Day 1 : Busan - Changgyeonggung - Huwon Secret Garden - Chandeokgung - Heunginjimun Gate - Dongdaemun - Cheonggyecheon
Assalamualaikum~
Pk. 08.00 pesawat D7518 yang saya tumpangi mendarat dengan mulus di bandara Internasional Gimhae, Busan - Korea Selatan. Saya nggak bisa berhenti senyum, akhirnya saya bisa menginjakan kaki di tanah boyband ini wkwkwkwkw.... Begitu sampai langsung ke bagian imigrasi. Diminta cek sidik jari dan retina, terus nunjukin paspor aja. Alhamdulillah nggak ada masalah. Saya kemudian ke toilet untuk bebersih karena saya akan langsung melanjutkan perjalanan saya ke Gyeongju.
8 AM KST my D7518 flight was landed safely at Gimhae International Airport, Busan - South Korea. I couldn't stop myself from smiling too much, finally I could visit the land of boy band that I've been dreaming of. I walked to immigration section and could pass it without problem. After a brief visit to restroom me and my travel mate would continue our trip to Gyeongju. That was the plan.
Saya dengan PD-nya mengarahkan teman saya untuk naik metro light trail. Nggak ada firasat buruk apapun dan saya juga tidak kepikiran ngecek itinerary karena setelah berkutat dengan itinerary selama berbulan-bulan, saya nyaris hapal dengan apa yang saya tulis. Kami menuju stasiun yang berada di seberang bandara Gimhae. Setelah menyebrang, jalan ke kanan. Sampai di sana langsung bengong aja lihat mesin tiket otomatis yang ada di depan saya. Saya nggak tahu gimana cara belinya. Ada sepasang muda mudi (ceilah) Korea lewat yang langsung kita stop, saya cuma bilang "Sasang" dan mereka langsung mengerti kalau tujuan kami adalah stasiun Sasang. Rencana kami adalah menuju stasiun sasang untuk naik bis ke Gyeongju.
I was too confident so I led my friend to ride metro light trail. I studied the itinerary in these past months so I was confident that I have memorized where to go and what to do. So After crossing the road in front of the airport, I walked to metro station to go to Sasang station to take bus to Gyeongju. I was taken aback by the automatic ticket machine. Fortunately there were a couple teenagers near me so I asked them. I just mentioned Sasang and they got it.
Sampai di dalam kereta, semua mata mulai tertuju ke kita. Kalau lihat turis mungkin mereka sudah biasa, tapi kalau yang pakai hijab mungkin asing bagi mereka. Kita cuek-cuek saja sambil lihat pemandangan. Tiba - tiba ada Ibu-Ibu Korea yang nyamperin kita dan ngajak ngobrol pakai bahasa Inggris. Ternyata Ibu ini baru pulang dari Malaysia. Beliau ngajak ngobrol kita karena ngira kita orang Malaysia. Hihihihi. Kita cerita kalau mau ke terminal Seobu untuk naik bis ke Gyeongju. Kata beliau jarak dari stasiun Sasang ke terminal Seobu cukup jauh. Beliau menawarkan untuk mengantar kita. Duh baiknya...
Sortly, we were inside metro and all eyes were looking at us. We knew that our hijab drew attention. They might be used seeing foreigner in Busan but foreigner with hijab might be new for them. But we didn't mind them. Suddenly a middle age woman approached us and spoke to us in English. She just arrived from Malaysia and she thought we were Malaysian. I told her we were heading to Sasang station then continued to Seobu bus terminal. She said distance between Sasang station and Seobu terminal a bit far by walk and she offered to lead us which we gladly accepted.
Benar saja kata beliau, jarak dari stasiun Sasang ke Terminal Seobu lumayan jauh dan jalannya belok-belok. Nggak kebayang kalau tadi kita nggak ketemu sama beliau, kita pasti udah nyasar nggak karuan. Sepanjang perjalanan kita ngobrol banyak salah satunya beliau begitu terkesan dengan orang Islam yang taat sekali dengan ajaran agamanya :D. Waktu di lampu merah, beliau mengingatkan kami kalau menyebrang wajib menggunakan zebra cross dan saat lampu pejalan kaki menyala saja. Katanya sih Korea sangat ketat dengan peraturan itu dan selama di Korea bener-bener saya patuhi.
