Sharing a recap of what we did in Seoul, where we stayed, and my thoughts on the whole experience. The nutshell version: I CAN’T WAIT to go back.
Hi friends! How are you? I hope you had an amazing weekend! We just caught up with house stuff here, finally recovered from jet lag (I was barely jet lagged when we got there, but ended up riding the struggle bus when we came home), and met up with some friends.
I’m so excited to share some recap posts on our trips with you!
Here’s a list of what I have planned so that when they go live, I can add the links to this post.
Seoul recap, what we did and what we ate (this post)
Tokyo and Kyoto itinerary and tips for travel
What we ate in Japan
My Korean Head Spa experience
Seoul recap, what we did, and what we ate
Before I get started, I wanted to begin with an apology.
To my friends in South Korea and Japan, I was ignorant, and now I know. I had NO CLUE how much I’d been missing out. The girls picked the locations for this trip, and I figured it would be something that I enjoyed, but it wasn’t my first choice for a vacation. (I’d be happy repeating least year’s 5+ weeks in Spain adventure.) I didn’t expect to fall in love with these places, but I absolutely did. This trip absolutely changed my life. I’ll share more in my Japan post, but these places didn’t feel like different countries… they felt like different worlds.
The people in Seoul were SO kind and lovely. The food was incredible. It felt so very safe, and there was so much to do. We could have doubled our time there and been happy. The funny thing is that we had the opportunity to be stationed in Korea multiple times during Tom’s military career. All of our friends who lived there loved it, and now I understand why.
We flew from Phoenix to San Francisco, and then direct from SFO to Seoul. The flight was long – about 12 1/2 hours – but I managed to nap on and off (the girls stayed wide awake the whole time) and we landed at about 3pm. I think this is the perfect time to land in a new country because your hotel room is ready, so if you’re totally wrecked and need a nap, you can. You don’t have to wander around and wait until your room is ready.
We knew that it would be a low-key day, so we checked into the hotel and set out to explore. We stayed at the RYSE Autograph Collection hotel and I would 100% recommend it for the excellent location, amenities, and dining options. (I booked everything using our Amex platinum. My referral link is here!)
It was surrounded by great restaurants and shops, and easy to get around.
I didn’t take a pic but the bathroom had an enormous waterfall shower with great water pressure.
We were shocked to see entire streets filled with little kiosks and cute shops just a block away from the hotel.
We explored and met our new skincare bestie at TONYMOLY and P was exhausted, to we went back to the hotel while Tom and Liv grabbed dinner. We all slept through the night and were fully set the next day!
We did a lot while we were in Seoul, but here are some of the highlights.
Lotte World
Lotte World is an enormous indoor and outdoor theme park. Liv suggested this one – she added her ideas to our trip planning spreadsheet – and we had a blast. We joked that it was like a speakeasy. It’s many levels and quite a few attractions seem to be hidden, but there was so much to do. It also blew my mind that got four tickets with 3 skip the line passes for each of us and the total was $200. (I used Trip.com to book.)
I didn’t take a pic of the outside but picture a castle, various roller coasters, a drop ride, and lots of shops and food stands.
We did all of the best rides – they have a mix of rides for younger kiddos and more thrilling rides and coasters for older kids and adults – and spent the entire day there. Journey to Atlantis was AMAZING; definitely one of my top theme park rides.
Baseball game and Korean BBQ
We spent an entire day shopping and exploring, and that evening, we went on a tour with an English speaking guide to Korean BBQ
and a Dusan Bears baseball game.
Baseball is HUGE in Seoul and a true cultural experience. Each hitter has their own chant and cheer, and the entire arena is dancing and cheering. The baseball food is next level, too. They sold beers with an upside down baseball cap that was filled with shrimp – it looked SO good- in addition to tteokbokki, cheese and meat skewers, tons of real food options. You can also bring in your own food and drinks; so different from the States where they force to you go inside to buy $8 bottles of water.
Head spa and petting zoo
The head spa will be receiving its own post, but it was a highlight of the trip! While I was having one of the best spa experiences of my life, the Pilot and the kiddos went to a petting zoo where they were able to hold raccoons and pet meerkats.
Living the dream:
Shopping at Olive Young
If you go to Seoul, shopping at Olive Young is a must. You can stock up on all of the best K beauty products at amazing prices. It’s like an enormous Sephora with rows of skincare and cosmetics… all the best stuff. I was worried we wouldn’t find an Olive Young or it would be hard to get to, but they’re everywhere. We had three locations right by our hotel.
