First Day in Korea - Touch Korea Tour

Day 1– Airport Incheon – Lotte Hotel - Myeongdong

I arrived at 07.10 in the morning, Seoul time. It took 7 hours flight from Jakarta to Seoul. Honestly, I didn’t sleep at all in the plane. I was very nervous and…psssttt.. I cried because I felt sad and missed my kids so much. What can I say? I am a mom! All moms do such sentimental thing like that! So no judgement okay? *little bit defensive..hihihi…*

Gue sampai sekitar jam 07.10 pagi waktu Seoul. Waktu perjalanan Jakarta-Seoul membutuhkan kira kira 7 jam an lah. Tapi jujur aja, gue gak bisa tidur sama sekali di pesawat. Gue gelisah banget lah dan…psssttt…gue juga nangis terus lho. Soalnya gue sedih banget dan kangen berat sama anak anak sih. Abis harus gimana dong? Namanya juga gue emak emak! Semua Ibu pasti lah pernah melakukan hal sentimental kayak gitu deh!!ya kan? Ya kan? *rada defensif*

And this is the first time I travelled alone. Without my family. Quite scary! But I felt like a real traveler, so adventurous!

Dan ini juga adalah pertama kalinya gue traveling seorang diri. Tanpa keluarga. Rada serem juga sih! Tapi gue jadi berasa kayak petualang sejati deh!!

The time I stepped out from the plane, I felt so excited. The weather was sooooo fresh. Early summer, 17 ‘. Cool! I was breathing with the same air like Hyun Bin and Lee Min Ho!!! I can’t believe I am here!!

Ketika gue melangkah keluar dari pesawat, gue mulai merasa bersemangat. Udaranya segeeeeer banget bok! Awal musim panas, suhu nya 17 derajat. Keren abis! Gue sedang menghirup udara yang sama dengan yang dihirup oleh Hyun Bin dan Lee Min Ho!!! Hampir gak percaya deh rasanya!!!

And as usual, I forgot to take the picture of Incheon Airport! *silly me!*

Dan seperti biasa, gue lupa ambil poto di airport Icheon yang keren ituh. Maap yeh!

I was a little bit dizzy because I didn’t have enough sleep at night. Okay, I was veeeery sleepy. I walked around like a drunken person looking for the baggage claim…hihihi…there are so many gates, confusing, okay, I think I lost. After asking to one of the officer, finally I found my luggage.

Pada saat itu gue berasa rada pusing karena semaleman gak tidur di pesawat. Iya deh, sebenernya gue tuh ngantuuuuk banget. Gue berjalan kesana kemari kayak orang mabok sambil cari cari baggage claim…hihihi…gate nya banyak banget bok, bingungin lah pokoknya. Nyasar lagi dah gue! Tapi untunglah setelah nanya sana sini, akhirnya ketemu juga koper gue ituh.

As I walked, suddenly I saw Touch Korea Tour sign board!

 

just arrived at Airport Icheon

Ketika gue sedang berjalan menuju gerbang, tiba tiba aja gue melihat sign board Touch Korea Tour!

There are 4 persons from KTO who picked me up. They are very warm and friendly. There are Rachel, Yuhrahn, Jiyoung and the Mapae Man!!

Rachel is like our mom in Korea, she prepared EVERYTHING *hug Rachel*

Yurahn is so pretty like the main character in the drama :)

Thank you Jiyoung for taking us to Myeongdong, miss u already :)

The Mapae Man is my cameraman in the first day :)

Ada 4 orang dari KTO yang menjemput gue pada saat itu. Mereka semua sangat ramah dan hangat. Mereka adalah Rachel, Jiyoung, Yurahn, dan the Mapae Man!

And than, I saw the camera!!! *do we really have to do it now??*

Dan tiba tiba saja gue melihat kamera!!! *waduh, emang harus sekarang yah?*

What? That was my very first interview. I was sleepy, dizzy, and I had to answer all of the questions in English!! Oh NO! I couldn’t even remember the questions! *my reputation just crashed!* You can watched my video when I was answering like a drunken person…hihihi…click here…

Nah lo!! Saat itu merupakan pertama kali banget gue berhadapan dengan kamera dan harus melakukan interview. Gue ngantuk, pusing dan gue harus menjawab semua pertanyaan dalam bahasa Inggris!! Gue bahkan gak bisa mengingat pertanyaan yang baru saja diajukan! *hancur sudah reputasi gue!* Silahkan lihat video gue dimana gue jawabnya persis kayak orang mabok…hihihi…klik sini yah

That was also the first time I met Michelle. We were rushly off to the restaurant to have our very first Korean breakfast. It was sooooo delicious. I can’t remember the name, sorry! I thought it was a large portion, but I was wroooong…hihihi…I was surprisingly finished them all

my first breakfast in Kora! Delicious :)

Pada saat itu juga adalah pertama kalinya gue bertemu dengan Michelle. Kita segera pergi ke resto untuk menyantap hidangan sarapan Korea gue yang pertama. Lezaaaaat banget, tapi sayang gue lupa namanya, maap yah! Tadinya gue pikir porsinya guede banget sih, tapi ternyata gue salah…hihihi…abis bok!

