The making of a FT legend: 73 fliers, a little bit of crazy and a whole lot of Seoul
Dec 12, 2012, 7:46 am
#61
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol, UK
Programs: HH D, Rad Plat
Posts: 5,352
Dec 22, 2012, 4:43 pm
#62
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Posts: 442
SCENE 1: ACT 1: Food, Flounge and the (Champagne) resuscitation trolley by nh1980
Check-in, security and passport control
When travelling hand luggage only and longhaul, one still needs to visit the check-in desks for a final passport and visa check before security. I went to desk H1 despite travelling in F as there was no queue and I couldn’t be bothered to walk to the far end of the terminal!
Security was extremely busy despite using the Fast Track channel ….. After about 20 minutes I was through and for only the second time in my life was able to waltz through the magic doors into the Concorde Room which was as calming and peaceful as I last remembered it. After a long tube journey to LHR and security taking longer than I anticipated, I was already running late to meet PETER01 who had been there a couple of hours already since connecting from Scotland that morning so I immediately headed out to the foyer to meet him!
Lounge - CCR
We first headed to the restaurant booths in the Concorde Room where we were greeted and seated immediately and the service was fast and attentive. We ordered orange juice and coffee to start with. We both went for the Muesli to start and whilst I had the much-discussed Eggs Benedict for my main, PETER01 went for the full English, all of it was absolutely delicious. I then received a PM from another guy travelling in our group (and his guest) who was enjoying some champers out on the CCR terrace so we went to chat to them for a while before all heading to the F lounge for the pre-flight meet!
Lounge – F
F lounge was pleasant, busier than CCR but spacious enough that you didn’t really notice it. Immediately upon turning the corner to head to the Champagne bar we spotted the iconic yellow parka sported by none other than our organiser supreme BotB and we knew that was the place to go. What was even funnier was that there were three other FT’ers sitting nearby who were also waiting to meet everybody and hadn’t realised people were there already – well that situation soon got resolved. The champagne started to flow, I remember we were about 5 people at the start and that number grew to about 17 as people started to trickle in with their guests. The champagne bar ran out more than once and an emergency “resuscitation trolley” was summoned with what I believe was [12] bottles of essential fluids for our hard-done by premium travellers
Champagne on offer that day was Bollinger Rose, Bruno Paillard and Taittinger.
Meeting up in the Flounge Champagne Bar by BotB
Our saviour bearing the resuscitation trolley by BotB
When travelling hand luggage only and longhaul, one still needs to visit the check-in desks for a final passport and visa check before security. I went to desk H1 despite travelling in F as there was no queue and I couldn’t be bothered to walk to the far end of the terminal!
Security was extremely busy despite using the Fast Track channel ….. After about 20 minutes I was through and for only the second time in my life was able to waltz through the magic doors into the Concorde Room which was as calming and peaceful as I last remembered it. After a long tube journey to LHR and security taking longer than I anticipated, I was already running late to meet PETER01 who had been there a couple of hours already since connecting from Scotland that morning so I immediately headed out to the foyer to meet him!
Lounge - CCR
We first headed to the restaurant booths in the Concorde Room where we were greeted and seated immediately and the service was fast and attentive. We ordered orange juice and coffee to start with. We both went for the Muesli to start and whilst I had the much-discussed Eggs Benedict for my main, PETER01 went for the full English, all of it was absolutely delicious. I then received a PM from another guy travelling in our group (and his guest) who was enjoying some champers out on the CCR terrace so we went to chat to them for a while before all heading to the F lounge for the pre-flight meet!
Lounge – F
F lounge was pleasant, busier than CCR but spacious enough that you didn’t really notice it. Immediately upon turning the corner to head to the Champagne bar we spotted the iconic yellow parka sported by none other than our organiser supreme BotB and we knew that was the place to go. What was even funnier was that there were three other FT’ers sitting nearby who were also waiting to meet everybody and hadn’t realised people were there already – well that situation soon got resolved. The champagne started to flow, I remember we were about 5 people at the start and that number grew to about 17 as people started to trickle in with their guests. The champagne bar ran out more than once and an emergency “resuscitation trolley” was summoned with what I believe was [12] bottles of essential fluids for our hard-done by premium travellers
Champagne on offer that day was Bollinger Rose, Bruno Paillard and Taittinger.Meeting up in the Flounge Champagne Bar by BotB
Our saviour bearing the resuscitation trolley by BotB
Dec 22, 2012, 4:44 pm
#63
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Posts: 442
SCENE 1: ACT 2: Meeting the FT’ers and other animals, by CreativeBill
So here we are standing on the forecourt of Heathrow Terminal 5, about to set off on our little adventure.
Now, before I commence... if you are after an analysis of queueing times and AMD hypersensitivity and the distance between where I stand and the bar and how many annoyances are betwixt, then skip on over to one of the other contributors. Being of the female persuasion, I just don’t notice these things... In addition to that, my glasses were snug beneath the derrière of the bear in my handbag (more about him soon), so I was viewing the world in soft focus. I highly recommend it sometime to those of you that are myopically challenged. It’s ever so romantic.
Let’s talk about something that I enjoy much more than ‘the details’. Let’s talk about the wildlife. Terminal 5 security that morning was a zoo, so there were viewing opportunities in abundance.
The first delightful spotting needed no binocular device as she stampeded up behind us in the Fast Track lane, trotting on her Louboutins... barging through the bemused queue shouting “I am premium, I AM premium and I have 60 seconds to make a flight”. A flight? From an airport?? How quaint. I wondered what form of transport everyone else in this queue were planning to take. I’m ashamed to say that my usual public decorum broke and I laughed. Out loud. She glared at me like Medusa was her Great Aunt. I was overcome by my mirth, but luckily the Bear in my bag was equipped to glare back. Gosh, she was cross. Well, her botoxed brow prevented any visible clues, but she stamped and stamped her foot (as much as her sprayed-on jeans would allow any form of leg elevation), until she attracted the attention of the staff and demanded to be escorted directly through the pesky security measures. It amused me to notice that her boarding card that was being waved upon high quite clearly showed that she was soon to be seated (or not) in row 48. My, what a large premium cabin her plane had. It amused me even more when I strolled past (having taken the usual route through security), to notice her and her Vuitton enjoying the pleasure of a secondary search.
I had just recovered from this excitement when directly before me, with the airside shopping centre and a bid for freedom looming oh, so close, that I came across the lesser travelled Doris. When asked whether she had any liquids in her bag she asked “What is a liquid”? After listening to the patient explanation she enquired “Is mascara a liquid? I have one of those.” Yes. mascara was extracted and a clear bag fetched. As the lone mascara set off on it’s journey through the scanner, she enquired “Is face cream a liquid? I have one of those”. The belt is stopped. Time also stops. Or at least it stretched into the 7th dimension. It could have been the eighth, but I hear that one is very small. The scene repeated like a game of Operation where the players have been on the caffeine too long as her synapses located each other and liquids were produced from various corners of her hand luggage. In the time it took for the lesser travelled Doris to make it through I had done my tax return, contemplated the resolution of world peace and made a start on my obituary. All the while juggling my laptop, iPad, coat and pre-packed liquids bag that had been removed and prepared for a swift examination. Even the bear was bored.
So, finally, we were through. I was once again a winner at avoiding the secondary search roulette (16 times and counting), when I make it to 50 I shall celebrate with a lottery ticket purchase.
After a quick stop to pick up a brick of Korean Won, making me an instant millionaire, and negating the necessity of a lottery ticket purchase, we were off to the haven of the lounges for some breakfast champagne, collecting fellow FT’ers Heathrow777 and Alinlondon on the way.
The four of us settled first in the CCR for a quick nosey and were welcomed with what looked alarmingly like a pint of Grand Siècle. We drank it, to be polite, naturally. Very nice it was too. It was so nice that our server managed to wear quite a lot when she opened an over effusive bottle to top us up. I do hope she dried off ok and wasn’t pulled over by any of our finest constabulary on her way home, or may have had a bit of explaining to do about her choice of fragrance. I mentioned that she shouldn’t be surprised if she suddenly found herself additionally attractive to a bunch of FT’ers, such is their love for all things vinaceous.
So after that short sojourn, it was time to go and meet the rest of the crew. Where would 20+ FT’ers arrange to meet? In the Flounge Champagne bar, naturally. Luckily, BotB has sartorial elegance enough to be able to don a retina burning yellow sleeping bag jacket and had left it on display making everyone so easy to find. We then spent a happy hour or so matching the faces to real names to FT names - it was like working your way through a Tolstoy novel with all those names but without the advantage of a margin to make notes in. It stretched the abilities of my pink Bollinger addled brain cells, I must say.
Soon it was time for the trek to the B gates. In hindsight, this floated past without hitch. However, the lack of spectacles or sobriety may have added to the ease. Before we board, here’s a picture of our jolly bunch outside the Flounge. From left to right they are.... errrm....nope... should have taken notes.
Some of the FT Seoul searchers
Now, before I commence... if you are after an analysis of queueing times and AMD hypersensitivity and the distance between where I stand and the bar and how many annoyances are betwixt, then skip on over to one of the other contributors. Being of the female persuasion, I just don’t notice these things... In addition to that, my glasses were snug beneath the derrière of the bear in my handbag (more about him soon), so I was viewing the world in soft focus. I highly recommend it sometime to those of you that are myopically challenged. It’s ever so romantic.
Let’s talk about something that I enjoy much more than ‘the details’. Let’s talk about the wildlife. Terminal 5 security that morning was a zoo, so there were viewing opportunities in abundance.
The first delightful spotting needed no binocular device as she stampeded up behind us in the Fast Track lane, trotting on her Louboutins... barging through the bemused queue shouting “I am premium, I AM premium and I have 60 seconds to make a flight”. A flight? From an airport?? How quaint. I wondered what form of transport everyone else in this queue were planning to take. I’m ashamed to say that my usual public decorum broke and I laughed. Out loud. She glared at me like Medusa was her Great Aunt. I was overcome by my mirth, but luckily the Bear in my bag was equipped to glare back. Gosh, she was cross. Well, her botoxed brow prevented any visible clues, but she stamped and stamped her foot (as much as her sprayed-on jeans would allow any form of leg elevation), until she attracted the attention of the staff and demanded to be escorted directly through the pesky security measures. It amused me to notice that her boarding card that was being waved upon high quite clearly showed that she was soon to be seated (or not) in row 48. My, what a large premium cabin her plane had. It amused me even more when I strolled past (having taken the usual route through security), to notice her and her Vuitton enjoying the pleasure of a secondary search.
I had just recovered from this excitement when directly before me, with the airside shopping centre and a bid for freedom looming oh, so close, that I came across the lesser travelled Doris. When asked whether she had any liquids in her bag she asked “What is a liquid”? After listening to the patient explanation she enquired “Is mascara a liquid? I have one of those.” Yes. mascara was extracted and a clear bag fetched. As the lone mascara set off on it’s journey through the scanner, she enquired “Is face cream a liquid? I have one of those”. The belt is stopped. Time also stops. Or at least it stretched into the 7th dimension. It could have been the eighth, but I hear that one is very small. The scene repeated like a game of Operation where the players have been on the caffeine too long as her synapses located each other and liquids were produced from various corners of her hand luggage. In the time it took for the lesser travelled Doris to make it through I had done my tax return, contemplated the resolution of world peace and made a start on my obituary. All the while juggling my laptop, iPad, coat and pre-packed liquids bag that had been removed and prepared for a swift examination. Even the bear was bored.