Just as she said, the distance from Sasang station to Seobu terminal wasn't joke and tricky. We made many turns and it was confusing. I couldn't imagine what happen to us if I didn't meet this angel. On our way she told us how she respected us as moslem. She learned a lot about Islam in Malaysia. When we crossed the street, she remained us South Korea's law is really strict so we have to be obedient. The simplest example was like cross the street only when the traffic light went red.
Nggak sampai situ saja kebaikan beliau, sesampainya di Terminal beliau yang ngantri di loket dan membantu membelikan tiket kita. Beliau ngobrol sama petugas loketnya dan ekspresinya agak nggak enak. Beliau ngajak kita minggir dari loket. Ternyata nggak ada bis ke Gyeongju dari Terminal Seobu. Whaaaat??? Udah bingung nggak karuan. Beliau menyarankan kalau kita tetap pengen ke Gyeongju, bisa naik bis ke kota mana gitu saya lupa. Di sana baru ada bis ke Gyeongju.
Her kindness didn't stopped once we reached Seobu Terminal. She helped us to queue to buy bus ticket. She seem to have serious talk to the officer then came back to us. She told us that there was no bus to Gyeongju from Sasang Terminal. WHAAAAT??!! She told us if we insisted to go to Gyeongju, we have to take bus to city X that I couldn't remember the name then take bus to Gyeongju.
Kita nggak berani ambil resiko naik bis ke kota asing yang belum kita pelajari. Akhirnya kita putuskan ke Seoul saja nanti dari Seoul kita atur rencana lagi bagaimana caranya ke Gyeongju. Akhirnya belilah tiket ke Seoul. Lagi-lagi ekspresi petugas loketnya nggak enak. Ternyata bis ke Seoul berangkat 5 menit lagi dan dia ragu apa kalo kita beli tiket yang ini masih keburu. Kita nekat aja beli tiket itu dan langsung lari menuju pintu tempat keberangkatan bis ke Seoul. Benar saja waktu kita mau naik, supirnya sudah datang dan siap tancap gas. Sebelum naik bis kita nggak lupa jabat tangan beliau dan mengucap terima kasih. Pengen cium tangan beliau saking berterimakasihnya tapi takut beliau merasa nggak nyaman.
We couldn't take the risk to take bus to random city that we haven't study yet. So we decided to take bus to Seoul instead then we would figure out how to take bus to Gyeongju from there. That kind "Ahjumma" back to ticket counter and I heard the officer said "hwaksirhae?", it means are you sure? It turned the bus would depart in 5 minutes. The three of us ended up ran to the bus departure. There was a driver Ahjusshi who hop on the bus. I showed him my ticket to Seoul and he told us to hop on. Thank God we still can make it. Before I hop on the bus I shook the angel ahjumma's hands to show how grateful I was. I almost kissed her hand like how I kissed my parents' hand. That was a sign of respect to the elderly back in Indonesia but I was afraid she would be uncomfortable because of cultural differences so I held back.
Sampai di dalam bis saya langsung cek itinerary. Ternyata benar saja saya salah mengingat. Padahal seharusnya kita tinggal duduk cantik aja di depan bandara, karena bis menuju Gyeongju berangkat persis di depan bandara. Inilah akibat mengandalkan ingatan yang pas-pasan dan tidak membaca itinerary dengan baik dan benar. Huft. Inilah awal perjalan kami yang kacau balau tidak sesuai itinerary. Perjalanan dari Busan ke Seoul memakan waktu 4-5 jam. Setelah duduk di pesawat 7 jam, masih harus duduk lagi di bis selama 5 jam. Nggak banyak yang bisa kita lakukan di dalam bis selain tidur.
After we hop on the bus, I immediately checked our itinerary and realized I made a mistake. We shouldn't go to Sasang station. All we need to do just wait in front of the airport because the bus to Gyeongju departed from there. I shouldn't relied on my short term memory on the first place. And that was the beginning of our trip that didn't work as we planned. It took 4-5 hours from Busan to Seoul. Nothing much to do in bus so we decided to take a nap.
