Lost In The City: Lotte World, Namsangol Hanok, N Seoul Tower (Part 4)

On our fourth day we decided to have a little fun, bring out the kids in us. One of the best places to do that would be in an amusement park, and we were going to the biggest indoor theme park in the world, meet Lotte World. Conveniently located in downtown Seoul, Lotte World is an all-in-one entertainment complex which boasts of an indoor theme park, an outdoor theme park, a shopping center, a hotel and a museum.

It is one of the two famous amusement parks in Korea (the other being Everland) flocked by locals and tourists. Make sure to arrange your visit on a weekday and check out if there is a school break or national holiday to avoid the dreaded long lines. We arrived early and purchased the adult ticket for 40,000 won each. It includes free admission to all the facilities and unlimited access to all the rides. There are discounted tickets available for children and for admissions after 4 pm. Also, do check out the KTO website for occasional discount coupons. During our visit we were able to avail of a 20% discount coupon from the KTO website.

hello FUN!

Upon entering Lotte World, you will be welcomed by the gigantic indoor theme park known as Indoor Adventure. Spanning 4 floors, it has over 22 rides, an ice skating rink, several fast foods & restaurants and a folk museum. Think of it as Star City on steroids! There's also a stage where a number of shows are performed daily to the tune of the season's festival (we experienced Masquerade). Despite being the largest indoor theme park in the world, Indoor Adventure is still fairly compact. You will be able to cover everything in half a day provided you plan your visit well. During our visit, the queues for most of the rides took from 15 to 45 minutes.

Of the 22 attractions we were able to try 8 which were: The Adventures of Sinbad (story telling boat ride, harmless, 2/5), The Conquistador (swinging boat, a little daring, 3/5), Flume Ride (waterfall plunge, a little daring, 3/5), Drunken Basket (spinning tops, for kids, 1/5), Jungle Adventure (story telling boat ride, harmless, may get wet, 1/5), World Monorail (elevated train, harmless, great views of the park, connects 2 theme parks, harmless, 2/5), Pharaoh's Fury (special effects car ride, harmless, 2/5) and Aeronauts Balloon Ride (suspended hot air balloon ride, great views of the indoor park, not for anyone afraid of heights, harmless, 4/5).

To be honest, most of the rides found in Lotte World are for kids. Those looking for more daring rides should go to Everland. A couple of promising rides which we missed were the Giant Loop (continuous 360 degree loops, will get you really dizzy, daring) and French Revolution (full speed indoor roller coaster, daring).

Indoor theme park

Flume Ride

Crime

Punishment

After life

Ice ice baby

KatsuBAD

After a forgettable lunch, we headed outdoors to Magic Island, an artificial island standing in the middle of Seokchon Lake. Magic Island is an outdoor theme park home to the more thrilling rides of Lotte World. Most of its 17 rides will cater to a more mature crowd. From here, it is easy to appreciate the fairy tale castle designs of the theme park as well as the surrounding skyscrapers of the city.

Some of the rides we were able to try include: Bungee Drop (bungee jumping simulation, daring, not for anyone afraid of heights, 4/5), Swing Tree (swinging chair, a little daring, 3/5), Bumper Car (classic bump cars, harmless, 2/5) and the park's most famous ride, Gyro Drop (free fall, extremely daring, 70 meters in 2 seconds, not for anyone who wants to live, I went solo, 5/5).

Due to time constraints (dad lost his glasses and mom wanted to go back to shopping), we were not able to try the other rides. A few other rides you guys might want to try if you're ever visiting include: Atlantic Adventure (outdoor roller coaster, daring), Gyro Swing (vertical and horizontal spinning top, daring), The Comet Express (roller coaster, daring) and Waikiki Wave (suspended waves simulation, a little daring).

I believe that your enjoyment of Lotte World will depend on how you view it. If you compare it to Disneyland or other huge amusement parks, you will be greatly disappointed both in terms of size and content. But how many attractions can you really fit in 1 day? If you only have a day to spend then Lotte is more than enough. Lotte also gets plus points for being conveniently located and for having a fully airconditioned indoor section. You wouldn't have to worry if its too cold or too hot; or whether if it will rain or not. Here, you are always sure of your plans pushing through and at least having a decent experience. If you're in a group with children or elderly members, Lotte World is the perfect, hassle free place to go for some good times. If you'll ask me, I would have preferred to go to Everland for the bigger & badder rides but I did have a lot of fun in Lotte World.

