TUESDAY 17th June – part one

Woke up refreshed again, but I really needed to sort out the bed. It was so hard. After Breakfast I took off to another palace, Deoksugung. It looked the same as the one on Monday but I noticed that it was open until 9pm so I decided to come back and see it night. It might look different.

So I set off to a tea house. Walking.

I didn’t get lost as the road was fairly simple and clearly marked on the map. I walked along a pretty manicured lane with resting places and I even saw a traditional changing of the guard. I found the spot where the tea house was supposed to be, but the teahouse had closed and was now a coffee shop. Not the same thing at all. It was 29degrees and trying to rain. I wanted Tea!
[changing of guard]

I decided to walk some more. I carried on the same road, then hung a left at the end. I’d figured out I was actually quite close to the hotel and could walk back. A brief stop in the Agriculture Museum reminded me of school trips and how lucky I am not to be a farmer.

Walking let me think, but it also let me take in the mad cap stuff that motorcycle couriers put on the back of their bike here.
[mc eggs]

I sat for a while, it was only noon. What to do for the rest of the day?

I jumped in a cab, pointed at the picture on the map and said ‘Here, please.’
I had a cabbie that could speak broken English. It was the first real conversation I’d had for three days. He pointed at things and said the name; I repeated until I got it right then he would say, ‘very good, now you speak Korean’. As soon as I got out of the taxi at the bottom of the hill, I’d forgotten it all.

Seoul Tower is on top of a very high hill that taxis aren’t allowed up. I was looking at a two kilometre up a hill that I swear was 45degrees. Luckily after about 30 yards, a bus pulled up and for a paltry 800 won I took me to the top.

Standing 236 metres it’s the main telly and radio antenna for Seoul, and like Centrepoint in Sydney, you can jump in a lift and visit the viewing platform. Unlike Sydney it doesn’t cost and arm and a leg (A$26.00). It was just 12,000 won, about A$10. I saw loads of stuff from there, have a drink and rice ball and even got to send a postcard or two.
[1. Seoul Tower. 2. the Seoul suburbs ]

After that I went downstairs to ready myself for the walk down the hill. But there was a Traditional Warcraft display about to start. The men were there in their traditional costume that kind of reminded me of the Wicked Witch of the West’s guards from the Wizard of Oz. It was lovely. They also had all sorts of weapons, very Wizard of Oz, especially the tridents.

I sat down on the steps and waited. While I did I took a few group shots for groups that were there. One family (from China, it turned out) took a shine to me and each member of the family had their photo taken with me. I could hear them telling the family holiday stories, ‘and this is the white woman who took our picture, with mum…with dad…with son…with daughter…with grandma (yes also got in on the action)…with other daughter and with third daughter.’ As a thank you they gave me a banana and a drink. It would have been impolite to refuse.