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| Pemandangan sepanjang Busan - Seoul Scenery along Busan to Seoul |
About 3 hours later, the bus suddenly stopped at a place like a pit stop(?). We looked around and this place looked nothing like Seoul. The most confusing part was most of the passengers were getting off include the driver himself. A kind ahjusshi who also got off told us that we were in rest area. We allowed to get off to rest room or bought snack. He told us to back in 10 minutes and reminded us to remember the bus number.
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| Rest Area |
We decided to get off and looked around. We just realized we haven't eaten anything yet since morning. It was a good thing to get off. There were a lot to see, food to be precise >.<. I really love Korean food so this place like a heaven for me. All type of Korean food/snack that you saw on TV its all here!!! We decided to buy fish cake. It wasn't that curly fish cake. It was square, thick with a prawn on top of it. We ate it while sat on a bench while keeping our eyes to our bus since we were afraid being deserted in the middle of nowhere. The driver walked back to the bus just right after we finished our fish cake. It's time to continue the long journey.
Sampai di Seoul, sudah cukup sore, sekitar 15.30 KST. Waktu kami yang berharga terbuang di perjalanan. Kami berencana untuk memaksimalkan hari ini agar bisa mengunjungi 2-3 tempat sekaligus dan pilihan pertama kami jatuh pada Istana Changgyeong / Changgyeonggung. Mungkin nama istana ini terdengar asing bagi kalian tidak seperti Gyeongbokgung dan Chandeokgung. Changgyeonggung dan Chandeokgung ini terhubung oleh secret garden. Jadi kalau kalian berniat mengunjungi Chandeokgung, tidak ada salahnya untuk sekalian mengunjungi Changgyeonggung juga toh kedua istana ini connecting. Changgyeonggung juga lebih luas dari Chandeokgung jadi lebih banyak yang bisa dieskplor.
After a long journey, we finally arrived at Seoul. It was around 03.30 PM. We wasted so much of our precious time on the way so we determined to visit 2-3 places. Our first choice was Changgyeong Palace or Changgyeonggung (gung means palace). Maybe this palace sounded foreign for you. This palace near Chandeokgung, in fact the two palaces was connected by huwon or secret garden. So if you plan to visit Chandeokgung, it worth to visit Changgyeonggung and secret garden too. Changgyeonggung was built in larger area than Changgyeonggung so there are so much to see.
From Seoul Nambu terminal, we were lead by another kind korean Ahjusshi that we met to the nearest subway station. He also helped us to buy our first subway ticket ever. We fond Korean ahjusshi because most of the time the one who helped us was ahjusshi.
Diperjalananan menuju Changgyeonggung ada yang menarik perhatian saya. Inikah Seoul National University yang terkenal itu?
On our way to Changgyeonggung there was a building that caught my attention. Is it the infamous Seoul University?
Istana Changgyeong / Changgyeong Palace (Changgyeonggung)
Petunjuk arah :
Turun di stasiun Hyehwa pilih exit 3. Jalan sekitar 20 m dan kemudian belok kiri di Seoul Jongno Farmasi (서울 종로 약êµ). Jalan lagi kira2 180 m dan kemudian belok kiri di Jeongmin Onnuri Farmasi (ì •ë¯¼ 온누리 약êµ). Jalan 200 m dan kemudian berbelok ke kiri. Jalan lagi sekitar 50 m dan kemudian menyeberang jalan untuk tiba di Istana Changgyeong.
Direction :
Get off at Hyehwa station and take exit number 3. Walk around 20 meters then turned left to Seoul Jongno Pharmacy (서울 종로 약êµ). Walk for another 180 meters then turn left to Jeongmin Onnuri Pharmacy (ì •ë¯¼ 온누리 약êµ).Walk for 200 meters then take another left turn. Walk about 50 meters then cross the road then you arrived at Changgyeong Palace.
Istana Changgyeong merupakan istana yang digunakan sebagai kediaman ratu dan para selir. Sempat dialihfungsikan menjadi kebun binatang dan botani pada masa penjajahan Jepang. Ketika masa penjajahan berakhir, Istana ini dikembalikan fungsinya seperti semula.
