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August 23rd 2006

Published: August 23rd 2006

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wanderlustwest

Deoksugung Palace

The entrance to Deoksugung Palace

On our second day in Seoul, we made it over to Deoksugung Palace to catch the changing of the guards ceremony- a much flashier ordeal than the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. Here the guards stand around in the 40 degree heat in long, colourful robes and fake, glued-on beards. They play drums, march around the block, and yell. The whole thing goes on for a full 30 minutes. Why they hav to wear fake beards is beyond me. We caught some of them with their eyes closed and others who looked like they were sleeping.

After the ceremony ended, we headed over to Itawon street which we were told was THE place for shopping, bars, and clubs and where all the foreigners hung out. It was a big disappointment since the steet and shops looked pretty run down and we had had our fill of fake designer purses and shoes, which was about all the street had to offer. We had planned on scoping out the street and returning for the nightlife, but quickly changed our minds about returning. One thing that is present everywhere in Seoul are Outback Steakhouses. We saw 6. Comparatively, we only saw

the Drum!

It was my goal to have one silly picture of me taken a day...

2 McDonalds. Not finding anywhere else that looked appetizing for lunch, we were about to walk into the Outback when I spotted a Korean restaurant across the street.

This restaurant served delicious food and what became my new favourite Korean dish- Bibimbap- a rice and vegetable dish served in a hot stone bowl that cooks in front of you. And of course, all of our meals came with the Korean staple: Kimchi, a spicy fermented cabbage dish.

We continued walking up Itawon and did some damage to our wallets at an antique store where I purchased an antique jewellery box and some Korean tiger rice paper prints.

After lunch, we took a cruise on the Han River for an hour. The water itself is not that attractive, or that clean. The views were nice as we got to see some of the major skyscrpaers along the waterfront. Inexplicably, there was a cockatiel of some sort in a cage on the boat. We also met the English tour guide who came over to talk to us and said that the bird would speak to us if I clapped. So I kept clapping and the bird kept refusing to

Ceremonial drum

This drum is used in the changing of the guard ceremony

speak. A fter I had given up and sat back down in my seat a few feet from the bird, the bird started laughing. It actually began chuckling, probably at me. I went over to see him again and he stopped. But as soon as I sat down again, it would start laughing. At one point it let out a shrill human-sounding scream.

Our bi gplan fo rthe evening was to visit Lotte World- the world's largest indoor/outdoor amusement park. The place was incredible. We couldn't figure out how they managed to create all of these rides and attractions inside a building that also contained a pool, an ice rink, a hotel, and department store. The rides were of the animatronic variety, almost as elaborate as the ones at Disney and twice as long. I manged to slip and fall gracefully on the wet floor at the top of an escalator while still managing to keep my lemonade and my pita sandwhich upright. The park employee was stunned but was more concerned about Eve who was laughing so hard she began to choke on her dinner while I sat there on the ground. I wasn't hurt at all and

City Hall

City hall was decked out in the Korean flag for Independence Day on Aug. 15th.

sadly, it wasn't the only time I fell in Seoul...

After Lotte World, we wandered around the streets looking for the Hard Rock Cafe so I could add a t-shirt to my collection of Hard Rock shirts. I had heard the place was hard to find, but this was ridiculous. No one we asked knew where it was, so we were forced to abandon the plan and return to the hostel.

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