Seoul-ful Layover

I'm at Incheon International Airport very close to Seoul, South Korea. I flew with Asiana Airlines and I found out that they have free guided tours of Seoul that gives you a very brief overview of some of the best sites. This is great considering that I have a 15 hour layover here. Honestly though, if I had to choose any airport to have a layover in, this would be the one. They have huge internet cafés where it's $3 for 1 hour of high-speed, a cultural center where they teach you how to make Korean handicrafts, and awesome Korean food (even if it is a little overpriced).

Gyeongbukgung Palace

So today I got a free tour to Seoul, South Korea from Asiana Airlines (yeah they rock) First they took us to the president's house which is across the street from Gyeongbukjung Palace. They call the President's house the Blue House because it has a blue roof (and because of the White House). We got free entry into the Exhibition center there where they gave us a short info tour on the history of South Korea. I learned a couple of things, but it was honestly VERY short. Well, I guess the other reason that I couldn't pay attention was because there was a parade outside that they have everything Friday. I took plenty of pictures because it was very cool. We saw the roof of the old palace but we didn't go inside because we didn't have time. Then they took us to the Korean Folk Village. We spent like 15 minutes there even though I probably could have spent much more time there. It's a cultural reenactment of Korea in ancient times. The building were very cool and I will make sure to spend a lot more time there when I come back in August.

Parade 1

They took us for a free traditional Korean lunch, but we had to pay like $4 for water. No complaints though about that... it's worth it for the free food.

Then we went to Itaewon which is a popular tourist shopping district. I didn't buy anything even though it was tempting because once again I want to wait until August and because I don't feel like carrying it on the plane.

All in all, it was a very good day so far. I still have about 3 hours here in Seoul and I think I'm going to go make a Korean fan. lol

I'll try to post when I can in Cambodia.

(wow this internet is insanely fast... totally worth trying to figure what I'm doing with all the Korean symbols everywhere)

Parade 2

Side Dishes and Kimchi!

Airport

Korean Street