Changgyeong palace was a palace that used as the resident of the queen and concubines. It had been convertes as zoo and botany at Japan colonial era before converted back as a palace.
Saya langsung membeli integrated ticket di loket. Apa keuntungan membeli tiket ini dibandingkan tiket masuk biasa? Dengan tiket berbentuk buku mini seharga 10.000 won ini kita sudah bisa masuk ke Istana Changgyeong, Chandeok, Deoksu, Gyeongbok plus..... Huwon Secret Garden dan Jongmyeo Shrine. Sudah saya total kira-kira bisa menghemat 4.000 won, lumayan kan bisa buat jajan tteokpoki sama oden.
I bought the integrated ticket at ticket counter. What is the benefit of integrated ticket instead of ordinary ticket? With this ticket you pay only 10.000 won to visit 4 palaces plus Huwon and Jongmyeo Shrine. You can save around 4.000 won. It formed like a tiny book.
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| Integrated Ticket |
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| Bangunan Istana yang khas dari atap sampai warnanya Unique palace structure from its roof to its color |
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| Foto pohon di dalam Istana, sekalian mengasah skill baca huruf hangul saya : Sansanamu Picture of tree inside palace, I'd like to practice my hangul reading skill : it read sansanamu |
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| Istana Changgyeong juga diminati wisatawan lokal Changgyeong palace filled with domestic tourists too |
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| Salah satu bangunan di Istana Changgyeong. Entah dulu fungsinya apa di dalamnya ada kamar-kamarnya One of building inside Changgyeong palace. I don't know what its function before but there are a lot of chambers inside |
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| Salah Satu Bangunan di dalam Istana Changgyeong Another building inside Changgyeonggung |
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| Nyantai selonjoran dulu Take a rest while enjoy the view |
There was a unique place inside Changgyeong Palace. It was a pond (minus the water). There were a lot of coins inside that might be thrown by the visitors. I didn't know why they threw it, but I followed them anyway. I threw a 100 rupiahs there. No purpose whatsover, just for fun.
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| Itu uang saya yang saya kasih tanda #abaikan #nggakpenting that was my coin, the one I point with arrow #ignorme |
Lanjut... tidak jauh dari kolam uang koin tadi, ada tangga naik. Di sana ada sebuah gerbang dan 2 orang Ahjusshi + loket. Ternyata dibalik gerbang itu sudah masuk area Huwon Secret Garden yang jadi satu dengan Istana Chandeok atau Chandeokgung. Kalau tidak salah gerbang tersebut namanya Hamnyangmun. Saya langsung menyerahkan integrated ticket yang sudah saya beli. Ahjusshinya kelihatan pikir-pikir sebelum nyobek tiket Changdeokgung kita.
Not far from that empty pond, there were stairs that lead to Huwon. You would find the officer that would ask for your huwon ticket. If you bought integrated ticket, you just needed to show your ticket and he/she would rip your Huwon ticket. If you didn't have integrated ticket, you need to buy Huwon ticket and maybe Chandeokgung ticket later too.
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| Tangga menuju Huwon Secret Garden. Bonus foto : travelmate saya yang kece hehehe Stairs that lead to Huwon Secret Garden. Bonus picture : my fashionista travel mate |
We just found out that we arrived 10 minutes late. Last admission to Huwon must be 2 hours before its closed and we have to take the tour around with the available guide (free charge). But since the officer ahjusshi was kind, he allowed us to come in and caught up with the guide who just left. But we decided to explore Huwon without the guide because it was too slow and the guide that available that time was speaking Korean. We couldn't understand her/his explanation anyway if we decided to follow the guide.
If you interested join the english spoken guide, it was available at 10.30 AM and 02.30 PM. Remember last entry to Huwon is 4 PM and limited to 100 visitors. 50 visitors who booked on-line and 50 visitors who bough ticket on site. Don't try your luck like us who came late, maybe you won't be as lucky as us.
