[Travelogue] Korea Joa Day 10 – Cafe Dudart and Farewell Korea

November 21, 2015July 30, 2019 Jiji

October 9th, Friday – Finally, it was the last day in Korea 🙁 We woke up early to pack our stuff. As a traveller, packing and unpacking stuff can be a troublesome thing to do. I thought I did well by packing all my stuff but I did not, as I ended up leaving my phone charger as well as my house keys in Seoul 🙁

After saying our farewells to the staff and Korea Joa members, we have a few hours left before we checked out from the hotel at 1PM. So, we were contemplating on what to do. As an avid fan of Jay Park, I always wanted to visit his cafe, especially during this trip, but as our schedules was so packed, we didn’t have a chance to do so. So, we decided not to waste that precious few hours, grabbed our wallets and got into the subway, and off we were to Café Dudart at Apgujeong Rodeo.

The café and bakery, which is part of “Café Dudart” franchise, was officially opened in July with the name “Café Dudart Apgujeong Rodeo Park Jaebum branch”. Café Dudart is a part of a Japanese franchise, which has been operating since 2011 and is famous for their roasted coffee.

Upon arriving at Apgujeong Rodeo Station, we were lost at which direction to walk to. Again, Mr. Google Maps was not helping. At that blurred moment, I saw a tall, handsome and stylish guy – holding a cup of coffee, Iphone and standing like a model at the corner waiting for his friend. Yes, I ran to ask for his help…ㅋㅋㅋ

He wasn’t familiar with the cafe either, but he tried his best using his phone app to look for the direction. In case you are reading this post, thank you so much for being so helpful! Lol… Well, even in my second trip to South Korea, I found out that the people were so helpful.

Cafe Dudart (3) — Yeay! Arrived without getting lost.

Cafe Dudart (1) — Inside, the cafe was decorated with Jay Park and AOMG stuff and design

Cafe Dudart (2) — Autographed mugs in one corner

Cheese cake cafe dudart — Jay Park’s fans suggested us to try this cheese cake, so yummy!

Unfortunately, it was a short visit since we have to rush back to the hotel. At 1.00pm we checked out from the Ritz Carlton hotel and took a taxi with our translator Jenny. The journey by taxi took a long time as there was quite some traffic due to the public holiday – South Korea is celebrating Hangeul Day on 9th October to remember the creation of Hangeul, the country’s native alphabet.

Arriving at the airport, our coordinator Minju was already waiting for us at the airport and urged us to check in quickly. The moment I stepped into the airport, I was surprised by the amount of people. It was freaking crowded and we were told that it is pretty normal if there is a public holiday. Seriously? I was quite nervous because of the super long queue, and I don’t think we can check-in on time. Our flight is at 4.30PM, and by 3.40PM there was still a long queue ahead. GOSH! Luckily, with the help of our coordinator and airport staff, we used the emergency lane to check in and managed to get in just on time. Thank God!

Oh, just info sharing. If you are travelling by Korean Air, you are allowed to check in with one luggage only. Second luggage will be charged USD 100 and third luggage will be charged USD 150. So, managed your stuff properly. Buy a large luggage!

IMG_20151009_174120 — Didn’t took any photos at the airport. But here, our in-flight meals.

Finally it was a real goodbye. Thank you for having us, Korea. It was an unforgettable experience and really left us with a deeper understanding of Korean culture, food, history, Korean drama and films, K-pop and so on. We will sure to come back soon!

SPECIAL THANKS

SAMSUNG CSC — Our last group photo! Not completed as some of them went back already! Till next time..

To our KOFICE beautiful ladies, Minju and Julia who had worked hard planning and coordinating things since early year, thank you so much. Thank you for having us, taking care of us, and giving us the best experience ever. Love you guys! To the KOFICE General Director, Mr. Kim Deok Jung and each and every staff in KOFICE, thank you so much. I will remember all of you. To our lovely translators Jen, Jenny, Kali, Narae and Yunsu, thank you for all the help. Great to know all of you.<3 Shout out to all my Korea Joa members: Lisa (HanCinema), Dan (DramaFever), Jenny (Soompi), Paul (Hangul Celluloid), Yannie (K-pop Fighting), Germaine (SG Xclusive), Freya (United K-pop), Mish (PKCI), Jeff (Fuse TV), Johnny (AU Review), Jae (K-Music), Adrian and Yun Ting (Hello Kpop), Lucy and Rose (Destination K-pop), Krys, Bonnie and Jimin (Koreaboo). It was nice meeting you guys, thank you for the memories. Keep in touch and see you guys again! To my partner Ida, thank you for putting up with me for the whole trip and thank god I’m not a loner! :p