NAMSANGOL HANOK VILLAGE
Before we headed for Namsangol Hanok Village, we had breakfast (tuna sandwich and tea) at Del Train outlet in Chungmuro Metro station. Once done, I felt so eager to exit the station and headed for the one of the most visited attractions in Seoul. We had to walk uphill a bit and while walking, I saw a bedazzling red and yellow colors of trees from afar and that made me increased my walking speed. I could not wait to see the colorful trees closely!! I did not bother any other stuff here except for the very attractive trees, so several pictures were taken deliberately. When done, then only I started to look around and set my foot back to reality.
In this village, several traditional items used in everyday life were displayed especially items used in agriculture. They were mostly made of straws and some other type of plant materials that are strong enough for certain amount of load. There were also sandals made of straws, baskets, and toys which were available for purchase. There were old folks in their everyday attire (definitely not a uniform) weaving something which I was not sure what.
The air was fresh and I felt that I was at the countryside, though this place is actually located in the middle of Seoul city. The view of Namsan tower is very clear and of course this village is actually located at the foot of Namsan hill.
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| Weaving shoes made of straws |
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| The tree that made me a little over-excited (of course there are more trees) |
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| Traditional shoes made of straws |
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| This is only the beginning. |
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| I'm in love with autumn |
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| Are these jars meant for keeping kimchi? Erkk... |
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| If anyone wants to try the Korean traditional costumes, this is the place. |
Before leaving, we dropped by at the souvenir shop and I bought 2 cute fridge magnets for KRW3000 each. Other stuffs seemed to be a bit pricey so I just stick with the 2 fridge magnets. After exiting the village, we were attracted with the snacks and sweets sold on the carts. I have no idea what they are called. One is creamy white in color and as hard as a rock. The seller told me (body language of course) that it should not be bitten, but just let it melt in the mouth. It tasted like our 'kuih batang buruk' a bit. The other snack looked really nice, coated with groundnuts and sesame. It costed KRW 2000 per packet and my buddy bought a lot of those snacks.
NAMSAN TOWER
Just a few meters from the Chungmuro station exit, is a bus stop for those who wish to get to Namsan Tour. I forgot which bus should be taken but information is available at the stop itself, and the bus to Namsan Tower is different from the other local bus in terms of color and model. It took around 20 minutes to get to the Namsan Tower bus stop, and when we arrived, we realized that the bus we were riding on is an EV (electric vehicle). It seems that Korea is starting to step forward in reducing carbon emission, that contribute to the global warming. I wish Malaysia will do the same thing very soon.
We walked uphill towards the tower and there were so many visitors walking in and out of the tower's ground. Several trees were showing change of colors a little but still I was so excited looking at the color change. As with other visitors to Namsan Tower, it is a must to have pictures of myself with the tower at the back.
We did not bother to buy ticket to get to the sky-deck because the view of Seoul metropolitan was not at its best due to mild haze. And the entrance fee was pricey too. So we just stroll around and took several pictures at the platform where various thousands of padlocks were hung there, being symbolic to loving couples out there.
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| Cute and very symbolic |
I got myself another fridge magnet of Namsan Tower at one of the souvenir shops at the base of the towers before we left. Being a famous tourist spot, prices are slightly higher here.
INSA- DONG
I will write something about Insa- Dong and Namdaemun market at the next entry, which is a pictureless entry.
GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE
After spending time waiting for my buddy to finish his shopping business, we got on the metro heading back to the hotel to keep his stuffs and to do some toilet business. After 20 minutes, we went out again, walking towards Anguk station to get the metro to Gyeongbokgung station. I wanted to see the most visited palace in Seoul, and to make full use of the integrated ticket we purchased earlier. And I left my camera in the hotel as my shoulder started to ache and I could not bear the discomfort. The pictures below are courtesy from my buddy.
Gyeongbokgung palace is located within the palace-museum complex which definitely attract more people than any other palaces in Seoul. It was so crowded and I could not see these massive crowds in Changdeokgung and Deoksugung palaces. I am not so sure what makes Gyeongbokgung palace is more popular except that it has wider compound and near to the museums. The architecture and the design is similar, or maybe there is indistinct differences which I must have missed them. With this kind of crowds, we thought of deviating our way, heading to a building behind the palace complex which caught our eye. Later we found out that it is the National Folk Museum of Korea and we agreed to spend some times there.
NATIONAL FOLK MUSEUM OF KOREA
There is no entrance fee as far as I can remember. But there is a security-post with officers checking the tickets for those who are heading towards the palace. At the folk museum, there were displays of traditional Korean musical instruments i.e. various sizes of flutes, string-plucking instruments and kind-of-drums, the traditional wedding costumes and accessories for both man and woman, materials used for school kids and many others. Note that photographing is not allowed in this museum. There is a souvenir shop selling souvenirs but nothing interested me.
Heading to the exit, there is a small park with mini Korean style gazebo with beautiful flowers and shrubs surrounding it. I was attracted with the poles made of wood, which were carved into cute and scary faces on the top end, and with some writings below it. There was no description about the poles so I could not elaborate much about it. There is also sculptures which I believe must be religious-related.
It was getting dark and we exited the museum and tried to get to Gyeongbokgung station. I was the one leading the way and we got lost. And pathetically, we were out of the right way quite a distant that my lower limbs started to 'rebel'. Luckily we have the map, so we asked for the right way from the traffic officers, and finally we managed to reach the metro station, heading for City Hall station.
We returned to Insa-Dong to have vegetarian Korean dinner at one of the restaurants spotted by my buddy earlier of the day. My buddy was so longing to have Korean meal and his desire fulfilled. The only name I could remember was tofu kimchi and the rest of the dishes did not register in my mind. Korean rice seems to be different. It looks like a combination of brown rice and sticky rice. I guessed it must be rich in fibers as we got our stomach full easily. It was really a big dinner for us
So we ended the day with a nice Korean dinner, and returned to the hotel happily
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| Main hall of the National Folk Museum |
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| Something cute (and sometimes bizarre too!!) |
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| Vegetarian Korean dishes for dinner at Insa-dong |
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