Tag Seoul
The last day in Busan, we had one final thing we wanted to do before heading back. For few days now we had passed the Busan Aquarium several times, so we decided to check it out. I’ve been to a few aquariums before, and this one was pretty good, but not as exciting as I thought it would be. The only really fun thing in there was an enclosure of otters frolicking about, both in and out of water. With nothing more of real interest to see or do (if you are not really there for the beach life, there … Read the rest
I have entered the fomentation room (I don’t even know what that means) which is a large hall with a low ceiling, where people dressed in loose-fitting shorts and t-shirt, the men in all white and the women in red and orange, are lying or sitting on thin bamboo mats spaced out on the floor. This is supposed to be some kind of spa, but as far as spa experiences go, sitting on a bamboo mat is fairly underwhelming. Then I discover it, there is a series of doors along one wall, with signs on them saying things like “Jade … Read the rest
I try to not take a tour if it is possible to avoid it, but for visiting the border with north korea, independent tourism was not possible.
I arrived at the tour registration desk at seven in the morning. Way too early for my taste, but that is the way of the tour. Speaking nearly constantly during the hour-long drive north, our guide made it abundantly clear that we could only take photos when told it was OK. We arrived at a checkpoint on the unification bridge, just shy of the border with north Korea, and showed our passports to … Read the rest
Me and Yini have gone on a short trip to Korea. We landed in Seoul on Saturday night, found our hotel, then went out to explore. The city was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday night but we did find a vendor in Namdaemun market where we had a bite to eat. Other than that, almost everything was closed.
On Sunday we woke up late then went out to explore. I have seen many of the major sights before, so we decided to go for some less well known ones. We started with Bukchon village, an area where … Read the rest
I am definitely on the edge of the city now. I am walking on a small dirt path on the forest clad mountain. The nearest civilisation can be seen some way below. I am forced to walk on the outside of the wall now, the reason being that some soldiers stopped me, apparently there is a base or something up here. The battlements look really impressive from below so I can sort of understand that they still use the wall for some purpose. So, I keep walking along as the wall as it winds further up in the mountains.… Read the rest
I am walking along the ancient city wall as it climbs a mountain ridge at the edge of down town Seoul. I am walking through a sort of residential park with a playground and some benches, to the right and behind me is the city sprawl with its busy streets and skyscrapers, to the left an area of small, dilapidated houses. If I stop to take a photo it gets cold quickly but since it’s up hill I warm up just as quickly. Standing here writing this is making me cold, got to keep walking.… Read the rest
I am on the top of the mountain, leaning on the wall of what must have been a fortress looking out over the city in the dwindling sunset. The darkening sky overhead shifts to a paler blue close to the horizon where it meets a band of yellow then one of orange. Below, the city lies in a sort of shadowy dusk. Some skeletal trees stretches their black fingers upwards, contrasting the colorful sky. The big group of women who were with me on the way up seem to have disappeared except for a few vainly trying to catch some … Read the rest
In front of me is a bowl of red-orange soup. I have only managed to finish about one-fourth of the fiery liquid. I’ve fished out enough noodles to fill up my belly but now I can eat no more, it is far too spicy. My lips are burning, my tongue is numb, there is sweat on my forehead and I feel slightly nauseated. All the while the staff is just standing there, each of them engrossed in his own mobile phone, not noticing the foreigner greatly needing something to alleviate the spiciness. That’s it! I’ve had enough, I need to … Read the rest
I am skirting a horseshoe shaped pond to the west of the main palace. Due to coming directly from Taiwan my clothing is insufficient for the Korean winter so I have to keep walking to keep warm. In the pond are two rectangular islands with some kind of pine trees growing on them and in the center of the horseshoe shape is a gigantic two story pavilion. Big wet flakes of snow fall slowly but the absolutely still surface of the pond is still unfrozen. The surroundings are rather barren, sand, yellow grass and a few pines, and the palaces … Read the rest