So, finally, we were through. I was once again a winner at avoiding the secondary search roulette (16 times and counting), when I make it to 50 I shall celebrate with a lottery ticket purchase.
After a quick stop to pick up a brick of Korean Won, making me an instant millionaire, and negating the necessity of a lottery ticket purchase, we were off to the haven of the lounges for some breakfast champagne, collecting fellow FT’ers Heathrow777 and Alinlondon on the way.
The four of us settled first in the CCR for a quick nosey and were welcomed with what looked alarmingly like a pint of Grand Siècle. We drank it, to be polite, naturally. Very nice it was too. It was so nice that our server managed to wear quite a lot when she opened an over effusive bottle to top us up. I do hope she dried off ok and wasn’t pulled over by any of our finest constabulary on her way home, or may have had a bit of explaining to do about her choice of fragrance. I mentioned that she shouldn’t be surprised if she suddenly found herself additionally attractive to a bunch of FT’ers, such is their love for all things vinaceous.
So after that short sojourn, it was time to go and meet the rest of the crew. Where would 20+ FT’ers arrange to meet? In the Flounge Champagne bar, naturally. Luckily, BotB has sartorial elegance enough to be able to don a retina burning yellow sleeping bag jacket and had left it on display making everyone so easy to find. We then spent a happy hour or so matching the faces to real names to FT names - it was like working your way through a Tolstoy novel with all those names but without the advantage of a margin to make notes in. It stretched the abilities of my pink Bollinger addled brain cells, I must say.
Soon it was time for the trek to the B gates. In hindsight, this floated past without hitch. However, the lack of spectacles or sobriety may have added to the ease. Before we board, here’s a picture of our jolly bunch outside the Flounge. From left to right they are.... errrm....nope... should have taken notes.
Some of the FT Seoul searchers
Dec 22, 2012, 4:45 pm
#64
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Posts: 442
SCENE 1: ACT 3: LHR and CCR Photo essay by nickyjames
Before we take off, I’ll hand you over to one of our professional snappers, nickyjames...
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
LHR by nickyjames
Dec 22, 2012, 4:45 pm
#65
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Posts: 442
SCENE 2: ACT 1: The First cabin experience by nh1980
The First cabin….well what can I say, it’s First. It was only my second time and New First was just as glamorous, slick and angular as I remember it! I was escorted to my seat and we were all greeted individually by our cabin crew and the CSM who were from the Mixed Fleet.
CreativeBill: I’m just going to interject here to say what a fantastic crew they were! Barry looked after us and not only was he charming, accommodating and witty, but his upbeat manner and personal excitement at also visiting Seoul for his first time made the trip so much more fun for us. He didn't take a break during the whole flight (he said he preferred to keep busy rather than sitting down for an hour), meaning he was always available and happy to fetch whatever we fancied or just stop by for a chat.
One thing you realise immediately in F is the amount of personal space you have, whether it’s the wardrobe, the space under or around your seat, the buddy seat – its great for “nesters” like me who like to spread all their reading materials and other flight paraphernalia within reaching distance on a flight (which is why I love CW upper deck with the side bins I guess!). Club World on the return felt cramped in comparison! In no time, my first glass of Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle was served and we were taxiing off. Pyjamas, slippers, menus and the Anya Hindmarch amenity kit were handed out.
Seat 3A on the 777-200 by CreativeBill
Bubbles by CreativeBill
The food served during the flight was absolutely delicious and I paired it with some lovely French wines. After half-heartedly watching a film (too busy eating four or five courses and having my wine glass topped up to concentrate on plots) I decided it was time for a rest and the cabin crew made up my bed.
Blue Cheese amuse bouche by nh1980
Chicken liver parfait with citrus glaze by nh1980
Beef Rib Bulgabi, steamed rice with black sesame and Asian vegetables by nh1980
One of the wines I sampled by nh1980
Chocolate and orange cylinder with kumquat sauce by nh1980
Say cheese! by nh1980
Four hours later, I woke and we were just 3 ½ hours from landing! Time flies when you are having First
Nearly there... by CreativeBill
After treating myself with the various potions in the amenity kit and watching a couple of sitcoms the crew served the light meal accompanied by, yes more LP Grand Siecle – why is this stuff so drinkable! I sensibly opted for a mint tea at the end though, probably the only healthy thing I had all weekend.
Seared Scottish king scallop with broad bean purée and porchetta by nh1980
Chicken with hot Korean pepper sauce by nh1980
Once we left the coast of China you could see Incheon and Seoul looking like a beautiful white desert as we approached, they had had so much snow here and the runway looked a little icy! Landing was fine however and on time. Immigration and passport control was fairly efficient and in no time we were congregating to head on to the hotel.
Arriving into a frosty Incheon by CreativeBill
CreativeBill: I’m just going to interject here to say what a fantastic crew they were! Barry looked after us and not only was he charming, accommodating and witty, but his upbeat manner and personal excitement at also visiting Seoul for his first time made the trip so much more fun for us. He didn't take a break during the whole flight (he said he preferred to keep busy rather than sitting down for an hour), meaning he was always available and happy to fetch whatever we fancied or just stop by for a chat.
One thing you realise immediately in F is the amount of personal space you have, whether it’s the wardrobe, the space under or around your seat, the buddy seat – its great for “nesters” like me who like to spread all their reading materials and other flight paraphernalia within reaching distance on a flight (which is why I love CW upper deck with the side bins I guess!). Club World on the return felt cramped in comparison! In no time, my first glass of Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle was served and we were taxiing off. Pyjamas, slippers, menus and the Anya Hindmarch amenity kit were handed out.
Seat 3A on the 777-200 by CreativeBill
Bubbles by CreativeBill
The food served during the flight was absolutely delicious and I paired it with some lovely French wines. After half-heartedly watching a film (too busy eating four or five courses and having my wine glass topped up to concentrate on plots) I decided it was time for a rest and the cabin crew made up my bed.
Blue Cheese amuse bouche by nh1980
Chicken liver parfait with citrus glaze by nh1980
Beef Rib Bulgabi, steamed rice with black sesame and Asian vegetables by nh1980
One of the wines I sampled by nh1980
Chocolate and orange cylinder with kumquat sauce by nh1980
Say cheese! by nh1980
Four hours later, I woke and we were just 3 ½ hours from landing! Time flies when you are having First
Nearly there... by CreativeBill
After treating myself with the various potions in the amenity kit and watching a couple of sitcoms the crew served the light meal accompanied by, yes more LP Grand Siecle – why is this stuff so drinkable! I sensibly opted for a mint tea at the end though, probably the only healthy thing I had all weekend.
Seared Scottish king scallop with broad bean purée and porchetta by nh1980
Chicken with hot Korean pepper sauce by nh1980
Once we left the coast of China you could see Incheon and Seoul looking like a beautiful white desert as we approached, they had had so much snow here and the runway looked a little icy! Landing was fine however and on time. Immigration and passport control was fairly efficient and in no time we were congregating to head on to the hotel.
Arriving into a frosty Incheon by CreativeBill
Dec 22, 2012, 4:46 pm
#66
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Posts: 442
SCENE 2: ACT 2: A photo tour of BA17 and Incheon by nickyjames
BA17 by nickyjames
BA17 World Traveller Plus cabin by nickyjames
BA17 World Traveller cabin by nickyjames
BA17 Club World cabin by nickyjames
BA17 Club World leg roomby nickyjames
BA17 Club World dining by nickyjames
BA17 Club World tipple by nickyjames
BA17 Club World dining by nickyjames
BA17 icy Incheon arrival by nickyjames
Incheon ground crew by nickyjames
Incheon by nickyjames
Incheon by by nickyjames
Dec 22, 2012, 4:47 pm
#67
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Posts: 442
SCENE 3: ACT 1: 5 FT’ers see Seoul in a day... by PETER01 and nh1980
nh1980: A group of five of us FT’ers there for the weekend only (i.e. flying back the next morning eek!) did a little mini tour of Seoul together. Surprisingly no hangover as far as I was concerned – must have been the (very) fresh Seoul air. In general, Seoul was extremely clean, modern and fashionable – lots of fur and designer labels We were out for about 4 or 5 hours and these are our highlights:
PETER01:After an early check-in at our hotel for a thermal layering session, off we went to the subway station entrance which was very near to the hotel. We all decided it was best to get an Oyster type card and ‘load’ it with 10k KRW which was sufficient for our day plans. We were all trying to figure out this automated machine which was in half English and half Korean when a very nice young lady came over and helped us all to get started and after about 5 minutes we had our cards and ready to roll...
nh1980:The Subway: must be one of the biggest tube systems in the world with over 300 stops I believe. Easily one of the best I have been on, even for Asia. Clean, well-signed, intuitive, English language announcements everywhere, free WiFi and fairly cheap!
Seoul Metro by nh1980
Seoul Metro by nh1980
Seoul Metro by nh1980
PETER01: Although at times we got slightly separated the BIG YELLOW COAT was a great reference point and a real homing beacon!!
No chance of losing BotB by PETER01
nh1980:The Gyeongbokgung Palace: – beautiful in the thick snow and reflections of bright sunlight, with some pretty mountain backdrops.
Gyeongbokgung Palace by BotB
Gyeongbokgung Palace by PETER01
PETER01: It was really cold and I had stupidly left my thermal hat on the bus from the airport. It is to be recommended to anyone going out at this time of year to wear thermals and plenty of layers as although some folks are used to the cold in the UK this was -6 during the day and it plummeted more in the evening as we were all to find out.
At one point we all walked through a lucky sculpture with a plaque which said that we would never get old but I don’t know about that one!
Looks like we’ll have the energy to do this all again after all! by PETER01
nh1980:Itaewon Cafe: We took a much needed coffee and food stop in Itaewon. Interestingly, I couldn’t order a toasted Panini here as there were “so many orders” that it would have taken at least an hour to make… I blame my fellow FT’ers for flustering the poor kitchen staff with complex gastronomic demands such as “Hot dog and ketchup”.
PETER01: After emerging from the cafe with bellies full and energy restored, we saw that there were literally hundreds of police on the streets. We believe it was for a demonstration about the launching of the North Korean missile launch. Thankfully our little group of five would be well on the way back to the UK before this event took place. They then seemed to deploy around the general area and at one point we thought that they were after a man with a big yellow jacket who immediately hid in a nearby underpass...
Uh OH!! by PETER01
Guilty, much?! by PETER01
nh1980:Cheonggyeceheon stream: This was our last stop, a restored stream running west to east through Seoul (the Han river runs east to west and therefore this arrangement agrees with Feng Shui principles, according to our impromptu guide “The guru” on the subway). Fairly pretty, nice waterfall and a nice contrast to the steel and glass fest that was much of the Seoul downtown.
Cheonggyeceheon stream by PETER01
Cheonggyeceheon stream by BotB
nh1980:The locals: We had some hilarious encounters with the locals on our trip. The people of Seoul are warm, friendly and forthcoming. These were some of our our favourites:
Sit down! man– An elderly (knocking on 70) man took great exception to two of our group standing up despite there being a seat available on the train carriage! He was carrying a walking stick and looked as if he would fall over at any point with the swaying and fast deceleration of the train. But he held his ground and persistently tried to get us to sit down. We did our best to stifle our giggles. Afterwards, the theory discussed on the thread was that he believed some of our group were ex-military and this could have been a sign of respect!?
