Scott and I successfully navigated our first subway transfer by ourselves after another late morning and breakfast adventure, wandering around our hostel until we found something we might be able to order with pictures. We had seen a small number of different subway stations by now. We were so impressed by each station's uniqueness--some had a new England brick style interior, while some had long rows of underground shops. Today's destination featured a pale, stone, more clean-lined, regal interior. And for good reason. The station steps exited directly onto the grounds of a striking and enormous royal palace.
Geongbukgung Palace is like nothing I've ever seen in the US. The flared rooftops and intricately painted colors absolutely scream out their Asian-ness, as if we had somehow forgotten how different Korea already felt. Scott was awesome and insisted on paying a little more for a digital audio tour. it was so much more meaningful to wander through the palace grounds hearing stories about Korean dynasties and royalty and becoming more familiar with the country's history. I think the pictures say it all- if you haven't already, check out our Facebook albums.
That evening we ventured up a small mountain to the North Seoul Tower. We had been doing a ridiculous amount of walking, so we took a cable car ride up to the base of the tower. Maybe next time we'll hike up the giant flight of stairs. At the top of the tower we watched as dusk fell and the giant city below started to twinkle with lights. Huge is not a big enough word. Yes, there were tall buildings, yes there were a ton of them, but what surprised us was that no matter what direction we faced the buildings kept stretching out towards the horizon and disappearing into the haze. The sheer enormity of Seoul finally made some tangible sense in our minds. It was breathtaking.
We ordered dinner, again by pointing at pictures, at some tiny hole in the wall place in an alley below the tower. Restaurants are everywhere in Seoul, one stacked on top of another. Yet each one has an intimate, mom and pop sort of feel. Except of course the millions of Outback steakhouses (we actually found two within 50 feet of each other), Fridays and Dunkin Donuts. We ordered soju- a sweet potato liquor like vodka- with dinner. The man's eyes bugged out and he said in English, "Soju? Really?!" Why this was so bizarre we still aren't sure, but laughed when he asked us what kind. He held out two bottles and says, "This one for man. This one for girls." So, challenged, I ask for the men's soju. Ick. The soju for girls I much prefer after all.
The next day we visited another palace, this one called Deoksogung Palace. Also incredible, and the buildings were painted exactly like the first palace. Its amazing how intricate and beautiful and yet how uniform the palace structures are. Afterwards, we went to an art museum with one artist featured. "This is my Home" by Yann Arthus-Bertrand was the focal point, showcasing photos of different places around the earth from above in a helicopter. Breathtakingly beautiful photography, but all the information was written in Korean. When we stopped to watch the film, it hit us with a devastating smack in the face. Despite their artistic beauty, these pictures showed us destroying our planet. We walked out feeling a little downtrodden, but determined to try and do our small part to be ecologically conscious. South Korea recycles almost everything…at least that's a start. The only thing that cheered me up was the collection of portraits of people with their farm animals. It was the most bizarre bunch of pictures…I can't even describe the hilarity. A cool exhibit, actually, when you really stopped to think about it, but I couldn't help giggling anyway.
Namdemeun market was our next stop. OMG. Street upon street filled with shops inside and tents outside selling everything under the sun. Blankets and traditional dresses, poofy coats and pots, cameras and handbags, seaweed and shoes….I could go on for hours. And it was a good thing I was exhausted or Scott would have been there forever- I was in shopping HEAVEN. Luckily we had way too much baggage to get back to our apartment, or I would have done some serious damage. As it was, we bought a giant asian pear and stopped for some street food when a middle aged woman, also known as an ajumma, grabbed my arm and ushered us into her eating area (which was a plastic tent). We are beginning to understand the stubborn, iron will of the ajumma. The meal was amazing, except for the bulgogi. Bones in every bite. Overall, pretty impressive street food. You just have to watch out for boney bulgogi :)
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