With hardly any sleep we landed at around 11am, spaced out in Seoul Incheon airport. There we purchased the TMoney travel cards which worked on suburban railways and buses across the country - an absolute lifesaver and such a fantastic system. Denmark has something similar in operation. One card to get you everywhere...why don’t we have that here yet?? It was also easy to pick up a sim card and top it up so that we could utilise maps and travel schedules on the go. It was weird to see Google Maps not work very well out there - it would give you directions using transport, but refused to give you walking routes.
Like Japan, Korean subway and metro stations are all numbered as well as named, with all signs giving names in English, and station signs tell you the proceeding and following stops, so it’s easy to work out where you are. We got on the slower (cheaper) train and headed for our accommodation near Sinchon station on the inner city loop. We had a simple, functional hotel in a neighbourhood of convenience stores. It was reassuring to see our old travel buddy 7-11 on hand again to satisfy our snacking needs. And snack we did. Hello Butter Caramel Pringles!
Our first bleary eyed destination was Anguk to walk up a hill full of recently built Hanok houses. A trend across the country, whole neighbourhoods are encouraged to rebuild or renovate their homes to match the traditional style of the Hanok, and this brings many tourists their way, selfie sticks at the ready. There were plenty of notices around asking people to be quiet and respect that these are people’s actual homes. It sounds like hell to live there. The hill leading up to the houses was lined with street food stalls, but I wasn’t feeling awake enough to sample anything yet. The houses looked nice, and far better than an ugly high rise tower, but they all looked so new and pristine, something didn’t quite sit right. Perhaps when they’re more weathered and worn in, this will pass. One building courtyard was filled with blooming cherry blossom trees, so again we had to navigate ourselves around the many, many people taking photos of themselves next to the blossom.
Starting to feel hungry, we set off in search of a good meal, walking past the Portuguese embassy which appeared to have a bowling alley in the basement. Walking through empty streets, I was convinced we were going the wrong way, until we found our destination and I realised where everyone was: Kwangjang (Gwangjang) Market. This palace of food was packed with every stall imaginable - each with a small area to seat around a dozen people. It was divided up into different styles and tastes, so all you had to do was walk to the area of food you wanted and pull up a chair. We went for a platter of savoury pancakes and a beer. It was amazing. This was early Sunday evening and it was heaving. Some places busier than others - locals clearly have their favourite spots, other less busy stalls practically want to drag you to a seat as you pass by.
Feeling not bad for no sleep, we ended the day with a walk along a stream / storm drain that runs next to the market exit, which was also busy with families strolling and joggers making us all feel unfit. Back at the hotel, we made the most of the Chromecast - one of the best things we brought with us, it plugged into the TV everywhere we stayed. This meant we could continue working our way through Star Trek TNG with Patrick Stewart’s pleasing baritone telling the universe to ruddy well get on with it.
Our hotel offered a free self service breakfast, so as full up on Frosties and jam on toast as it is possible to be, we set off for Gyeongbokgung palace. This was the main palace of the most influential ruling dynasty Korea had, and one of the many destroyed during Japanese occupation. We arrived just in time for an English language tour to start, which added some context to the surroundings and managed to tell a real narrative as we went around. I saw the first of many ridiculously beautiful buildings and gardens, which felt frozen in time despite that fact that they were all (fairly) modern rebuilds and surrounded by swarms of tourists. We also caught a changing of the guard ceremony before heading off.
Seoul has several famous streets that each specialise in a different dish. I can’t remember which dish street we set out to find, but we failed, instead stumbling across a small restaurant whose owners looked bemused as we stared blankly at the Korean menu. They pointed at something, we nodded, and within minutes we were eating a perfectly fine meal of something in a bowl with rice and stuff. It was around this time I realised I was never going to get along with kimchi, which was a shame because it was severed with every meal everywhere.
Later In the afternoon we took a look at the main Seoul station - the original building now an art gallery, sitting next to its giant modern successor. Then we walked to the city wall in Naksan park. We climbed the hundreds of stairs ascending Mount Naksan at sunset, getting spectacular views of Seoul at dusk, with lights starting to come on across the city. At the top is a deceptively short viewing tower - a benefit of being built at the top of a mountain I guess - with all the usual tourist traps. It’s fascinating what tat some people which chuck money at. Walking down the other side of the mountain, we then went to check out the Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain. One of the many bridges crossing the mighty Han river, this gives a water cannon show day and night, with lights added in the evening. Finally we made it to the food court of a nearby mall just before it closed. One owner seemed keen to shoo us away, whereas his two companions told us to ignore him and order what we liked. A delicious bulgogi and stir-fry was enjoyed. If I thought that was exhausting, I was not prepared for the next day…
We were booked to go on a visit to the DMZ that morning, which would have meant getting up at 5am. I wasn’t really looking forward to either prospect, so was quite relieved when it was cancelled. Before we left, I got several comments about this being an “interesting time” to visit Korea, if you just read the news you would think that this was a country on red alert in every sense. However, being there while all this was going on, you go the impression people just got on with their lives, ignoring their noisy neighbour. Later we would pass through a bus station that had a TV showing coverage of the North Korean military procession, but people were far more interested in the TV that was showing a US baseball match.
As a replacement activity, Angelos suggested that we “go for a walk in a park”. Sounds good, I thought. We got the metro to the outskirts of Bukhansan National Park. An entrance was next to the station, and within minutes the city sounds had vanished and you were in the middle of nature. Entering the park itself and dining on some quality snacks including honey crisps and cappuccino Twixes, we passed a map detailing the various walks and peaks you could take one. It was at that point I realised he wanted us to climb the highest mountain in the park, and in the Seoul area in general. Baegundae stood proud at 836 metres, and I’d never climbed a mountain in my life. Willing to at least try, we set off through streams, trees and rock formations, gradually getting steeper as the journey progressed.
We passed and were overtook by various hiking parties, all kitted out to the nines in multicoloured walking gear, sticks, gloves and visors. I was left to feel very unprepared in my jeans and tshirt. It was a baking hot day and luckily I sourced some suncream from the convenience store we lunched at. The heat brought a haze that didn’t give the clearest views as we reached higher ground, but the natural beauty of our surroundings could not be faulted. The final section was labelled “expert”, and a little way into this I had to bail. The rock became more vertical and all you had was a thin metal cable to cling to, at a height where the slightest breeze felt like a gale force wind. I had no problem recovering in the shade for a while, leaving Angelos and the other experts to it. The view from where I got to was still pretty stunning. Angelos reported that there were some cats at the summit, acting like they owned the place.
Making our way down the other side of the mountain, naturally a lot easier, we made it back into the edge of Seoul. A bus and a train took us to Noksapyeong, where all the best bars were gathered. Mountain climbers deserve good beer! We sampled three pubs recommended by one of the guide books, each serving up delicious beers brewed in house. Highlights were Made in Pongdang and The Booth, the latter full of young people enjoying enormous pizzas. Maybe it was the bar scene or the US Army base situated the next street over, but this area had the most non-Korean people we’d seen so far.
Korea Blogs: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
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