The guru – Another elderly gent overheard me pronouncing “Danggogae” when our train on the blue line (number 4) was approaching and he was very concerned that I was choosing to head out to the middle of nowhere and took it upon himself to check we knew where we were going. Turned out he was an extremely worldly fellow having travelled to the UK a few times and he kindly gave us instructions for how to get to the Cheonggyecheon stream.
I like this, I like that (but I don’t know much else…) guy – A slightly testing but hilarious young Korean man, sporting a bright orange Netherlands scarf was ever so keen to make some new European friends on the subway. He approached us all smiles and chatty…we soon found however that he knew very little English phrases but a huge amount of English vocabulary he must have picked up from TV! Every sentence was “I like….” and then followed by a huge reel of towns (London, Manchester…), football teams (united, Tottenham, Arsenal…), cars (Hyundai, Kia, Toyota) with not much in the way of any dialogue. We did our best to hide our grins and we ended up looking the other way meaning it fell upon the sublimely patient BotB to listen attentively and “take one for the team”
PETER01: The day went so quickly and we then decide to head back to the hotel for about 5pm and have a nap before the FT ‘do’ at the Korean BBQ started. I had decided to stay up but the jet-lag and being out all day coupled with a very early domestic flight connection the day before just got the better of me and I fell asleep and was an hour late for the BBQ!
We were out for about 4 or 5 hours and these are our highlights:PETER01:After an early check-in at our hotel for a thermal layering session, off we went to the subway station entrance which was very near to the hotel. We all decided it was best to get an Oyster type card and ‘load’ it with 10k KRW which was sufficient for our day plans. We were all trying to figure out this automated machine which was in half English and half Korean when a very nice young lady came over and helped us all to get started and after about 5 minutes we had our cards and ready to roll...
nh1980:The Subway: must be one of the biggest tube systems in the world with over 300 stops I believe. Easily one of the best I have been on, even for Asia. Clean, well-signed, intuitive, English language announcements everywhere, free WiFi and fairly cheap!
Seoul Metro by nh1980
Seoul Metro by nh1980
Seoul Metro by nh1980
PETER01: Although at times we got slightly separated the BIG YELLOW COAT was a great reference point and a real homing beacon!!
No chance of losing BotB by PETER01
nh1980:The Gyeongbokgung Palace: – beautiful in the thick snow and reflections of bright sunlight, with some pretty mountain backdrops.
Gyeongbokgung Palace by BotB
Gyeongbokgung Palace by PETER01
PETER01: It was really cold and I had stupidly left my thermal hat on the bus from the airport. It is to be recommended to anyone going out at this time of year to wear thermals and plenty of layers as although some folks are used to the cold in the UK this was -6 during the day and it plummeted more in the evening as we were all to find out.
At one point we all walked through a lucky sculpture with a plaque which said that we would never get old but I don’t know about that one!
Looks like we’ll have the energy to do this all again after all! by PETER01
nh1980:Itaewon Cafe: We took a much needed coffee and food stop in Itaewon. Interestingly, I couldn’t order a toasted Panini here as there were “so many orders” that it would have taken at least an hour to make… I blame my fellow FT’ers for flustering the poor kitchen staff with complex gastronomic demands such as “Hot dog and ketchup”.
PETER01: After emerging from the cafe with bellies full and energy restored, we saw that there were literally hundreds of police on the streets. We believe it was for a demonstration about the launching of the North Korean missile launch. Thankfully our little group of five would be well on the way back to the UK before this event took place. They then seemed to deploy around the general area and at one point we thought that they were after a man with a big yellow jacket who immediately hid in a nearby underpass...
Uh OH!! by PETER01
Guilty, much?! by PETER01
nh1980:Cheonggyeceheon stream: This was our last stop, a restored stream running west to east through Seoul (the Han river runs east to west and therefore this arrangement agrees with Feng Shui principles, according to our impromptu guide “The guru” on the subway). Fairly pretty, nice waterfall and a nice contrast to the steel and glass fest that was much of the Seoul downtown.
Cheonggyeceheon stream by PETER01
Cheonggyeceheon stream by BotB
nh1980:The locals: We had some hilarious encounters with the locals on our trip. The people of Seoul are warm, friendly and forthcoming. These were some of our our favourites:
Sit down! man– An elderly (knocking on 70) man took great exception to two of our group standing up despite there being a seat available on the train carriage! He was carrying a walking stick and looked as if he would fall over at any point with the swaying and fast deceleration of the train. But he held his ground and persistently tried to get us to sit down. We did our best to stifle our giggles. Afterwards, the theory discussed on the thread was that he believed some of our group were ex-military and this could have been a sign of respect!?
The guru – Another elderly gent overheard me pronouncing “Danggogae” when our train on the blue line (number 4) was approaching and he was very concerned that I was choosing to head out to the middle of nowhere and took it upon himself to check we knew where we were going. Turned out he was an extremely worldly fellow having travelled to the UK a few times and he kindly gave us instructions for how to get to the Cheonggyecheon stream.
I like this, I like that (but I don’t know much else…) guy – A slightly testing but hilarious young Korean man, sporting a bright orange Netherlands scarf was ever so keen to make some new European friends on the subway. He approached us all smiles and chatty…we soon found however that he knew very little English phrases but a huge amount of English vocabulary he must have picked up from TV! Every sentence was “I like….” and then followed by a huge reel of towns (London, Manchester…), football teams (united, Tottenham, Arsenal…), cars (Hyundai, Kia, Toyota) with not much in the way of any dialogue. We did our best to hide our grins and we ended up looking the other way meaning it fell upon the sublimely patient BotB to listen attentively and “take one for the team”
PETER01: The day went so quickly and we then decide to head back to the hotel for about 5pm and have a nap before the FT ‘do’ at the Korean BBQ started. I had decided to stay up but the jet-lag and being out all day coupled with a very early domestic flight connection the day before just got the better of me and I fell asleep and was an hour late for the BBQ!
Last edited by CreativeBill; Dec 23, 2012 at 8:07 am
Dec 22, 2012, 4:48 pm
#68
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Posts: 442
SCENE 3: ACT 2: What DO 20+ FT’ers got up to at a Korean ‘Do’?, by CreativeBill
A funny thing happened during the creation of this Trip Report... ALL of the contributors stopped at this point and said “I’m sure you have lots about this night”. Every. Single. One. of them. Nice.
Why they assume that I have the faculties to recall the happenings of that infamous eve is beyond me. Perhaps they have the wrong impression of my ladylikeness. Perhaps they did not witness the amount of shots I (insanely) agreed to.
Oh well, deep breath. Here’s what I remember...
NB: There are very few pictures included. This is not because there aren’t any, but we all have our dignity, jobs and marriages to consider. Do your best to imagine it if you weren’t lucky enough to be there.
The ‘Do’ on the December 8 was kindly organised by our fellow FT’er in Seoul, the charming nme7 and what an absolute star he was! Thank you sir, I doff my cap to you for organising such a fabulous evening.
Mr CreativeBill and I arrived rather fashionably late due to our taxi driver’s gracious attempts to understand my garbled directions. I had just awoken from an afternoon slumber and we all know how many brain cells stay begrudgingly asleep when you partake of an afternoon nap. I manage to engage the synapses enough about half way through our tour of Gangnam and fish out the printed directions that I had had the genius to place safely in the depths of my handbag.
However, by this time, he refused to acknowledge any advice I may have had and resorted to stopping at every BBQ restaurant to enquire as to whether they had seen a bunch of insane Englishmen. Or, he may have been asking if anyone had seen a crazy Canadian donning a canary yellow sleeping bag. It was definitely one or the other.
Finally we pulled up outside an establishment, who’s signage bore no relation to my printed directions, but all the staff piled out when they saw our confused pasty faces and assured us that they had our friends in the basement.
Now, I don’t know about you, but when in foreign climes I have a heightened suspicion of going into strange basements... But my fears were allayed forthwith as we followed the proprietors down to be welcomed by delicious smells and the jolly hubbub that only an FT ‘Do’ can create.
We weren’t the last of the FT’ers to arrive, mind. PETER01 swanned in almost an hour late citing an early connection from EDI that morning had wiped him out after his tour of Seoul. A 5am UK time start, 16 hours of travelling, 5 hours of sightseeing and he couldn’t make it on time for dinner. What a lightweight
.
Boots were whipped off, we were quickly seated on comfy floor cushions and before we knew it our in-table BBQ was glowing and various bowls of beef and delicious Korean side dishes were placed before us. The beer and Soju flowed and the conversation followed suit as we finally got to chat properly to the others, without the angst of bothering those around us.
The FT Korean BBQ ‘Do’ by BotB
The FT Korean BBQ ‘Do’ by nh1980
I thought the label said “Lite”. It wasn’t. by BotB
The rehearsals get started by CreativeBill
I know it’s been said before, but what a fabulous, diverse, funny, intelligent and friendly lot FT’ers are. If you have never done a ‘Do’, please do do a ‘Do’, because ‘Do’s’ really do turn out to be an awful lot of fun.
After a splendid dinner, we sorted the bill (30k KRW ~ £16 GBP each) for all the food and beer we could consume (so far), what a bargain.
If you have been paying attention, you will know that we had accepted a challenge to create a Gangnam FT Style video and now was the time to take the plunge (in some cases, quite literally thanks to the icy streets). If you want to see the results (and think very carefully about your mental wellbeing before you do that), you can skip down to SCENE 8: ACT1 for the link. Good luck.
Gangnam FT Style by PETER01
Now, clearly when we agreed to make such fools of ourselves, we neglected to recognise that we would, in fact, be executing our (very) recently acquired dance (if you can call it that) moves in the middle of one of the most densely populated cities in the world...
Our audience included a more than mature lady who stopped to join in (before being shooed back into decorum by her husband) and the local police - who wanted to join in, but had duties to tend to and made do with stopping briefly to laugh. Hard.
The staff and patrons of the fast food restaurant, that we chose to be outside for the subtle lighting quality, all stopped what they were doing and watched in wonder. They then whipped out their smartphones and snapped pictures of us whilst also laughing. A lot. Happy people the Koreans, always laughing.
There was then a unanimous decision to carry the party on and find a bar in which to nestle our behinds and further lubricate the confidence and film some more footage for our cinematic dance debut.
nme7 and his friend (and our new FT recruit... Yes, she joined even after meeting us) janesworld shepherded us into the nearest drinking establishment and more beer was ordered. nme7 also thought it was a good idea to order a round of a frighteningly neon-coloured liquid called Aqua Bombs. Ladies and Gentlemen, we agreed because he is a local and we were confident that he would attend to us with a care for the jet-lagged lambs that we were, but I can assure you that this elixir of liver damage had very little of the ‘Aqua’ and an awful, awful lot of the ‘Bomb’.
Cpl Arnhem and friend sampling the local beverages by papabear
Things are about to get a lot more hazy...
I remember janesworld kindly escorting me to the Ladies, which were actually upstairs, out of the bar, along the road, into a darkened office block and down some (dark) stairs. That’s right, the bar did not have a ladies, but for the gents the facilities were but a short step from the end of the bar. Go figure.
I remember when we (finally) decided to head back to our hotels that nme7 and janesworld did a superb job of coaxing us into taxis and coaxing the taxi drivers to take the rather inebriated passengers back to our various locations around the city.
