Seoul Fun ~ Day 1 @ N-Seoul Tower

     

        I was getting excited when I was told that we were going to the teddy bear museum that I have always longed for. I was walking fast (or rather running?) due to excitement, acting like a little girl as my mum always complaints about me :P I didn't even realised that Yee Pei was left quite far behind me. Sweating heavily, she was pushing hard to catch up with my pace. Her face looked pale at that moment, so we decided to take a cab to Namsan cable car station although it was just within walking distance. 

Namsan Cable car station

The ticket price of the cable car ride for adult is:
6000KRW  (one way)
8000KRW (round turn)

I thought a round-trip would be worthy compared to the one-way ticket. So we bought it :) We were expecting a beautiful night view of Seoul on our return trip in the late evening.

There was a long queue in the cable car stations. The frequency is about 7 mins. Each cable car can take around 25 persons. 

It's really worthy to take the cable car ride as you can have a panoramic view of Seoul at different altitude. The view is breathtaking! 

Spectacular view of Seoul. Nice city view :)

From the hilltop cable car station, you need to climb some stairs to reach the N Seoul Tower. Albeit being exhausted, Yee Pei made it to the top . A big clap for her perseverance!

 We finally reached Namsan Mountain and N Seoul Tower :) There are two ticketing counters here. One can be easily seen near the staircase whereas another one is located at the basement. If you wish to visit both the observatory and teddy bear museum, do buy a package ticket which is more worthy. 

I was so surprised to see the cute teddy bear in hanbok!  They were so adorable! How could I miss a photo with them? 

If you are Korean drama fan, you will be very familiar with this romantic place. N Seoul tower is famous for its "Lock of Love". It's the perfect place for lovers to express their eternal affection by locking their love together with a padlock. There were thousands of padlocks that have been secured to the fence. It was also fun to read the romantic love notes on the padlocks :P 

Creative Christmas Tree made of padlocks. Spotted a pair of sweet couple? 

If you wish to lock a padlock there, you can easily buy it in the souvenir shops but be prepared to pay a premium for that. To save money, do bring your own padlock from home or buy it in grocery shop before heading to N Seoul tower. 

Spacious wooden viewing deck with nice view. 

The ambiance was so romantic at the spacious viewing deck. It is an ideal spot for Seoul's cityscape if you are not going to visit to the observatory. Sweet lovers + breathtaking view of Seoul + gentle breeze,  fantastic!

It's time for my long awaited teddy bear museum :) The teddy bear museum is located at the basement of N-Seoul Tower. Just next to the entrance to the observatory. We have been suggested to visit teddy bear museum before we enter the observatory as the last admission for teddy bear museum is at 9.00 pm.

I couldn't help but to take photo with every cute huge bear in N-Seoul tower. 

Teddy bear museum has two exhibition halls. The first exhibition hall  traces the history of Seoul from Joseon Dynasty to the modern days. It is amusing and very innovative to present to the visitors how Seoul evolves over time, by the means of teddy bears being the actors. Perfect way to learn history right?

What a scene! The historical events and Seoul cultures are recreated with intricate details. Exquisite masterpiece! Just look at some photos that I posted. I love all of them! I was so grateful that taking photograph is allowed in the museum. 

Traditional musical performance for the King. 

Sundial and King Sejong that we saw this morning. 

Trading era in Korea.

The Korean straw shoes that I spotted this morning at our hanok.

Ceremony in the palace. 

Wedding ceromony.

Market???

3D mural with teddy bears! Amazing!

Across the lobby from hall I is exhibition hall II. It presents the modern life in Seoul today. Let's see what they have.

The famous Nanta shows in Seoul. The bears were moving!

Modern wedding. Hope the bears live happily ever after :P

High end shopping centers in Seoul. 

Body guards of the President in Blue House.

Last but not least, my favourite part! The palace zone where you can find teddy bear featured in famous Korean drama "Princess Hour", also known as "宫". I was so happy to see them in real life as my sister and I were so crazy of this drama that time :D

After the lovely teddy museum, observatory tower was our next stop.  However, the queue was long and moving very slowing. Yee Pei felt dizzy and we thought it was best to call it a day. We thought initially that our ticket would be wasted, but NO! We managed to get our refund for the observatory ticket. A sincere gratitude to the helpful Korean staff at the N Seoul Tower. 

N Seoul Tower at night. 

Summer is the holidays season for Korean. We were also greeted with long queue at the cable car station. Luckily the queue was moving fast. 

Seoul city morphed into twinkling stars. (View from cable car)

A full moon + cable car + N seoul tower.

Yee Pei didn't have the appetite for dinner, so we just settled for a toast in the mini market on the way back. Well, don't judge the book by its cover. The bread was very delicious. I bet there must be a special sauce, which is not available in Malaysia. I am going to figure it out. 

This concludes our very fist day in Seoul. Would Yee Pei feel better on day two? Stay tuned! :)

P/s: We skipped Myeongdong - a shopping paradise in Seoul which we planned to go after N-seoul tower due to Yee Pei's health condition. Myeongdong is near to the cable car station. You can walk from the station to Myeong dong. Do check out the Myeongdong travel highlight in KTO website.

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Travel info: 

Cable car

Ticket price: 　Adult: 6000KRW (One way), 8000KRW (Round trip)

Operating hours: 10:00 - 23:00 (All year round)

         

N-Seoul Tower              

Operating hour: 

Sunday-Thursday

Observatory: 10:00-23:00

Restaurant: 11:00-23:00

Teddy Bear Museum: 10:00-22:00 (Last admission: 21:00)

Friday-Saturday

Observatory: 10:00-24:00

Teddy Bear Museum: 10:00-22:00 (Last admission: 21:00)

Ticket Price: 

Classification	Adults	Youths	Children	Remarks
Observatory	9,000 won	7,000 won	5,000 won	Adult : 18+ Youth : 13-17 Children : 3-12
Teddy bear Museum	8,000 won	6,000 won	5,000 won
Package (Observatory +  Teddy bear Museum)	14,000 won	10,000 won	7,000 won
Group(20 or more)	Inquiries : +82-2-3455-9208, +82-2-3455-9210

Transportation: 

1. On foot: Walk 30 minutes from Exit #3 of Myeong-dong Subway Station

2. Cable Car 

   At Exit #3 of Myeong-dong Subway Station, Line No. 4, walk toward Pacific Hotel and then   

   walk 10 minutes to the Namsan Cable Car. 

   Running hours: 10:00~23:00
 3. Belt-line Bus (Yellow Bus No. 2) 

    - Get on the bus in front of Daehan Cinema at Exit #1 of Chungmuro Subway Station (Line  

       No. 3 and 4), or Exit #6 of Dongdae Ipgu Subway Station (Line No. 3) 

    - 5-8 minute intervals 
    - Operating hours: 8a.m. - midnight 
    - Fare: Cash 550 won, Transportation Card 500 won (transfer possible) 

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Travel tips: 

1. Do visit N Seoul Tower before sunset to have a twilight view of Seoul.

2. Brought your own padlock to N Seoul tower to avoid being overcharged for expensive padlock.

3. It is cheaper to buy a package ticket if you wish to visit both observatory and teddy bear museum. It's refundable if you can't make it to both of them. 

4. You need to queue (a long one) for cable car during peak season. Alternatively, you can choose to climb the long flight of stairs.