No Tricks, Only Treats at Trick Eye Museum

I love museums. But don't you just hate it when you see "Do not touch." signs all over the place? Trick Eye Museum changes all that. Here, you can experience art in the literal and figurative sense. And if you're into cam-whoring, you're definitely in for a treat!

Just like in any other museum, of course you have to get tickets before you could get in. But unlike in other museums, you are actually encouraged to touch the art. Or better yet, be part of it!

We freely opened random doors, drank fresh cups of wine straight from the barrel, accepted bribes from tax collectors, picked up dollar bills along the way, caught a falling apple right before it hit the ground, and even gave a naked lady a manicure.

We filled a priest's glass with more wine, stole a few bills from a lovely couple, pulled on a lady's beautiful necklace, and helped a stranger cheat his way to winning a card game. All without having to suffer the consequences. How fun is that?

We became as tall as a giant and as tiny as Tinkerbell in a matter of minutes! Oh it feels so good to be tall even for just a moment.

We washed our hands in mystical water, caught a Bungeoppang/Taiyaki (a fish-shaped Korean/Japanese pastry filled with sweet red bean paste), and played with an Old English couple's dog.

We went from being all lady-like smelling roses and pouring tea to going crazy splashing water at a random lady and almost staring at Medusa's eyes. Oh the horror!

We also had part-time jobs for a while. I got chased by a rhino in court while Jona smoked under a No Smoking sign. We kept feeding an obese Mona Lisa but tried to stop David from eating yet another cone lest he gets too fat. You see, you do get fat if you don't move.

We tried a few more things: breaking in by kicking a glass window, stealing a neighbor's pig, and playing billiards. Aaand almost got hurt in the process.

We sure gave "The Scream" man something to scream about. Haha

We even became ballerinas for a day!

Who cares if it's raining cats and dogs outside? It was sunny inside - perfect weather to ride our pink Vespas around the city!

Where the party at?? We've got cake, balloons, moving paintings, and uhh... a floating head for the main course? Yikes!

Who says you can't be rich in an instant? We obviously did! We were so filthy rich, the paparazzi couldn't help but take pictures of us. How flattering! Better grab a copy of this month's Forbes magazine before they run out! HAHAHA

So what do you do when you've got that much money? Go shopping, of course! See, we even brought our posh dog along.

And because we're rich, we can do anything we want! We tried our hand at weight-lifting, cutting other people's hair, and photography. We even tried to stop time! Or at least slow it down a bit. So what do you do if you have that much time in your hands? Just sit under a train stop? Go traveling, of course! First stop: Hawaii.

Then we stopped by Venice for a quick gondola ride, Japan to have a taste of their giant sushi, and Korea to have tea with the king.

Oh and China too, to hang out with these adorable pandas. *u*

We even explored some unknown territory. HAHAHA

And became sexy laaaadies. Op-op-op-op oppa Gangnam style!

Time is too short though. Eventually, the tour had to end. But not without going through a mirror maze before you can get back to reality. One should be careful enough not to bump into one of the mirrors but not too cautious that you end up holding hands with strangers and start screaming your head off like I did. Oops.

Jona and I had too much fun in the museum, we ran out of time! We weren't able to explore the rest of the installation art scattered around the floor like the rest of the girls did. Well, there is always next time.

Trick Eye Museum is located at Seoul-si Mapo-gu Seogyo-dong 357-1 Seogyo Plaza B02-01 and tickets cost ₩13,000/person. Don't forget to bring your cameras with you! And if you're in a large group like us, it's better to split up into groups of 3 (not 2!) for faster photo ops. But if there are only 2 of you, you can always ask the staff to help you take pictures.


Traveling party: Erin, Faye, Jona (organizer), Light (organizer), Rona, Sera (organizer), and Vanie
Travel date: 11 November 2012 [Day 6]
Photo credits: Faye, Light, Vanie

SK 2012: Itinerary? What itinerary?

