We choose to visit Seoul around spring. When I first thought about visiting Seoul, I didn't think of a particular season. Maybe its because I never thought that I'll really get to go because of money constraints. Now that I have some to spare for a trip, I thought of visiting Seoul during spring and get to see Ms. Cherry! Cherry Blossoms that is! How many times do you see them as backgrounds to a lot of drama? A lot and its so pretty! Its just a pity that we didn't see them actually falling,for it could have made our trip more dramatic) but still seeing them in real life is beautiful!
There! That was our number one reason why we visited Seoul to experience cherry blossoms among other things! It was tricky for we have to know the exact dates when will its full bloom for it just stays for I believe a week and then the rain and wind will blow it off (see that's dramatic). So we don't want to be too early and too late. I think we had our breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. Why Dunkin Donuts aren't all Dunkin Donuts are the same? NO! Its sad that I don't have any pictures but their donuts are different, of course the regulars are there but there are rice-based donuts! Its chewy, its like your regular sticky rice cake but not. As a Filipino I can relate well with rice cakes, we have tons back home and I miss them! Another thing about Dunkin Donuts in Korea is not it shows how many calories each piece is. So its weight watcher friendly. So for our itinerary:
So off to Bukchon Hanok Village and our theme for today is culture! Well from the term itself its an area where you'll get to see Korean traditional houses or hanok. I don't know if that area is usually quiet, but that day, Monday its so quiet. I enjoyed the main street leading to the cluster of hanok. Its nice to see different shops, galleries and restaurants standing individually not like those on the malls, which feels a little intimate for me. We went to Bukchon Observatory where you get to see the village from above. Its nice that we are the only two up there, we relaxed a little with a tea that comes with it when you pay.
As we go down from the observatory, we were drawn to look further to the village. Its a labyrinth and we got lost. We were supposed to use the same route but the surroundings tempted us to look further. We walk towards what seems to be a fortress without knowing that its the fortress that surrounds Gyeongbokgung.
As we walk towards the fortress, we saw the National Folk Museum and we agreed that we will not visit any museum, except the Teddy Bear Museum. Little did we know that the National Folk Museum is actually within palace. Dummy! We spent probably an hour and a few kilometers before we thought of hailing a cab. Only to dropped in front of the National Folk Museum! LOL!
Sageuk! If you live in Kdramaland like I do, you'll know what that term means! Last week, I was watching Sword and Flower aka Blade and Petal, and was thinking what was my first sageuk? All I can think of is Moon that Embraces the Sun. Getting into National Folk Museum is like stepping into a sageuk (wheres my hanbok?)
Next is the Gyeongbokgung. They say that there's an entry from the National Folk Museum, but we did not find it, so head out and just walk around the fortress and went to the main entrance. There were so many tourist and 80% of it are students, from preschoolers to I gather high school students.
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| circling the fortress |
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| cute policemen on patrol |
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| palace gate |
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| packed palace |
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| march! march! march! |
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| feels like I'm in a sageuk! |
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| throne |
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| wandering around the palace |
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What's inside the palace are the basically different chambers of the king. Maybe you'll appreciate it more if you have a tour guide telling you more about one chamber at a time and also a trivia.
After snapping pictures with the palace guards (its difficult when there's a lot of tourists), we walk towards Insadong. Walk towards your left upon exiting Gyeongbokgung Palace, and follow the signage. Second to closest to my heart to Myeongdong is Insadong. It is a place where you could buy traditional souvenirs. This is where we had our lunch at perhaps after 2PM.
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| strolling Insadong |
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| stamped! |
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| drinking an already cold cappuccino |
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| late lunch, I think I had beef soup with glass noodles |
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| my name in Hangeul |
I bought teas (citron, ginger and ginseng), handkerchief, ref magnets and I got my name on a stamp! The stamp is a bit pricey. I think its over 10,000 KRW and the stamp pad ink is purchased separately. I honestly forgot how much it is, but its a one of a kind souvenir. A lot of street foods as well and if you've heard of the some thousand strands honey candy this is where you can find one. We didn't get to see it because we thought of just seeing that after we had lunch, but we didn't. But even from afar, we could hear how cheerful they are while making the strands. We walk at the very end of Insadong and get into the subway (Jongno 3?) to go to Yeouido Park for Ms. Cherry!
Yeouido is dubbed as Seoul's Wall Street and its on the other side of Han River. As you exit from subway you'll be greeted with tall buildings. We walk towards Yeouido Park which for us feels so far. I think we get off Yeouido Station and walk for more than 20 minutes. I was so excited to see Ms. Cherry so we did not mind the walk plus we get to get the vibe of the business district. Its nice to see tents for street foods just outside the buildings which reminds me of the local
jollijeep in Makati. I've already seen some cherry blossoms on the way to Hwaseong Fortress, but I want to see lanes and lanes of cherry blossoms!
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| bicycle lane inside the park |
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| food stalls around Yeouido |
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| bald tress along the park |
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| cherry blossoms along the park |
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| feels like clouds behind me |
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| a band doing street performance |
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| stalls for the festival, most of them were closed already |
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| Hang River, I feel like sobbing ala Kdrama! |
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| Han River and Ms. Cherry |
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| KBS Station |
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Aaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnd we did! I did! I saw lanes and lanes of cherry blossoms. Its surprising to see that even locals seems to enjoy it. I mean if you see that every year of your life in your country, maybe you'll get used to it or not! I think there is still a festival going on when we went there, but its that festive anymore, maybe because its late already, but we still saw some stalls that are still open and street performances. Its such a beautiful site! We just followed the lanes and lanes of cherry blossoms all the way to National Assembly. We got up close and personal with Han River. We call it
River of Despair in Kdramaland. At this time, I am so tired of walking but we still have to walk. We walk all the way to
Yoido Full Gospel Church and we looked for the next available subway station to go back to Hongdae.
I can't remember where we had our dinner. I remember wanting to eat that pig's feet but it was packed. There are a lot of shops, clubs and coffee shops in Hongdae! We would always see something interesting and turn to that direction. Its so nice to see the area that sometimes we'll get a glimpse of it in a KDrama which is so nice! We even saw the store that sells
hoddeok that was featured in
eatyourkimchi. Of course its closed already but its a sad thing that we didn't get to taste it because we are still full when we saw them on the streets. We got lost in Hongdae and we gotten a little far, but we manage to go the main street and hail a cab from there.
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