I remember offering to host the ‘after party’ for the unsubmissive few in our suite.
On our way, we dropped the gorgeous justjack1 vaguely in the proximity of his hotel. My last recollection of him was viewed through the back window of our taxi as he wandered about looking like a lost kitten. Thankfully, he survived and has since told me that he gave up looking for his accommodation and spent the night in a Jjimjilbang to sweat out all the booze and fall asleep with some snoring Koreans... Give that boy a FlyerTalk medal!
I remember getting back to our hotel to be greeted by nme7, passy777 and papabear, who informed us that all the hotel bars were closed. Not to be subdued in our duty, we made our way up to our suite to sample (hammer) our mini-bar offering.
I remember nothing after that. The video footage divulges some activity that amused me no end but may have dismayed the overnight security staff of our hotel somewhat. It’s just as well the staff were far too polite to mention our antics, but I hope they enjoyed the entertainment as much as we did whilst providing it.
So, all in all, a pretty tame night. I’m exhausted just typing about it.
Why they assume that I have the faculties to recall the happenings of that infamous eve is beyond me. Perhaps they have the wrong impression of my ladylikeness. Perhaps they did not witness the amount of shots I (insanely) agreed to.
Oh well, deep breath. Here’s what I remember...
NB: There are very few pictures included. This is not because there aren’t any, but we all have our dignity, jobs and marriages to consider. Do your best to imagine it if you weren’t lucky enough to be there.
The ‘Do’ on the December 8 was kindly organised by our fellow FT’er in Seoul, the charming nme7 and what an absolute star he was! Thank you sir, I doff my cap to you for organising such a fabulous evening.
Mr CreativeBill and I arrived rather fashionably late due to our taxi driver’s gracious attempts to understand my garbled directions. I had just awoken from an afternoon slumber and we all know how many brain cells stay begrudgingly asleep when you partake of an afternoon nap. I manage to engage the synapses enough about half way through our tour of Gangnam and fish out the printed directions that I had had the genius to place safely in the depths of my handbag.
However, by this time, he refused to acknowledge any advice I may have had and resorted to stopping at every BBQ restaurant to enquire as to whether they had seen a bunch of insane Englishmen. Or, he may have been asking if anyone had seen a crazy Canadian donning a canary yellow sleeping bag. It was definitely one or the other.
Finally we pulled up outside an establishment, who’s signage bore no relation to my printed directions, but all the staff piled out when they saw our confused pasty faces and assured us that they had our friends in the basement.
Now, I don’t know about you, but when in foreign climes I have a heightened suspicion of going into strange basements... But my fears were allayed forthwith as we followed the proprietors down to be welcomed by delicious smells and the jolly hubbub that only an FT ‘Do’ can create.
We weren’t the last of the FT’ers to arrive, mind. PETER01 swanned in almost an hour late citing an early connection from EDI that morning had wiped him out after his tour of Seoul. A 5am UK time start, 16 hours of travelling, 5 hours of sightseeing and he couldn’t make it on time for dinner. What a lightweight
.Boots were whipped off, we were quickly seated on comfy floor cushions and before we knew it our in-table BBQ was glowing and various bowls of beef and delicious Korean side dishes were placed before us. The beer and Soju flowed and the conversation followed suit as we finally got to chat properly to the others, without the angst of bothering those around us.
The FT Korean BBQ ‘Do’ by BotB
The FT Korean BBQ ‘Do’ by nh1980
I thought the label said “Lite”. It wasn’t. by BotB
The rehearsals get started by CreativeBill
I know it’s been said before, but what a fabulous, diverse, funny, intelligent and friendly lot FT’ers are. If you have never done a ‘Do’, please do do a ‘Do’, because ‘Do’s’ really do turn out to be an awful lot of fun.
After a splendid dinner, we sorted the bill (30k KRW ~ £16 GBP each) for all the food and beer we could consume (so far), what a bargain.
If you have been paying attention, you will know that we had accepted a challenge to create a Gangnam FT Style video and now was the time to take the plunge (in some cases, quite literally thanks to the icy streets). If you want to see the results (and think very carefully about your mental wellbeing before you do that), you can skip down to SCENE 8: ACT1 for the link. Good luck.
Gangnam FT Style by PETER01
Now, clearly when we agreed to make such fools of ourselves, we neglected to recognise that we would, in fact, be executing our (very) recently acquired dance (if you can call it that) moves in the middle of one of the most densely populated cities in the world...
Our audience included a more than mature lady who stopped to join in (before being shooed back into decorum by her husband) and the local police - who wanted to join in, but had duties to tend to and made do with stopping briefly to laugh. Hard.
The staff and patrons of the fast food restaurant, that we chose to be outside for the subtle lighting quality, all stopped what they were doing and watched in wonder. They then whipped out their smartphones and snapped pictures of us whilst also laughing. A lot. Happy people the Koreans, always laughing.
There was then a unanimous decision to carry the party on and find a bar in which to nestle our behinds and further lubricate the confidence and film some more footage for our cinematic dance debut.
nme7 and his friend (and our new FT recruit... Yes, she joined even after meeting us) janesworld shepherded us into the nearest drinking establishment and more beer was ordered. nme7 also thought it was a good idea to order a round of a frighteningly neon-coloured liquid called Aqua Bombs. Ladies and Gentlemen, we agreed because he is a local and we were confident that he would attend to us with a care for the jet-lagged lambs that we were, but I can assure you that this elixir of liver damage had very little of the ‘Aqua’ and an awful, awful lot of the ‘Bomb’.
Cpl Arnhem and friend sampling the local beverages by papabear
Things are about to get a lot more hazy...
I remember janesworld kindly escorting me to the Ladies, which were actually upstairs, out of the bar, along the road, into a darkened office block and down some (dark) stairs. That’s right, the bar did not have a ladies, but for the gents the facilities were but a short step from the end of the bar. Go figure.
I remember when we (finally) decided to head back to our hotels that nme7 and janesworld did a superb job of coaxing us into taxis and coaxing the taxi drivers to take the rather inebriated passengers back to our various locations around the city.
I remember offering to host the ‘after party’ for the unsubmissive few in our suite.
On our way, we dropped the gorgeous justjack1 vaguely in the proximity of his hotel. My last recollection of him was viewed through the back window of our taxi as he wandered about looking like a lost kitten. Thankfully, he survived and has since told me that he gave up looking for his accommodation and spent the night in a Jjimjilbang to sweat out all the booze and fall asleep with some snoring Koreans... Give that boy a FlyerTalk medal!
I remember getting back to our hotel to be greeted by nme7, passy777 and papabear, who informed us that all the hotel bars were closed. Not to be subdued in our duty, we made our way up to our suite to sample (hammer) our mini-bar offering.
I remember nothing after that. The video footage divulges some activity that amused me no end but may have dismayed the overnight security staff of our hotel somewhat. It’s just as well the staff were far too polite to mention our antics, but I hope they enjoyed the entertainment as much as we did whilst providing it.
So, all in all, a pretty tame night.
I’m exhausted just typing about it.
Dec 22, 2012, 4:49 pm
#69
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Posts: 442
SCENE 4: ACT 1: Grand Intercontinental Parnas hotel by PETER01, nh1980 and BotB
This section will be mostly pictures, as to be honest, we just didn’t spend very much time in our hotel. SO much to see, so little time...!
We took the KA “limousine” coach from Incheon to the hotel. But, before you have any horror visions of a grotty National Express with orange-brown seats and the smell of fag ash and chewing gum, stop right there. We are talking plush leather seats, reclines, foot rests, space, flat screen tvs – unlike any bus you have been on! It was a fairly painless hour and a half or so to Seoul.
Does this recline bother you? by BotB
Plenty of room for FT luggage, even if it has to share with a lowly Bronze by BotB
We were able to check in early (despite check in being 3pm and we were there by noon!) and our first impressions were very good. A few of us received our rooms and here were PETER01 and Thundercat thinking their club rooms were very good with nice views. But when BotB invited us up to his Suite it just blew us away the sheer size of it!
nh1980 had also decided to go crazy and book a suite for the night and a very nice one it was too. Large comfortable bed with more pillows than you could ever need, plus some very modern angled furniture – some sort of chaise longue and a terribly impractical armchair you kind of had to sit at 45 degrees in.
PETER01’s room
The view from my room at the Intercontinental Parnas by PETER01
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by PETER01
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by PETER01
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by PETER01
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by PETER01
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by PETER01
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by PETER01
BotB’s room
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
nh1980’s room
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by nh1980
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by nh1980
A sundial made in 1434 at the Intercontinental Parnas by nh1980
We took the KA “limousine” coach from Incheon to the hotel. But, before you have any horror visions of a grotty National Express with orange-brown seats and the smell of fag ash and chewing gum, stop right there. We are talking plush leather seats, reclines, foot rests, space, flat screen tvs – unlike any bus you have been on! It was a fairly painless hour and a half or so to Seoul.
Does this recline bother you? by BotB
Plenty of room for FT luggage, even if it has to share with a lowly Bronze by BotB
We were able to check in early (despite check in being 3pm and we were there by noon!) and our first impressions were very good. A few of us received our rooms and here were PETER01 and Thundercat thinking their club rooms were very good with nice views. But when BotB invited us up to his Suite it just blew us away the sheer size of it!
nh1980 had also decided to go crazy and book a suite for the night and a very nice one it was too. Large comfortable bed with more pillows than you could ever need, plus some very modern angled furniture – some sort of chaise longue and a terribly impractical armchair you kind of had to sit at 45 degrees in.
PETER01’s room
The view from my room at the Intercontinental Parnas by PETER01
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by PETER01
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by PETER01
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by PETER01
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by PETER01
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by PETER01
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by PETER01
BotB’s room
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by BotB
nh1980’s room
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by nh1980
My room at the Intercontinental Parnas by nh1980
A sundial made in 1434 at the Intercontinental Parnas by nh1980
Dec 22, 2012, 4:50 pm
#70
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Posts: 442
SCENE 4: ACT 2: The Conrad Seoul by CreativeBill
Having just opened the month before our visit, I was hesitant to book the Conrad Seoul, knowing from previous experience what teething problems a new hotel can experience.
But, a deal that looked like an alluring opening rate and a suite with a square footage that beat that of my house swayed me to click “confirm”. And I’m really glad that I did.
Being the spreadsheeted travel geek that I am, I had carefully researched all the public transport routes to the hotel. However, upon arrival at Incheon after a (not at all) arduous flight, we threw all that planning aside and jumped in a taxi.
35k KRW (i.e. half the cost of a London black cab for quintuple the distance) later, we rocked up at reception.
Early check in was no problem at all and within a blink of an eyelash we were whisked to the 34th floor to our Executive King Suite. Never mind the fact that our room was expansive and gleaming fresh, I was immediately distracted by the stunning dual aspect (yes, I watch too many property programmes) windows and the views right over the Han River and Seoul.
I’ll pause in a moment for a picture review, but before that, I have to mention the staff. They are young, they are keen and, above all, they are engaged with their career without the ennui of the “professionals” that you often come across that are all about the task at hand without any personality. Having said that, each member of staff that we met waited for us to engage with them before they sprang into ‘chat’ mode, so I can imagine that they would give a “don’t bother me” type of guest the exactly correct service for their needs as well.
