Last Full Day

This morning again started out the same. I got up at 7AM (thanks to my roommate who's alarm was going off for at least 15 minutes and she definitely wasn't waking up to it), and sat in bed for a little bit until breakfast was available at 8. I got up and ate some toast and then went to get ready for the day. Unfortunately I noticed that somehow my watched wasn't charged, ugh, so I there it on the charger and watch YouTube videos for a bit to pass the time. I finally left the hostel a bit before 10:30 (admittedly I got a bit distracted by the videos). 

I didn't know where I wanted to go, so I hopped on the subway going in the general direction of most things. Luckily there is only one line at the closest stop, which makes that decision easier. On the subway the cutest, frailest old man stood up with a huge smile and told me to please take his seat. I obviously didn't because he was in an area designated for the pregnant, elderly, and disabled, but he was just so cute. He then thanked me for coming to Korea with a huge smile and told me to have a good day. He definitely made the first part of it good! Always feels nice to have pleasant encounters like that when traveling. 

I eventually decided to go to the Korean War Memorial. It was a pretty interesting site, and I learned a lot about the Korean War from the museum there. I wandered for a while in the museum, pondering how close the north was to successfully taking over the south, and also how close the south was to uniting the entire peninsula in freedom. Alas, we were left exactly how it began, and we know the end (or confining) result of that. 

After the memorial/museum I hopped back on the subway to Gangnam (wop em Gangnam style!) to go to Samsung D-light.  When I got out of the train station I decided to grab a street corn dog, well, because they're everywhere here and I had to give in eventually. When she was giving it to me she asked if I wanted sugar on it. WTF, who eats corn dogs with SUGAR!? I'm sure it doesn't taste bad, but definitely different than I'm used to. I said no thank you and went on my way. I eventually found Samsung D'light and explore it. They had some really cool technology, and definitely made me wish I got another chance to pick out a fridge, because the one they had there was the coolest thing I've ever seen! I also got to try the virtual reality head seat, and totally flinched. The had another one set up with a moving seat to simulate a roller coaster, and I really felt like I was on the ride! It was so cool! They definitely made me want the Galaxy S8. That is a REALLY cool phone. If it weren't such a total pain in the ass to switch from Apple I would be buying that phone in a heart beat. 

After Samsung I went back to Lotte World Tower to explore the mall and also went to the aquarium in the mall. It was pretty cool; there were some fish I'd never seen before, which is always neat. They also had a bunch of paiche, harbor seals, and theoretically California sea lions and belugas, but I didn't see either of those. I explored for a bit and then went back out to the mall. I wasn't in too much of a shopping mood, so just window shopped mostly, but that place is very large. It's also only been open about two weeks, which is awesome to get to see it so early. They also had a store dedicated to Ebichu merchandise. Ebichu basically looks like a slightly shady Hamtaro. I got excited initially thinking it was Hamtaro, but alas, it was not. No Hamtaro time this time. 

After shopping around I took the subway up to find the traditional market, where I had read there was street food galore. I didn't find it at first, but some trusty wandering and I found the traditional mung bean pancake I had been searching for, and it was super yummy!! After eating I walked back to the hostel, discovering along the way that the area near my hostel was actually quite cool, I just hadn't explored it much. Maybe I'll do that some tomorrow before I leave. When I got back I chatted with a British couple and their five year old son for a while. They have been traveling since December and will go back to the U.K. in August. Their trip sounds amazing! Time for bed now. The journey home starts tomorrow. 

Lots of Exploring!

Today was a VERY long day, but I did a ton!