After we finished our breakfast, we went to the Lotte Hotel by Limousine Bus. It was a cool bus! We didn’t have schedule for that day because the other team member will arrived at 5 PM. Since we’re free, Michelle and I decided to go to Myeongdong. Jiyoung said that we could walk because it’s not too far from our hotel.

Setelah sarapan, kita pun segera beranjak menuju Lotte Hotel dengan menggunakan Limousine Bus. Sumpah keren banget ituh bis nya. Kagak mabok gue! Kita belum ada jadwal hari itu, karena team member yang lain baru akan tiba di Seoul sore dan malam hari. Dan karena masih banyak waktu, gue dan Michelle memutuskan untuk jalan jalan ke Myeongdong karena letaknya deket banget ama hotel kita, tinggal jalan doang.

After check in, we took a quick shower, Michelle and I were soooo ready to go to Myeongdong *I suddenly forget about my dizziness, adrenaline I guess!*. And Jiyoung was so nicely become our tour guide at Myeongdong *thank you so much Jiyoung!*.  Okay, just let the pictures tell all the stories

Do not touch my Lee Min Ho!! He is mine!!

I told you, he is mine! We are very close!

myeongdong street, its so unreal!

Yunho and Changmin are fighting over me!!

I saw that in the drama!!

Ddeokboki for lunch, I felt so Korean!!

Setelah check in dan mandi bentar, gue dan Michelle udah siap banget untuk pergi ke Myeongdong *tiba tiba aja gue lupa ama sakit kepala gue lho, adrenaline kali yeh*. Jiyoung juga baik banget karena bersedia nganter kita kesana kemari selama di Myeongdong *makasih banyak yah Jiyoung!*. Ya sudahlah, sekarang biarkan poto aja yang ceritain semuanya yaaaah…

About Shopping around!

 The worst thing about shopping around in Korea for me personally is…I stupidly kept thinking everything in Rupiah! Wow, this mug’s price only 8000, okay I am gonna buy 3 pieces.

And than suddenly it strokes me! WHAT? It is 64.000 rupiah for each! That is expensive! And I bought 3??...hihihi…

Buat gue pribadi, hal yang terburuk tentang belanja belanja di Korea adalah…gue dengan bodohnya selalu berfikir dengan rupiah! Wow, mug inih harganya cuman 8000 yah, asyik nih, gue mau beli 3 ah!

Trus tiba tiba aja gue kaget sendiri! Hah? Itu artinya 64.000 sebiji nya yah? Mahal bego! Dan barusan gue beli 3 yah?...hihihi…

And because the wifi is very strong in Myeongdong, my husband kept texting me, asking what am I doing now….ehm…okay, I am in the middle of spending all your money…hihihi..

Dan karena wifi nya kuat banget di Myeongdong inih, ketika gue lagi asyik jalan jalan, si Abah nge-YM gue terus tuh. Nanya nanya gue lagi ngapain disonoh…ehm…okay deh…aku lagi sibuk ngabisin duit kamu bah!..hihihi…

But Michelle and I wisely decided to hold our passion to spend all of our money, because this is only our first day. We had 6 more days. Just relax, and take a deep breath!

Tapi kemudian gue dan Michelle dengan bijaksananya memutuskan untuk menahan diri supaya jangan terlalu heboh belanja dulu, karena ini baru hari pertama. Nyantai aja kaleeee, masih ada 6 hari lagih kan?

Okay, that was a stupid decision actually!!

Dan ternyata itu adalah keputusan yang bodoh!!

Because, in the next day, we almost didn’t have time to shop. We were travelling to the local area like the mountain, temple stay, Jeju Island. There is nothing to buy there.

KTO gave us Lotte Department Store vouchers, total 45.000 won, and Korea Pass total 50.000 won. But we didn’t have time to spend it. Michelle and I only had free time in Seoul on the LAST DAY. We had to check out from the hotel at 11.00 o’clock. In our last day, Michelle and I agreed to go at 9, so we only have 2 hours to shop.