Here’s our room:
Conrad Seoul bathroom including a TV in the mirror, in case you get bored by your ablutions by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul - the view from the bath by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul boudoir by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul suite living room by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul view from one side by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul sunrise view from the other side by CreativeBill
Our rate included access to the Executive Club lounge so we headed up there on our first night for cocktail hour. We immediately bumped in to fellow FT’er rrrrrich and enjoyed a glass or two with him. Just goes to show that you FT’ers certainly do get around. Are you reading this in a lounge? Who’s that sitting next to you? Go on, ask if they are on FT. I dare you!
Conrad Seoul Executive lounge night view by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul lobby bar by CreativeBill
On our third day, the air conditioning unit in our room decided to set itself on the “hotter than the surface of the sun” mode. We woke up gasping and that wasn’t just due to the over-indulgences of the previous evening. Needless to say, a quick call to reception had us settled in the Club Lounge to await a room transfer after they discovered that they couldn’t fix the issue immediately. I know things like this are an annoyance, but they handled the problem with absolute aplomb, which made all the difference.
Conrad Seoul Executive lounge for breakfast by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul Executive lounge for breakfast by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul Executive lounge bar, looking down towards the library by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul - they were so kind they even wrapped the tress up to keep warm by CreativeBill
The last evening saw us too weary to venture further afield than the in-house restaurant, The 37 Grill & Bar, but the food was excellent and we had a delightful server who regaled us with stories of his time working in New York. That’s something that we noticed a lot during our time here, young people are coming back from abroad to make their lives in their homeland. It’s a definite accolade to how fantastic a city Seoul is.
Conrad Seoul restaurant by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul pool by CreativeBill
All in all, this is somewhere that I would highly recommend you stay if ever the opportunity should present itself. Top marks from me.
But, a deal that looked like an alluring opening rate and a suite with a square footage that beat that of my house swayed me to click “confirm”. And I’m really glad that I did.
Being the spreadsheeted travel geek that I am, I had carefully researched all the public transport routes to the hotel. However, upon arrival at Incheon after a (not at all) arduous flight, we threw all that planning aside and jumped in a taxi.
35k KRW (i.e. half the cost of a London black cab for quintuple the distance) later, we rocked up at reception.
Early check in was no problem at all and within a blink of an eyelash we were whisked to the 34th floor to our Executive King Suite. Never mind the fact that our room was expansive and gleaming fresh, I was immediately distracted by the stunning dual aspect (yes, I watch too many property programmes) windows and the views right over the Han River and Seoul.
I’ll pause in a moment for a picture review, but before that, I have to mention the staff. They are young, they are keen and, above all, they are engaged with their career without the ennui of the “professionals” that you often come across that are all about the task at hand without any personality. Having said that, each member of staff that we met waited for us to engage with them before they sprang into ‘chat’ mode, so I can imagine that they would give a “don’t bother me” type of guest the exactly correct service for their needs as well.
Here’s our room:
Conrad Seoul bathroom including a TV in the mirror, in case you get bored by your ablutions by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul - the view from the bath by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul boudoir by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul suite living room by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul view from one side by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul sunrise view from the other side by CreativeBill
Our rate included access to the Executive Club lounge so we headed up there on our first night for cocktail hour. We immediately bumped in to fellow FT’er rrrrrich and enjoyed a glass or two with him. Just goes to show that you FT’ers certainly do get around. Are you reading this in a lounge? Who’s that sitting next to you? Go on, ask if they are on FT. I dare you!
Conrad Seoul Executive lounge night view by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul lobby bar by CreativeBill
On our third day, the air conditioning unit in our room decided to set itself on the “hotter than the surface of the sun” mode. We woke up gasping and that wasn’t just due to the over-indulgences of the previous evening. Needless to say, a quick call to reception had us settled in the Club Lounge to await a room transfer after they discovered that they couldn’t fix the issue immediately. I know things like this are an annoyance, but they handled the problem with absolute aplomb, which made all the difference.
Conrad Seoul Executive lounge for breakfast by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul Executive lounge for breakfast by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul Executive lounge bar, looking down towards the library by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul - they were so kind they even wrapped the tress up to keep warm by CreativeBill
The last evening saw us too weary to venture further afield than the in-house restaurant, The 37 Grill & Bar, but the food was excellent and we had a delightful server who regaled us with stories of his time working in New York. That’s something that we noticed a lot during our time here, young people are coming back from abroad to make their lives in their homeland. It’s a definite accolade to how fantastic a city Seoul is.
Conrad Seoul restaurant by CreativeBill
Conrad Seoul pool by CreativeBill
All in all, this is somewhere that I would highly recommend you stay if ever the opportunity should present itself. Top marks from me.
Dec 22, 2012, 4:51 pm
#71
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Posts: 442
SCENE 5: ACT1: Scenes of Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Seoul food by nickyjames
Dec 22, 2012, 4:52 pm
#72
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Posts: 442
SCENE 5: ACT2: An O’ngo food tour and Jungsikdang by CreativeBill
If you have been following along with the story of our wee adventure, you will now know that the previous evening ended with a few of us hard-core partakers sampling the entire mini bar in our suite until the wee small hours. And making a video. And quite probably entertaining (or scarring for life) the CCTV operator of our hotel. The result of this (on my dismayed liver) is not a peak physical condition in which to sample the culinary delights of Seoul. But, we had things to do and Trip Reports to write, so we gathered herculean amounts of ‘bothered’ and got ourselves vertical.
We met the lovely Dan who was to be our guide to all things of edible excellence at 11am in our hotel lobby. Now, to most folk, this is a more than civilised hour, but take into account the 9 hour time difference and it was certainly still Oh “good grief” hundred according to my quivering body clock. Dan took one look at our ashen faces and bundled us in a taxi and took us straight to heaven.
Heaven was found in Songgane Kamjatang in the form of the fêted “Hangover stew”. The restaurant was located in “Taxi driver centre” - not that the Seoul taxi drivers are hungover, this stuff is just so good, it’s very very popular. Imagine, if you will, a food that climbs in and gives a delicious hug to every dehydrated capillary of your being. It was hot and sour and sweet and piquant and salty, packed with nourishment and goodness. My husband’s brow looked to be leaking as all those nasty toxins made a break for freedom. I don’t tend to eat the flesh of our four-legged friends, so deftly avoided the pork spine bones and enjoyed the variety of mushrooms and my first taste of sesame leaves. They really should bottle this stuff.
Hangover stew at Songgane Kamjatang
Suitably invigorated after politely declining the offer of a breakfast Soju, we set off for a peek at Kwangjang Market. After purchasing a few trinkets, we decided to re-bolster our stomach linings with bindaetteok, or ground mung bean pancakes to you and me. Fresh out of hot oil, fragrant with spring onions and paired with the crisp acetic of pickled onions and Kimchi - I may go as far to say that this is a serious rival to the full English.
Kwangjang Market
Kwangjang Market
Bindaetteok at Kwangjang market
We then popped into the Seoul Flea Market and found a fetching stone Buddah to reside in our garden. You have to love the BA First baggage allowance. Seoul also has this nifty service whereby you give the shopkeeper 10,000 Won (just over £5 GBP) and they deliver your shopping directly to the hotel, handy when you make a 30kg purchase before lunch! The Flea Market is a veritable cornucopia of things to peruse from old to new every weekend. There is even a stall where you can top up your National Service wardrobe if you are careless enough to lose bits. I’m not sure how you would lose bits of your uniform, but I am too much of a lady to ask. Obviously we took this opportunity to sample the fish skewers and fish soup to warm up while we wandered the snowy streets.
Street food at Seoul Flea Market
By this time the vitality of the hangover stew was wearing off. A caffeine stop was in order. whilst it was (not at all) tempting to stop at one of Seoul’s 3 bajilion Starbucks, we went to a independent coffee shop in Gahoedong near the Hanuk Village, called Books Cooks. I don’t have any photos of that stop as I was too busy inhaling the aroma of freshly baked brownies and coffee of a quality you’d be hard pushed to beat. Korean’s definitely know their coffee. And for that alone, I think I may move there. But maybe in the Summer.
So, it having been at least 20 minutes since we had eaten something, we decided to jump in a taxi and venture towards lunch. Taxis are super cheap in Seoul, the only thing you need to be able to afford is time - the traffic can be something to fear. Add a dash of snow and we went 10km in ah, oh... about an hour and a half. During that time, I read the telephone book, learnt Korean and had an in depth conversation with the taxi driver about the popularity of Samsung products in the current UK economic climate. Actually, none of that is entirely true, but it is amazing at how my sign language has now progressed to embrace technology. See if you can mime the difference between an iPhone and a Galaxy Tab. I told you it was easy. On the way, we got to tour via a “Taxi driver’s short cut” under one of the vast apartment blocks that you see all over Seoul. This is kind of food related as I now think of it as the Swiss cheese of road networks. I now also worry about what is holding the aforementioned apartment blocks up.
Where were we? Oh yes, lunch. Next stop was Nolboo, just next to the JW Marriott hotel near the bus station. Before we got started on lunch, Dan decided that it was time to rebalance our blood alcohol with a drinking game.
I lost.
Beer with a Soju depth charger on an already feeble stomach. I drank, I trembled, I held my breath while my liver tried to file for emancipation. And then I lost again and all was well with the world once more.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Thankfully, lunch arrived. And what a feast for the eyes (and the belly) it was. Duck stuffed with sticky rice, wild rice, sweet potato, black beans, ginger, pine nuts, dates, liquorice root, cinnamon, ginko and lots of spices then baked for three hours whilst being basted in it’s juices. All served with the magic of Korean condiment accoutrements. The duck was not the only thing at the table stuffed by the end of the meal. I highly recommend trying this. Especially when you are visiting Seoul when it’s -17ºC outside.
Roast duck at Nolboo
Lesser folk may well have called it a day in favour of getting horizontal somewhere at that point, but no. There is more.
It’s just as well we had our constitutions restored as Dan decided that we would be taking the metro to our next stop. The metro itself was an absolute breeze, it’s just the short cut to get to it that had me wavering on the edge of hysteria. Now, when our maker was handing out everything female, one thing he neglected to add to me was a love for shopping. Or crowds. And we were about to enter the Sunday afternoon worship at the cathedral of retail, Shinsegae in the Central City shopping centre. This place was more packed than even our waistlines at that moment. There was even a queue to get into the Chanel store. If I ever feel the need to take a crash course in getting over my fear of shops, I will definitely know where to come. I felt like a wee shrimp swimming against a mega-shoal of herring on a buying mission.
What a timely analogy, because before too long we popped up above ground again at the Noryangjin Fish Market. This place is epic, with stalls stretching as far as the eye can see packed with every bounty the sea has to offer. It’s noisy, it’s colourful, it’s possibly a bit whiffy but thankfully I had a slight case of the snuffles so was none the wiser in the olfactory department. Apparently this place runs 24/7, it felt more like Times Square on a Friday night than a market on a Sunday evening.
Noryangjin Fish Market
Noryangjin Fish Market
We sauntered through the seafood seeing things that I wouldn’t necessarily put in my mouth as well as things I am definitely grateful never to have met whilst diving. Dan decided that it was time for dinner. I wasn’t so sure having already eaten twice my body weight that day, so we went to visit the fishies instead.