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| Pemandangan setelah memasuki gerbang the view after entered the gate |
Di sini saya dan teman saya mengikuti petunjuk jalan dan jalannya luar biasa naik - turun. Saat itu saya masih belum cek in ke guesthouse jadi kita keliling, naik-turun tangga sambil bawa ransel + tas jinjing seberat 7kg, per orang. Bayangkan saja gimana berat dan capeknya. Sesekali kita duduk - duduk sambil foto - foto. Pastikan kalo ke sini pakai sepatu yang enak dan yang gak licin. Karena ada beberapa jalan yang curam, berpasir dan gak ada anak tangganya. Alhasil saya jalan pelan kayak nenek-nenek karena takut kepleset.
You could easily walked around Huwon by following the available sign. The road were dynamic. Sometime uphill, sometime downhill so you better wore comfortable shoes. That time we haven't check in to our guesthouse so we carried all of our luggage around Huwon. 7 kilograms per person, can you imagine how tired we were that time?
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| Pepohonan di Huwon Secret Garden, ssshh... ada penampakan >.< the sight inside Huwon, ps : the one in the right picture wasn't sadako >.< |
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| Bangunan yang dulu digunakan sebagai perpustakaan dan ruang baca Building that used to be a library |
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| Paviliun di pinggir kolam, sambil membayangkan jaman dulu keluarga kerajaan pasti hobinya duduk-duduk di situ A Pavilion near a pond, can you portrait the royal families used to sat in there while talking? |
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| Beberapa turis tampak beristirahat karena kecapekan eksplor bagian dalam Istana yang luas another visitors took a rest from exploring the huge area |
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| Ruangan semacam ruang baca, soalnya banyak buku-bukunya Reading room, I guess. Since there were a lot of books inside |
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| Suasana yang mulai sepi karena sudah jam tutup It was empty since its almost closing time |
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| Memasuki kawasan Chandeokgung Finally reaching Chandeokgung area |
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| Gerbang Utama Istana Chandeok The main gate of Chandeok Palace |
Saya dan teman saya mengikuti tanda exit kemudian
celingukan dan baru menyadari kami berada di gerbang masuk utama Istana
Chandeok. Oh iya ada yang menarik di Istana Chandeok yaitu adanya pohon
yang berusia ratusan tahun lebih sekitar 750 tahun kalau nggak salah.
Me and my friend followed the exit sign and looked around then realized we already reached the main gate of Chandeokgung. There was a 750 years old tree (if I'm not mistaken the number)
Me and my friend followed the exit sign and looked around then realized we already reached the main gate of Chandeokgung. There was a 750 years old tree (if I'm not mistaken the number)
After exploring two palaces, it is time to eat. We haven't decide where to eat then finally decided to eat something simple but filling in convenient store. We experienced the Korean Drama scene where the poor lead actor/actress always eat at convenient store. Hahaha...My friend ate ramyeon whereas I ate "samgak kimbab", it means rice + laver which shaped in triangle. My hangul reading skill was useful in here. 참치 마요네즈 (read : Camci mayonnaise) = tuna mayonaisse! I took two and a mineral water.
Buat yang muslim seperti saya mungkin ini bisa saya rekomendasikan karena isinya ikan tuna bukan daging / babi. 1 bungkus harganya murah 800 won dan mengenyangkan. Saya makan 1 bungkus aja udah kenyang. Biasanya saya beli 2, satunya saya simpan buat kalo sewaktu-waktu lapar. Ini ada tips dari saya. Jadi kemasan samgak kimbab ini nasi dan rumput lautnya dipisah plastik. Makanya kalau buka kemasannya harus hati-hati jangan main sobek entar rumput lautnya sobek jadi nggak bisa dipake buat bungkus nasinya.
For a moslem like me, I recommended this since the filling was tuna not beef/pork. It was cheap and filling, only 800 won. I always carried 2 samgak kimbab with me so I could eat it whenever I was hungry. There was a tip. You have to open the wrap carefully. Just follow the direction on its wrap. One mistake, you might eat a messy samgak kimbab.
