Ever since I've heard about Lotte World, which is the world's largest indoor theme park, I've always had it up high in my bucket list of things to do in South Korea. So we spent almost the entirety of Day 3 at this theme park.

Getting there was easy as Lotte World is easily accessible from the Jamsil Station and it wasn't too far from where I was staying in Sinchon. However, before that- we ate champon (spicy seafood noodle soup) and jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) for brunch. In Korea, they are THE Chinese food- quite akin to General Tso Chicken in the states and Mapotofu in Japan. Those two dishes with the addition of tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) often come in a set in Chinese restaurants in Korea. As a fan of all three dishes and as a person with Chinese ethnicity, I was curious to taste what Koreans perceived as Chinese dishes.

Personally, I like the champon more than jajamyeon as the spice and seafood in the soup enhance the flavor of the broth and give the dish multiple layers of flavors to enjoy. In addition, the best part about both noodle dishes is the actual noodles themselves as they're soft and chewy. I found that the black bean noodles that Koreans make have a lot more sauce and the sauce was thick and extra dark. After stuffing ourselves, we headed to Lotte World where we got a student discount because Eric was a masters student. Yay! The ticket lady was so lenient and gave me a discount too even though I'm no longer a student. Not that the ticket was that expensive to start with- I think we paid about $15 per person.

Lotte World here we come!

Once through the entrance, the first few things I saw were that the maintenance was not as good as I'd imagine and it's not as big that pictures and videos made it out to be. Some of the paint were chipping off the rides and the characters/mascot students throughout seemed a little worn. The rides were pretty fun and very safe. There's nothing to the extent of what you see in Six Flags, which was expected. Another surprising thing was that the park seemed to be overly saturated with couples, not families.

Very mild, but makes people super wet in the end!

The hot air balloon ride that hangs upon the ceiling and gives people a birds-eye view of the entire park was really fun. But more so than the rides, I think it's the atmosphere and theme aspect of the park that makes it fun. Apparently, children and other amusement park fans are more fond of Everland, which is also a theme park in Korea, than Lotte World.

Get on this to see the park from above!

My overall impression about the park is that it's really fun for parents with their young children and couples. It's not really the place to go if you're seeking thrilling and exhilarating rides.

After fulfilling our share of fun at Lotte World, we went off to Itaewon to relax with a cold glass of beer. Itaewon is like the Korean's world of Roppongi. It's a place where foreigners like to go and hang out for drinks. There is a wide variety of different clubs and bars. Basically, this is where you go if you want a nightlife and want to meet with other fellow foreigners.

The busy nightlife of Seoul~ (just one of the many pockets)

Probably because of the excitement of Lotte World and Itaewon, I woke up pretty late on this day. We decided to eat chicken with bibimbap for lunch at a restaurant nearby the college campus. Afterwards, we headed to Ewha University, a women-only university. It's one of the top and most famous universities in Korea. The campus was beautiful with lush green grass and polished interiors. What was also interesting was the increasingly amount of make-up stores, shoe stores, clothing stores, and anything feminine the closer we get to campus. I wonder how those college kids can restrain themselves from buying something cute everyday. Nearby the campus was also an incredibly authentic looking Japanese noodle place. Next to that is a flower shop where I got a bouquet of cute and colorful flowers.

Precautionary measures against MERS >.<

The beautiful interior of an Ehwa building.

Beautiful campus that is also often a tourist site.

Cute flowers with beautiful varieties. It was such a pity to see this wilt away.

We also visited SM town where we saw idol merchandises. I also found cute displays of EXO members. I'm not too big on following these different groups and I can't even differentiate the members from each other, but I like their display and the description which describes the members' secret/hidden powers. (I don't know too much about this...)

I just thought this was cute. :3

Then we went to Coex Mall, a huge mall filled with Clash of the Clan advertisements and figures. I also found that Korean convenience stores charge your phone and other devices for a nominal fee.

Clash of Clans must have a never-ending budget for marketing!

From the mall, I rode down to Gangnam to meet up with a college friend. She took me to eat Korean Italian food. I realized that Koreans really like sauce.  The pasta dish was also very different from Japan. In Japan, sauce is not used nearly as much and the noodles are more al dente. Instead of heading to a coffee shop to chat more, we went to a board game cafe where we can borrow different games and play them in the cafe. The place was almost packed when we arrived in the evening. This is a great alternative for those who wants to take a break from Starbucks. I don't think the US has something like this, but I think at least Japan and Korea are the leads in creating these theme cafes.
In Japan that there's a vampire cafe, an owl cafe, and a historical drama cafe where the customer is the lord of the land. I had a lot of fun putting aside my phone and playing games.

Yummy dinner :P Doesn't the sauce look like it's overflowing?

Planning a board game that involves monkeys and this yellow tower.

I also went to Hooters that night to meet up with E and his friend who works at Samsung. Samsung is notorious for overworking their employees, but the friend told me that there is a little bit more leeway when it comes to foreigners. It sounds similar to my experience in Japan.

Found these cute hats and had to take a picture of them!

We also visited an Internet room, a PC bang, to print something out. They're opened super late and often populated with hardcore gamers who went for faster internet and special products. Literally, everyone has their headphones on playing some game in the screen.

Rawr, I am a gaming master!

It was downpouring on my last day. We had plans to go out that day, but the heavy rain made it difficult. Instead, we headed to the airport early to hang out. The airport is pristine, speckled clean, and full of fun activities to see or do. For example, when we were there- there was a traditional Korean dance performance. I'd love to see more of these historical aspects in the airports here in the States. Our last meal before my flight was bibimbap. It is also one of my favorite food so I was so glad to try it in Korea.

Yum....

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