After a short conversation that the fourth lunchtime Soju had unfortunately rendered me unable to understand, Rocky the rock cod was fished out of a tank. “You like the fish?” the stall keeper enquired. “He’s a lovely fish” I replied, remembering my manners. Happily, a sixth sense was installed alongside my manners and I had the presence of mind to look away just as a thud heralded the event of Rocky the rock cod meeting his maker. Now call me a pansy... heck, call me a hypocrite, but I never have enjoyed the thought of looking my dinner in the eye. And I felt a little bit sad for Rocky. (Note to self: It doesn’t really help when you give your food a name).
This is a bit like an aquarium
Rocky the rock cod
So, with his fate sealed, I accepted mine and we were off downstairs to one of the restaurants beneath the market to try and find a small intestinal crevice to cram more food into. Here we meet Rocky the rock cod again, but this time I think I will call him Sashimi for short. He was served up with Sally the salmon, a really lovely fish soup and er, another Soju. Or six. The thing is, Rocky was a little rubbery. To be fair, he had just been koshed not 10 minutes before, so I can understand why he was feeling a little tense. Living in the UK for nearly 20 years has leeched a modicum of politeness into me, so I decided the best tactic was to chew a little, then wash it on down with the nearest alcoholic beverage. I have used this tactic in many circumstances in my life and generally it works quite well. Apart from the drunkeness side effect. Oops. Over dinner Dan was telling us about a bar that serves tuna eyeball and Soju shots. We really must try that next time. Or possibly the time after that. Or, how about never?
Rocky the rock cod gets naked
Dan then let us clamber into a taxi to be ferried directly to “horizontal”. He was a brilliant dining companion, guide, therapist, and nanny to two beleaguered and battered souls in Seoul. You can book his tours here. Although possibly don’t mention that you know us.
Time for bed, we have a big day tomorrow...
Music fades and CreativeBill struggles with the smart pad thingy to turn the bloody lights off...
I did a very clever thing when I decided to finally enter into nuptial bliss. I married a chef. This means that we spend quite a lot of time finding interesting places to eat around the world. We once did 11 Michelin stars on a weekend visit to NYC. All in the name of research, naturally. It’s a great hobby.
So Mr CreativeBill had been on the world wide interwebs before we left and settled upon Jungsikdang as somewhere he wanted to try. The Executive Chef Jungsik Yim has just opened a branch in New York, if that is closer to home for you.
Just as an aside, finding addresses in Seoul is not necessarily an easy thing. Here was our work-around after a morning sight seeing in Gyeongbokgung Palace. Flag down taxi. Take out phone and call restaurant. Hand phone to taxi driver. Simple.
Once we got to our destination, we had the small task of matching the Korean characters on the signs to the ones that Dan had kindly written down for us the day before. A bit like the crystal maze, but colder - so quickly we were up in the lift to the third floor and into a sanctum of calm.
The dining room is beautiful in it’s simplicity. Floor length windows look out over Dosan Park, so you don’t feel like you are in the middle of the city.
We went for the Design tasting menu where you choose one of three choices for each of the four courses. We also ordered a bottle of Veuve. I’m sorry that I went off (Korean) piste, but I needed the bubbles to settle my stomach after the excesses of the day before. Honestly. And it goes very nicely with Korean modern fusion food as it happens.
Jungsikdang menu
Our repast started with an amuse-bouche of a spoon full of chicken soup jelly, crispy chicken skin and chicken confit. Next to that was a scallop with citrus sabayon. Alongside those came warm jalapeño bread. Mmmmm. My taste buds reawaken.
I opted for the Bibim to start. I guess it’s a little like bibimbap, without the er, bap. Or, rice, to you and me. This was lovely and fresh... Concassé of two types of tomato, feta, herbs, deep fried onion, a tomato consume jelly underneath and basil granita on top. Mix it up and consume an explosion of flavour.
Bibim at Jungsikdang
Mr CreativeBill went for poached egg with Parmesan foam and crisp, Kimchi puree and mushrooms.
Mushroom at Jungsikdang
It was Ongshimi next for me. This was like gnocchi without the wallpaper paste texture (I hate gnocchi) and the added joy of lashings of wasabi.
Ongshimi at Jungsikdang
The OH had stamina noodles. I don’t have a picture of this as he must have needed the stamina and had his head in the bowl. Hell, we both needed stamina at this stage. Possibly with a side of amphetamines.
Onto the mains - mine was Sea Bass with scallop, wasabi tofu, deep fried gnocchi (still thankfully un-gnocchi like) in a sea squirt and mussel broth. Pork Jowl with pickles and vegetables and some noodles that some poor soul had been bothered to tie into a knot for he who is to be (rarely) obeyed.
Sea Bass at Jungsikdang
Pork Jowl at Jungsikdang
Phew. Pudding time. Now, as sweet as I am, I just don’t like sweet things. But my Mascarpone mango cheesecake with chrysanthemum ice cream and ponzu was just right and light enough to fit in. Nearly. Mr CreativeBill had the cutest little chocolate pots with orange semi-fredo and candied seaweed, which really did work well (ok, I had to try it. How else would I be able to write this?).
Cheesecake at Jungsikdang
Chocolate Pots at Jungsikdang
All in all, it was a fantastic meal. Jet-lag and previous overindulgence notwithstanding, I would happily recommend it. The staff are welcoming and accommodating, the atmosphere relaxed and best of all? 40,000 KRW each for the food. Fantastically fresh produce, inspiring flavour pairings and all that for less than 25 quid a head. Outstanding.
We met the lovely Dan who was to be our guide to all things of edible excellence at 11am in our hotel lobby. Now, to most folk, this is a more than civilised hour, but take into account the 9 hour time difference and it was certainly still Oh “good grief” hundred according to my quivering body clock. Dan took one look at our ashen faces and bundled us in a taxi and took us straight to heaven.
Heaven was found in Songgane Kamjatang in the form of the fêted “Hangover stew”. The restaurant was located in “Taxi driver centre” - not that the Seoul taxi drivers are hungover, this stuff is just so good, it’s very very popular. Imagine, if you will, a food that climbs in and gives a delicious hug to every dehydrated capillary of your being. It was hot and sour and sweet and piquant and salty, packed with nourishment and goodness. My husband’s brow looked to be leaking as all those nasty toxins made a break for freedom. I don’t tend to eat the flesh of our four-legged friends, so deftly avoided the pork spine bones and enjoyed the variety of mushrooms and my first taste of sesame leaves. They really should bottle this stuff.
Hangover stew at Songgane Kamjatang
Suitably invigorated after politely declining the offer of a breakfast Soju, we set off for a peek at Kwangjang Market. After purchasing a few trinkets, we decided to re-bolster our stomach linings with bindaetteok, or ground mung bean pancakes to you and me. Fresh out of hot oil, fragrant with spring onions and paired with the crisp acetic of pickled onions and Kimchi - I may go as far to say that this is a serious rival to the full English.
Kwangjang Market
Kwangjang Market
Bindaetteok at Kwangjang market
We then popped into the Seoul Flea Market and found a fetching stone Buddah to reside in our garden. You have to love the BA First baggage allowance. Seoul also has this nifty service whereby you give the shopkeeper 10,000 Won (just over £5 GBP) and they deliver your shopping directly to the hotel, handy when you make a 30kg purchase before lunch! The Flea Market is a veritable cornucopia of things to peruse from old to new every weekend. There is even a stall where you can top up your National Service wardrobe if you are careless enough to lose bits. I’m not sure how you would lose bits of your uniform, but I am too much of a lady to ask. Obviously we took this opportunity to sample the fish skewers and fish soup to warm up while we wandered the snowy streets.
Street food at Seoul Flea Market
By this time the vitality of the hangover stew was wearing off. A caffeine stop was in order. whilst it was (not at all) tempting to stop at one of Seoul’s 3 bajilion Starbucks, we went to a independent coffee shop in Gahoedong near the Hanuk Village, called Books Cooks. I don’t have any photos of that stop as I was too busy inhaling the aroma of freshly baked brownies and coffee of a quality you’d be hard pushed to beat. Korean’s definitely know their coffee. And for that alone, I think I may move there. But maybe in the Summer.
So, it having been at least 20 minutes since we had eaten something, we decided to jump in a taxi and venture towards lunch. Taxis are super cheap in Seoul, the only thing you need to be able to afford is time - the traffic can be something to fear. Add a dash of snow and we went 10km in ah, oh... about an hour and a half. During that time, I read the telephone book, learnt Korean and had an in depth conversation with the taxi driver about the popularity of Samsung products in the current UK economic climate. Actually, none of that is entirely true, but it is amazing at how my sign language has now progressed to embrace technology. See if you can mime the difference between an iPhone and a Galaxy Tab. I told you it was easy. On the way, we got to tour via a “Taxi driver’s short cut” under one of the vast apartment blocks that you see all over Seoul. This is kind of food related as I now think of it as the Swiss cheese of road networks. I now also worry about what is holding the aforementioned apartment blocks up.
Where were we? Oh yes, lunch. Next stop was Nolboo, just next to the JW Marriott hotel near the bus station. Before we got started on lunch, Dan decided that it was time to rebalance our blood alcohol with a drinking game.
I lost.
Beer with a Soju depth charger on an already feeble stomach. I drank, I trembled, I held my breath while my liver tried to file for emancipation. And then I lost again and all was well with the world once more.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
Thankfully, lunch arrived. And what a feast for the eyes (and the belly) it was. Duck stuffed with sticky rice, wild rice, sweet potato, black beans, ginger, pine nuts, dates, liquorice root, cinnamon, ginko and lots of spices then baked for three hours whilst being basted in it’s juices. All served with the magic of Korean condiment accoutrements. The duck was not the only thing at the table stuffed by the end of the meal. I highly recommend trying this. Especially when you are visiting Seoul when it’s -17ºC outside.
Roast duck at Nolboo
Lesser folk may well have called it a day in favour of getting horizontal somewhere at that point, but no. There is more.
It’s just as well we had our constitutions restored as Dan decided that we would be taking the metro to our next stop. The metro itself was an absolute breeze, it’s just the short cut to get to it that had me wavering on the edge of hysteria. Now, when our maker was handing out everything female, one thing he neglected to add to me was a love for shopping. Or crowds. And we were about to enter the Sunday afternoon worship at the cathedral of retail, Shinsegae in the Central City shopping centre. This place was more packed than even our waistlines at that moment. There was even a queue to get into the Chanel store. If I ever feel the need to take a crash course in getting over my fear of shops, I will definitely know where to come. I felt like a wee shrimp swimming against a mega-shoal of herring on a buying mission.
What a timely analogy, because before too long we popped up above ground again at the Noryangjin Fish Market. This place is epic, with stalls stretching as far as the eye can see packed with every bounty the sea has to offer. It’s noisy, it’s colourful, it’s possibly a bit whiffy but thankfully I had a slight case of the snuffles so was none the wiser in the olfactory department. Apparently this place runs 24/7, it felt more like Times Square on a Friday night than a market on a Sunday evening.
Noryangjin Fish Market
Noryangjin Fish Market
We sauntered through the seafood seeing things that I wouldn’t necessarily put in my mouth as well as things I am definitely grateful never to have met whilst diving. Dan decided that it was time for dinner. I wasn’t so sure having already eaten twice my body weight that day, so we went to visit the fishies instead.
