Blogs from Insadong, Seoul, South Korea, Asia

Dear All Greetings from Seoul! My final stop on my adventures this summer. I am glad to have arrived here, and feel quite proud of myself for having made it overland and independently from Tokyo to Seoul, having seen some amazing places and had some amazing experiences on the way. It is from Seoul, on Wednesday, that I fly back to my beloved England, and settle into my everyday life again once more, rejuvenated no doubt from having explored yet another corner of the world, and learnt just that bit more about this beautiful planet upon which we live. I am also feeling tired now, and am looking forward to some lovely days of rest in my lovely home, enjoying the post-trip contemplation stage of what has really been a memorable trip. I believe I last ... read more

I’ve come to South Korea having done little in the way of research. Seoul has been wonderful surprise. Once again, I'm reminded of how Eurocentric my education was and how much I've missed as a result. After years of visiting cities in China, Seoul seems cleaner, better organized and the locals seem calmer. Most of what you see in Seoul is relatively new. It was almost completely destroyed during the Korean War, when the North Koreans quickly took over Seoul after invading the South. Driving the North out destroyed the City which had already suffered considerably from the 35 year Japanese occupation before the beginning of WWII. Even many of the historic sights are actually new. The Japanese destroyed many long before the beginning of WWII. Most have been rebuilt from scratch over the years since ... read more

And so after a month in the awe-inspiring Middle Kingdom, it was time to say goodbye, but there was yet one more mini-adventure to come. The day before my departure, Shanghai airport was hit by a wave of flight postponements due to a typhoon, and that meant an inordinate number of flights scheduled for the day of my departure, and an even more inordinate number of irritated passengers at the airport. It was a scene I'd never seen before, two-hour long lines to check-in, which I finally managed to do AFTER the original scheduled departure time of my flight! The airlines had sensibly taken into account the circumstances, and delayed the flights accordingly. I have to say despite the clear unpreparedness of the airport and airline staff for such situations, they remained relatively calm and polite, ... read more

Today is the first day where I actually go out and see something from Seoul Korea. When I woke up I had a quick shower and dress and packed my day pack. What I took with me was a bottle of water, camera, phone, Ipod & earphones, money and a cardigan (in case I get cold). Sandra came to my room at 10:30am and we went to get breakfast together. She took me to a subway station near my hotel and bought tickets to go to Insadong, a district of art galleries and museums and traditional Korean street food, snacks and drinks. They also sold unique souvenirs, hand-made cutlery, hand-made jewelries and different art and craft supplies.When we arrived, we exited gate 5 and started to was down the street and into a large alley way. ... read more

Well this blog isn't really about travelling, but it is about experiencing culture through food. Something I really enjoy. I love Korean food, but didn't really know where to start when it came to trying to cook it myself, so I signed up for a nine week cookery class. The course I took was run by the Institute of Korean Royal Cuisine. the course took place in their istitute in near Anguk station in Seoul, right next to Changdeokgung Palace. The building is a traditional Hanok, set around a courtyard, it's so pretty. The Institute of Korena Royal Cuisine researches and passes on the Royal Cuisine of the Joseon Dynasty, which is a nationally designated important intangible property. Each week we had a different teacher, who would teach us the dishes, the teachers seemed to teach ... read more