Seoul, South Korea

 I am absolutely loving Korea! It is clean, orderly, modern, has a ton of history, modern art on the streets, and is just great. One of my favorite days happened to be a day I wandered around on my own. Unfortunately, my husband was sick and stayed in bed. Well, I wanted to go exploring so I went to the old Hamok Village where the homes are still original architecture of Seoul. I got lost in the village and saw paper signs that said, “private observatory”. I figured, why not?

So I followed them and got to a home. The door was open so I went in. I climbed the steps and the door on each floor was locked. Then, I got to the top and a little old lady was there in her kitchen/patio asking me if I wanted to take photos for 3000 won (about $3 USD). Well, the view was amazing so I gave her some money and started exploring the view from her 3^rd floor patio.

She had me sit outside and brought me some jasmine green tea, and it was just a great experience. Sipping tea, with a stranger, overlooking the old Seoul with the new modern metropolis behind it. Truly an awesome experience. I was sad my husband wasn’t there to enjoy it, but it was nice to have gone out on my own and sip tea with a stranger. Two women, from different countries, different languages, enjoying the same view. It was great.

the lovely lady who made me tea in her observatory

There is a lot to see in Seoul: Olympic Park from the 1988 Olympics, Comic Book Hill, North Seoul Tower with the love lock bridge, many historic palaces, outdoor art, and tons of shopping. Food here is great, transportation is great, and coffee is great! One thing I found quite interesting (and fantastic as a coffee lover) is that coffee shops were everywhere. More so than in the States. Whether it be a local café, Korean chain, a Starbucks, or coffee from a vending machine, it was everywhere. People seemed to work hard here and were always in business attire, in a hurry, with coffee in their hand. I was fortunate enough to not be working so I got to enjoy many a cup of coffee in different settings around the city.

I loved Seoul, the people were great and the city was great. However, if you’re not really a city person and like a bit more adventure, there still may be something to excite you. The DMZ tour by the US Army’s USO. Now that was exciting! It also deserves its own post, so info coming soon! All in all, Seoul was amazing. It was even more amazing to get back to modernity. Not that I have not absolutely loved my backpacking experience, but sometimes you just want some western, modern, comforts. Probably another reason why I loved Korea even more. After backpacking and roughing it in some other places, it was nice to be in a big city and a very modern city at that.