After a short conversation that the fourth lunchtime Soju had unfortunately rendered me unable to understand, Rocky the rock cod was fished out of a tank. “You like the fish?” the stall keeper enquired. “He’s a lovely fish” I replied, remembering my manners. Happily, a sixth sense was installed alongside my manners and I had the presence of mind to look away just as a thud heralded the event of Rocky the rock cod meeting his maker. Now call me a pansy... heck, call me a hypocrite, but I never have enjoyed the thought of looking my dinner in the eye. And I felt a little bit sad for Rocky. (Note to self: It doesn’t really help when you give your food a name).
This is a bit like an aquarium
Rocky the rock cod
So, with his fate sealed, I accepted mine and we were off downstairs to one of the restaurants beneath the market to try and find a small intestinal crevice to cram more food into. Here we meet Rocky the rock cod again, but this time I think I will call him Sashimi for short. He was served up with Sally the salmon, a really lovely fish soup and er, another Soju. Or six. The thing is, Rocky was a little rubbery. To be fair, he had just been koshed not 10 minutes before, so I can understand why he was feeling a little tense. Living in the UK for nearly 20 years has leeched a modicum of politeness into me, so I decided the best tactic was to chew a little, then wash it on down with the nearest alcoholic beverage. I have used this tactic in many circumstances in my life and generally it works quite well. Apart from the drunkeness side effect. Oops. Over dinner Dan was telling us about a bar that serves tuna eyeball and Soju shots. We really must try that next time. Or possibly the time after that. Or, how about never?
Rocky the rock cod gets naked
Dan then let us clamber into a taxi to be ferried directly to “horizontal”. He was a brilliant dining companion, guide, therapist, and nanny to two beleaguered and battered souls in Seoul. You can book his tours here. Although possibly don’t mention that you know us.
Time for bed, we have a big day tomorrow...
Music fades and CreativeBill struggles with the smart pad thingy to turn the bloody lights off...
I did a very clever thing when I decided to finally enter into nuptial bliss. I married a chef. This means that we spend quite a lot of time finding interesting places to eat around the world. We once did 11 Michelin stars on a weekend visit to NYC. All in the name of research, naturally. It’s a great hobby.
So Mr CreativeBill had been on the world wide interwebs before we left and settled upon Jungsikdang as somewhere he wanted to try. The Executive Chef Jungsik Yim has just opened a branch in New York, if that is closer to home for you.
Just as an aside, finding addresses in Seoul is not necessarily an easy thing. Here was our work-around after a morning sight seeing in Gyeongbokgung Palace. Flag down taxi. Take out phone and call restaurant. Hand phone to taxi driver. Simple.
Once we got to our destination, we had the small task of matching the Korean characters on the signs to the ones that Dan had kindly written down for us the day before. A bit like the crystal maze, but colder - so quickly we were up in the lift to the third floor and into a sanctum of calm.
The dining room is beautiful in it’s simplicity. Floor length windows look out over Dosan Park, so you don’t feel like you are in the middle of the city.
We went for the Design tasting menu where you choose one of three choices for each of the four courses. We also ordered a bottle of Veuve. I’m sorry that I went off (Korean) piste, but I needed the bubbles to settle my stomach after the excesses of the day before. Honestly. And it goes very nicely with Korean modern fusion food as it happens.
Jungsikdang menu
Our repast started with an amuse-bouche of a spoon full of chicken soup jelly, crispy chicken skin and chicken confit. Next to that was a scallop with citrus sabayon. Alongside those came warm jalapeño bread. Mmmmm. My taste buds reawaken.
I opted for the Bibim to start. I guess it’s a little like bibimbap, without the er, bap. Or, rice, to you and me. This was lovely and fresh... Concassé of two types of tomato, feta, herbs, deep fried onion, a tomato consume jelly underneath and basil granita on top. Mix it up and consume an explosion of flavour.
Bibim at Jungsikdang
Mr CreativeBill went for poached egg with Parmesan foam and crisp, Kimchi puree and mushrooms.
Mushroom at Jungsikdang
It was Ongshimi next for me. This was like gnocchi without the wallpaper paste texture (I hate gnocchi) and the added joy of lashings of wasabi.
Ongshimi at Jungsikdang
The OH had stamina noodles. I don’t have a picture of this as he must have needed the stamina and had his head in the bowl. Hell, we both needed stamina at this stage. Possibly with a side of amphetamines.
Onto the mains - mine was Sea Bass with scallop, wasabi tofu, deep fried gnocchi (still thankfully un-gnocchi like) in a sea squirt and mussel broth. Pork Jowl with pickles and vegetables and some noodles that some poor soul had been bothered to tie into a knot for he who is to be (rarely) obeyed.
Sea Bass at Jungsikdang
Pork Jowl at Jungsikdang
Phew. Pudding time. Now, as sweet as I am, I just don’t like sweet things. But my Mascarpone mango cheesecake with chrysanthemum ice cream and ponzu was just right and light enough to fit in. Nearly. Mr CreativeBill had the cutest little chocolate pots with orange semi-fredo and candied seaweed, which really did work well (ok, I had to try it. How else would I be able to write this?).
Cheesecake at Jungsikdang
Chocolate Pots at Jungsikdang
All in all, it was a fantastic meal. Jet-lag and previous overindulgence notwithstanding, I would happily recommend it. The staff are welcoming and accommodating, the atmosphere relaxed and best of all? 40,000 KRW each for the food. Fantastically fresh produce, inspiring flavour pairings and all that for less than 25 quid a head. Outstanding.
Dec 22, 2012, 4:53 pm
#73
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Posts: 442
Spectacular images from our fantastic photographers, papabear and nickyjames
The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land between North and South Korea, roughly splitting the Korean peninsular in half. I’ll leave you to Wiki the details, but please enjoy some images courtesy of papabear and nickyjames...
DMZ by nickyjames
DMZ by nickyjames
DMZ by nickyjames
DMZ by nickyjames
DMZ by nickyjames
3rd tunnel in DMZ by papabear
3rd tunnel in DMZ by papabear
DMZ by nickyjames
Joint Security Area in Korean DMZ by papabear
A North Korean soldier is carefully watching as the South Korean soldiers are showing guests around the Joint Security Area by papabear
DMZ by nickyjames
Joint Security Area in Korean DMZ by papabear
Kijong-dong, an empty North Korean village, built only for propagnda purposes by papabear
Joint Security Area in Korean DMZ by papabear
Joint Security Area in Korean DMZ by papabear
DMZ by nickyjames
DMZ by nickyjames
DMZ by nickyjames
Dorasan Railway Station by papabear
Taken a few years ago, but for interest, a picture taken from the North Korean side by nickyjames
DMZ by nickyjames
DMZ by nickyjames
DMZ by nickyjames
DMZ by nickyjames
DMZ by nickyjames
3rd tunnel in DMZ by papabear
3rd tunnel in DMZ by papabear
DMZ by nickyjames
Joint Security Area in Korean DMZ by papabear
A North Korean soldier is carefully watching as the South Korean soldiers are showing guests around the Joint Security Area by papabear
DMZ by nickyjames
Joint Security Area in Korean DMZ by papabear
Kijong-dong, an empty North Korean village, built only for propagnda purposes by papabear
Joint Security Area in Korean DMZ by papabear
Joint Security Area in Korean DMZ by papabear
DMZ by nickyjames
DMZ by nickyjames
DMZ by nickyjames
Dorasan Railway Station by papabear
Taken a few years ago, but for interest, a picture taken from the North Korean side by nickyjames
Dec 22, 2012, 4:54 pm
#74
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Posts: 442
SCENE 7: The Seoul adventures of a very curious bear, Cpl Arnhem
Hello humans. Let me introduce myself. I am Cpl Arnhem of the 1st Battalion of the Parachute regiment. I spent my heyday jumping out of planes, but now am enjoying my retirement jumping into them and travelling the world. I think I will fit in just fine around here. Myself and my brethren bears, raise money for Holidays4Heroes. You may have met my chief bearer T8191, but for this trip I accompanied CreativeBill and Mr CreativeBill - it’s just as well I did as these two would have gotten up to a lot more mischief if I hadn’t been along to keep them in line.
Now, as I mentioned, I have gotten around our fair globe quite a bit. Generally, I travel in business - this makes sense, because it is serious business being a bear - but this time I was to go first class all the way. And I’m not talking about my journey courtesy of Royal Mail from the Channel Islands to the main(stream) land.
I arrived at LHR nestled in CreativeBill’s handbag. Not the most dignified portage, but it was such a vast vessel (Lord knows what she usually keeps in there), it was a comfortable ride. All those ‘chute landings throughout my career have created havoc with my knees, so it was better to just hitch a lift. I got the full nude-o-scope treatment through security, but luckily I had stuck to my usual breakfast of beer and honey, so was through without mishap.
Supping Champers in the CCR
First stop was the Concorde Room, where we had some of the posh Champagne, then down to the First lounge, where I had to draw a line and say no because the bubbles were pink. Pink! I say, I have my standards. Anyway, I’ll let the humans tell you about all that... I have the serious business of the mode of transport to concern myself with.
So here we are ... this is where you end up when you turn left and keep on going. First Class. Before I settled, I made my way to the flight deck to interview the pilots. They looked ever so young, so I checked their flight plan and assured them that I would be on hand if they got into any bother. The controls were a little different to the old 744, but didn’t look too hard to figure out.
Getting to grips with the 777-200
I wandered back to my seat and settled in. My, very comfy indeed. Although the foot rest was a little far away for my liking. CreativeBill decided that she needed a sit down too, so I did the honorable thing and moved over to the bear seat that BA had so thoughtfully provided. The crew made such a fuss of me, they were real charmers and obviously know a bear of class when they see one.
This is the life!
Bear seat with a view
The flight went quickly enough and I got a nice amount of kip en route. When we awoke, I was approached by a lovely chap that some of you (if you are of a certain age) may recognise. He asked if I would oblige in having my picture taken with him. This happens a lot, I have one of those faces that people don’t tend to forget.
Andi Peters meets a celebrity
Our arrival at Incheon was heralded by a welcome party from the local army corps, I believe this gentleman was on National Service. While we posed for the picture, he was keeping an eye on his colleagues, I assume he didn’t want them to get too jealous of him getting to have his moment of fame with me.
The welcome committee
A swift taxi ride later had us whisked into town and into a suite in the spanking new Conrad Seoul. The hotel had kindly provided some company for me in the form of Conrad bear, so I settled in while she provided me with a refreshing paw rub. Great service this hotel. It had been a long day so I took the opportunity to catch 40 winks to refresh myself from the journey, we had a big night ahead.
Cosying up in the Conrad Seoul King Executive Suite
Tonight we were off to meet the rest of the FT brigade for a Korean BBQ. What fun we had. I will take you into my confidence with the following pictures under the assurance that they are not to be shared with my platoon commanders. A bear is quite entitled to a bit of R&R, but I find it is often best not to reveal the details. It’s all about maintaining a modicum of dignity, you understand. It seems that the humans did not possess quite such high standards as you will see from their areas of the report. I must admit, after a couple of shots of questionable imbibition, all the humans suddenly started to look the same. The face seemed familiar, but couldn’t quite put my paw on who it was.
Taking charge at the Korean BBQ
Sampling the local beverages
Humans all look the same to bears. (Picture with thanks to nme7)
Needless to say, it was a great night and I got to meet a lot of interesting folk. Not much sleep was had that night and before I had had quite enough handsome sleep, it was time to get out and about again. We were off to see the sights of Seoul and eat some pretty tasty food.