The past few days have been nothing but amazing. However, a great vacation always comes with a price. We were all exhausted come Day 6. By this time, the minty smell of pain relievers no longer bothered us. Yep, not even me and that says a lot. Salonpas, Katinko, Korean menthol strips. Name it, we have it. So for our last day, we decided to drop everything off our itinerary and just do whatever we want.

For a change, we woke up late and went to the nearby Hollys Coffee to grab some breakfast. Yay, breakfast at 10AM instead of 6AM! It was raining pretty hard so we were drenched by the time we reached the cafe. It was all good though because the cafe was toasty. I had a blueberry bagel and a cup of their Real Belgian Cafe Mocha. The bagel was okay, nothing special. The coffee was a bit too sweet for my liking but you can really taste the Belgian chocolate in it. I just prefer my coffee/hot cocoa rich and creamy, not sugary sweet.

Starbucks South Korea merchandise

Due to the rainy weather, we decided to head to Trick Eye Museum first. We passed by a Starbucks on the way there and we couldn't help but check out their merch. I have a thing for limited edition tumblers so I had to buy a Seoul Day tumbler. Too bad, the Seoul Night design was out of stock. :(

At Trick Eye Museum

We thought it was a good idea to visit the museum on a rainy day. It turns out, most people thought so too. The place was packed! We split into groups of two to make the photo ops faster but yeah, it still took us a while to get through the entire exhibit thanks to our OC-ness. Our trip to the museum was so fun, it deserves it's own post. :)

Bring out the inner child in you!

After the museum, it's time for merienda (which ended up as lunch as well). Faye and Ate Light went to look for Charlie Brown Cafe (which has been closed down unfortunately) while the rest of us went to Hello Kitty Cafe. Jona asked for directions from a petite girl while the rest of us chatted away. Jona suddenly told us, "Oh, okay na. Ihahatid daw tayo." and we all went "Yay!" when the girl (I forgot her name OMG :c) suddenly got all excited and asked if we're from the Philippines. We wondered how she knew, but we said yes. It turns out, she understood what Jona said! What's even more amazing was that she studied high school in Colegio de San Agustin and her favorite subject was Hekasi. How awesome is that? She was on her way to meet some friends when Jona approached her so we waited for them to arrive. And when they did, she was so excited to tell them that she met people from the Philippines! I love how her friends reacted the same way. She obviously had a fun time in the Philippines and I'm glad she did. Makes me even more proud of our little country. :)

Kitty-chan, we meet again!

I've been to HK Cafe before but that didn't stop me from buying more merch. :"> After our super late lunch, we went along Hongdae road (which we thought was the Ewha strip haha) to shop. Jona and I bought matching bags from a cute little store whose owner was blasting a familiar song. As if thinking what I'm thinking, Jona asked me if I was listening to the song. We couldn't contain our excitement as we asked the shop owner if she knows who the singer is. She said with a smile that it's Juris, a Filipino artist. Antaray lang ni Juris! International levelsss!!! [FYI, it was an MYMP song/CD. :)]

Did I mention how much I love Market O?

After shopping in Hongdae, Jona and I were on our way to the subway when we passed by an Olive Young store. Olive Young = Market O goodies. So we had to stop for a little while and finally finish our Market O hoarding. Yes, hoarding! WE LOVE MARKET O! I still remember the first time I saw it's beautiful packaging and the first time I tasted it after starving for so long. It was love at first bite, I tell ya! And I just couldn't forget it from then on. I just have to bring home enough Market O goodies to last me a couple of days. Or weeks. Haha

SK 2012: East Meets West

I've been to Nami Island before and the almost 2-hour commute is literally a pain in the ass. It's worth it though and I wouldn't miss going back there during the fall season where all the leaves are turning into beautiful shades of red. As expected, Nami found it's way back to our itinerary. To make the commute even more worth it, we decided to visit Petite France as well since it's also in Gyeonggi-do, just two stations away from Nami.

