24-hour city (Seoul, South Korea)

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(Day 190 on the road)To merely describe Seoul as big is an understatement. With roughly 23 million people living in the city area, it comprises of almost half of South Korea's population. I arrived in the city just before midnight, but had no problem at all to find a restaurant that would serve me some nice food. To the contrary, most of the restaurants and shops in the area where I was staying was open for business. As I discovered, a great number of places are open 24 hours in Seoul, giving the city a very vibrant feel at any time of the day or night.

The next morning, my first stop was at the Chinese embassy to apply for another Chinese visa. Or rather: I went to a travel agency as the Chinese embassy no longer accepts visa applications in person, but forces you to go through an agent. They required virtually no information from me as they had done in the past (proof of transportation in and out of the country, hotel reservations, bank statements etc.), just fill out this form here, hand over some cash, come back in a week. I was a little suspicious, as in the past getting a Chinese visa had been a major headache, so it seemed a little too easy. But I am sure I will find out next Wednesday, when I can come back to pick up the visa.

Apart from that, I spent the next couple of days taking in some of the major sights of Seoul, including the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the busy commercial area around Myeong-dong, the two markets Namdaemun and Dongdaemun, the university suburb near my hostel at Hyehwa, and the touristy area of Insadong-gil. One evening I spent at the top of Namsam Hill; I bought some take-out dinner and had it with great views over night-time Seoul.

On the evening of the second night I paid the extremely relaxing Dragon Hill JimJilBang a visit, a 24h spa and sauna that I frequently use here in Korea instead of sleeping in a hostel. The spa, which stretches out over five floors, was great; I especially liked the Himalayan Rock Salt Sauna, the pinewood-fired sauna, the meditation exercise room of yellow soil pyramid, and the Koryo ginseng bath. I absolutely love the Japanese and Korean bathing culture and will miss it dearly after I have left this part of the world.

Next stop: Cheorwon Demilitarised Zone (Cheorwon, South Korea).



To view my photos, have a look at pictures.beiske.com. And to read the full account of my journey, have a look at the complete book about my trip at Amazon (and most other online book shops).

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