Our 3rd
day started in one of South Korea’s priceless gems, Gyeongbukgong Palace.
When
we were in the subway station, I was actually expecting to exit in a much
quieter place. But to my
surprise, the Palace actually stands in the middle of bustling streets and
modern skyscrapers. Yes, it is still in the heart of Seoul.
A little history from
Wikipedia, Gyeongbokgung Palace or Gyeongbok
Palace -- is a royal palace
located in northern Seoul, South Korea. First constructed in 1395, later burned and abandoned for
almost three centuries, and then reconstructed in 1867, it was the main and
largest palace of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon
Dynasty. The name means "Palace" [Gung] "Greatly
Blessed by Heaven" [Gyeongbok].
This attraction is very
large – about the size of Disneyland I guess. And for the price of 3,000 won, you
get to explore the vicinity. But you must be there early to witness the ceremonial
changing of guards the palace is famous for at 10 AM (though there are other
scheduled times as well).
After around an hour of
walking and picture taking..
.. we already felt hungry and decided to have lunch at the nearest restaurant we can find, which we found after a few minutes (we had another bite of authentic Korean dishes). After filling our bodies with the much-needed energies, we headed to Lotte World.
.. we already felt hungry and decided to have lunch at the nearest restaurant we can find, which we found after a few minutes (we had another bite of authentic Korean dishes). After filling our bodies with the much-needed energies, we headed to Lotte World.
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| lunch! |
When I heard of Lotte World, I didn’t actually expect it to be THAT huge. I thought it would only be a typical theme park. Yes, it has a theme park BUT not just a theme park. It has the world’s largest indoor theme park. It has an outdoor amusement park as well, a mall, hotel, museum, etc. etc. It’s actually considered one of the most world-class theme parks in Asia.
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| indoor theme park! |
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| illusions at trick eye museum |
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| magic island at Lotte world |
Instead of crying over the
lost ticket, we focused ourselves to our next destination instead, Namdaemun!
It’s a street market located in one of the 8 gates in the Fortress wall of Seoul. We
bought a street food we never really liked (sorry) then strolled along the various
vendors. I was able to buy a souvenir shirt though the price was a bit
expensive.
 |
| Namdaemun |
After noting the
not-so-affordable prices, we transferred to Dongdaemun. Then after 2 hours,
decided to visit the stream. I was taking picture of Iris while waiting in the
subway to the stream. We boarded a train and walked to the best part of the
stream. We stopped by a coffee shop and was about to take another pic of the
cute place when I realized that I LOST MY CAMERA!!!
When Iris’ cup of coffee was
served, we immediately went out and hailed a cab to the station where I last
used my camera. The station was about to close already and the in-charge did
not understand us at first. So, we explained to him the best way we can.
He
then led us to the bench where I last took a pic but only to find none. When I
asked him to view the CCTV, he said the camera does not capture 360 degrees
view. In short, there’s no way we can see if I really left my camera in the
bench. And this kinda broke my heart.
We then went back to the
guesthouse. I really regret not posting the pictures in FB real-time. I might
have something to see though I would lose it later on. I really had a hard time
taking this.
South Korea (Part 3) - Gyeongbukgong Palace - Lotte World - Namdaenum - Dongdaenum - Stream
South Korea (Part 4) - Bukchon Hanok Village - Palace - Garusogil, Gangnam - N Seoul Tower - Incheon Airport
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