When we were in the market, we were accosted by a Korean television crew that wanted to interview me. Naturally, I obliged. Fame is a small price to pay for spreading the word about my philanthropic duties. Having said that, I’m not entirely sure what they were saying about me... Sign language becomes a little more challenging when you are not in the possession of digits. Anyway, we bowed, we smiled, we bowed some more and they seemed ever so pleased with my little impromptu speech. Meanwhile, Mr CreativeBill snaffled all of the bean pancakes and I had to make do with a side of Kimchi. Not bad stuff, it’s not honey, but it’s not bad at all. Especially when it is washed down with a breakfast beer.
Making my Korean TV debut
Taking in the culture at the Hanuk Village
Next stop was the Hanuk Village - what a charming place and smack in the centre of town, marvelous. Whilst there we visited a knot museum which made me reminisce about the japes we had when I was in Sea Cubs, so many moons ago. The Korean people love their museums. We even saw a Tax Museum one day, but CreativeBill made a big swerve around that as she muttered something about tax and SMEs in the UK being... ah, I can’t type that word... it’s a little impolite.
Anyway, I digress. Where were we? Righto, on with my missive. My bearers popped my back to the hotel for some rest in readiness for a royal visit the next day.
We awoke to a stunning morning. The sun was shining, the snow was gleaming and the wind had dropped meaning it didn’t feel at all like the negative figures that the thermometer was showing. The Gyeongbokgung Palace was our destination. First constructed in 1395 it has been knocked down by various warring factions over the years, but always gets built up again. And what a lovely piece of architecture it is, especially when juxtaposed against all those soaring skyscrapers about. The guards were something else. The sight of them whipped us back in time to envisage ourselves as marauding invaders and how we may have stopped to think twice (or maybe three times) about offering them out for a spot of fisticuffs. What a scary bunch of blokes they were. Not that I was scared, it would take a lot more than a hard stare to unnerve me, but my bearer was timid when I suggested that we introduce ourselves to enquire as to whether they would like their picture taken with me. What’s that I hear readers? Yes, I KNOW that they are actors, by this is MY story so you will just have to turn on your imagination and bear with me (no, that is not a pun). Humpf.
I’m sure he’s happy on the inside...
Appreciating the architecture
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Taking a ride on a beast with a view
So, before we knew it, our little sojourn to Seoul had come to an end. We just had another spot in First to enjoy whilst winging our way back to Blighty.
More Champers at the ICN Asiana First lounge
I went for my usual inspection of the cockpit and what a beautiful First Officer I found! Never mind the flight plan chaps, I could have stayed here forever just enjoying the view. She didn’t just have the looks - she landed that bird back at LHR with a gentleness of touch that would make a lesser bear weep. Well done FO Miss P, well done indeed! Unfortunately they had buttons to push and switches to flip, so I made my way back to the First cabin just in time for dinner.
The beautiful and charming FO
Time for a bit of grub
Now I am a simple bear. I don’t ask for much more than an odd tipple of ale and a sweetener of honey, but the human food was pretty good. They set up a lovely table for me and both my bearers and we tucked in to a splendid repast. Lobster, salad and steak, all washed down with a cheeky little sav blanc from CreativeBill’s homeland, NZ. She said it wasn’t quite as ‘punchy’ in the air as it is on terra firma, but not a bad drop at all. I was a bit squiffy by this stage, so didn’t bother arguing with her choice of IFE (chick flick, sigh) and then we tucked up together nice and cosy under the duvet for a good six hour slumber.
Night night!
And then we were back, smooth as a syrian brown bear (yes, I have met one or two) thanks to the aforementioned skills of the lovely FO Miss P.
What a wonderful time I had. Even more wonderful is the £450 that the FT’ers raised for Holidays4Heroes. T8191 tells me that it is enough to send at least one injured serviceman on holiday with his family. All good stuff. I thank you and bid you all safe travels.
Now, as I mentioned, I have gotten around our fair globe quite a bit. Generally, I travel in business - this makes sense, because it is serious business being a bear - but this time I was to go first class all the way. And I’m not talking about my journey courtesy of Royal Mail from the Channel Islands to the main(stream) land.
I arrived at LHR nestled in CreativeBill’s handbag. Not the most dignified portage, but it was such a vast vessel (Lord knows what she usually keeps in there), it was a comfortable ride. All those ‘chute landings throughout my career have created havoc with my knees, so it was better to just hitch a lift. I got the full nude-o-scope treatment through security, but luckily I had stuck to my usual breakfast of beer and honey, so was through without mishap.
Supping Champers in the CCR
First stop was the Concorde Room, where we had some of the posh Champagne, then down to the First lounge, where I had to draw a line and say no because the bubbles were pink. Pink! I say, I have my standards. Anyway, I’ll let the humans tell you about all that... I have the serious business of the mode of transport to concern myself with.
So here we are ... this is where you end up when you turn left and keep on going. First Class. Before I settled, I made my way to the flight deck to interview the pilots. They looked ever so young, so I checked their flight plan and assured them that I would be on hand if they got into any bother. The controls were a little different to the old 744, but didn’t look too hard to figure out.
Getting to grips with the 777-200
I wandered back to my seat and settled in. My, very comfy indeed. Although the foot rest was a little far away for my liking. CreativeBill decided that she needed a sit down too, so I did the honorable thing and moved over to the bear seat that BA had so thoughtfully provided. The crew made such a fuss of me, they were real charmers and obviously know a bear of class when they see one.
This is the life!
Bear seat with a view
The flight went quickly enough and I got a nice amount of kip en route. When we awoke, I was approached by a lovely chap that some of you (if you are of a certain age) may recognise. He asked if I would oblige in having my picture taken with him. This happens a lot, I have one of those faces that people don’t tend to forget.
Andi Peters meets a celebrity
Our arrival at Incheon was heralded by a welcome party from the local army corps, I believe this gentleman was on National Service. While we posed for the picture, he was keeping an eye on his colleagues, I assume he didn’t want them to get too jealous of him getting to have his moment of fame with me.
The welcome committee
A swift taxi ride later had us whisked into town and into a suite in the spanking new Conrad Seoul. The hotel had kindly provided some company for me in the form of Conrad bear, so I settled in while she provided me with a refreshing paw rub. Great service this hotel. It had been a long day so I took the opportunity to catch 40 winks to refresh myself from the journey, we had a big night ahead.
Cosying up in the Conrad Seoul King Executive Suite
Tonight we were off to meet the rest of the FT brigade for a Korean BBQ. What fun we had. I will take you into my confidence with the following pictures under the assurance that they are not to be shared with my platoon commanders. A bear is quite entitled to a bit of R&R, but I find it is often best not to reveal the details. It’s all about maintaining a modicum of dignity, you understand. It seems that the humans did not possess quite such high standards as you will see from their areas of the report. I must admit, after a couple of shots of questionable imbibition, all the humans suddenly started to look the same. The face seemed familiar, but couldn’t quite put my paw on who it was.
Taking charge at the Korean BBQ
Sampling the local beverages
Humans all look the same to bears. (Picture with thanks to nme7)
Needless to say, it was a great night and I got to meet a lot of interesting folk. Not much sleep was had that night and before I had had quite enough handsome sleep, it was time to get out and about again. We were off to see the sights of Seoul and eat some pretty tasty food.
When we were in the market, we were accosted by a Korean television crew that wanted to interview me. Naturally, I obliged. Fame is a small price to pay for spreading the word about my philanthropic duties. Having said that, I’m not entirely sure what they were saying about me... Sign language becomes a little more challenging when you are not in the possession of digits. Anyway, we bowed, we smiled, we bowed some more and they seemed ever so pleased with my little impromptu speech. Meanwhile, Mr CreativeBill snaffled all of the bean pancakes and I had to make do with a side of Kimchi. Not bad stuff, it’s not honey, but it’s not bad at all. Especially when it is washed down with a breakfast beer.
Making my Korean TV debut
Taking in the culture at the Hanuk Village
Next stop was the Hanuk Village - what a charming place and smack in the centre of town, marvelous. Whilst there we visited a knot museum which made me reminisce about the japes we had when I was in Sea Cubs, so many moons ago. The Korean people love their museums. We even saw a Tax Museum one day, but CreativeBill made a big swerve around that as she muttered something about tax and SMEs in the UK being... ah, I can’t type that word... it’s a little impolite.
Anyway, I digress. Where were we? Righto, on with my missive. My bearers popped my back to the hotel for some rest in readiness for a royal visit the next day.
We awoke to a stunning morning. The sun was shining, the snow was gleaming and the wind had dropped meaning it didn’t feel at all like the negative figures that the thermometer was showing. The Gyeongbokgung Palace was our destination. First constructed in 1395 it has been knocked down by various warring factions over the years, but always gets built up again. And what a lovely piece of architecture it is, especially when juxtaposed against all those soaring skyscrapers about. The guards were something else. The sight of them whipped us back in time to envisage ourselves as marauding invaders and how we may have stopped to think twice (or maybe three times) about offering them out for a spot of fisticuffs. What a scary bunch of blokes they were. Not that I was scared, it would take a lot more than a hard stare to unnerve me, but my bearer was timid when I suggested that we introduce ourselves to enquire as to whether they would like their picture taken with me. What’s that I hear readers? Yes, I KNOW that they are actors, by this is MY story so you will just have to turn on your imagination and bear with me (no, that is not a pun). Humpf.
I’m sure he’s happy on the inside...
Appreciating the architecture
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Taking a ride on a beast with a view
So, before we knew it, our little sojourn to Seoul had come to an end. We just had another spot in First to enjoy whilst winging our way back to Blighty.
More Champers at the ICN Asiana First lounge
I went for my usual inspection of the cockpit and what a beautiful First Officer I found! Never mind the flight plan chaps, I could have stayed here forever just enjoying the view. She didn’t just have the looks - she landed that bird back at LHR with a gentleness of touch that would make a lesser bear weep. Well done FO Miss P, well done indeed! Unfortunately they had buttons to push and switches to flip, so I made my way back to the First cabin just in time for dinner.
The beautiful and charming FO
Time for a bit of grub
Now I am a simple bear. I don’t ask for much more than an odd tipple of ale and a sweetener of honey, but the human food was pretty good. They set up a lovely table for me and both my bearers and we tucked in to a splendid repast. Lobster, salad and steak, all washed down with a cheeky little sav blanc from CreativeBill’s homeland, NZ. She said it wasn’t quite as ‘punchy’ in the air as it is on terra firma, but not a bad drop at all. I was a bit squiffy by this stage, so didn’t bother arguing with her choice of IFE (chick flick, sigh) and then we tucked up together nice and cosy under the duvet for a good six hour slumber.
Night night!
And then we were back, smooth as a syrian brown bear (yes, I have met one or two) thanks to the aforementioned skills of the lovely FO Miss P.
What a wonderful time I had. Even more wonderful is the £450 that the FT’ers raised for Holidays4Heroes. T8191 tells me that it is enough to send at least one injured serviceman on holiday with his family. All good stuff. I thank you and bid you all safe travels.
Dec 22, 2012, 4:54 pm
#75
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Posts: 442
SCENE 8: ACT 1: The one you’ve been waiting for ...The Gangnam FT Style video!
Warning: This video contains strobe lighting, some questionable camera work and some seriously dodgy dance moves.
http://youtu.be/jz51k6-MCTM
http://youtu.be/jz51k6-MCTM