The Korean Sauna Experience

A sauna experience is one that you cannot miss when you visit South Korea! It is so uniquely korean and always featured in various dramas and shows!

Return of Superman's Daebak 

Siloam Sauna is relatively one of the more popular outlets with tourists alongside Dragon Hill! For my visit I have always visited Siloam Sauna because of convenience! This outlet is located at a walking distance from Seoul Station and a great way to spend some spare time here.

From Korean dramas, it’s a known fact that these saunas operate on a 24/7 basis and usually the best spot for a runaway or when u want to avoid your family after a big fight (k-dramas pls) but also great ways for the elderly to just come here and lounge!

Especially when the entrance fee is relatively affordable for the facilities available! Budget travelers can honestly consider visiting a sauna as their lodging! Have seen a couple of backpackers visit this place as well.

This is the counter for payment when you first enter and split according to gender for this level but from this level onwards, it’s towards a common area

Basically this is what’s on the 6 levels of this place! (including basement) Have not been to the basement where it’s the nude baths but honestly don’t think every facility here is top notch so don’t be expecting too much from it! Although I have to say for the price you are paying, it is very much worth it

As my friends were coming in from their trip from Busan and we had 3 hours wait before heading for our AirBnb, we decided on spending that few hours at the sauna where we could store our luggage’s at the same time! Especially when our airbnb does not offer those baggage storage services! The sauna here has a huge room where you can store your huge luggage and mind u my luggage is extremely huge HAHAHA

The ahjummas will ask you to take whatever you need from ur bags and label ur bags for you to collect it later!

Each of us got the sauna uniform and a key to our locker to store our valuables and off we went!

Food which you can have here! But of course it comes with extra charges

Oh but my friends did get those hard boiled eggs from the higher level to try! Don’t really fancy these eggs but these are the type which the koreans love to crack by knocking it on their heads

Got a Fruit Bingsu to share but was majorly disappointing because it tasted more like the local ice kacang when we were anticipating more fine and milky ice like the bingsu we have in singapore! Oh wells but still a pretty refreshing treat after sweating ourselves out in the sauna

The same level encompasses various sauna rooms and even an ice room! Really enjoyed just chilling in the rooms where many of them actually sleep inside. English descriptions are also written outside each room to tell you what benefits the rooms are for and it was pretty informative! We targetted at those for pains because we were all exhausted from the few days of travel and shopping and just needed a good relaxation!

The rooms are relatively quiet and serene and just a good place to take a nap and enjoy yourself

This was one of the rooms which I felt the heat was pretty unbearable! The balls were heated and I couldn’t stand the amount of heat just with a pile of it over my toes. But these two guys really enjoyed it!

The open areas outside the rooms are full of people lounging or sleeping as they do have some blocks to be used as pillows!

And of course! What’s a trip to the Korean Jimjilbang without making the sheep head! Had to google on how to do it HAHAH although we did take a peek at how the group that sat beside us did it and we copied >_<

Address for Seoul Station Outlet: Siloam Sauna - 실로암사우나찜질방
49, Jungnim-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea (Jungnim-dong) 서울특별시 중구 중림로 49 (중림동)

Map from siloamsauna.com

Directions

• Exit Seoul Station exit 1
• Exit Lotte Mart on the other side after entering it / dont enter and just walk the gap between Lotte Mart and Mall all the way
• Turn right and walk straight for around 50m to the traffic light
• Cross the traffic light, turn left and you should be able to see this slope in the photo below

It is actually a really steep slope which I had struggled so badly with my luggage!!!! And the sauna sign should be relatively big which you can spot at Lotte Mart!



Through your walk over, you should be able to spot the new Seoullo 7017!

SR was really amazed by this bridge which is the new Seoullo 7017! Because he actually did a research on this before during his internship and was amazed that he was able to see it in real life! Really cool bridge which has retail outlets and cafes on it as well!

Went to read up more about it and found the story behind the name of it very cool! The name is derived from how it was first erected in the 1970s to connect the eastern and western sides of Seoul Station and instead of tearing this structure which was closed for years, it was made into this new pedestrian walking experience in 2017 so 7017! But 17 can also because of how it is divided into 17 sections and being 17m above ground.