I started off (after the same breakfast routine) by walking towards the area with the main palaces. They are quite close to the hostel, which is very nice. The gate to the first is also right across from Seoul National University Hospital, wheee one of the medical schools is located. I think the Younsei University Hospital looks way nicer (I've passed it a few times), but SNUH still looks like a fine hospital. There are two Taiwanese medical students in my hostel doing an elective/observing surgeries there. Anyways, I headed into the first palace, Changgyeonggung. It was fairly early, so there weren't too many people, which was nice. To be honest, I didn't realize I wasn't at Changdeokgung palace for quite a while while I was exploring. I'm an idiot haha. They are connected, so it's no that crazy, but I didn't realize there were two palaces in the same area there. I explored the grounds a bit and then found the entrance to Changdeokgung Palace. It was perfect timing, because the next tour for the secret garden was starting in about 15 minutes. I had read that it was really difficult to get tickets if you hadn't booked in advance, but I think that because of the rain in the forecast there weren't too many people trying to get the day of tickets that are always available. The tour of the secret garden was really cool. I really enjoyed walking around the grounds. It was also like my own personal landscaping heaven, and entire forest of Japanese maples! Well, sort of. The beginning had more maples, but they were still everywhere. The tour lasted an hour and a half, and we saw lots of different buildings that the royal family used to use, and some beautiful landscaping. It was very forested as well, which is always a nice respite from the big city. 

After the secret garden tour I explored the palace ground. They were very pretty, and quite interesting to look at. Unfortunately, it started raining while I was there, and I got very wet. At least I had a hood. The Portlander in me did not have an umbrella, nor did she consider buying one. Haha. I stopped and got a citrus tea (holy crap it was sweet, like the put sugar syrup in it!) and waiting for the rain to lessen. I eventually set out and just accepted I'd get a little set. Luckily the worst really was over. 

After leaving Changdeokgung I walked west towards the Bukchan Hanok Village, an area were there are many old traditional homes. I wandered for a while, without any clue as to where I would see the best hanoks, but eventually found exactly what I wanted to see just by wandering not. Thank you directional skills. Also to thank, Pokémon. Hahahah. When I was trying to decide which was to go I would look and see which direction had a Pokémon I preferred at the Pokestop. Then I would go that way. Surprisingly that method led me to so many things from this point on today. Also, Pokémon is huge here. Anyways, the hanok village was pretty cool, and I got some excellent views as well. On my wanders I grabbed a chicken and green onion skewer for lunch, which was quite yummy. 

After the hanok village I set off towards another palace, Gyeongbokgung, which is the original and largest palace. Unfortunately I got side tracked, but it was a good side track. I instead headed south and explore Insadong. It is a cool neighborhood which lots of tourist shops and vendors.  I got some traditional Korean honey candy to bring home. I got a sample and it was pretty good. Can't wait for you to try it! I also got a delicious chocolate filled poop shaped pancake thing that was delicious! When he handed it to the customer he always said "Choc-o-lot POOP." Haha, loved it. I continued to wander and found my way all the way to Cheonggyecheon, a stream formerly covered by a highway and now reconverted to a stream and green space. I had wanted to see t and happened upon it! Yay! I walked along the steam a bit and it was lovely. I then continued south towards Namsan Market, and happened upon the old gate to Seoul along the way. Also saw the metropolitan library, which was a super cool building!

The Namesan market was okay. Nothing I wanted too much. I did get a malasada look a like thing, but I think it was fried mochi in cinnamon sugar. Whatever it was, it was yummy! I then stumbled upon a HUGE department store. I mean 14 floors huge. I thought it would never end. One of its sections was Banana Republic, like your would see Ralph Lauren or whatever at Macy's. So random. I saw some pants I like and looked at the brand and thought "of course it is." I also managed to end up with new Oxo silicone cooking chopsticks...

After exploring the store I ventured to the area near one the the women's universities to go to the raccoon cafe! They were initially asleep when I got there so I waited and killed time, which I needed because I had been walking all day and my phone also needed charging. The cafe also has a super cute corgi who I played with a lot. There's also randomly a capybara, but you can't play with it. Eventually one of the raccoons woke up and I got to interact with it a bit. It was pretty cool. You don't get to be so up close with them too much at home. 

After the cafe I got on the subway towards Itaewon, but since it was late, changed my mind and got on the train the other direction to Myeongdong for some street food dinner. All the stores were also still open, which I thought was so weird. I guess the shopping does t stop until 11PM here. Anyways, I had an egg cake, baked cheese, fresh orange juice, and a traditional ice cream topped with honey in a waffle/waffle cone shaped like a fish! It was super fun and all very delicious. So much more I wanted to try too! I then finally went home, and am super exhausted. Tomorrow is already my last full day here! 

