At 10:00am, Korean friend JW knocked on our guesthouse door...the actual door, to our room; not the lobby, not out in front of the building, but our door...to pick us up for a fun day in Seoul. He'd ridden the subway about an hour from his house to meet us and we hopped a taxi to
Changdeokgung Palace. It's my first palace experience and I wasn't sure what to expect. The english speaking guide was wonderful, with a great sense of humor and a very pretty black umbrella with sequins so we could always spot her. The tour was about 75 people, so we appreciated anything to make it obvious! The palace is comprised of a few big buildings and many, many little ones for specific purposes. For example, there was a reading room that was its own building especially for the prince to read books about how to become a good king. The architecture looked very similar to the temple we visited our first day here, but with less Buddhas.
Changdeokgung Palace. It's my first palace experience and I wasn't sure what to expect. The english speaking guide was wonderful, with a great sense of humor and a very pretty black umbrella with sequins so we could always spot her. The tour was about 75 people, so we appreciated anything to make it obvious! The palace is comprised of a few big buildings and many, many little ones for specific purposes. For example, there was a reading room that was its own building especially for the prince to read books about how to become a good king. The architecture looked very similar to the temple we visited our first day here, but with less Buddhas. 
The palace grounds include a Secret Garden. We learned that Koreans believe that the most beautiful gardens are natural, so this garden was full of beautiful trees, one of which is over 700 years old. The people take very good care of their trees, building support posts and wrapping them in "bandages" to keep them healthy and beautiful. My inner Lorax really appreciates that!
After trapsing around the palace, we found lunch at a Korean hole in the wall joint. Main dishes are served to specific customers, but the side dishes (usually ~6 different things in very small portions) are served family style and are all-you-can-eat. Some of the side dishes today were very authentic, including a little cooked crab (body and all) and 3 fried fish (including their heads and tails). The fish was tasty, but we weren't brave enough for the crab. Maybe next trip?
Then, onto Insadong for some serious shopping. Insadong is my favorite shopping experience here. We found some great bargains and also found some pricey shops. We found reasonably priced Korean art (special thanks to JW for deciphering between the Japanese and Korean art for us...we can't tell the difference). After we dragged JW through all the shops, we went to see Nanta, a Korean musical that has been performed in many countries and on Broadway.
We hopped a city bus to a Korean barbeque. The grills are built into the middle of the tables so you can grill your own meat and veggies too, if you want. The barbeque is served with lettuce leaves which you wrap around the meat and veggies and dot with sauce.
JW insisted on riding the subway home with us and walking us to the guesthouse even though it meant about 45 minutes of additional travel for him. We feel so fortunate to have had such a wonderful guide and friend that showed us things we wouldn't have known to look for on our own. I hope we can repay his kindness the next time he's in the States.
1 comment:
Sounds wonderful there in the RO(S)K.
-- JB
Post a Comment