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| Samgak Kimbab : Penyelamat perut saya selama di Korea Samgak kimbab : my hunger savior during my Korea trip |
Petunjuk arah :
Naik Subway menuju Stasiun Dongdaemun
Direction :
Ride subway to Dongdaemun Station
Tujuan kami selanjutnya adalah Gerbang Heunginjimun. Bisa ditempuh dengan naik subway sesuai petunjuk yang saya tulis di atas. Tapi waktu itu saya memilih jalan kaki dan jaraknya nggak terlalu jauh, kalo menurut saya lho yaaa. Biasanya kalo objek wisata yang mau kami kunjungi terpaut 1-2 stasiun kami memilih jalan kaki. Selain ngirit bisa sambil liat-liat hehehe. Saya hanya mengandalkan petunjuk arah dan bertanya untuk menuju ke Heunginjimun Gate.
Our next destination was Heunginjimun Gate. You could go there by subway. But since its close by (for us) so we decided to just walk. Usually if the distance between places that we visit only one or two stations, we choose to walk instead of ride subway. Beside save money, you can look around too which was interesting.
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| Heunginjimun Gate Tampak Samping Heunginjimun Gate from side view |
It was hard to get a full photograph of Heunginjimun gate from front since it was huge. Well you could take the full view from across the street but it was a pain for me so I just took the picture from the side like that. It was rush our and most of workers heading home from office so it was crowded. Suddenly another nice Ahjusshi offered to take picture of the two of us while waiting for the traffic light became red. See how come I'm not fall in love with Korean Ahjusshi.
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| Dongdaemun Shopping Area |
Dongdaemun Shopping Area located right behind Heunginjimun Gate. I didn't interested to go there which was a mistake since there were a lot of cheap stuff inside. I just walked around small shop alongside road. There were a lot of stuff from socks, fruits, plant seed and various Korean snack. I ate that curly shaped oden like the one I ate in Indonesia, hotteok (fried flattened bread with filling made from honey / brown / palm sugar, roughly chopped nuts and cinnamon powder) and sikhye (rice punch made from rice and wheat).
Harganya berbeda-beda di tiap tempat. Oden berkisar 500 - 700 won, hotteok 1000 - 2000 won, Sikhye 2000 won. Kalau di Malang, Oden yang beku itu isi 4 harganya 50ribu dan di Jakarta pernah makan di Gandari* City yang udah matang 1 tusuk 12rb. Jadi di Korea saya puas-puasin deh makan oden mumpung murah :D
The prices were various every place. Oden around 500 - 700 won, hotteok 1000 - 2000 won, sikhye 2000 won. In my hometown, a pack of 4 frozen oden 50.000 rupiahs and the cooked one cost 12.000 rupiahs which was expensive. So I ate oden in Korea to my heart content since it was cheap in here.
Selanjutnya tujuan kami adalah Pyounghwa Clothing Market. Letaknya tidak jauh dari Dongdaemun Shopping Area tadi. Saya tertarik ke sini karena pernah baca di sebuah blog katanya baju di sini murah - murah. Dan lagi saya sama temen nggak bawa jaket, kalo temen emang sudah diniati beli coat di Korea kalo kasus saya karena jaket ketinggalan di rumah TT_TT. Jalanlah kita ke sana. Kali aja kalo harganya emang bener-bener murah saya juga mau beli.
Our next destination was Pyounghwa Clothing Market. Its located not far from Dongdaemun Shopping Area. We interested to go here since I read in a blog clothing in here really cheap. My friend didn't bring jacket so she intended to buy one. After we walked around the market we have conclusion that that blog was a liar. The clothing there were really pricey so we ended buy nothing.
Sampailah di satu kios yang jual coat. Coatnya emang bagus-bagus.... tapi harganya bagus juga. Harganya berkisar 70.000-100.000 won (kurs saat itu 1 won = Rp 13, kalikan sendiri yak). Saya sama temen cuma saling tukar pandang aja. Gilaa.... murah darimana? Saya pernah baca kalau kita jangan sampe menerapkan ilmu tawar-menawar yang kita pakai di Indonesia waktu di Korea. Kalo di Indonesia kan kita biasa nawar 50% dari harga asli, bahkan terkadang 75%. Hahahaha. Nah itu Ahjumma bilang ke temen saya mau nawar berapa? Dan terjadilah adegan bisik-bisikan, padahal kita ngobrol pake bahasa Jawa dan tuh Ahjumma nggak mungkin ngerti. Tapi kita tetep main bisik-bisikan.
