport at the time you want to pick your wifi pocket.

We bought two cards (T Money) for 20000krw each and charged it with about 50000krw.It is very cheap to use public transport there..! You can use the T money for public transport as well as at the convenience stores.

Things to remember to bring along:

-Bagpackers

-money(changed to krw) & credits cards

-power bank to recharge electronic devices,cameras

-pocket wifi (pick up at airport)

-flight tickets

-clothes to change and for emergency

-sunblock/hat, umbrella

From Busan Station to Seoul Station, we took KTX train(Gyeongbu line).You can buy the KTX tickets online HERE. Just redeem your tickets at the Busan KTX station.Then,from the Seoul Station, we headed to Incheon Airport by AREX for 4150krw.From Incheon Airport,we took AREX to Myeongdong for 1250krw.Myeongdong and Namdaemun are so near, just at walking distance so we save our budgets by walking to each destinations.Insadong was quite far but we managed to walk to there..! It is quite hard to go to Insadong but you can just ask someone nearby for the directions.

We also went to Itaewon for delicious meals and perform prayer at the mosque. Here is the link for the trip at Itaewon.. click HERE. The prices there was cheap and great. We enjoyed Samgyetang(12000krw),Bulgogi(10000krw),Bibimbap(8000krw), and Chicken Briyani Rice(5000krw).

Hope these information will useful and enjoy your trip to Korea.Happy travelling.. :) see ya.

Travel Itaewon

Assalammualaikum..


Itaewon Shopping Street (이태원 쇼핑거리)

Last spring time, we spent some days travelling around Korea.It was fun and the food.. OMG.. super lah..! There are many Halal Restaurants and very Muslim friendly place. But on the other side, you can still find some popular bars or pubs around.The 1.4 km-long street stretching from Itaewon 1-dong to Hannam 2-dong has been designated as Itaewon Street. There is an enormous variety of shops, entertainment venues, and restaurants for visitors to enjoy. Itaewon is a leader in providing exotic fashion, bars, and clubs in Korea. Most stores in this area are branded with English signs, and now with the recent influx of Japanese and Chinese tourists, Itaewon has become one of Korea’s top international hubs. 

Halal Restaurants at Itaewon:

1.EID Reastaurants (serve traditional Korean food)

2.Indoro Restaurants 인도로가는길 레스토랑 (Indian cuisine)

3.Taqwa Tandoori Restaurant

4.Dubai Restaurants

and many more..~ you can just surf the internet and search for Halal Restaurants around Seoul or Itaewon. links : HERE :)

The prices varies on the menu.. You can choose the dish for how many servings. The range of price that we had experienced was about 50 000 KRW for two person = 5000yen. It is quite cheap and affordable for us as we had 50 000KRW for 5 dishes plus two glasses of Juice.

Full course with drinks

Samgyetang

Bulgogi

Briyani Chicken Rice

[Kimchi,Seaweed,anchovy,toufu]

There is a mosque around Seoul where you can perform prayers and have arrest. Seoul Central Masjid (서울 중앙성원) is located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu in Seoul, the Seoul Central Masjid was the first Islamic mosque in Korea.It was Friday on that day and Khairi perform his Friday prayer there. There are a lot of Muslims shops around selling Halal ingredients ans stuffs too.Just one problem.. It's on top of the hill..! Penat tau daki bukit -_-

Details : Nearest Subway Station: Itaewon (Line 6)
Distance from Subway Station: 520 meters (Exit 3)
District (gu): Yongsan-gu



Seoul Central Masjid

Hope you enjoy.See ya.. :)