Pretty, Clean City
Trip Start
Jan 30, 2010
1
38
50
Trip End
Sep 08, 2010
Where I stayed
Backpacker Mr Sea's
Seoul, Korea Rep.
Monday, July 5, 2010
We arrived in Seoul, bustling capital of South Korea groggy and tired after our twelve hour flight from San Francisco. On our first day in Seoul we didn't do much, staggering to the corner store to buy pot noodles. Thankfully, that night we had a good sleep and we were ready to look around the next day.
We started by taking the crowded subway to the Seoul Tower, on a hill overlooking the city. Unfortunately, the city was very smoggy and the views weren't great. After descending the hill, we walked to Nandaemun Market, the oldest and largest in Seoul. We didn't buy anything, but we could have probably furnished our whole house and bought enough for the rest of our life.
After a lunch of Kimichi(not recommended), we took the subway to the Changdoek Palace, where the Korean Royal Family used to live. The Palace was huge taking around three hours to see just some parts. Most buildings were painted red, with shining yellow tiles adorning the roof. On the corners of the roofs are small statues. The more statues, the higher the building is ranked.
We enjoyed our time in Seoul, but we did miss some things we all want to see. There are many other palaces, and a visit to the DMZ with North Korea would be interesting to see.
Comments
THAT PALACE in Seoul must have been amazing. Those old kings could pretty much do what they want with treasury and the people. And slaves were easy to come by. I hope you got some pictures.
Too bad about the DMZ, but it's been there over fifty years and will probably be there another fifty, unless one side or the other gives. no one wants to compromise. I imagine that you are still in Mongolia. I wanna hear about that section of your trip. I send my love and hopes that things continue to go well...
Seoul sounds like it has some interesting things to see and do, and was a good stopover. I received your card from Mongolia. What an experience that must be. I'll look forward to hearing about it. And, by the way, where are you now? I've got a big hug for you when you get home from all your travels.
Love,
Grandma
I think visiting the royal palace would be an amazing experience. That's a really interesting bit of information to know that the number of statues on each roof indicates the status of each building.
So glad to hear from you again.Missed you these last weeks.Longing to hear about Mongolia.Love to all
Granny