Seoul Royal Hotel

... I arrived in Seoul for 12 hours. I managed to go up the Soul Tower and wander round before slumping out in the beautiful Royal Hotel in the heart of Seoul. So that's it, an 11 hour flight and I would be home. It's been an incredible 2 months, done some ...

... Palace, Changgyeonggung Palace and Jongmyo Shrine are on display and the museum is divided up into five distinct areas: Royal Symbols, Ancestral Rites, Palace Architecture, Joseon Sciences and Royal Life.  It was a really interesting museum and ...

... great as I had to do all 3. THen I met Jeff and Kate from Tucson when I went to the Namsandok where there are 6 traditional royal houses with fully furnished interiors, a rarity.  She is Korean but has lived in the US for many years but and we ...

... in Seoul took ages but we eventually got there after about an hour and a half after a very windy trip. Staying at the Royal Seoul Hotel which is really nice. I managed to spot that the room we are in costs roughly $AUD220; not bad seeming its included as ...

... do all the things we wanted. Mission accomplished! Now it is off to Chengdu China for two nights then to Tibet. Footnote: Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty and the Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites are all UNESCO World Heritage listed. [note ...

... very wisely. Originally built in 1405, Chandeokgung (gung = palace) was initially built as a second palace to Seoul’s primary royal residence, but when the Japanese destroyed both, Chandeok’s rebuild became the primary palace until ...

... very lit up and one of us dubbed it the pink erection. We had a chinese at the intermediate level overlooking nighttime Seoul. This is a favorite venue for young lovers and (bizarrely?) they lock eternal love messgaes to the railings & display stands ...

... for it's nightlife), Gyengbokgung Palace (built in 1395 this is the first and official residence of the Joseon Royal Family... breathtaking), Changdeokgung Palace (an 'alternate residence' for the royal family... also amazingly beautiful), War Memorial ...

... in Korea is very similar to the untrained eye. The Korean's would probably disagree. After leaving the palace I headed to the N'Seoul tower in Myeongdong, got there by metro, then walked to the cable car which took me to the hill station where the ...

... the area and makes for a lovely oasis in the city. the blossoms of course, are proudly out in force. a portion of the remaining royal family lived here until 1989. there is a 750 year old juniper tree in the garden and many other large trees are ...

... with lots of waterfront temples. The flood damage from the previous year is surprisingly almost cleaned up. Yesterday, we went to the Royal Palace and the temple.  The buildings were beautifully made and I couldn’t stop saying, "wow!"  I ...

... really is not that much that we personally need to do. In the afternoon we went to one of the large Royal Palaces that are in Seoul. They reminded me somewhat of the Palaces in China. In the evening we had a great traditional Korean BBQ dinner ...

... much pouting and my best 'heat stroke' impression I could muster, we went to a real tourist site: the former royal palace Changdeokgung. The palace was impressive, brilliant colours, graceful architecture, fancy costumes, and the like. The photos ...

... couch surfing host but I tailored Linda, Pacey and my route to stick with him as long as possible. Our accommodation, Seoul Backpackers, is located pretty centrally, across the road from Namdaemun Market and a 5 minute walk from Seoul Station whereas Rob ...

... neat looking. Outside of the truly 'folk' folk museum stuff, there were also a number of artifacts from the Korean royal court, including a huge number of astrological charts that were surprisingly detailed. The Choson kings must have found some great ...

... there too, although this was having a bit of a facelift during my visit. After leaving Deoksugung I headed back towards the hotel, via Taepyongno and Sungnyemun (South Gate).  I walked down the side of Namdaemun Market, and thought I would visit ...

... ;  It is more expensive but not nearly so much as the book says.  I guess I got a fantastic deal through the tourist hotel booking at the airport.  It is called the Koreana.  It is a nice hotel but cable internet is 300 won per minute ...

... dull. We randomly picked an exhibit to start off with; it turned out to be pottery that was recently discovered, that belonged to royal families and was used to store babies umbilical cords (gross, I know). A curator there was telling us this (the signs ...

stay in a rather posh hotel, didnt have much time but went for a walk rount til all the shops shut! crazy city they were making a film too, mad ...

... city (as Paris and Amsterdam and Seoul were as well). In order to line up the flights correctly, the overnight in Seoul was needed. In truth, continuing straightaway is superior for several reasons: avoid the hassle of getting in and out of Seoul from ...