Seoul Day 2: Insadong & Changdeok Palace

Yesterday we were too tired to make it to the shopping district of Insadong, so it was first on the list today. It's known for being a good area for buying souvenirs, and many foreigners visit it, so I thought we might be able to find some good souvenirs to bring home to people. I was right! Lots of little souvenir shops, with people ready and willing to assist us with buying things. :P The shopkeepers seemed to all speak a bit of English, which they probably have to do since they work on a tourist street.

Anyway, we got there around noon and it wasn't very crowded, but about an hour later there were tons of people. There were some street vendors selling food, so we decided to buy some. I wanted to try a snack called "hotteok" which is a fried pancake with honey and peanuts inside. It was really delicious and a good warming food for a cold day. (Although today was warm enough that I left my hat and gloves at the hotel.)

After having our fill of shopping, we made our way back out of Insadong to the main road and towards our next stop, Changdeokgung or Changdeok palace. Changdeokgung is a less grand palace than Gyeonbokgung, which we visited yesterday, but I actually enjoyed it more. There weren't many people and there were many places to explore, so I felt like it was a more worthwhile experience. There is a secret garden that I've heard is really great to see but you have to join a guided tour, and we weren't there at the right time, so we just saw the main palace buildings (which were very nice on their own!).

We came back to the hotel around four-thirty to rest before heading out to dinner. We didn't want to go far, as it was cold and we were tired, so we stopped in at a small cafe restaurant just a block from the hotel. The menu had lots of interesting items but the bulgogi (beef) meal caught our eye, as it was something distinctly Korean! We both ordered it and enjoyed it a lot. The beef was mixed with mushrooms (enoki in Japanese) and green chili peppers, so our noses were soon running. It appears that you can't make a dish in Korea without adding some kind of spice. :) I haven't minded so far, though.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Korea. We're not entirely sure what we'll do later in the day, but in the morning we'll go to Namdaemun, one of two famous markets in Seoul, for some cheap shopping and street food.

Mom in Insadong

Hotteok (pronounced kind of like "hot dog")

One of the main castle buildings at Changdeokgung

This building was used for ceremonies as well as the king's coronation

I love the architectural style!

So many doorways and gates everywhere.

Bulgogi, salad, and rice with cheese & an egg on top.

Seoul Day 1: Gyeonbok Palace

Neither of us slept well last night, so we were very tired and stayed in our hotel room for the morning, resting and deciding our plan for the day.

In the afternoon, we headed out to the subway. I found it more confusing than Japanese subways, with less signs in English or even in Korean, but we still found our way eventually. At first one of the ticket machines stole 4,000 won from me- which is about $4- but the station guy got it back for me. :) Anyway, after a couple of trains, we made it to our destination: Gyeonbokgung.

Gyeonbokgung, or Gyeonbok Palace is one of or the biggest palace in Seoul. Apparently it was built in 1395 but burned down in an invasion, so it was restored around the turn of the 20th century. The palace is really a large palace complex with many walls, gates, and several buildings. There were many tourists there, including some foreigners, but it wasn't crowded by any means. It was cold, but not as cold as it could have been (which means our faces were frozen but my nose wasn't dripping too much). :P I had a really good time taking pictures and exploring the grounds. Mom thought it was interesting how the statues on the fences were different animals such as iguanas, dragons, tigers, and bunnies!! I don't know if a rabbit is the best guardian... ;)

Oh, before we entered the palace, we stopped at the palace's cafe for a late lunch. One of their seasonal specialties caught our eye. It's called "goguma cheese beombeok" and it was sweet potatoes mixed with a ton of cheese and bits of green pepper & bacon. It was sooooo delicious!! They also gave us free kimchi and pickled radish, which is a custom no matter what you order in Korea. :) I'm looking forward to trying even more Korean dishes in the next two days!

Me in front of the main gate to the palace

One of the palace gates

Our lunch (we both got the same thing)

The interior of one of the palace buildings

Mom and her bunny friend :)

Me in front of one of the palace buildings & frozen moat

Korean money is so pretty! 1000 won is about $1 or 100 yen.

Journey to Seoul, Korea

Today, my mom and I traveled from my town, Shimosuwa, to Seoul, Korea. It wasn't too bad of a trip really- a train to Tokyo, two more trains to the airport, a short 2-hour flight, and then another hour to our hotel- but we are exhausted nonetheless. I just have enough energy to write a quick post before throwing myself in bed!

Our flight was Japan Airlines so I wondered how much English there would be. Thankfully, they spoke English, Japanese, and Korean. There were only a handful of other foreigners (Caucasians) on our flight. The stewardesses were really friendly and spoke great English. They even served us a light meal of a traditional Japanese bento, which was really tasty. It was cloudy so I didn't get to see much out the plane window. Night caught up to us as we neared Seoul and it was dark by the time we landed.

When we finally got to our hotel, we were so happy!! The man at the front desk spoke good English and it was a fast process to get our room key. We have a room on the 14th floor (there are 15) which means we have an AWESOME view!! We can even see the N Seoul Tower which is a famous tourist spot in Seoul. I'll take pictures of the view tomorrow in the daylight. The hotel room is very nice, with plenty of room (I'm used to small Japanese hotel rooms) and a very large TV. :P

We ran to 7-11 to get some snacks since we hadn't eaten since our flight. It wasn't as nice as 7-11s in Japan, that's for sure, but it will do as a place to get snacks & breakfast! I picked up a traditional Korean snack food called "tteokbokki" which is a fried rice snack that is sweet and spicy all at once. It really hit the spot!

Tomorrow we will have our first day in Seoul and do some fun sightseeing. Our plan is to visit the Gyeonbok Palace to see the changing of the guard, and then do some souvenir shopping in Insadong, a touristy shopping area. Should be a good day!

At Shimosuwa station, waiting for our train to Tokyo

Mom in front of my town's station sign :)

Our hotel room

Traditional Korean snack (I think it's pronounced "tuck-bohk-ee")

View from our hotel room