Seoul

This is a very late posting, yet again.  

We must have been very tired last night because we went to bed at 7pm and slept until 9am this morning.  We just made it down in time for breakfast, then we sat and researched the “must see” places in Seoul.  We decided to go to the Samcheongdong area and visit Bukchon Hanok Village and Changdeokgung Palace.  In order to do this we needed to find out how the subway system worked. We managed to figure out which lines to take and where to change and duly purchased our tickets and found our way to the correct platform.  We duly arrived at Anguk Station and walked the short distance to Changdeokgung Palace.  We were able to purchase tickets for the Secret Garden Tour and could walk around the grounds and admire the palace buildings while we waited for the tour to start.  The palace is not a palace as we know it, but it was interesting to see.  It was constructed in 1405 and rebuilt in 1610 after its destruction during the Japanese invasion (1592-1598).  The Secret Garden was also not what we expected.  It was a place for kings and royal family members to relax and a venue for various outdoor activities.  It is a series of valleys and the entire layout cannot be seen at once.  The gardens are comprised of trees rather than flowers and flowering shrubs.  We enjoyed the tour nonetheless.

After leaving the palace we intended to walk to Bukchon Hanok Village, but got distracted by the Arario Gallery and Museum.  The gallery was closed but we were able to wander around the museum, which had some interesting, and some very weird, pieces.  We thoroughly enjoyed the experience, as the building in which the museum is housed was almost an exhibit itself - lots of levels, narrow stairs, interesting rooms.

Bukchon Hanok Village is home to hundreds of traditional houses, called hanok, that date back to the Joseon dynasty.  Unfortunately, by the time we arrived there, we could only walk around one small area, but it gave us an overall view of what the village is like.  We walked back to the station, then decided to find something to eat.  We found a small local café where they didn’t speak English, but had English subtitles on the menu board outside.  We managed to choose a pork belly rice dish and very nice it was too, although it was somewhat of a surprise when the cutlery included a pair of scissors.  Afterwards we caught the subway (which is very efficient) back to the hotel, had a glass of wine and an early night.

The restaurant in the hotel has a robot that gets loaded up with the dirty crockery and cutlery and merrily wends its way through to the kitchen which, of course, saves the waiters some time.

The main blip shows Changdeokgung Palace.
The first extra shows views of Seoul from the hotel restaurant’s windows and the robot; and artwork from the Arario  Museum.
The second extra shows interesting houses, roofs and doors in Bukchon Hanok Village