Day 7
Since it was Sunday, we attended the English service at
Yoido Full Gospel Church.
Yoido Full Gospel church is one of the mega churches in South Korea. I think the service I attended had at least more than 10,000 attendees. I did not take any pictures inside the building. basically the service was preached in Korean, but foreigners were given a separate listening device where an interpreter will interpret live. There are 3 languages/channels available which are English, Japanese and Mandarin.
After church we went on to the
Yeouido Hangang Park which was just a block or so away. By that time it was getting pretty hot (summer heat) so we weren't exactly that excited to be outdoors :P
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| It was getting a bit hazy in Seoul |
Due to the hot weather we decided to retreat and headed to 63 City Building. Unfortunately, we did not get to the top to have a view of the Hangang River because it cost 11,000won to go up to the Sky Art Gallery (where we supposedly could see the view as well). Instead we opted to visit their
wax museum in 63 City but I have to say it was such a let down (it was tiny and the wax dolls weren't as awesome as the ones in Madame Tussauds Wax Musuem). The entrance fee was 14.000won, so not worth it :(
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| To me only the Korean nationals look alike LOL! |
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| Hello Obama! |
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| Michael Jackson |
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| Elvis Presley |
When we were done visiting the wax museum, we were quite hungry and we had Dakgalbi at
Sinchon (stir fried chicken)!
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| Chicken with rice cake, cabbage, rice and pork... |
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| I got this sweet as a "service" for buying some drinks at a store YAY! |
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| A street magician doing his stunt :) Free show! |
That day, we actually stayed overnight in a jjimjibang (Korean Sauna) call Metro Spa Cabin. The place is actually quite hard to find. At our first attempt to find it we ended up in a somewhat abandon looking floor that has no light (looks just like the ones in horror movies). When we found it, it was really a VERY TRADITIONAL korean sauna located on the 4th floor. Our sleeping bed was actually something like a pod with thin mattress inside and it is not very big. I slept on the top pod with sis while little sis slept in the bottom pod with friend. We paid 10,000won per person to sleep and use the facilities there - shower, sauna, TV.
Word of warning: You will see naked people walking around like no one's business and you are expected to do the same. Don't be scared by the naked ajumas and unnies in the locker room. And don't stare either.
Although I was aware of the jjimjibang culture, it still took me by surprise when the ajuma was trying to "strip" us to get us to change LOL. Coz we tried asking her if we could change in the toilet but she insisted we changed there. And with a lot of my broken Korean used we managed to convince them we can handle the changing ourselves. That day I had the quickest bath of my life XD and it was a very funny experience to bath together with so many people.
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| quite empty~ can sleep in the centre if you want, they have those thin mattress we could use. |
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| getting some steam in the steaming room |
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| keran (eggs) is a must while at the jjimjibang |
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| kimbap and shikye (rice punch) |
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| The ajusshi at the counter recommended this to us... I forgotten what it is called but it is a bit sour and refreshing, he says it's good for digestion :D |
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| running man on TV |
I truly experience real Korean Culture with my stay at the Jjimjibang. I highly recommend anyone to spend a night there if you are up to it and don't mind showering with other people. While you are there don't miss the chance to speak with the ajusshi or ajuma in your broken Korean, I bet they will be entertained. The only thing we did not want to try was the "scrubbing/massage". Honestly I am not yet up to the level where I want to be touchy feely with the sauna ajumas. Maybe next time...
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