It’s already been a little more than a week since I got back from the solo birthday trip of my dreams, and best believe that I’m still wallowing in post-trip nostalgia.

I want to blog and remember everything about this meaningful trip, but I’m honestly still trying to process everything that has happened. Right off the bat, I’m just so grateful to have brought home so many valuable lessons and discoveries from those 7 wonderful days. I’ll save those thought pieces for Cup of T, because here I just want to share fun mood boards and talk about all the places, activities, and key moments from each day.

A lot of people have also been asking about my itinerary, so this could also serve as a guide to anyone who wants it. ❤

Korea Day 0

• 1PM: My flight to Incheon was after lunch but I actually came from a wedding of one of my closest friends, so I didn’t really have much sleep. I was just very lucky to board a smooth and peaceful flight—literally just half of the plane was occupied and I also had the entire section to myself. I immediately passed out for a good 2 hours after boarding and woke up to the most beautiful sunset. It felt as if Seoul was welcoming me with the warmest hug—the kind that wraps around your whole heart, giving you unexplainable joy.
• 6PM: Right when I landed, I said a prayer of gratitude and started playing seoul by RM, as requested by my best friend and fellow hallyu fan. It was the perfect song to set the mood and really welcome me to the city I’ve been dreaming of visiting ever since the pandemic. I couldn’t believe it was finally happening—that God had blessed me with such a gift and that I’d made it to Korea on my own. I just kept whispering, “Pinch me, I’m dreaming” to myself the whole time we were taxiing.
• 8PM: I had to wait for the express train (AREX) to Seoul and was starving so I grabbed a gimbap from a GS25 inside the airport. It was lowkey one of the things I was looking forward to doing (buying from their lovely convenience stores), so I was instantly so full of joy even before seeing the actual city.
• 10PM: Made it to my hotel in Myeongdong! I chose this area because it’s smack in the middle of Seoul, which made it very easy to get around using the train and bus. Even if it’s not as vibrant as it used to be, I just wanted to be in a familiar place since it was where I stayed my first time in Seoul back in 2018. The name of my hotel was Sotetsu Fresa Inn Seoul Myeongdong. It’s right along one of the main streets of Myeongdong so it was quite busy with all the food trucks and people walking outside, but the rooms were very sound-proof and nice.
• 12AM: I made two calls before bed—first to my friends because they were all in one place celebrating my best friend’s birthday, and another one to my mom to check in and say goodnight to my dog. I was so pumped for my first full day in Seoul and brought melatonin just in case I couldn’t keep the adrenaline down, but thankfully I slept like a baby!

That was it for day 0. I’ll be posting about the succeeding days of my trip in the next few days and weeks so please look forward to it!