Gluten-free dining in Seoul
On this trip, I tried my best to eat gluten-free as closely as possible, but understood that it can be very difficult – not everything is labeled – and accepted that there would be some wheat in sauces and condiments. Also because I don’t speak the language, I didn’t want to be difficult to try to modify the meals.
I’ve been strict gluten-free for 3 years for the autoimmune stuff and it’s made a tremendous difference for me, and P has been gluten-free for the past year. (She was red on her IgG test and she used to have bad stomach pain and joint pain, which has resolved since we cut it out.) I told her we’d just do our best because thankfully we’re not allergic to gluten, but we’d probably have some in sauces, etc.
We were able to eat at two 100% gluten-free restaurants in Seoul: Sunnyhouse and Monli2. Both were A+ experiences.. better than any of the gluten-free options I’ve had in Tucson.
Sunnyhouse gluten-free restaurant in Seoul, Korea
Sunnyhouse has breakfast all day, sandwiches, platters and desserts. It’s kind of a hidden location but is extremely cute inside.
P had a fluffy nutella waffle, a grilled cheese,
and I had the Mediterranean plate. I could eat this every day. The bread was SO soft and fluffy. Why do US restaurants have such a hard time making good gluten-free bread???
Monli2 gluten-free restaurant in Seoul, Korea
Monli2 has CHURROS, pizza, sandwiches, and baked goodies. I ordered a pesto pizza and it seriously one of the best gf pizzas I’ve had in my life (#1 is Italy, #2 is this one, and #3 is NYC).
I knew that I would eat different foods while we were in Korea and Japan and the entire time we were gone, I felt amazing. My energy was great, I didn’t get a stomach ache from anything, and the foods were all so incredibly fresh and delicious.
Our hotel had a huge breakfast buffet each day and you could get American breakfast staples (like fruits, pastries, eggs, potatoes, bacon and juice) as well as tradition Korean items, like kimchi, beef bulgogi, fried rice, pickled veggies, etc.
Tips for visiting and things we noticed:
– Definitely learn a handful of phrases but Google translate can be a great tool. I was surprised to find that quite a few people spoke English, and when ordering at kiosks, it’s easy to switch the language to English. The girls know so many Korean phrases so they were able to help us out.
– The bus and subways are very clean and efficient, but we ended up using Uber to get around. It was far less expensive to get around than it is in the states. We liked Uber instead of traditional taxis because you can input the location – no language barriers this way – and you can see the exact fare.
You can also get a Climate Card or T Money card for unlimited passes for transportation if you decide to use public transport.
– Carry a little trash bag with you. Public trash cans are not everywhere, so you may have to carry trash with you until you can find a trash can. Don’t assume that all trash cans are public; it may be owned by a store.
– Don’t walk and eat. It’s bad manners, so if you get a meal or snack, just stop and enjoy it before continuing on. I fee like this is a better way to eat anyway! If your nervous system is calm, you’ll have a better time digesting your food.
– Google maps doesn’t work. We used Naver instead to get around. Google transit issues before using Naver for public transportation. You should get these on public alerts while you’re there, but it’s good to verify before hopping on public transit.
– Tipping is not a thing in Seoul, but you can add compliments in Uber.
– Call your phone provider before leaving to set up an international plan. We usually do this before we travel so that we can have voice and data. We use AT&T and it automatically activates once it detects that we’re in a different country and they offer deals; Liv’s phone was half off while we were there.
– Korean Air! This is what we used to get to Tokyo, and it was an elite experience. Ticket prices were very reasonable,
– Take your shoes off in your hotel room. Usually they’ll have little slides by the door that you can wear.
– Leave your shampoo and conditioner at home. Pack LIGHTLY on the toiletries because you will find better stuff there and the shampoo and conditioner in the hotel will be amazing quality.
– Korea uses European outlets. I’ve had these converters for years and brought them on this trip. They work for laptops and phones but do not plug your hair dryer or styling tool into these! The best bet is to buy a hair tool there, go to head spa or get a blow out somewhere (!), or let it air dry and do some sock curls.
– You can’t bring CBD to Korea. I’m glad I researched this beforehand and left my beloved gummies at home. I brought melatonin but didn’t end up needing it. There are also some medications that are prescribed here that are not allowed in Korea, so check the regulations before you go.
If you’re headed to Seoul anytime soon, you’re in for a treat 🙂 I’m here if I can help with any questions and I’ll be back with my head spa recap tomorrow!
xo
Gina
