All that walking yesterday resulted in a good night’s sleep but I was still up by 6:30, ready the greet another day. Weather is expected to remain good, some sun and a high of 68- perfect for sightseeing! A buffet breakfast is included with our travels and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of it. There are no complaints from me and I especially liked the fresh orange slices (very sweet) and the yogurt.

We met in the lobby for a 9AM departure and loaded into a small 20 passenger bus as we started our tour of the city. The first stop was at what is referred to as the “Blue House” which is the equivalent of our White House. It is (or rather was until this year) the home of the Korean President. The rest of the story is when he was elected last year he decided he wanted a different home as the head of the government so he moved out as a new home was being built. The Blue House is currently empty and hosts local tours! We did not go in, only stopping for a photograph. By the way, it got its name from its supposed blue roof, which is not really blue. It looks more like aquamarine, but the name has stuck.

Our first real stop was at one of the 5 former palaces that exists in the city- Gyeongbok Palace, originally built in 1395 during the Joseon dynasty, but was destroyed in the 16th century, during the Injin War.  It laid dormant until the 19th century when its 7700 rooms (and 500 buildings) were rebuilt under the direction of King Gojong, only to be partially destroyed by the Japanese in the 20th century. Since the 1990s it is being gradually restored to its former glory. We arrived in time to witness the changing of the guard, a colorful event with ancient costumes and drummers. After that we were given some free time to wander the surrounding area for pictures. There is an interesting tradition at the palace. There are multiple shops in the area that rent Korean costumes which, if rented, allows people to enter the palace grounds free of charge. As a result there were a lot of colorfully dressed men, women and even children strolling the grounds in traditional Korean clothes from bygone eras. It makes for a lavish, colorful scene and I found myself taking a lot of photos of the brightly colored clothes.

After viewing the palace we went to the National Folk Museum of Korea, located on the palace gounds. The museum focuses on the every day life of the Korean people from antiquity to present day. Unfortunately we were only given about 30 minutes of free time to visit it. Needless to say it is impossible to do it justice in that short of a time.  I was amazed at seeing how ancient man was clever enough to build and use implements to make his life easier. I guess the adage: Necessity is the mother of invention is really true.

Another popular highlight of any visit to Seoul is to visit a neighborhood of traditional Korean homes that date back to the 14th century, called “Hanok”. We drove to the nearby Bukchon Hanok village where we walked the narrow lanes past traditional Korean homes that are still occupied.  The interest in these homes has brought about a conflict with the people living there as there are tourists parading past their homes every day. We were asked to walk quietly through the area so as to not disturb the residents. The homes looked more modern to me than, say, the Hutong neighborhoods you see in China.

The last stop today was another popular destination called the Insadong neighborhood which is noted for its many antique and souviner shops and restaurants. We were given free time and many of us chose to join Rob who was headed to a local noodle restaurant he likes. I was not one to pass up an opportunity to learn something new (and have someone help decipher the menu options). Rob likes “cold” noodle dishes but that did not sound all that appetizing to me so I selected a “hot” soup with dumplings in it. It was very good but with 4 giant dumplings in it, it was more than I could finish. Service is very quick at these restaurants and when finished you go to the cashier and simply tell them what you are and they tell you what you owe. Talk about trusting the customer to be honest!  Along that same train of thought, Rob told us that travel on the subway was extremely safe. So much so that if you left a phone or other valuable on the subway you could call their lost/found to claim it and it would be there.  People are very honest and turn in lost items. How often do you think that would happen in the USA?

Rob had suggested we not take our large luggage for the few days we would not be in Seoul; we could leave them stored at the hotel in Seoul as we will be retuning here. Good idea, so I used the rest of my free time to search for a small travel duffle bag to carry the few items I might need for the next 4 days. I found what I needed in one of the small shops in Insadong.

We had the choice of remaining in Insadong or riding back with Rob at 2PM. About half of us chose to ride. I had clocked close to 9000 steps by that time and did not relish more walking.  After another short nap and work on this blog I ventured out about 6:30 to grab a hamburger at the local McDonalds for simply a change of pace (and to see how their menu varied from those in USA).  They do offer several shrimp patty sandwiches here but I did not try them. I opted for what they call a “1955 burger” , which had lettuce, tomato, grilled onion sand bacon. Never saw that in the US. Not bad. Looking for something sweet afterwards I wandered back into the Myeongdong area next to our hotel where we were last night. Again there were huge crowds of people, more varied street food carts, and stores open for shoppers. I opted for a large cup of fresh strawberries form a fruit vendor and was not disappointed as they were sweet and tasty .

So the day ended with 12,466 steps logged and me making pretty good progress on keeping up with this blog. We leave at 8:40AM to catch our train to our next stop, Gyeongju, where we will spend the night in a Buddhist temple and participate in activities with the monks. It should be an interesting stay!