Budget Travels to Seoul, South Korea

Decided to do up a recommendation post on how to maximize your savings on plane tickets and accommodations for your next trip to Seoul! These will be great for budget travelers because plane tickets and accommodation will definitely take up a bulk of your spending for the trip!

Disclaimer: I am not in anyway sponsored by any company to write this as this post will most likely contain several brands but PLS SPONSOR THIS BROKE TRAVELER (lmao desperate)

Plane tickets

Simplest way in booking tickets would definitely to look at the various ticket comparison sites! I still do book my tickets with the original flight websites but these comparison sites give you a good gauge on which airlines you should narrow your search to!

And of course it definitely pays to book your tickets early to get those early bird deals! As well as to keep a lookout for plane ticket deals as even premium brands like Singapore Airlines do periodically have your 2 to go / early bird deals! Still remember a few years back where their offer was as low as $499 for a return flight to Seoul! (But that is incredibly rare now)

These kind of rates that I will be mentioning will most likely not be available during your peak periods like school holidays and stuff so do not be too delusional/happy ;; well as a uni/poly student who is broke as heck, this is perfect because loads of sem breaks dont end up in that same period as the mass holidays!

Simple comparison would be like this! A deal of below $600 for tickets to Seoul is incredibly affordable for Singapore Airlines because their usual price would be easily above $600! 

What I find aggravating sometimes is how budget flights may actually turn out to be more expensive than normal commercial planes which offer baggage + entertainment + food!!! Especially if they both do encompass a transit. 

For my previous trip to Seoul, I had gone aboard Thai Airways at an incredibly reasonable $460++ with 30kg baggage + meals + in flight entertainment! Super great deal in my opinion as budget flights can actually sometimes set you back easily to $400+ with no baggage / meals / entertainment! Vietnam Airlines is also a great contender for such flights at affordable pricing but do take note these flights generally do include a long transit depending! As you do not want to end up having too short of a transit and missing your flight! And well, these airports may not be the best to end up in for more than 10 hours.

Accommodation

Airbnbs in Seoul have gained immense popularity with travelers as there are plenty of aesthetic houses! What I love about Airbnbs is that it allows you to have the various amenities a house has! Especially like a washing machine if you are staying for longer periods and a kitchen where you can maybe cook! 

Airbnbs are also way more affordable than hotels in popular areas and some being extremely convenient as well! 

Locations recommendation to stay in would definitely be Hongdae (Hong Ik University) / Edae (Ehwa Women's University) for the younger travelers and Myeongdong / Dongdaemun if you love shopping and Seoul Station! Definitely stations near these locations are also desirable along with those that are an interchange station for the trains because that would mean it would be easier to get around.

Areas like Edae, Hongdae and Sinchon are also extremely near each other where it is actually possible for you to walk to each station from the other

Well for my previous trip to Seoul, our airbnb wasn't in the best condition so it was pretty disappointing!!! Another reason why Airbnb would be if you are travelling in a big group and everyone wants to stay together! Our trip consisted of 9 people and the Airbnb we booked had 4 rooms! Would do up another posts on my whole trip soon and will link it here!

But for the most part, I did enjoy my Airbnb the previous previous time I was in Seoul as it was clean and up to expectations! Guess we were just unlucky

Other options for cheap accommodation would be to check out hotel comparison sites! Similar to Airbnb, majority of such sites can put a price limit on your search results! Hotel comparison sites sometimes do have apartments and a wide variety of guesthouses and hostels!

Guesthouses will be great if you would like to interact with the owners and tourists from all over the world! These places would be a great way to meet new friends!

I personally would like to recommend a hostel I stayed in on my previous trip! The AN Hostel

The place was beyond expectations because of how it was priced at $49 SGD a night! Super affordable stay as breakfast was provided and super clean and cosy rooms!!!! Location was also super convenient because it had two lines at the nearest station! Will do up a post for this soon as well because I only have praises for this place even though I only stayed for 2 nights

Some random photos taken by those who have stayed here on Instagram! Me and SR love this place so much that we wish to head back the next time we visit Seoul!

