The trip to Seoul

I mentioned a while back A and I were headed off on a tip to Seoul, then never followed up with the aftermath. 'Pictures or it didn't happen', as the saying goes. I assure you it happened. Not only did it happen, it was really enjoyable!

The flight from Nagoya to Seoul was only about 2 hours, but Korean Air still served a small meal during that span. Very classy. Incheon International Airport (which services Seoul) is 30-40 minutes outside the city, so we secured a ride on a 'limousine bus' and headed into town. If you're undertaking this journey yourself, it's a good way to get into the city; I would argue much better than the train. There's a counter near the exit to the buses where you'll be able to get route help, and purchase your ticket. (if you don't have exact change to purchase on the bus). From there, just go hang out by the sign outside bearing the number of your bus!

That tiny dog lives at the cafe / B&B and begs for your breakfast scraps.

The bed and breakfast we stayed at was located about a block from the wall of Gyeongbok Palace, the big world heritage site in the old part of the city. It was also in the same neighborhood as the Blue House, the Korean version of the White House, where the President lives in Seoul. That unexpectedly meant roving swarms of police, which made our part of the city feel extremely safe.

I'll admit to having sort of a love/hate relationship with our little B&B. We were staying in what was, when it was unoccupied, a storage room and office. Clean, acceptable, except that mosquitos got in our room and drove me crazy at night. The breakfasts were good though, and on our final night they were hosting a wedding party we got to crash. It was also right in the middle of things, surrounded both by tourist attractions and tons of cute cafes and restaurants. Pluses and minuses, although I'd say a mosquito bite on your eyelid is a pretty big minus.

The palace was full of great sights. The original was razed during a Japanese invasion, so what currently stands is a recreation. Even so, very impressive. Its footprint in the city is enormous, and we spent about half a day exploring all the back areas.

Exploring the city on foot was reasonably practical, with all of the attractions we'd planned to visit being within a few miles of each other. Even traveling between destinations offered lots of sights. There was no shortage of interesting things to keep us busy.

I'd absolutely go back given the opportunity. We didn't have enough time to make the trip up to the DMZ or see some of the further parts of the city (Gangnam) but as it was the trip was a good length. Too much longer and all the kimchi we were eating might have crossed from novelty to annoyance. We'll just have to keep an eye on those ticket prices and see if they drop again.

I took piles more photos, and I encourage you to check them out. They include a lot more of our ranging about the city, as well as our visit to the Korean War Memorial.