On an early morning China Air flight from Beijing I wasnt in the most talkative of moods. However I still made a friend in Kim, a Korean Uni student returning to Seoul for the holidays after another semester at American college. But off the plane I was left to my own devices and made my way to Seoul Base Camp, the only hostel in Seoul. After dropping my bags I went out to explore the surrounding Hongdae district. But it wasnt long before I detected an Australian accent. My fellow Australian was Yeti, a fellow melburnian who was heading out the door to go shopping in Seoul's famous shopping district. I got on board the shoppo expedition in the hope that this expedition would include food. first stop was fried chicken and beer- a korean favourite. Second was shopping. Third was more food. And last was Shisha before we both crashed.
18/12
After a crazy few days a sleep in was well deserved. But this was all at a cost as the free waffle breakfast was missed! But breakfast could wait as today was the first day of solo travelling- a new and exciting experience- where I was left to my own devices. I needed food though so entering Hongdae I decided I need a break from rice and noodles and so sought out some western food. Coming across a funky falafel shop was ideal. Then it was off exploring the awesome fashion and culture of the happening university district . As the eveining chill started to set in I headed back to the hostel to warm up and put some more clothes on- ready for dinner. On the recommendation of the hostel, I headed to a philly cheese steak restaurant 5 mins walk through the freezing wind. Satisfied by my delicious philly cheese steak I headed back to the hostel with a beer to decided tomorrows agenda.
I swore to myself that today I would will myself out of bed and up to the rooftop for my free waffle breakfast . And that I did; indulging in mutiple waffles with maple syrup on the hostel's rooftop overlooking the Hongik University district. Then it was time to head back downstairs to pack my bags and get ready for check out. As I finished I set out of the hostel on way to the Korean War Museum and Memorial . The Museum was truly amazing as it gave a day by day interactive account of the Korean War- a war which I knew nothing about. More broadly it also explains the history which has led to the tensions we see between North Korea and South Korea today. After several hours of knowledge building at the museum I started my walk back to the closest metro station in Itaewon, the location of the US Army Base for 40 years. The US influence is more obvious than I first thought with shops selling college bomber jackets, basketball tops, snapbacks as well as American food in the form of burgers, wraps, fries etc. But going past this Americna facade there is still a deeply Korean feel. Searching for this authentic Korean in Itaewon I wandered through the suburbs back alleys to find a bowl of Korean dumpling soup. Then it was time to head back to the hostel to grab my gear and make the journey to Mums hotel in Myeongdong where I was able to check in and make the most of some luxury we had not seen since Tashkent (where we splurged on a hotel). Kicking it on a soft, and comfortable bed watching cable was a great way to spend the afternoon before I again rugged up and made the journey to the airport to pick up Mumsy and deliver her safely back to the hotel. On arrival and in need of food, we headed to the seven eleven for a couple of Korean onigiri before we both hit the sack exhausted!
20/12
Today, Mum was keen to explore the city in which she'd just arrived. Additionally we decided we needed to organise some activities for the week ahead- one of which included the Temple Stay program. First was an explore of Myeong Dong before we moved through the Town Hall district and to the Gyeongbokgung palace. Arriving at the palace we both agreed it was time for a coffee and cake. Finishing our morning tea we headed back to the palace in time for the hourly changing of the guard procession. After the procession we were allowed to enter the palace to explore the numerous temples in the grounds. After covering the whole site we decided we would head down to Insadong and to the Temple Stay Information Centre to work out our plan of action. But not only did Insadong provide us with information but also hundreds of Korean arts, craft and clothing stores which amused Mum for a good couple of hours. The cold of Seoul's twilight hours soon set in so we retreated back to the hotel to work our our plan of action for the next few days. Today was also the day that Megan would arrive into Seoul from her 32 hours journey from Lima. Avoiding accusations of preferential treatement I packed my bags and set out for the journey out to the airport at Incheon. Arriving with plenty of time to spare I sussed out the various airport vendors, made use of the airport free wifi and waited. After a couple of hours Megan finally emerged informing me that the delay had been a result of a lost bag. With Megan bagless it proved much easier to get back to the hotel.
