Gyeongbokgung Palace
This is the final instalment of us "taking Asia", which is not actually all that much of Asia but rather three cities in three countries. I personally feel that three countries is a lot and I can't remember the last time I was on a plane. During the course of this entire trip, I flew on 8 different planes. (Layovers made it cheaper.)
I didn't really know much about Seoul or South Korea in general, so I pretty much just went along with whatever Can & Ran had planned. Ran did a project on South Korean architecture so she already knew a lot and handily served as our personal tour guide. Can knew some stuff from Korean dramas and boy bands. In comparison, all I knew about South Korea was DBSK (thank you Can) and the Return of Superman (thank you Siobhan).
I ate really well in Seoul. I have never had soondae or hotteok before but I was hooked on both by the end. Can and I were on a quest to find the ultimate hotteok and found it in a food stand outside Changdeokgung Palace - old ladies seem to make the best ones.
Bukchon Hanok Village
This is a traditional village that attracts a lot of tourists, obviously ourselves included. There are still people living in the houses so there are signs asking tourists to be quiet and respectful in this neighbourhood. A lot weren't, unfortunately.
Hwaseong Fortress
We also did a day trip out to Suwon, which became one of my favourite parts of South Korea. The stairs up the fortress wall weren't so fun and reminded us to exercise more but also provided a beautiful view. While part of us wanted to walk along the wall, it was kind of a long walk and kind of a hot, sunny day. We ended up taking those dragon trains which was kind of hilarious when they joined normal cars on the road, however briefly.
Hwahongmun Gate
The above and below pictures are what surrounded me as I stood on the rocks in the middle of the river. There were so many moments during this trip that made me think 'this would never be allowed in Canada'... I enjoyed them while I could.
Ewha Womans University
Changdeokgung Palace
A summary:
- There are honestly so many beauty stores. Land of the beauty products, indeed.
- And the sales associates in the beauty stores are almost aggressively helpful. They would follow you around the whole store.
- I bought, like, 17 pairs of socks.
- Seoul had even less garbage cans than Tokyo, yet the litter is not as bad as Toronto.
- I was as amazed as anyone else that we didn't actually get hit by a motorbike during our time in Seoul.
- I like airplane food.
Thank you Ran & Can for accompanying me on this trip. I'd prefer no other travel buddies. Or buddy buddies. ♥