11.7 miles, 31,840 steps

Yeouido and Noryangjin Fish Market

This morning I slept in, and I must say, it felt quite nice. I did t set any alarms and just let myself wake up naturally. Clearly my body needed some rest because I didn't wake up until at least 10AM! I lingered in bed for a while and then finally got ready to go for the day. I finished my bag of Special K and had some grapefruit juice I bought for a late breakfast and then headed out. 

My first stop of the day was Yeouido Park. I had lunch just nearby at a salad place that was quite yummy, and then headed into the park itself. I decided to go there because I heard the cherry blossoms were quite nice. I also checked the weather, and looks like we're getting some rain here the next two days, so I wanted to spend as much time outdoors as possible today. I'll have two days to be inside coming up. The park was quite nice. It's not very big, but there was some pretty landscaping with cherry trees, Japanese maples, azaleas, barberries, etc. I walked the perimeter of the park and then sat on a rock under a cherry tree right in the center for a while to read my guide book. I eventually got up and decided I'd try to walk to the fish market, since I was sort of nearby. I walked towards the Han River to head east. Yeouido is near the National Assembly, so I passed a huge peaceful protest (I can only assume as I couldn't understand the message or the signs, but there was a man on a loudspeaker and everyone was matching). They were fairly sectioned off on the other side of the road and I didn't go closer (see mom, I can make good choices). 

The walk easy was quite lovely. I walked in the park along the river mostly, and got a great view of the northern Seoul skyline. Spotted on the walk: a daschaund wearing a diaper and being pushed in a stroller. Oh man! I eventually got to the area where I needed to cross to the side of the highway the fish market was on, but couldn't, and ended up taking an extremely long detour. By the time I had walked way out of my way, I had made it to the subway stop on the same line as the fish market, so I hopped on the train for one stop. 

The fish market was cool, but since it was afternoon, a bunch of stalls were closed. It's a 24hour market though, so definitely enough was buzzing, and I got to see essentially what I wanted to see. There were octopus of all sizes, live halibut, other live fish, cuttlefish, squid, shellfish, skates, eels, etc. So many things! I got some little videos I can share at home later. I walked around for a bit and then decided to head back home, so I caught the subway. 

Once back at home I sat for a bit, and then finally went to grab dinner. I had a pork cutlet, Vietnamese chicken noodle soup, and rice. It was good, but too much food!! After dinner I came back and took a shower, and now I'm getting ready to go to sleep! 

6.9 miles, 18,803 steps

Jeonju and Lotte World Tower

Sorry I didn't upload a blog yesterday. I was so exhausted when I got home I just didn't have the energy. 

I started yesterday morning with the usual toast provided by the hostel. Not the greatest breakfast, but honestly, it's more than I do for myself at home, so not too bad. I then set off with one of the other people in my hostel towards Seoul Station to catch a train to Jeonju, the home of bibimbap!  The train ride was about an hour and forty-five minutes long. We got our tickets there with 5 minutes to spare, and so got standing room only seats in two separate cars. Luckily both of us got the jump seat available in the standing area of our respective cars, so we weren't forced to stand for the almost two hour journey. When we arrived in Jeonju we immediately purchased our return tickets to avoid the same scenario on the train back, and we're successful at obtaining seats. 

When we left the train station we caught a taxi to a restaurant listed in the Lonely Planet guidebook to get some bibimbap (which is why we came to to city in the first place). The taxi ride over showed us the city was much larger than either of us had anticipated. We were both glad to have caught a taxi and not to have tried to walk as it took around 15 minutes to get the the old town area we wanted to explore. We eventually arrived at the restaurant and immediately sat down and ordered some bibimbap. They brought out all the traditional side dishes (which I am fairly sick of to be honest, didn't love em in the first place and we get them with just about every meal here), and then the bibimbap. It was pretty good! No I can say I have eaten bibimbap in the very place it was thought up!

After eating lunch we tried to find the hanok village (basically old town with traditional houses that are now mostly shops,etc.). We accidentally paid to tour the old palace, so looked around that a bit before exiting towards to hanok village, which we found near he main entrance of the temple (we had entered through the side). We wandered around a while, but didn't buy anything other than a choco-pie, which they sold everywhere there and I had to try. It was basically a moon pie, with chocolate cake and a marshmallow cream like filling. Definitely yummy. We also had samples of a really fluffy angel food like cake that I though really hard about buying. Maybe I'll buy one here before I come home if I can find them in Seoul. 

