After a rude awakening at 4 AM due to jet lag, I was unable to sleep till breakfast because of my anticipation for the day ahead! And jet lag. Mostly jet lag.
Nevertheless, the day ahead would be one for the books!
After the hotel breakfast, which consisted of a mix of Western and Korean food, we had a roundabout on the bus, on which we saw the Blue House, the residence of the President of the Republic of Korea, as well as the smaller temples that dappled the city of Seoul.
We then saw the Gyeongbokgung Palace, and the Changing of the Guard ceremony at around 10am. I have not seen anything like it before so it was very exciting to see. We all stood behind roped lines and in marched the guards. They performed the Changing of the Guard ceremony, reenacted exactly as it was in history, in their vivid, royal uniforms, with the beating of drums playing of instruments, and waving of flags.
After touring Gyeongbokgung Palace and its many gorgeous structures, we headed off to eat lunch which consisted of a savory bowl of bulgogi. It was quite tasty, as well as an opportunity to practice my chopstick skills.
We headed off to visit Jogyesa Temple, the place I had visited the night before. The colorful lanterns were just as beautiful in the day as they were at night. Dr. Minhee bought us a type of rice cake – which was quite toasty and lacked flavor – but was still yummy and fun to eat.
Cheonggyecheon Stream was our next place to visit, and it was really lovely in the sunshine and cool weather. It’s crazy to think that in the past the stream had been covered with concrete and hidden because the recreated stream is both a beautiful tribute to history as well as a thriving tourist attraction.
The next part of our itinerary was the Seoul Symbolic Tour, which included Bukchon Hanok Village, Insadong Antique Alleyway, and Namdaemun Market.
Bukchon Hanok Village was very dainty, with its structures reflecting history in its architecture. After seeing several signs of “Please Be Quiet” and hearing about how there are hours which refrain walking around the Village, I do think that the issue of allowing tourism in these places should be reconsidered. Although these are historical sites that reflect much history, I do recall being acutely aware of any noise I made whenever I saw the “Quiet” signs, and I can only imagine how those inside their homes have to tolerate such noise on a daily basis.
The Insadon Antique Alleyway has many shops and is close to our hotel. Later in the day, we got a small dinner there in the form of spicy chicken. It was much spicier than I expected – I guess my spice tolerance hasn’t increased as I thought it did – and so to calm my flaming mouth and my craving for sweets, we got ice cream! It was delicious. I got strawberry and vanilla. 5 out of 5 stars. I really do like ice cream. I will very likely go back to try the different flavors.
To end this blog post I will talk about my favorite part of the day: Namdaemun Market. This street market is too great to describe in words. The sheer amount of products in this entire market, as well as the variety was quite impressive. I had to resist from spending all my money on the number of hats, jewelry, and knock-off high-end brand clothing that called my name. What else can I say, except that this market is Supreme?