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| Seondaemun Prison - not nice things happened there! |
21/12
On Megan's first day, we woke up grabbed some brekky, packed our stuff and then set off out the hotel doors to move to our new accommodation, the Gain Hanok Guesthouse. A minute out the door and we were confronted with snow- the first for the girls! It was heavy but we persisted down to the metro and then out of our stop and up the road to navigate the Hanok district and find our guesthouse. The heavy snow, our even heavier bags and the steep terrain of the district made for a difficult exploration but we eventually got there. We settled into our rooms and then headed off to show Mum and Megan the Hongik University district. First stop was the Seoul Base Hostel, where I had stayed for my first 2 nights in Seoul. Then it was down to the Jeoldusan Martys Memorial and Missionary cemetery. The memorial commemorates the death of approximately 8000 Christians during the reign on the Joseon dynasty in the 19th century. After both the cemetery and memorial we headed to the Uni district to explore all the uniquely Brunswick fashion and culture. Soon, hunger set in so I decided to take the girls to my favourite tteokbokki restaurant (Tteokbokki being sauteed rice cakes, meat, vegetables and eggs). Then I had a craving for more baseball batting cage action so I took the girls to my local and we had a swing of the bat before checking out some more shopping. With the girls suffering jet lag and myself suffering from end-of-trip fatigue we headed back to the warmth of the guesthouse to catch some z's.
22/12
A few days earlier the three of had organised to go to the Myogaksa Temple for a weekend templestay. Tenmplestay government run cultural experience program that tourists get a taste for the incredible cultural heritage which has blossomed during the five thousand years of Korean history, as well as experience the cultural consciousness transmitted throughout Korean Buddhist history.Originally set up to cater for tourists in South Korea for the 2002 World Cup, the templestay program continues to be a great success for the Korean tourism industry. The Myogaksa Temple is located in downtown Seoul and in walking distance to one of Seoul's many metro stations. A 10 minute metro, and a short 10 minute walk and we arrived at the doors of the temple where we were greeted by the templestay manager. Then we were showed to our rooms where we made our beds and changed into out temple attire. In our new get up modelled by Megan below, we met the Nun for a brief dicsussion on Korean buddhism and a prostration demonstration. With the clock nearing 5, we were ushered to the top level of the temple where we rung the temple bell 7 times and then headed down to the meditation hall for some more chanting and prostration. Dinner time was called and my eyes lit up- a vegetarian buffet was on the menu. The excitement for dinner was met with delicious tofu, spinach and other vegetarian delights. And then it was bed time- in anticipation of the following day's 430 am get up.
23/12
With a wake up call at 430 am under a direction of no talking we met with the nun out the fron of the dormintory to be led up to the bell for the daily morning bell ring. Then, like the previous night, we headed down to the meditation hall for some more prostrations and chanting. Then it was breakfast for some more vegetarin delights before we again meeted the nun, Yo Yo, for an hour long meditation session. It was realy just another display of how annoyingly flexible Megan is as Mum and I suffered with excruciating pins and needles and severe leg numbness. After the soothing yet painful session finished we had time to recover before we were to begin our 108 prostrations. For each prostration we added a bead to our necklace we added some sort of achievement to the seemingly unnecessary task for any non-Buddhit tourist. The prostrations marked the end of the program however the nun informed us that we had the opportunity to have an audience with the Zen Master of the temple. With our bags packed we headed down to the Zen MAster's room where we were treated to a number of anecdotes and a cup of red ginseng tea. It was then time to say goodbye to our templestay host, Yoyo and the other nuns and headed back onto Seoul streets in our civilian clothes. From the temple we decided to do the least spiritual/zen thing and go to Dongdaemun- shopping!!! Shopping trip made everyone exhausted and left us searching for bed after our stupidly early morning get up! A pizza, a glass of red was a great way to finish the day.
