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Seouls Palaces, Walks, Tea Houses N Damn Chili!
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Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,
Well I finally found email here in Seoul.
I'm sure there must be a heap of little Net Bars somewhere but the guy at the hostel told me to find the City Hall and wallah, here is a room full of computers and the internet use is FREE!
Seoul is such a wonderful city, such a mixture of both old and new. I have done so much walking on my newly mended feet and I am so happy they were mended before they did actually did and fall off..ha ha! I think I'll stay for another few days and then head to the southern coast for awhile before taking a ferry across to what is supposed to be a beautiful island named Cheju-Do.
I guess Do means island.
I have met so many people but strangely most of them are Japanese tourists. This is cool having just come from Japan we all have a lot to talk about. The last few days have been pretty much epic walking days visiting a few temples, museums and parks. I've returned to the older sections of the city that Francesca took me to several times. I love the feel of those places and have decided that when I return to Asia I want to teach somewhere 'old' as cities are fun but become a little too much after a short time.
The weather?
Mate the weather has been perfect weather for walking adventures!
Our Traditional Dinner the other night was awesome. Someone should really introduce vegetables to the Koreans as it seemed it was nearly all meat. Whilst introducing vegetables you may want to introduce fire extinguishers too. You have no idea how hot the food is here. By hot I mean 'spicy' hot and in full capitals!
SPICEY HOT!
Has anyone ever heard of cooking anything without chili in it here in South Korea!
We had three Korean business men beside us who took us under wing, or should I say under their spicy chicken wings. They ended up paying for our entire meal and filled us full of Korean Rice Wine. Every part of my body was sore the following day. My head hurt from the rice wine, my stomach from the chili and the rice wine and my poor butt from the chili!
I also went to see the new Stephen King film 'The Green Mile'.
Wow, what a fantastic adaptation from the book.
Well done Mr Producer!
Being the only foreigner in the place I was expecting not to be able to understand anything but surprisingly it was in English with Korean subtitles! After being spotted before the movie began I was soon sitting with several English speakers and after the movie they took me out for a Traditional Tea Night. It was so beautiful and even though they didn't allow me to pay, I over heard what it cost.
I don't think I'll be doing that on my own in the future!
Sometimes when I sit and think about it, I find it hard to comprehend that in every country I have been to so far in Asia I have been treated with utmost respect and so many people have taken me out for wonderful yet expensive evenings even though they don't know anything about me.
Note to self...come back to Asia to live, find friends and return what is being offered to me now!
Now let's talk about markets!
Markets mate!
I've come to believe Seoul is one giant market place. You find them everywhere. In buildings you thought were office buildings, under buildings you thought were market buildings but are office buildings, above ground, in the ground, around the ground...they are everywhere. Don't go thinking about your normal market place either, these things are the super daddies of market places.
Some begin underground and go upwards for many floors.
Some being many floors up and go many floors below...ha ha same thing I know.
But it is still a different market place.
The smells, the colours, the people...I can't get enough of Seoul and its markets!
Ok, the day time, whilst I'm above ground and/or not at a market place I've been finding little back streets and winding my way towards temples etc marked on my map.
The temples have all been beautiful and well worth a visit.
My first one was Gyeongbok-Gung. This is supposed to be the most beautiful palace here in Seoul and also houses the Palace Museum and the Korean Folk Museum which were all under the one entry fee. I had a wonderful time here with Francesca as we walked and talked our way around all the sites for several hours.
Secondly was Changdeok-Gung. This is supposed to be the second most important and was built in 1405 and was used as the main palace between 1618 and 1896.
There are also a few city gates still standing that I added to my list of 'walk towards and away from'. One was named Dongdaemun which is the ancient eastern gate in and out of the city and the other was Namdaemun or the Great South Gate. The great thing about this gate is that it is right near the Namdaemun Market place so once you've taken your happy snaps you can get lost in the market place for several hours.
The only other thing I've gone to visit is the Seodaemun Prison which was built in 1908. Now that's a date little more comprehendible to me coming from Australia! It's full of horrible videos, pictures and cells that show what the Japanese did to Koreans during the Korean-Japanese War.
Nasty little buggers those Japanese soldiers were!
Beers N Cheers toya.....shane
Accommodation:
Inn Daewon
26 Tongju - Dong
Chongnu - Gu
KWANGHWAMUN AREA
Ph: 735 7891
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The soundtrack to this entry was Urge Overkill.
The album was 'Exit The Dragon'
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| 68. | Seouls Palaces, Walks, Tea Houses N Damn Chili! - Seoul, Korea Rep. Mar 17, 2000 |
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