After wandering for a while we ventured out of the hanok area and decided to explore some of the less touristy areas, but it was pretty boring, so we eventually caught a cab back to the train station, since I was just about time anyways. The train station, we noticed while driving back on, was quite pretty! I took a few pictures, stopped at the restroom, and then we went to the platform to catch the train. The ride back was much more pleasant as we had real seats and a normal sized window. The view was mostly farms and random high rise buildings.  

When we arrived at Seoul Station it was an hour before sunset, so I figured I had time to take the subway to Seokchan Lake to see the cherry blossoms there. Unfortunately it took a while by train and then I had some trouble finding my way out of Jamsil Station, so it was already dusk when I made it to the lake. It was still pretty to see in the dark though. Hopefully I will make it back there before I leave, if not, I still enjoyed it. The lake also has a small amusement park on an island in one half of the lake called Lotte World. It even has a miniature Disney like castle!

After walking around a bit I went to Lotte Tower, which was the other reason I came to the area. It is the tallest building in Korea, and only just recent opened (as in less than ten days ago recently!). I walked around the mall there a bit, but it was closing in 30 minutes and is literally the largest mall I've ever seen in my entire life. There was no way I'd see all the shops. There were a ton of shops I see at home plus others. There was even a CPK! There's an aquarium there with belugas, bug it was closed since it was late. After exploring one floor of the massive place, I went to the Sky Tour, which is the elevator to the viewing platform. It takes you up to the 117th floor and then you can take escalators and a second elevator to the 123rd floor! Since it was a weekday and late it wasn't busy, which was nice. It has stunning views of the city, and I went there at night on purpose to see the city lit up at night, which I always think makes everything more beautiful. There is even one of those glass floors where you can look down beneath your feet! It was pretty cool. I could see the Olympic stadium form 1988 nearby and essentially the entirety of Seoul outlined. Very cool! I stayed up there around an hour and then headed back the the hostel. 

The trains here are always so packed that I didn't get a seat, so when I got back I was even more exhausted. I was also starving, since I hadn't stopped for dinner, but didn't want to wait for food, so I ended up getting special K at the small grocery near the hostel and eating that, which tasted amazingly good for just being special K. I then got ready for bed and passed out VERY easily. 

Oh yeah, there's also a full scale replica of the Trevi Fountain in the Jamsil subway station. WTF? Haha!

Seoul Tower, Myeong-Dong, and Korean BBQ

Today was my first day exploring Seoul. I started with some toast at the hostel, and met some people staying here as well. I researched a bit what I should do today, and then decided to go with two people from the hostel to Seoul Tower. We ventured to the subway, which took us to Myeong-dong station. We then began our trek up the hill to see Seoul Tower. The hike to the top was quite a lot of steps, but had some very nice views. It was a bit smoggy, but overall it was at least warm.  My heart rate got quite high, yet somehow my watch only recorded 6 minutes of exercise. Lame. 

When we got to the top of Namsan we saw an area with a ton of locks. Probably the densest number of locks I've ever seen in an area. It was pretty cool. They also had cotton candy shaped like a bunny or a bear. We eventually made it to the ticket booth, and bought tickets to go up to the Seoul Tower observation deck. The views from the observation deck were quite amazing, providing a nice panoramic view of the city. The observation deck also had a candy store, which was super random, and a gift shop. I bet after a good rain when the smog is clear it looks stunning! Even the bathrooms had amazing views! 

After spending some time at the top of the tower we went back down and explored the area of Myeong-dong. There are a lot of shops and small restaurants. I bought a mochi covered strawberry, which was yummy! We then had some dumplings for lunch and then went back to the hostel to rest a bit, and I had a shower. Some of us then (5 of us from the hostel) went for dinner at a Korean BBQ place. It was pretty good, some meats I liked better than others (just really different cuts of pork and beef). After dinner I stopped to grab a cookie and then headed back to the hostel. I read my guidebook for a bit and then off to bed.