Weekend in Seoul

It's already been nine months since I arrived in Korea and time has flown by. Surprisingly, I haven't made a trip back to Seoul since my initial few days in the country. The COVID19 situation has kept me close to home for the most part, but I decided it was time for a weekend away.

I wasn't aware of this in advance, but Friday was an administrative day where the students were able to go home after lunch. Likewise, many of the teachers were free to leave a little early. Instead of catching the train around 6pm as I planned, I was on my way to the Busan KTX (Korea Train eXpress) station by 2pm. I had wondered if buying train tickets in advance was necessary, but not to worry. I was able to catch a train to Seoul about 10 minutes after arriving at the station.

I had a little trouble with the automatic ticket kiosk. It had an English option but for some reason had rejected my card. The friendly staff person got me sorted out and I was on my way to Seoul. It was quite easy to find my train and seat because all of the signage was in English and Korean.

The train offered a smooth ride with nice views of the Korean countryside, autumn colours and rolling mountains. After 2.5 hours on the train, I arrived in Seoul.

My hotel was a short walk from Seoul Station in metro Seoul at the Ramada Hotel & Suites Seoul Namdaemun. I chose the Ramada because I had such a good experience at the Ramada hotel in Jeju back in August. The hotel in Seoul was a little run down and due for an upgrade but was convenient and the staff happily helped with all of my questions.

Korean food is amazingly delicious but when I saw this restaurant next to the hotel, I knew exactly what I was having for dinner. Subway. Nine months without a proper sandwich was just too long. I ordered a barbecue chicken footlong on Italian bread with lots of toppings and mayonnaise, and it was amazing! 

The next morning I was up bright and early for a buffet breakfast in the hotel with a surrounding view of Seoul from the 24th floor. The front desk had warned me that breakfast would be very crowded because it was the weekend, but at 7am I was the first customer and had the whole place to myself. In fact, I was so early that the bacon wasn't even ready for my meal. Still, I had my fill of mostly western food.

For sightseeing, I wanted to check out some of the traditional sites in Seoul, especially the famous palaces and shrines. My hotel was central to these places, so I was able to travel quickly and easily by subway. 

My first stop was at the Jongmyo Shrine when it first opened at 9am. Seoul can be overwhelming with its crowds, noise and towering skyscrapers, but Jongmyo Shrine during a quiet autumn morning is peaceful and scenic. Originally from the 16th century, the Jongmyo shrine is where Korean royalty came to for religious rites and ceremonies. Today, rituals and dances are held on the grounds, but for me, it was a peaceful escape in the beautiful scenery.

A short subway trip from Jongmyo is the amazing palace Gyeongbokgung. This iconic palace is often featured in guidebooks or youtube videos for those interested in travelling to Seoul. I had visited Gyeongbokgung back in 2009, and it was just as spectacular today. The mountains in the background on a clear day make for an amazing scene. Originally built in 1395, Gyeongbokgung was home to the Korean royalty, featuring their residences, throne hall, and a huge traditional gate. I arrived at the palace later in the morning as tourists started to arrive. As with many of the historic sites in Seoul, if you wear a traditional Korean outfit, called Hanbok, then admission to the site is free. There are shops around the palace that rent the garments. I decided to pay the admission fee instead. Maybe I'll dress up another time.

Next, I went to another royal palace called Changdeokgung. Full of beautiful buildings with traditional architecture, Changdeokgung is extra special because of the surrounding park and landscape. Changdeokgung is a UNESCO world heritage site. By the afternoon, the palace grounds were filling up with tourists.

The final stop of my palace exploration was right next door at the Changgyeongung Palace. This relatively compact site is beautiful for the pond and gardens, with overhanging trees coloured red and orange in autumn. Honestly, after hours of looking at palaces and shrines, they all sort of blended together and started looking the same. I sat down and people-watched for a while. All in all, not a bad day, but I was exhausted from sightseeing so I travelled back to the hotel.

Normally, hours and hours of sightseeing and taking pictures would be plenty for me, but I had special plans that evening to meet my friend. She's Korean and lives in Seoul so I was excited to see the city with a local. The problem with doing things the local way is that Seoul is a city that never sleeps. While I'm usually in bed around 10pm, I was starting the night with my friend at 11pm when she picked me up at the hotel. Loaded up with coffee, we drove off into the Seoul night.

We drove up a winding mountain road to a place called the Bugak Skyway for a night view of the city. The skyway is on the northeastern ridge of Mount Bugaksan overlooking Seoul. It features an octagonal pavillion and is an idyllic hangout for young Seoul night owls. There was a short wait for parking, even after 11pm. But once we were admitted, the views were spectacular. I had another coffee for the caffeine hit while enjoying the lights of Seoul.

Next, we went to the banks of the Han River to hang out by the water and eat late-night ramen. The convenience stores along the river are open 24 hours because people visit the river at all hours of the night. Usually, before midnight the bridges are lit with colourful lights, but we arrived well past midnight. The convenience store had an incredible selection of instant ramen, and a side room to prepare and heat the noodles in boiling water. It was a quiet night by the river, but there were still a few other groups nearby enjoying the evening.

Before I knew it, my whirlwind tour of Seoul was over. After an abbreviated snooze at the hotel, I was back on the train bound for Busan. Seoul has a lot to offer and I'm sure I'll be back for a visit again. Unfortunately, Seoul tends to get more COVID19 cases than the rest of Korea, so I have to be careful when I choose to visit. At the time of writing this, Korea has had over 300 new cases of COVID19 per day for the last 4 days. This is higher than our typical 100 cases per day, so I'll be sticking close to Busan for the time being as we see what happens with this latest spike. Take care.