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Published: August 29th 2006
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Pavillion
This pavillion used to be a look-out tower for the palace. Now it sits in the centre of a very busy road. Friday was our last full day in Seoul and we made the most of it, despite a late morning/early afternoon start due to our S.Korean night out the evening before.
We started out our day at the Gyeongbokgung Palace near our hostel in Seoul. The palace was incredible with lots to see. There were guards at the entrance to the palace and we arrived just in time to watch a procession around the large entrance gate. Gyeongbokgung is the largest and the main palace from the Joseon dynasty built in 1394. The original buildings were destroyed under the Japanese occupation in 1592 and again in 1911. There is archaeological work going on to discover more of the original foundations and buildings. The National Folk Museum is also on the palace site where we spent some time checking out some kimchi displays and Korean artefacts. The Gyeonghoeru Pavilion is also here which is a nice temple structure in the middl eof a lake, which was also under reconstruction. On our way out, we were stopped by a professional photographer who wanted to take our photo with the guards. He gave us his business card and told us to contact him and
Cleaning woman
A cleaning woman pushing her cart of supplies outside the palace walls he wil send us the picture free, but we can't navigate his website in Korean. He does have some great shots which can be seen by clicking around
here. After the palace, we made our way over Mt. Namsan to take the cable car up the mountain to N. Seoul Tower. Seoul is surrounded by mountains and Mt. Namsan is right in the centre of the city so there are some fantastic views of the surrounding area both from the cable car and the tower itself.
The cable car went up the north side of the mountain so we were able to have some nice views of the area we were staying in. Once up N. Seoul Tower, we could walk around their indoor observation deck for a 360 degree view of the city. It was a beautiful and clear day so we had unimpeded views of the city, the mountains and the Han River. Each of the glass windows at the observation deck had the names and distance of major cities from that exact point. Toronto was listed at km away. It's an odd feeling to know exactly how far away you are from home. Eve and
Statue
Outside the main palace gate I were impressed and we watched other foreigners point to their hometowns and marvel at the distance between Seoul and their homes. Even the bathrooms were impressive! They were also surrounded by glass walls and mirrors looking out over the city.
Back down the cable car and over to the Jongno area, we had decided to splurge on a fancy dinner to celebrate our last night in Seoul. We picked the Top Cloud restaurant at the top of Jong-no Tower for their hybrid buffet/table service dinner and were treated at more great views of the city. As the sun set, the lights came on around Seoul and we were able to get some good views of the city. Again, the bathrooms had some of the best rooms and we had to pose for goofy pictures.
At the base of Jong-no Tower was the Bosingak Bell Pavillion which was beautifully illuminated at night. We checked out the food vendors and street stalls before heading back tot he hostel.
We had a few hours on Saturday before we had to head back to the airport to catch our flight so we walked over to the Cheonggyecheon Stream which features
the world's largest ceramic mural. The mural depicts King Jeongjo's Royal Procession. The stream orignally ran through the centre of the city before it was covered over with cemeent to create a road throught eh centre of Seoul. In 1968 an elevated highway was built on top of it before the stream was recovered and reopened in September 2005.
From teh stream, we walked up Insadong, the main tourist street in Seoul for souvenirs, although there are few offerings aside from paper fans, cell phone charms and bookmarks. Most stores offered the same wares. It was also here that I got stopped by a group of English students who wanted to interview me and hear my thoughts on Seoul. In return, they presented me with a ceramic mug for my time.
Seoul is a very walkable city and easy to get around. It is a nice contrast to Japan and Eve and I are both glad we made the trip. I have some fantastic photos . While I wouldn't go out of my way to return to Seoul, I would check out other ares in South Korea, and would reccommend Seoul to anyone who's up for a good
shopping trip...as long as you bring extra suitcases to haul your stuff home.
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