We woke up around 7:30 AM (an hour later than our original plan) and met up with Faye's cousins so all in all, there are now 12 of us. Field trip much? As we made our way to the subway, a group of ajummas approached us and asked for directions. They looked like Filipinos but I know better than to assume. We were already telling them how to get to their guesthouse when one of their amigas suddenly spoke in Filipino! Kami na nag-Englishan sa Korea! Haha Apparently, they thought we were locals and told us we look like Koreans already (even though we've been in SK for only 4 days). Maybe because of our outfits? :)) I don't know. But as a traveler, passing as a local in any country is definitely a compliment.

Before and after

To get to Gyeonggi-do, it took two train transfers, one of which was more than an hour long. But as you already know, I can sleep through anything. And apparently, so can the rest of the girls! Haha Obviously, this week-long trip is slowly taking it's toll on us.

SK 2012: From Neverland to Everland

The first time Jona and I were in South Korea, our trip to Everland became more like a trip to Neverland. It was on our itinerary but we never made it there. We just didn't have enough time on our hands and the winter air was too harsh for outdoor rides. So this time, we vowed to go to Everland no matter what happens.

Bus #5002

Jona is our navigator for the day so she's responsible for all the commuting directions which felt really good as I can finally relax and just enjoy the trip. I've been having cramps since last night so today kind of felt like a day off for me.

SK 2012: Traditional Meets Modern Seoul

I woke up around 7:00 AM feeling recharged. Thanks to our hanok's ondol flooring, I slept like a baby. The heated floors were like hot compresses on my tired and hurting legs. So good~!

Complimentary traditional breakfast. Excuse our bangag faces.

Our host called us one by one for our free complimentary traditional breakfast around 8:00 AM. She told us that we should eat breakfast first before anything else (i.e. make-up). I later found out that she told Faye to wait for everyone to be seated at the table before she starts eating. Haha Low EQ kasi e! I guess they value meal times that much.

SK 2012: Hey Seoul Sisters!

Autumn in South Korea is hands-down our most-awaited trip of the year. The girls and I have been raving about it for the longest time, even our office mates can't help but get excited for us. Even though it'll be my second time there, I feel just as giddy as I was the first time simply because it was love at first sight for me and SK. It's definitely one of those places you'll never get tired of going back to.

We were lucky enough to book tickets during one of Cebu Pacific's crazy piso sale promos, so it's alright even if we ended up with red-eye flights. Not bad for Php 3,000+ yo! At least we get a breathtaking view of the city skyline during take-off and landing. Plus, we can easily sleep through the 4-hour flight. This trip was a year in the making and I spent grueling hours researching just to make the most out of our 6-day trip. All that effort was worth it though seeing them girls get excited by just looking at the itinerary and sample photos.

Waiting for airport limousine bus #6002

We arrived at Incheon International Airport (IIA) around 6 AM. After exchanging a few dollars to wons at the nearest Foreign Exchange booth for breakfast and transportation money, we bought/topped-up our Seoul City Pass Plus cards which is basically T-money with additional discounts for tourists. Tip#1: Do not exchange all your travel money at the airport. Wait until you get to Myeong-dong where you can find some of the best rates.

Lost in Translation: Google Maps Edition

I love being a tourist but I also love feeling like a local whenever I go on trips so I do tons of research beforehand. My itinerary would always end up looking something like this:

OC freak

Of course, itineraries don't always get followed but I try! They only serve as guides so I don't overstay and lose track of time in a certain place. If you noticed, I always include directions (sometimes even pictures) whenever I create an itinerary because I'm terrible at reading maps and street signs. Being the OC freak that I am, I wanted to see if I could easily follow the directions I put in so I tried finding my way to our hanok stay* guesthouse via Google Maps. After a lot of wrong turns, I finally found the right place. Yay!

Friends House

I kept on looking for the Arim Stationery store (one of the landmarks the guesthouse gave us) only to find out their sign's written in Hangul! No wonder I couldn't find it easily. Good thing, I took time to try and learn how to read and write in Hangul. See, I take my research seriously. Haha

Arim Stationery

*Hanok Stay refers to staying in a traditional Korean house. It is a good opportunity to experience traditional Korean lifestyle and culture. - Korea Tourism Organization