Day 4: Changgyeonggung Palace and Central Museum of Buddhism

I am sorry it has been so long since I have done a post about my trip to Korea so many months ago. But better late than never! So here we go into day four....

On day four Alex and I decided to go out on our own and find our way to one of the two palaces in Seoul. We hopped on the subway and found our way to Insadong. We went to the first palace we could find, the Changgyeonggung palace. I was floored by how beautiful the structure was.

The architecture was stunning. It was all hand painted in vivid and bright colors. Words cannot accurately describe how gorgeous the buildings are.

 
I also couldn't get over the little archways that were all over the palace grounds.

I will never forget what it felt like to walk the palace grounds and learn about the rich history of the palace and about those who lived there. Our next stop was just down the street. Lindsay had told us about a Buddhist temple and I wanted to check it out. Once we found the temple we also decided to take a tour of the Buddhist Museum next door. It was very interesting to learn about Buddhism in South Korea. I was enrolled in a world religions class at the time so I was very intrigued by all the information, documents, and artifacts that the museum had and display.

Once we had finished the tour, which was all in Korean, we went to the temple next door. I had never been into a Buddhist temple before so I was eager to see the monks leading mantras and to see the inside of the temple. Inside, I was greeted by three large gold Buddhas.

All over the ceiling were beautiful lanterns. Also, paintings of Buddha's life were all along the ceiling and walls. The art was amazing. It was an eye opening experience to watch and hear the monks lead mantras while Buddhist followers followed along in their personal prayer books. I am so glad that I was able to get a little peek into the Buddhist religion outside of the classroom.

It was a very educational and fun filled day. I will never forget what I learned, saw, and experienced that day. And I am glad we were able to find the time to go and see these two awe inspiring places.

Day 3: Gwangjang Market and Insadong

Day three of our adventure in Seoul took us to Gwangjang Market with Lindsay and her hubby Ryan!

Alex and I made our way to the Swoboda's apartment and met up with them to start our walk to the subway. This was my first day really ridding the subway. It was great to travel with the Swobodas who know their way around the busy city.

I was in for quite a surprise once I got to the market. There was people everywhere! I have never seen so many people crammed into so little space! I would soon learn that this was a common thing in South Korea.

There were booths set up creating isles for us to stroll down. People were selling anything you could think of. My favorite part was all the different kinds of food that were being offered. They were selling seafood, soups, deserts, meats, fruits, vegetables, anything your heart desired. 

We stopped for lunch while we were here as well. We picked a booth that looked good and sat down and ordered a dumpling like soup called mond guk. The soup was pretty spicy but so yummy! We gobbled it up and then started on our potato pancakes. They. Were. AMAZING! 

They make the pancakes right in front of you. It was so interesting to watch them make the yummy cakes!

We strolled around the market for a little after we ate and looked at what people were selling. 

Our next leg of the trip that day was to Insadong. Insadong has to be my favorite market that we went to the entire time I was there. So it was a quick ride on the subway and we were in Insadong. We did a little souvenir shopping and stopped at a unique tea house for a little warming up!

Lindsay wanted to take us to the Bird Tea House but the owner was on vacation so instead we went to the tea shop next door.

It was nice and worm inside, a welcomed change from the chilly weather outside. We all settled into a booth once we were inside. I was not surprised that we needed to take off our shoes to sit in the booth and I was more than happy to take them off and relax and enjoy some tea. I ordered the hot pear tea and Alex ordered the cold lemon tea. 

It was a great way to end a day wondering around Seoul chatting and catching up with good friends. I'm so glad that we had Lindsay and Ryan with us to show us around some very interesting parts of the city.

Day 1&2: Getting to Seoul

These Korea posts are long overdue! But I finally found the time to write them now that I am sick with bronchitis. So without further ado.......

I have never been out of the country before; I have never owned a passport before either. So this was quite an adventure to say the least. When I boarded the plane in Honolulu I was pleasantly surprised to find some goodies in my seat. There was a bottle of water, a lap blanket, a small back pillow, and a personal bag that had a toothbrush and toothpaste and some thin slippers. Also, I had never eaten a meal on a plane so when I was served two I was excited. Later I came to learn that getting two meals on an international flight is normal but I had never flown international before. The flight was long but It was pleasant.

When I landed I had to go through customs and immigration. Once I was through I changed my money into won.

It took a little bit for me to find Lindsay once I was out of the terminal. Lindsay is one of my very good friends that I met in Monterey, CA and she is now stationed with her husband, Ryan, in Seoul, South Korea. Once we had found one another it was to the subway to make our journey to her apartment in Seoul. The subway had to be one of my favorite things in Seoul! I know that sounds a little odd to be so fascinated with public transportation but the subway was so clean and it was so simple to use even though I speak no Korean at all. 

Once we got to her house she got me all settled in. She made us an amazing dinner of her homemade tomato soup. Lindsay is quite the cook and always has been. We stayed up just talking and catching up. It was great to be able to catch up with her in person. 

The next day we lounged around Lindsay's apartment till about noon. We headed out to Yongsan to go pick up Alex. Alex had been in Korea for the past three months on deployment so I was more than happy to see my marine again. Once we got Alex, Lindsay took us to a very yummy restaurant called the Pumpkin House. There we had one of my favorite meals, beef kalbi. The meat was so tender and tasty! I tried everything that was on the table and all of it was delicious. 

After we finished up lunch, Lindsay drove us back to Yongsan base and dropped us off at the Dragon Hill Lodge to check in. 

After we got all settled in Alex and I had dinner at the hotel. After dinner we decided to venture out into Itaewon outside of base. I picked up a little jewelry box for my mom while in one of the many shops. It was a little overwhelming to see all the people crammed into such a small area. Lindsay met up with us and we got some delicious hot chocolate and my new favorite desert...rotiboys! They are a fluffy butter cream filled pastry. 

It was an amazing first two days in South Korea. And the adventure was just getting started!