Seoul

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All of this blog was written months ago on my last trip but have only just got around to publishing. Since then iv'e returned home for nine months and am now back in Japan. Will update from that trip again soon.



Hell's teeth its cold here.

Arrived on my flight from Tokyo late afternoon and took the train into town followed by the subway but all of that just connects up via tunnels so i'd never actually been outside. Once outside the subway in the real world I made it 100 yards of the 200 hundred to my hotel before i was delving in the bag for my hat, gloves and scarf, even that didn't make much difference by the time i arrived i was frozen. Checked the weather report and it was a bone numbing minus 16 degrees. It wasn't warm in Japan but a sight better than this. At least its snow free at the moment.

First morning it was up with the lark (a rather lazy lark that didn't get itself out of bed till 10 am) and off to the wholesale fish market. It was more like an aquarium than a market as most of the fish was still alive. Its all in a brand new building next door to the old fish market which is slowly being shut down. Up on the second floor there are restaurants that you can take whatever you've bought downstairs and they will cook it for you. I had half a dozen king prawns that they battered and deep fried heads and all. The heads were OK but just a bit crunchy.

After that it was off to the Gwangjang market mainly selling second hand clothes and fabric but its best known for the vendors selling all sorts of street food. Tried Bindae-tteok a kind of thick pancake made from ground mung beans, bean sprouts, onions and other bits and bobs then shallow fried. Very filling and very tasty.

Wearing most of my clothes and still freezing so went off to the Namdaemum another famous Seoul market selling pretty much everything and bought myself a snood, so now the only thing uncovered are my eyes.

Among various sights, palaces, temples and traditional houses at Bukchon village I went to the main palace of the four royal palaces. I was there during the changing of the guard. The ceremony is carried out with the guard wearing 13th/14th century uniforms nothing that odd about that but what I thought was a bit weird was that they all had little stick on fake beards. Now i,m not sure if it was because they were all fairly young and couldn't manage a decent goatee yet or if they always wore fake beards.

Before leaving Seoul I had a really interesting day at the Korean war memorial and museum. Thought I knew a bit about the Korean war, I didn't, but learnt a great deal. Also got a free book with a day by day account of the local, national and international news of the day. Time for just one more museum before leaving so picked the Seobaemin prison museum a very interesting if somewhat macabre museum. well worth a visit.

After that it was a bit of shopping before flying back to K.L where i either A. expanded my mind with an array of cultural sights or B. went on a two day pub crawl you decide.

Comforting to know i'm only now ten months behind with this. Must try harder.

I had wanted to upload more photos but having trouble making it all work will keep working on it and try again.

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