한국 Travels: #4

The size of Seoul is both intimidating and inspiring.  I actually have not been doing much sight seeing in the first few weeks of living here, but with the Korean Thanksgiving Chuseok (추석) holidays and some friends visiting from Singapore, it was a good time to get out and about.

1. Palaces
There are 5 royal palaces in Seoul, and we made it to three of them.  A number of times the buildings had been destroyed, usually through wars and also by fire, and then rebuilt.  Korean architecture takes a lot of inspiration from the Chinese architecture from those dynasties, and much of the writing on the structures was Chinese calligraphy.  There was a spartan feel to the palaces, like vast spaces with buildings interspersed. I was told that the Korean used to use those areas for food preparation, as there was a lot of cutting of the vegetables involved.

People always think it would be romantic in those times.  I always think that it would have been great, but only if you were the royal family and part of their entourage.  It would most likely suck as you would have most likely been a slave or some servant! I always believe the future will be better for everyone.

There was a Secret Garden for one of the palaces that I really liked.  Beautiful old trees, old school pavilions to rest.  I think in winter it would have a super quiet feel, like you are the only person there.

There was a shrine that I visited which  I would go again purely for the serenity of the place.  The shrine was a large area, full of trees and old school Korean buildings that housed the "spirit tablets" of the ancient kings and queens.  Like a tomb I suppose.  The cool thing was that there was a separate "path" for the spirits to walk and they warned people not to walk along that path.   Probably not that fun to go in at night!

2. Namsan Tower
I couldn't believe how many people were there!  Just filled with tourists and a lot of locals as well (who may have been tourists from different parts of Korea).  Whomever did the marketing for Namsan Tower must be congratulated.   And don't be fooled by the Korean dramas, where the couple wanders around by themselves. it is a bit of a shit show just to get to the viewing platform :) The love locks are everywhere and very whimsical, but hard to find much peace when it is so crowded.  I was happy that it was full moon, got some good photos with the tower.

Whilst we were on the hill, Seoul itself does not have the building compactness that makes the Hong Kong skyline so dramatic from Victoria Peak.  The the view is ok, just like on a hill.

3. Lotte World Mall
I didn't make it to Lotte World, I heard it is not bad.  The mall next to it has a very large supermarket with lots of good goodies.  Bought some biscuits and other things to try out with tomorrow's park meeting with school friends.  Lotte World Mall itself feels like Takashimya or a Times Square.

I appreciated the time alone walking around the palaces (I had one day before friends came to visit).  It was good to use the camera again, get some good photos.  Having the fixed lens is good, but macros need more work.  The colours of the leaves are still very green, I think in November when the leaves turn I will have to go back to the Palaces to check it out and take some more photos.