Saya : Kate mbok nyang piro? *Mau kamu tawar berapa?*
Temen : 30ewu won *30ribu won*
Saya : Edaaan... ojok. Ngawur ae, ojok dipadakno karo ndik Indonesia. Ngkok wonge ngamuk2 *Gilaaaaa.... Jangan. Sembarangan aja, jangan disamakan seperti di Indonesia. Nanti orangnya marah2*
Dan Ahjumma itu memotong pembicaraan kami, sambil tersenyum Ahjumma menyerahkan kalkulator. Temen saya cuma senyam-senyum sambil mengetik nominal yang dia katakan kepada saya tadi. Sayapun mundur teratur, bersiap kabur. Benar saja itu Ahjumma ngomel-ngomel nggak karu-karuan dan kita pun ngibrit. Jangan dicoba ya~
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| Credit to : |
When we walked out from Pyounghwa Market it was already 9.30 PM. We have to hurry to go to Ansan which was quite far from here, about 90 minutes by subway. In our way to subway station, we found a bridge then peeked down and found a river. Is it Cheonggyecheon? We decided to go down and looked around.
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| Cheonggyecheon |
Hari itu kami tutup dengan menginap di sauna yang berada di depan stasiun Ansan. Harganya 8000 won per malam. Awalnya kita ragu. Jadi sauna itu satu bangunan dengan tempat lain (4 lantai kalo nggak salah). Logo saunanya nyala tapi lampu bangunannya mati. Akhirnya saya tanya ke cowok yang duduk nggak jauh dari sauna. Saya tanya saunanya buka apa nggak pakai bahasa Inggris. Nah cowok itu jawab pake bahasa Jawa. Iya bahasa Jawa.
We ended our day with sleeping in Jjimjilbang or Korean sauna right in front of Ansan Station. It costs 8.000 won per night. At first we wasn't sure about the place. The sauna was in the same building with other places (it was a forth level building). The light of the building was off but the sauna sign was on. We found a guy who sat not from us in then asked him in English. He just stared blankly to us like a freak. Then suddenly he spoke to us in our dialect Javanese. Yes Javanese.
Saat itu saya udah capek banget dan setengah ngantuk. Saya kira lagi berhalusinasi atau salah denger. Ternyata bener cowok itu orang Indonesia dan bisa bahasa Jawa. Wkwkwkwk. Jadi masnya di Korea sini kerja dan katanya di Ansan ini banyak orang Indonesianya. Kita jelasin kalo kita mau nginep di sauna, sempet ditawari untuk nginap di tempatnya temen cewek si mas ini tapi kita tolak dengan sopan. Akhirnya kita dianterin ke tempat saunanya yang ternyata ada di bawah tanah (pantes gedungnya gelap, soalnya saunanya di bawah). Setelah dibantu ngomong ke pemilik saunanya kalau kita mau nginep, cowok tadi langsung cuss. Maturnuwun sanget, Mas.
At that time we already tired and sleepy so we thought we were hearing things. But it wasn't our imagination, that guy really spoke our dialect. He was indeed Indonesian and spoke Javanese. He worked in Korea. He said there were a lot of Indonesian people who lived in Ansan. We told him we wanted to stay in sauna. He offered us to stay in his female colleague which we turned down politely. Then he offered to accompany us inside the building. It turned out the sauna was in the basement that was why the upper building's light was off. He helped us to talk to the receptionist before left. Thank you brother.
Kita sudah riset mengenai Jimjilbang alias sauna yang merupakan salah satu tujuan wajib kami di Korea. Jadi kita udah siap mental. Katanya harus telanjang bulat, katanya gini katanya gitu. Whateverlah saya capek,, butuh mandi dan istirahat. Di resepsionis tadi kita dipinjami pakaian satu stel (kaos+celana pendek), handuk dan kunci loker. Saya menyimpan barang-barang di loker yang disediakan.
