Winter Vacation: Seoul

After our NYE and lack of sleep, Kelly and I took the express bus to Seoul that takes about 4.5 hours. We both slept the whole way and before we knew it we had arrived.

Day One:
We stepped off the bus and went into a Dunkin' Donuts to wake up and have a coffee. Afterwards, we went to a Jimjibang, which is the Korean version of a spa, or a bath house. I was really nervous about this as it is open and there are male and female baths, but you are naked with a bunch of strangers. My thoughts were that I already get stared at constantly when I have my clothes on, I can't imagine when I don't have any clothes on at all. We ended up not being able to go as there was nowhere for us to put our backpacks. I can't say I wasn't relieved, but I think I will have to eventually try a jimjibang out. In hindsight it would probably have been better to go to one in Seoul rather than in Ulsan where I could run into a student and well that would be horrifying. We went back to the bus terminal and stored our backpacks in a locker because they were really quite heavy.
We started our trip by going to Insadong and took the subway to get there. Seoul's subway system reminded me a lot of the Tube in London, England. It was pretty easy to navigate around the city. In Insadong there is a huge foreigner market and many of the vendors speak some English. One of the food vendors actually yelled across the street "Hello Lady!" It made me laugh and think of Andre the Giant in The Princess Bride. There were many beautiful items for sale at various stores and I think I will have to return to get items to take home with me. I ended up buying some postcards that I can send out. For dinner we went to a dumpling place and they had very good dumplings and very many varieties.
After seeing Insadong, we moved on to Cheonggyecheon Stream and walked along it while taking photos. It was really beautiful with snow on the ground. After seeing the course of the stream, we found our way to Gwanghwamun Square. At this point it had started to really snow and Kelly and I were enjoying it at it doesn't often snow in Ulsan. At the square there were two statues of important people in Korea's history. The first statue was of Admiral Yi Sun-shin who protected Korea during the Japanese invasion. The second was of King Sejong who created Hangeul (Korean letter system). Afterwards we went to the National Museum of Contemporary History. Here, there was more information on the two statues and I had the chance to write my name and Canada in Hangeul to be posted in the museum. I also got to write one for myself, but I made a mistake and spelled Canata haha. At least the one for the museum was done correctly. After this we decided to head to Kelly's parents place where we would be staying.
Kelly's father is a short man and is very kind. He would try to talk to me in Korean when Kelly wasn't in the room but I couldn't understand and felt really bad. The first night was a quick introduction and then we set up our sleeping area. Their apartment is really quite small and about half the size of ours in Ulsan. They don't sleep on beds but on the floor. Kelly was worried this would be an inconvenience for me but it actually wasn't too bad. Also they do not have the luxury of as much hot water as they want like we do or a proper shower but instead have a bucket of hot water and a hose for cold water which we mixed and then used a basin to wash up and "shower". It was different but worked. We were so tired that it didn't really phase us. We slept for about 12 hours that night.

Day Two:
The second day started with a home-cooked meal being ready for us and Kelly's mom being home. Her mom works at a temple in Seoul and often stays there and has her own living quarters at the temple. Her mom is an excellent cook and even has a second bunker fridge devoted to kimchi and side dishes. After eating and getting ready we were out the door again to see some more sights. We started at Gwangbokgung Palace. We did a guided tour which was great because you got to learn about the history of each building. It was extremely cold that day but the palace was beautiful and extremely big. After our tour finished we went into the National Folk Museum that is on the grounds to warm up. This  museum was quite interesting. After we had finished there we went on to the National Museum of Korea which is HUGE. We spent over four hours there and only saw half of it. It was really interesting to see the tools they used in the past and how everything developed. There was also a large section on Buddhism in Korea that was very intriguing. We went home a little earlier that day because Kelly's mom had made one of her favorite dishes and she really wanted it haha. After seeing 3 museums in 24 hours we decided that we were done on the museum front. There are a few others there that I would like to see eventually but at another time.

Day Three:
We went to Lotte World on the third day. This was quite fun and is Korea's version of Disney Land, but I found it quite similar to Canada's Wonderland too. It is mainly for kids, but we still had a good time and the outside attractions were really neat. We went on a couple rides and watched the parade they had, along with some of the entertainment shows. After we had finished at Lotte World, we met up with a friend that I grew up with who is now living in Seoul. We went to a foreigner bar called Traveller's and I had a really good burger. It was really great seeing him and catching up. Seeing him made me miss home a little more though. His friend Juno came along too and he is Korean but speaks excellent English. After dinner we played a game of foosball that turned out to be more fun than I expected.

Day Four:
Kelly and I had decided to to a city bus tour this day where you can get off and hop on at various sites. Her father woke us up quite early with breakfast (rice soup). Kelly's parents were very accommodating and kind, which I was very grateful for. The city tour is a good way to get to many places in one day. Our first stop was Namdaemun Market that was HUGE. I thought the Namchang Market was big, but this market took over eight streets and had all kinds of shopping from souvenirs, to clothing, to shoes, to food. After touring around there for a while, we hopped on the bus and stopped at Itaewon. This was more shopping and we found an English book store that had a huge selection and I ended up getting a Korean-English dictionary and a travel book on Bali, where I intend to visit after my contract finishes. One thing I noticed about the shopping in Korea is how the sales people follow you throughout the store. It drives me a little crazy, but it's how they are here. Also, they assume because I am a foreigner that I have lots of money so they try to get me to buy everything. And people on the street begging for money approach me first.
Next stop was Myeongdong which was also another shopping district and we had lunch there. We had something called Shabu Shabu that was a broth with various vegetables and thinly sliced beef. First you eat the beef and veggies and dip it in various sauces you are given and then you add noodles that are similar to udon, but not quite and make a soup out of the remaining broth and veggies. My friend we met the day before recommended it and I have to say I am glad we tried it out.
Our next stop was Namsangol Hanok Village. This was a traditional village that was really great to see and tour around. Here we were able to spot the Namsan Tower as well. They had an area of ice sculptures that were really cool and well done. We decided to end our evening with a trip up to the Namsan Tower and although the climb was a bit challenging, we made it and the view was spectacular. Once we got inside the tower we were waiting for the sun to set and walked around seeing the different shops and exhibitions they had. We got a little silly and started taking photos wearing masks and with stuffed animals.
Once night fell and we saw the view and took our pictures, we went home to have dinner with her father. We ordered Chinese. Chinese is a little different here than is it back home. We had soup with noodles and seafood and then sweet and sour pork. Food places here almost always deliver, including McDonalds. You also get your food in actual glass bowls and they come and pick them up later.

Day Five:
We were originally going to spend six days in Seoul but decided later that we would need a day for rest with all of the walking and sightseeing we had been doing. On our last day we went to the Buddhist temple Kelly's mom works at because they were having a special celebration. The temple is huge and absolutely stunning. We went to the top floor where we bowed and paid our respects. The on a lower floor was where they had the celebration. I couldn't understand what was being said but it was really neat to watch and be a part of. Many people were quite shocked by my presence as it is not a typical foreigner hang out. Many of the older ladies smiled and we bowed to one another. One actually dragged me into the procession which was both scary and good at the same time. After the celebration we were given a meal of bibimbap and after visiting with Kelly's mom for a short while, we were heading home.

Overall it was a great trip to Seoul and I was able to get some good pictures. My pictures are up on facebook, and for those who are not connected via facebook, you can view them here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/108080094162280120728/albums/5830227822086723361?authkey=CLeEh8at2PnlqQE

I did take a couple videos but they don't seem to want to load so I will figure it out and add them shortly.