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In case you did not already know, I am in South Korea for a little over five weeks. This might be considered to be somewhat of an overkill given that the country is relatively small, but it does likely mean that I will be able to truly dawdle if I want to, or are just lazy. The main problem of course is that I have already been here six days and have not got the blog quite off the ground yet (until of course this goes out). There will have to be some brevity therefore on what has already happened. Hopefully this can be made up with happy snaps of whatever it is worth looking at.
So I arrived here on Monday 28 May. Got the airport train ARREX from the airport to Seoul Station (about an hour) and changed to a metro to get to my hotel. Which despite the fact that I chose one that was relatively "easy to find" (i.e. not down some alley somewhere as urban geography here can be somewhat "close"), I nevertheless ended up going the wrong way - managing to miss a neon sign on top of it (mind you it was a
Seoul subway
they are all on smart phones10 storey building). I used that the room was without windows, which effectively meant internal. It was comfortable enough and of course the ubiquitous WiFi was enough to keep the connected traveler happy. I had booked this hotel for three nights (it was just under $90 a night) so that I had a chance to find my bearings and find cheaper digs later.
Tuesday 29 May: did not do much today other than wander around the neighbourhood. The hotel faced onto the Cheongyecheon stream which was reclaimed from being under a roadway. It is effectively now a babbling brook running over stones etc and is about 20 feet below the roadways that run alongside so is quite peaceful. Ended up poking around the Gwanjang market and was invited to sit down at a food stall and had one of the traditional large fried flatcakes called nokchu buchingae (mungbean flatcakes) my guidebook says - not to mention a small bottle of soju - the local brewed spirit like vodka type beverage
30 May: decided that heading to the most popular royal palace was the only way to go - namely Geongbokgung - in Korean "-gung" means palace. Arrive just
green tea latte (hot)
from a machine, quite OK in time to see a sort of period dress card march around -- wearing a lot of pheasant feathers in their caps I noted. The palace. It's a large sprawling palace and there is also a National Folk Museum on the grounds it has a lot of period costumes etc but I did not spend much time there. The photographs can speak for themselves as to the palace.
Once out of there I headed around the back to the current equivalent of the royal palace, Cheongwadae - which is the Blue House for the president (blue roof tiles were reserved for the Emperor in the olden days). There were plenty of police roadblocks and although I was led through after some questions that the first one I had was turned back at the one near the top of the hill. The morning paper announced that the King of Sweden was in town so it may have been something to do with that.
Since there was no possible progress there headed up through Samcheongdong which is supposedly like the Seoul Beverley Hills - although the much more expensive Apgujeong on the other side of the Hangang River to the
south is much more the Rodeo Drive. Lots of twee coffee shops and dubious Italian restaurants - I know as I ate in one of them at a place called Ozkitchen. I had a spaghetti dish which was allegedly Italian which was supposedly mushroom pasta with enchoby (which I took to be anchovy!) - it came with rounds of what must have been of very thick mushroom stalk, which I at first took to be small fried potato slices, fried whole cloves of garlic and no anchovy that I could tell! So somewhat aware Korean versions of Italian food I think.
31 May: headed down toMyeongdong/Namsan area and took the cable car up to N Seoul Tower. As it was fairly smoggy I had decided I was not going to pay an extra $9 to be in a tall tower even further above the smog as there would be no view worth looking at. Ended up eating up there on top of the hill though at a place called Oriental Roo (not sure whether all these Australian type names are aspirational or what!). Anyway had a more than reasonable big bowl of seafood noodles. Myeongdong at the bottom is
probably the most intensive part of Seoul for shopping and small eateries. There is almost more neon and fluoro there than Hong Kong as you will likely see from the photograph included.
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Huddo
non-member comment
Ice Man and more.
Great wrap-up of your days so far. Loved the photo of the Ice Man, and gangster poster. Lots of dry fish, and the lights in Myeongdong look like a small city on there own, cafe sign very cool. Like the hats on the Palace guards, he he. Love Huddo and girls.