The Tourist Stuff We've Done

We have found the subway system to be a breeze to use. They only thing that needs work is figuring out which exit to use. There can by 8 exits from one stop and depending on which exit you use can land you in a place you're unfamiliar with. We took the bus today for the first time and it was more expensive but also pretty easy.

On Thursday, we went to Insadong to go shopping. It's a pedestrian mall and it was full of school girls on a school trip. They had to interview a foreigner and I guess we screamed tourist for they all interviewed us. Then, we headed over to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. I think I was expecting a palace like the ones in England. It would have helped to have gone on a guided tour because we found it difficult to figure out what all the building were used for and which one was the one main building of residence. It was beautiful none the less.

We headed back to our area of Seoul and went to a Buddhist temple called Bongeunsa. This was my favorite part of the day. It was a 2 hour tour. We went into a temple and sat on a mat among others who were praying. Outside, they explained the different bells and why they were rung and for how long. The bells were big and shaped like a traditional bell, a canoe like shape and a fish. The area around the temple had paper lanterns hanging everywhere in honor of loved ones living and dead. They will finish hanging them by Buddha's birthday, May 21. We got to see a Korean traditional tea ceremony and got to taste 3 types of tea. Then, a monk came in and we got to meditate with him and ask questions. The meditation position just about killed all of us. It ended with us making a paper lotus flower.

On Friday, after our meeting at the foster families, we headed over to the Korean Cemetery honoring those who fought during Japanese occupation and the Korean war. The hill side is full of grave sites similar to Arlington cemetery. The thing that was disappointing was that everything was written in Korean only. They said that they do have English headphones that guide you through but this particular lady didn't know where they were. But, there are many photos which give a good overview of the history. From here, we went to a restaurant know for their sushi but that became quite the adventure with some misguided information but we ended up a very good restaurant down an alley way. We were not disappointed.

Today, we went to the Korean Folk Village. If I had only one free day in Seoul, I would spend the day here. They had traditional farmer dancers, acrobats, equestrian riders and a mock traditional wedding. It's over 100 acres of thatched roofed buildings and craftsman all about. The items for sale are a step above the touristy gimics. I got a wooden duck just like the one given in a traditional Korean wedding ceremony to give Aspen when she gets married. The food court has many authentic Korean dishes and you can sit on the floor at small tables under covered picnic areas. It's a little bit of everything to get a feeling of Korean culture past and present. If we had the kids, there is also a small amusement park with rides.