First day in Seoul

My first destination in Seoul, after I had had breakfast, showered and napped, was the Dongdaemun Sichang, a sprawling market that I only managed to cover bits of. I wandered through the shoe section and the fabric market before going into a tiny hole in the wall Korean restaurant that didn't have a hint of English in it. Fortunately, there were pictures dotted around the walls and through a combination of pointing and hand signals, I managed to get a delicious bowl of bibimbap.

The fabric market had colourful bolts of all kinds of cloth. However, I didn't see any tailors like they have at the fabric market in Shanghai where I got a tailored three piece suit for a steal. They did have the most gorgeous (and extremely expensive) curtains , though.

My next stop was the Geongbokgong, the main palace and governmental heart of the old walled city. There was a row of colourfully-dressed palace guards outside the palace, holding fake swords or whatever they're called and trying to look serious. That must be the worst job in the world - having to stand still for hours staring into space. What a waste of time.


The palace is huge and constructed mainly of wood. The ground was mostly packed dirt, which I didn't really like. Perhaps back in the days it was filled with ranks of soldiers and guards, but today, it seems like a lot of empty, wasted space that could have been covered with lush green grass or something.
At the corner of every bridge and stairway, there is a different mythical creature that's supposed to protect the palace and its inhabitants. This one looks like a constipated lion crossed with a snake.

The ceilings of the palace are ornate and intricately painted. It was the aspect I most enjoyed about the palace.

Towards the back of the palace where the residential areas (as opposed to the govermental areas) are, there are lovely gardens running along the walls. I'm not sure if these flowers bloom all year round, or if it's particular to Spring, but they were gorgeous and made the palace look less formal and more of a home.
There was a spring-fed lake in the middle of the palace grounds. The pagoda in the middle looked like such a peaceful place to lounge around and read a book or embroider or whatever it was they did back in those days. Unfortunately, no one lives here anymore. Or maybe it's a good thing, because quite honestly, it didn't look like a very comfortable place to stay. Too heavy on the minimalist and zen and not enough of the creature comforts for my taste.

After the palace, and a quick stop in the National Folk Museum next door to the palace, I was too tired to do anymore, so I went back to the hotel. I was contemplating visiting the gym or the pool but was too lazy to do either (surprise, surprise :P). I fell asleep at 8pm that night. Jet lag sucks.