New year, new changes!
Now that my blog has celebrated its 2nd birthday (they grow up so fast), I think it’s a great time to make some improvements. My friends have told me that they love using this blog for tips on travel and ideas on what to do, see and eat in the places that I’ve visited. As such, I will be changing the format slightly to be less descriptive and more factual. Lets give it a go and see what the feedback is!
Seoul in 2 days
I went to Korea in June for a week for work, but got to spend a couple of days exploring Seoul. This is my account of what to do and not to do there when you only have a couple of days :D
First and foremost, Seoul is the 2nd largest urban centre in the world, which makes it absolutely massive. Its subway system consists of hundreds of stops, and although fairly straightforward to use (I did it just for fun), I would not recommend it as it takes very long, it’s quite crowded, and cabs are dirt cheap and plentiful.
Second and second-most, Seoul is fantastic for food. You will have no idea what you are eating and chances are that not even Korean people fluent in English will be able to translate, but it’s a gastronomic playground for the adventurous. The food stalls are everywhere and are dirt cheap. I tested eating streetfood on myself and survived. Although I did break out in uncontrollable hiccups from eating food more spicy than I could handle a couple of times. The key is to not go to restaurants in the hotels or off the main roads as they will be touristy and overpriced. The trick is to turn into the smaller streets (not sketchy and just as lively as the main road) to grab food. I was staying in the business area and made my co-workers take me to their favourite local places, and found that English is not spoken in most of them. Also, a lot of places require that you take off your shoes and sit on the floor to eat in a traditional Korean style. If you like coffee, you will be in luck, as there are quite good coffee places all over Seoul, since it’s the recent trend brought over from the West from what I heard. Finally, if someone offers you a soju bomb, don’t be scared. It’s merely soju and beer. Be careful, it only hit you once you stand up :D
Third of all, Seoul is a great place to shop, especially if you are around 5’5 and 115 lbs with a shoe size under 8. The brands tend to be split 70:30 between Korean brands and Western brands. I found the Korean brands absolutely fantastic: good quality, very trendy and reasonably priced (under $100 for a dress and under $50 for tops, skirts or pants), but the problem is that most of the pieces are ‘one size’ i.e. made for a 5’5 115 lbs Korean girl. They also don’t make shoes past US size 8. I’m a size 9 so that was a problem. What’s absolutely purchasable for everyone is the accessories, which are trendy, fun, cheap and plentiful! Gangnam neighbourhood is fantastic for shopping, home not only to Gangnam style but to miles and miles and miles of underground store networks in the COEX and Huyndai Mall complexes, that are also conveniently located side by side. Bongeun Temple, located right behind COEX provides a beautiful space to rest in-between or after your shopping. Not just a single temple, but a whole park littered with dozens of temples and a 50 ft statue of Buddha that crowns the park, it’s a beautiful green oasis in the middle of Gangnam. Grab an ice cream and go there is what I say.
Seoul is primarily a modern city, but there are pockets within it that preserved the ancient architecture. There are 5 main palaces and I have visited Gyeongbok-gung, the grandest of all palaces. I have also walked past a couple of others and studied their maps and pictures as I contemplated whether I should go in. I decided against it as they looked more or less the same in terms of the layout and style. The palaces are not the traditional western palaces that are closed off buildings (usually a single building); they are more like palace grounds and you get to walk around admiring the many building, courtyards and parks within them. The Korean Folk Museum is also right next to it and is a fun one to stroll through and learn a little about the Korean history (and it’s free). Seeing this palace is also very easily combinable with strolling and shopping the Insa Dong – an impressive pedestrian only street littered with shops and stalls and shops selling anything you may want to buy and eat/drink. Yes it’s considered touristy but I found the merchandise to be quite unique and affordable. Don’t forget to try the traditional Korean sweet that they make on pretty much every corner....and to bargain!
Another great thing to do in Seoul is to go up the Namsam mountain. It’s a mountain located in the centre of the city right next to the Namdaemun market (where I would not recommend to go as it’s more of a flea market selling $1 stuff from China and is VERY local) and an upscale Shinsegae department store. The mountain is either climbable using a stairwell or you can go up in a cable car. Those who know me would know that taking the cable car is not an option for me, but I’ve got to say that the climb is very-very picturesque, with several observation platform and stopping points where one can sit, rest and grab an ice cream/beer. Once at the top, you are at the floor of the N Seoul Tower, which takes you even further up for even better views. I contemplated going, but didn’t, deciding that the views from the top of the mountain were great enough. Plus, there are plenty of activities to do, like making a wish and locking it up along with hundreds of thousands of other couples who have done it (transitioning a whole are into a sea of colourful locks), or watching a cultural show from the open air amphitheatre (free for all!), or grabbing a dessert and enjoying the view.
What’s easily skip-able is any of the Olympic sites and the Tapgol (pagoda) park, which are for some reason named as attractions but are really non-memorable (one is just a block of concrete and another one is a small parkette filled with old folks playing cards). The Namdaemun and the Dongdaemun gates are also not worth seeing, as they are just simple archways.
I brought my DSLR on the trip to practise photography. These are obviously not Mark-level pictures, but they do justice to recapping my experiences! J
Around the Gyeongbok-gung palace
Around Insa Dong street
That yummy street food!
And the subway
Namdaemun market
Namsam mountain
Yummy red bean frap