To get here, take the subway to Jamsil station and head to exit 4.

Outdoor theme park

Bungee drop: for teens #sisiw

Gyro Drop: I Dare YOU!

We returned to Myeongdong for dinner and ate at the oldest restaurant in the area, Yeongyang Center. Yeongyang is famous for two dishes: tongdak (roasted chicken) and samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup). Obviously, those were what we ordered. Tongdak tastes exactly like Max Fried Chicken in the Philippines. Crispy skin with tender meat and a salty taste. The ginseng chicken soup was stuffed with rice and had little flavor. For the affordable prices (bill for 4 came out 20,000 ++ won) the food was acceptable. It's an ok restaurant to dine in especially if you're craving for chicken.

To get here, take the subway to Myeongdong station and head to exit 6. Walk along Myeongdong-8 gil for 2 minutes until you reach the first intersection. Turn left and walk for 50 meters. Yeongyang Center is on your left side besides a Levi's.

Tongdak at the Yeongyang Center

After dinner, we went our separate ways and I found myself exploring the nearby sights. I was able to make a quick stop at Namsangol Hanok Village. It's a cultural center consisting of 5 hanoks (traditional Korean houses) fron the Joseon era. Namsangol was already about close when I arrived and I only had a few minutes to look around. Nonetheless, I was able to view all 5 and I must say, they weren't any different from the ones I'd seen in Bukchon. I believe that visiting one hanok place is enough, as the experience you'll get is the same unless if you go to the Korean Folk Village which is just massive in size with over 260 hanoks but then again it's quite far from Seoul.

To get to Namsangol Hanok Village, take the subway to Chungmuro station and head to exit 3. Walk along Hanongmae gil (tiny street) for 3 minutes until you reach Namsangol's gate.

Namsangol Hanok: Sorry phone camera failed me

Moving on, a scenic bus ride took me up to Mount Namsan where I found the N Seoul Tower perched high and proud. "New" Seoul Tower has been an iconic Seoul landmark since it opened in 1980. The views of the city below are superb and the temperature is jacked up several notches. Actually, I could see the tower from as far back as Myeongdong but it was definitely prettier up close and especially, during the nighttime when neon lights surrounding the tower were flickering and changing colors. Inside N Seoul you'll find an observatory, a rooftop terrace, a Teddy Bear Museum, N Grill (French restaurant), Hancook (Korean buffet) and the Sky Restroom (toilet up in the clouds?). Entrance fees cost from 9,000 to 42,000 won depending on which package you choose and / or whether you're also entering the museum or dinning at Hancook.

At the foot of the tower are a couple of restaurants, cafes and a souvenir gift shop. There's also a terrace where I found a fence full of locks with notes of love. I was tempted to write on my own lock but I didn't have anyone to write about. I was waiting for some random drunk girl to whisk me away just like in my favorite Korean movie "My Sassy Girl" but unlucky me, no such person came that day, haha.

Anyways, enough of the wishful thinking, I think the N Seoul Tower is no different from any other tower observatory I've visited. The experience is the same albeit with a different view. It's still worth a visit though, because it's open until 11 pm so you can squeeze it after you've finished up your day's itinerary. Also you don't even need to pay and go atop the tower, the views at the grounds of N Seoul are already wonderful. Lastly, it's the perfect place to just hang out on a bench, grab a cup of coffee and watch the city go to sleep.

Getting to N Seoul Tower is an experience in itself. The first option is to take the bus which costs 550 won. This is easier, cheaper and more convenient. A bus stop is located at the foot of Chungmuro station exit 2. Take the yellow bus # 2 which goes directly below N Seoul Tower (there is English displayed on the bus routes). You can use your T-Money card on the bus.

The second option is to ride the cable car costing 6,300 won round trip. This is more adventurous and offers more dramatic views. From Myeongdong station exit 3, walk until you reach the Pacific Hotel. At the Pacific Hotel intersection, head left and walk straight for 10 minutes until you reach a dead end. Head up the stairway and walk until you reach the cable car platform. Buy cable car tickets and enjoy your ascent to Mount Namsan and into N Seoul Tower.