The Seoul of Korea
A mere week after I am back from Seoul, I am done with all the blog posts! My trip was blessed with many nice photos, especially so since we arrived during the week cherry blossom (purely coincidental, something which cannot be planned for). Here are the posts!
Enroute to Seoul, 14th April
A little on pre-trip preparation, and our little get together at Changi Airport and KLIA with my two travel buddies, Shafik & Cheryl
Day 1, 15th April
Arrival at Incheon International Airport, checking into the frill-free Beewon Guesthouse at Gwanghwamum area. Our first palace experience at Jongmyo, which was shrouded with cold weather due to the incessant rain (though, truth to be told, we liked it), and our first Seoulite nightlife at the famous Itaewon clubbing district.
Day 2, 16th April
Second day dawned rather early for us, and we headed to Gyeongbokgung (Palace of Shining Happiness) which was a must-see spot in Seoul. Then we headed for a rather disappointing shopping excursion to Namdaemun Market, before scaling up (via cable car) to Namsan Summit to visit the N Seoul Tower and the attached teddy bear museum. At my insistence, we also visited Myeong-Dong Catholic Cathedral where I had a DaVinci moment. The night ended with some trawling along the streets of Hongik University District
Day 3, 17th April
First road trip out of Seoul to Haenggung and at the World Heritage Site Hwaseong (Suwon Fortress), both located within Suwon City. It was a long but very interesting trip out especially so for the food, namely beef rib soup! Concluded the night at Itaewon again right to the dawn.
Day 4, 18th April
A rather slow day for us, as we all woke up really late. Visit the magnificent Seoul Zoo at Seoul Grand Park, where we spent many happy hours making funny faces at animals and buying useless toys (that’s me). Ended the night, albeit mistakenly, at Seoul Plaza, before heading back to Beewon for an early night. We were totally beat!
Day 5, 19th April
The rest the night before was a blessing, as we made our way to visit the Seodaemun Prison, a historically important site for Korea during the Japanese occupation year. We also brought out the sporty side of us as we sillied ourselves to the max Seoul World Cup Stadium, impromptu picnic included. The night ended with a peaceful and relaxing Hangang River Ferry Cruise, easily the best part of my trip.
Enroute back to Singapore, 20th April
I made my way back to Singapore first, as Cheryl and Shafik continued on their Korean adventure to Busan for a few more days.
All in all, a very satisfying trip though, truth to be told, Seoul is not one of the cities that I will visit again unlike London, Phuket or Santorini. I think I could do another post on a list of things I learned from my Korea trip… but first thing first. Here’s the link to view the blog posts under “The Seoul of Korea” series, and here’s the link for my Flickr collection on all photos taken during this trip.
Gamsa hamiida!
The name is Razlan. ("Are you a Malay?") Nope, I am part Kadazan and part Chinese. You can call me Raz, or Russ if you fancy. Never call me Lan, or I’ll punch you. A Malaysian now in his thirties, I have studied and worked in Singapore for ten years and now living in Hong Kong since mid-2009. Generally addicted to good books, great holidays and awesome blogs. And I love my IXUS. I bring her everywhere I go.