Voucher 45.000 won from Lotte

Korea Pass 50.000 won

Karena ternyata di hari hari selanjutnya, kita gak ada kesempatan lagi buat belanja belanja. Kita selalu travelling ke local are seperti pegunungan, temple stay, Jeju Island, yang mana emang gak ada yang bisa dibeli.

KTO sebenernya kasih kita Voucher Lotte Department Store sebesar 45.000 won dan Korea Pass sebesar 50.000 won, tapi ya itu tadi, kita gak ada waktu buat makenya. Akhirnya Michelle dan gue ada waktu luang di HARI TERAKHIR. Hari kepulangan kita. Kita harus check out jam 11.00. Jadi kita sepakat untuk berangkat jam 09.00 dan kita hanya punya waktu 2 jam untuk belanja.

We went to Lotte Department Store to spend our vouchers, which is located near or hotel and… BOOM!!!

Open at 10.30!!! WHAT????

Okay, don’t panic!

Kita pun bergegas pergi ke Lotte Department Store buat ngabisin voucher kita, yang letaknya sebelahan banget ama hotel dan… BOOM!!!

Bukanya jam 10.30!!!HAH??

Okay, jangan panic!!!

Fortunately we met Rachel and tell her our problem. Rachel was so nice and willing to exchange our vouchers with her money. In that case, we don’t have to wait until 10.30 to shop at Lotte Dept. Store and we can go to the random shop at Myeongdong. And Rachel also informed us that we can use our Korea Pass in airport. *Thank you so much Rachel, kiss and hug*

Okay, problem solved!

Untunglah kita ketemu Rachel dan cerita tentang permasalahan ini. Rachel sangat baik dan bersedia menukar voucher kita dengan uangnya. Jadi minimal kita gak perlu nunggu sampai jam 10.30 untuk belanja di Lotte kan. Kita bisa pergi ke took mana aja yang udah buka jam segitu di Myeongdong. Rachel juga mengatakan bahwa kita juga bisa pake Korea Pass kita di airport ajah *makasih banyak ya Rachel, kiss and hug*

Baiklah, satu masalah teratasi!!

Because we didn’t have enough time, we only went to 1 cosmetic store and spent our money there. It was sooooo crazy. I didn’t even know what I bought. Is it a mask? Okay, lets buy perfume, oh, don’t forget BB cream…hihihi…

And in the airport, I only had time to go to 7 eleven to spent my Korea Pass to buy lots of chocolates.

Karena waktunya udah mepet banget, kita cuman sempet masuk ke 1 toko kosmetik aja buat belanja. Pokoknya mah rempong abis deh. Gue gak sendiri gak ngerti waktu ituh gue belanja apaan ajah. Ini masker bukan yah? Ya udahlah beli parfum aja deh, eh jangan lupa BB cream…hihihi…

Dan di Airport, gue hanya sempet masuk ke 7 eleven buat ngabisin Korea Pass dengan cara beli coklat sebanyak banyaknya.

So for those of you who keep asking about gift or present…I didn’t buy anything okay? There are still lots of won money left in my wallet right now…ops…don’t tell my husband…hihihi…

Jadi buat elo elo yang pada ngarepin oleh oleh, kagak ada yeh!...hihihi…duit gue ajah masih nyisa banyak banget noh di dompet..ops…tapi jangan bilang bilang si Abah yah…hihihi…

And about 5 PM, Tiphany arrived from France. We chatted in Michelle’s room. That was the first time I met her. She looked very tired, but she didn’t want to go the sleep. In the next morning she told me that she also went to Myeongdong with Dondre.

I didn’t have enough energy to go out that night. Michelle and I bought French fries and burger for dinner. And I just stayed in my room having skyped with my kids and blogging. 

My first day in Korea was fun!!!!

Sekitar jam 5 sore, Tiphany datang dari Perancis. Kita ngobrol di kamar Michelle. Saat itu adalah pertama kalinya gue ketemu Tiphany. Dia kelihatan cape banget, tapi keukeuh kagak mau tidur. Besok paginya dia bilang bahwa tadi malam dia juga pergi ke Myeongdong ama Dondre.

Gue sih udah bener bener gak ada tenaga buat jalan jalan malam ituh. Michelle dan gue cuman beli kentang goreng dan burger doang buat makan malam. Trus gue diem aja di kamar sambil skype ama Kayla dan Fathir, trus sempet posting juga.

Hari pertama gue di Korea SANGAT MENYENANGKAN!!!!