We studied a lot about Korean Sauna which was our must visit destination in Korea. We already set our mind to be all naked inside Jimjilbang. Yes you have to be naked in jimjilbang together with other female visitors. We didn't mind that. We already tired and desperately need shower and sleep. In receptionist, we get one set clothing (T shirt and short), towel and locker key to keep our belonging.
Di sana cuma ada 2 orang nenek-nenek, 1 ibu-ibu, dan kita berdua. Kita cuek aja langsung lepas baju, toh kita temen dari bayi... Udah biasa mandi bareng. Hahahaha. Kita langsung bawa peralatan mandi + bak kecil dan masuk ke tempat saunanya. Di sana ada showernya. Saya sudah pernah baca peraturan sauna. Jadi harus mandi dulu sampai bersih baru boleh masuk ke dalam kolamnya. Di sana ada 2 kolam, air panas dan air dingin. Ada juga semacam tempat tidur kayu, sepertinya untuk pijat bagi yang mau dipijat yang tentunya bayar.
There were only two halmeoni (grandma), one ahjumma and the two of us. We nonchalantly took off all of our clothings. We are friend since baby so we used seeing each other naked. We used to shower together anyway so it wasn't a big deal. We took our own toiletries (the sauna didn't provide it except towel) and small bucket before entered the bathing area. There was a shower. So here is the rule. You have shower properly before you may entered the pool. There were two pool, hot water and cool water. There were a wooden bed too which was used to massage or body scrub which wasn't free.
Waktu saya masuk hanya ada seorang nenek yang lagi duduk di pinggir kolam air panas. Nggak tahu kenapa saya langsung keder waktu lihat beliau dan firasat saya benar baru masuk kita udah diteriak-teriakin sambil ditunjuk-tunjuk. Saya nggak ngerti Saya salah apa. Saya bilang aja Jimjilbang Cheoeumeyo = Saya baru pertama kali ke Sauna. Entah itu konteksnya bener apa nggak, yang saya tahu Jimjilbang = Sauna dan Cheoeum artinya pertama kali, saya tambahin eyo soalnya katanya kalo +yo itu lebih formal/sopan. Ngarang ajalah demi membela diri.. Beliau sebel dan langsung nyamperin kita. Udah merem-merem aja saya siap ditonjok. wkwkwkw. Ternyata temen saya lupa nutup pintu saunanya. Pantesan diomeli. Hahahaha....
There were only a halmeoni inside bathing area who sat on the edge of the hot water pool. I felt slightly intimidating by her and my gut was right. The moment we entered the bath area she started screaming loudly and pointing at us. I didn't understand what did I do to deserve that. I tried to use my poor Korean "Jimjilbang Cheoeumeyo" which means this is my first time in sauna with a hope she would go easy on us. She didn't buy it and approached us. I was ready to be hit but she just passed me by then walked to the door and closed it. So the reason she was screaming because my friend forgot to close it. That deserved a huge scold. Hahaha.....
Setelah mandi, kita langsung masuk ke kolam air panas. Aduh enak banget berasa ada yang mijitin. Dari leher sampai ujung kaki. Nenek yang tadi udah keluar dari ruang sauna jadi tinggal kita berdua aja. Berasa kayak sauna pribadi. Hahaha... Saking enaknya berendam air panas jadi males keluar. Katanya sih habis berendam air panas, sebaiknya langsung berendam air dingin yang efeknya bisa melancarkan peredaran darah. Tapi saya ogah soalnya tadi udah nyoba airnya dan dingin banget... takut masuk angin.
After showering, we went straight to the hot water pool. It was really good and relaxing. The pain from our neck to tiptoe got better as if someone massaged us. After the halmeoni left, only the two of us left so the sauna practically ours.
Selesai berendam, kita pakai baju yang dipinjemi tadi. Sebelum tidur kita merencanakan besok mau kemana aja. Dan itulah pengalaman hari pertama di Korea. Sampai ketemu di postingan selanjutnya~
After quite some time, we wore the clothing that borrowed to us. Before sleep, we arranged our itinerary for tomorrow. And that's it my first day in South Korea. See you on the next posting. Bye~
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