Attractions

Alright, for attractions we had generally booked our tickets on other sites as they are usually at a discounted rate and the 3 major providers we compared were Klook, KKday, Changi Recommends.

We also did pick up some coupons from KTO (Korean Tourism Organisation) in Singapore for Nami Island/ Petite France!

These sites do sometimes have packages like for example Everland + Shuttle (Since for everland, you will need to travel out of Seoul to YongIn) And for different ticket providers, there are various pick up locations so do keep notice of those!

KKDAY

KLOOK

Changi Recommends

Each of these websites differ in prices but do look at the fine print! For Klook wise it comes with Free Churros for visits during certain periods and Changi Recommends comes with some other free admission along with the Everland ticket so do look carefully to decide which you would like to purchase! These sites usually do also have various promo and referral codes! (Okay I shall go make an account and put my referral codes here HAHAHA or sponsor me pls!!!!111!!!)

Prices also differ for various locations and does not necessarily mean Changi Recommends usually have a higher price and Kkday the cheapest! 

These sites do also offer Wifi Egg packages which are mostly essential in my opinion! Internet is always recommended la! They do have those prepaid cards too so whichever floats your boat!

WiFi Eggs would be recommended for large groups and definitely a life saver for my group because the Airbnb's WiFi was a failure and we were too tired of calling the owner's employee to come fix it.

Special Tip for my K-pop fans out there in Singapore, Singapore's Korea Tourism Organisation does give out music show tickets for SG fans travelling to Korea and tbh I feel it is super worth!!! Because SM does tours for Mcountdown and it can cost more than $100 for that when you can stand a chance to get free admission courtesy of KTO! Especially when these music shows requires balloting/queuing!!!

Example of their posts

Link to their FB: https://www.facebook.com/Koreatourismorganizationsingaporeoffice/?ref=page_internal

Even for non-kpop fans, KTO does periodically have free T-money, coupons and various perks if you are travelling to Korea! Worth checking out their FB to see if there are any freebies you can get to lessen your spending!

Hopefully this post was informative and helpful enough! 

Seung Ri Won - Traditional Korean Chinese Food (Featured in Big Bang's MV)

Staple Korean Delivery Food will definitely include an order of Ja Jang Myeon which is a black bean based noodle dish and you will even encounter shows asking celebs if they prefer Jjampong or the other. These are staple chinese korean dishes and usually being delivered to anywhere you request it to be!

Okay, so obviously I do not know how to order such meals on the phone or through any delivery apps in Korea, we decided to have our meals at the original store which does deliveries.

In this post, I would like to recommend this Korean-Chinese Restaurant which was really unassuming when I had visited as we were hungry and decided to just settle on this place since we havent had authentic Korean Chinese noodles.

Seung Ri Won 승리원

02-464-9900

78 Wangsimni-ro, Seongsu-dong 1(il)-ga, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea 

서울특별시 성동구 왕십리로 78 매연빌딩

Exit 1 of Seoul Forest Station

They do have the Ban-Ban version which is korean for half-half! So you can try different types of noodles at half portions! Super cool imo! Singapore should def try to have this! I had the jjampong + jjm combo and I loved the noodle texture so much because it was incredibly springy!!! The seafood broth in the jjampong was also extremely good.

Got a plate of Sweet and Sour Pork to share and the sauce was very unique! Not the same as Singapore's one and imo a must try when you visit Korea! The sauce is clear and they provide it at the side for you to choose between dousing the whole pork in sauce or to dip it. 

Didn't take a photo but the ahjumma gave us service by giving a giant plate of dumplings which we could barely finish because we were stuffed!!!!

Had to use my limited korean skills to order for everyone because this is those true blue korean joints where the ahjumma is totally not trained in any foreign language!!! 

Surprising because this place was actually featured in a Big Bang MV! 

Try to spot it yourself!

Well it was featured in Seungri's part as the MV did indeed feature places which had the members names in them and this place was featured in the background! Super cool because it was so unassuming and there were only a bunch of local uncle and aunties in this place when we patronized and the ahjumma even offered us a VIP room because there were so many of us!