24/12
Waking up to
Christmas Eve was exciting enough yet knowing we were going to Gangnam and
seeing Psy was mind blowing. First stop off the substantial train ride was Coex
Mall a huge mall famous for all its brand name shopping. Admiring the size of
the mall we soon headed off in search of the real Gangnam where we could check
our Korea's valet parking system and more high end shops- Nike and Adidas just
arent high end enough for our tastes. So we set off on a long walk into the
heart of the global city. After a fairly long walk we were in need of morning
tea. Paris Baguette was our favourite bakery chain of the last few days
providing hot coffee and a great selection of sweet treats so all our walking
was essentially in search of this sought after bakery. Eventually we found a
chain, located next to a korean dumpling shop, pumping out piping hot kimchi
dumplings- our favourite korean delicacy. While mum got coffee Megan and I
downed a couple of plates dumplings then moved on to paris baguette for coffee
and dessert. Refueled we were ready to go window shop prada, gucci, ferragamo
tory burch etc. Nespresso was less window shopping and more coffee drinking
thanks to the free tasters. Sick of window shopping we headed to Uniqlo, the
affordable Japanese department store, to act on our retail impulses. As it
became dark it was time to see what was going down in Myeong Dong by the Lotte
World christmas tree. With christmas carols and one huge lit up Xmas tree the vibe was good- and the provision of gluhwein made it even better. After a glass, we had decided to head to Myeong Dong cathedral for midnight mass. After a couple of hours of mass, all spoken in Korean, we emerged from the church to snow and buckets of it. The snow made for a purely magical experience.
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| Op op op opa Gangnam style! |
25/12
It was Christmas! In the Batts tradition of Christmas, panettone was essential to all the festivities. Doing recon on where to buy it earlier in the week we were prepared. So I rugged up and trotted down to the local deli, grabbed my freshly baked panettone and headed back. Downed some soup and bread as an entree then hopped in to the panettone. Presents were then opened and our clothes readied to go out and explore Seoul on Christmas day. Walking from the guest house we headed down to the palace and then on through Insadong, the crafty district of Seoul full of modern galleries and tea shops. Passing through Insadong we arrived at Seoul's new city hall and its forecourt- the location of a huge ice skating rink. Complementing the Christmas feel of the ice skating was a Korean jazz band playing allk your Christmas favourites. As a former player of a brass instrument, I had to stand there for a good few minutes wondering how they were making a sound in the -20 weather. The hunger then began to set in and in the spirit of Christmas, we had decided poultry was on the menu. Not your typical poultry in the form of roast but in the form of the Korean favourite- fried chicken and beer. Full with chicken, beer and out vege bake, we headed to dongdaemun for mum to purchase something she had picked out on our first shopping trip there. Picking up a coffee and a piece of slice while we were there worked out well for the only boy on tour. Then it was back to the guesthouse where our fellow Singaporean residents has bought a christmas cake at the local bakery and we shared it with our Korean hosts. Then after a long day it was time to hit the sack in anticipation of an early start tomorrow.
26/12
Today was the day that we had booked our tour to the DMZ. The tour company had organised to pick us up at 6 30 to take us to the bigger bus that would take us to the border. A couple of hours drive led us first to the DMZ border where we had our passports checked by South Korean soldiers. With passport approval we pushed on to Imjingan Park, a park located on the banks of the Imjin River in the city of Paju, South Korea. The park has many statues and monuments regarding the Korean War. The park was built to console those from both sides who are unable to return to their hometowns, friends and families because of the division of Korea. From the park, we headed to the 3rd infiltration tunnel, a tunnel built by North Korean soldiers for a surprise attack on Seoul from North Korea. The tunnel can accommodate 30,000 men per hour which made South Koreans happy that they discovered the tunnel before North Korea got around to using it. After heading to the demarcation line through the tunnel, we emerged from the darkness and headed back into the bus to head to dorangsan station. The station is the last South Korean station before the North Korean border. Yet the station has tracks that run northward in the hope that Korea will again be reunified. From the station we then moved to the observatory, the point of South Korea where tourists can see the oddities of North Korea eg. the tall flagpole, the fake modern city, the freedom bridge and the industrial complex run by South Korea in North Korean territory. After the observatory, it was time to head back to Seoul via the ginseng factory; the point where tour companies try and swindle you out of any dollars you have after paying for the tour. With the tour dropping us off to Itaewon, I encouraged the girls to the War museum down the road while I organised tomorrow's travel plans. With tickets on the fast train to Busan and the Busan-Fukuoka ferry booked I met back up with the girls for some noodles, dumpling and Paris Baguette before heading back to the guesthouse to get ready for the next day's travel. Thanks Seoul and South Korea for an amazing time- you exceeded all expectations and will see all our faces very soon!!
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