Seoul Vacation - Korea Trip: Day 1

I just got back from a vacation in South Korea and as I sit on my desk trying to concentrate on work and get back into the normal routine, I find myself getting lost in the wonderful memories that have occupied every bit of space in my mind. There really is only one thing that one can do in such a situation, and that is to give in to the mind's desire and relive the experiences, tastes, sounds and smells of the past one week. 

I was accompanied by 4 other friends on this trip and our vacation started on the evening of 4th September. Our flight to Seoul was on the morning of the 5th from Kansai International Airport so we had booked a hostel in Osaka (https://www.facebook.com/PeaceHouseSachi) to spend the night since there were no early morning links from Kyoto to Kansai. That night we walked an insane distance to have dinner at a restaurant(Cafe Gusto) which made good Italian food and has a very cheap "all you can drink" offer on non-alcoholic drinks such as soup, hot/cold cocoa/coffee/tea, carbonated drinks and juice. It was a very satisfying meal filled with warm friendly banter which set the mood for the rest of the trip which would turn out to be equally satisfying in terms of food, friends, and fun!

Mesmerized by Incheon Airport

The next morning we got on the first train to Kansai Airport from Shinimamiya station at 5:30am and took the Peach flight from terminal 2 (took the shuttle bus from the main terminal to terminal 2) to Seoul. We landed in Incheon airport and were mesmerized by the cool interiors of the airport and train station. We had 2 options for getting to Seoul. The first was a non-stop direct train to Seoul station that took 43 minutes and cost 8000 won (800 yen) or a local train that stopped at 10 stations, took 53 minutes and cost just 4000 won. We decided that we could part with 10 extra minutes of our time for a ticket of half the price and checked in to our hotel very near Seoul Station, around 12 noon. We were having some trouble finding our hotel but we were overwhelmed to find that Korean people are incredibly kind and helpful and so, when we asked a person to help us with the address, he actually walked us right to the doorstep of our hotel... and this was not an isolated experience during our trip! We quickly learned to say "Kamsanhanmida" ("Thank you" in Korean) due to all the kindness we received!

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Chicken Sangyetang

After freshening up, we made our way to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. First constructed in 1395, later burned by the Japanese and abandoned for almost three centuries, and then reconstructed in 1867, it was the main and largest palace of the "Five Grand Palaces of the Joseon Dynasty". We saw the changing of the guards here and roamed around the grounds of this huge palace (although what is standing today is only 40% of what it was originally!) and then made our way to a very special traditional Korean restaurant for lunch. A Korean friend had suggested this place to us and had even told us what to eat! The name of the dish was "Samgyetang" which is basically a whole chicken stuffed with rice and vegetables, prepared in ginseng soup and the place we ate is famous for it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samgyetang). After just a few mouthfuls, I was in love! The soup was so flavorful and wholesome that it tasted like the best chicken soup I had ever had and I felt as though all my tiredness and pain would be washed away forever! The chicken itself was so tender and perfectly cooked, that I actually managed to somehow finish the whole thing! We were also served Kimchi (fermented spicy side-dish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchi)and Soju (traditional alcoholic drink http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soju) with our meal. I liked the Kimchi for its spicy flavour which complemented the Sangyetang very well. I tried to like the Soju but didn't really take to it probably because I don't like the smell or taste of alcohol! 

All hail King Sejong!

After this very heavy lunch, I was ready to head back to the hotel for a nap but that would be a criminal waste of time and so we somehow mustered up our spirits and headed over to the statue of King Sejong. Sejong was a great King and a very important man in Korean history. We visited the museum housed below his statue, which educated us about the King's achievements of creating the modern Korean Hangul script, his scientific discoveries, his efforts for sustained prosperity and development of Korea and his many other achievements in literature, governance, military strategy and assorted fields. 

We then walked about in the Jongno area and arrived at the City Hall station. The plan was to go to the south of Seoul to visit Coex which is a famous commercial complex housing an aquarium, many shops, restaurants, casinos, etc. The group however got spit up and half of my friends ended up getting on the wrong train. Since none of us were using our phones on roaming services, we could not call or contact each other, This is when we discovered that you could pretty much find free Wi-fi wherever you had air to breathe in Seoul! With the help of e-mail we managed to meet up with the lost members of our group near the Coex, only to be disappointed to find that it was closed for renovation. 

Oppa Gangnam Style!

After a brief walk around a very boring Coex, we made our way to Gangnam!!! Here we found a stage with "Gangnam Style" flashing in LEDs and silhouettes of Psy. We wasted no time in posing for many many many photos doing the "Gangnam Style" dance on the stage. We then walked around this crazy neighborhood  ate some yummy ice cream and fell in love with everything, before returning to our hotel and hitting the sack with wonderful smiles on our faces! 

We were going to visit Gyeongju and Busan the next day... but that my friends, is another story!

P.S. --> The metro system in Seoul is really cheap and everything is in English so getting around is no problem. There is a unlimited rides day pass available, but that will only be economical if you plan to ride the metro more than 10 times in one day. We did not need it.