By Stefanie Fenwick
This is my second trip to Seoul, the first time was in the mid 70s. Well, a lot has changed. Seoul is now a very ultra modern city. I’m always apprehensive traveling in a new place, especially when doing it on our own, ie without being on a tour. I did my background research on how to get to the city from Incheon Airport. We took the limousine bus and we were pleased to find that the hotel where we were staying was the last stop of the service.
The hotel had the reputation of being central to most things and it certainly was (Fraser Place for reference). Check in was not until 3pm, so we had a few hours to amuse ourselves. We decided to head up to Namsan Tower, the walk to the trail was around 30 mins uphill, of course, in 33 degree heat and humidity was around 90%.
I thought this would be a tough trail, coming from winter (we were coming from Australia) and not having had much sleep, I thought I wasn’t going to make it. There is a cable car but we were half way up the trail before we saw it. The trail was well marked and views of the city were fabulous. At the base of the tower was the grassy area (reminded me of the view from the Eiffel Tower in Paris) made famous by quite a number of Korean drama shows. I do love a Korean drama!
The base was surrounded by a wall and more spectacular views of the city. We took the lift to the top tower and there were further incredible views, Seoul is huge! We were very happy that we made an effort to see this tower and climb it.
The Toilet Tale
Believe it our not the best view of all was the view from the toilet, it felt like your own private view. Which, if you think about it, is a good thing! But it is not just the view that is amazing, to me anyway, read on to find out about the facilities....
I’m not sure why this hasn’t taken off in the West, I reckon it's the best thing since sliced bread. It had various options to choose from in terms of spray angle, water temperature, rhythm of the spray and to top it off a blow dryer! And that is the bidet in the toilet let alone the rest of the facilities!
As we were central, there were food places everywhere, hardly anything in English but lots of
photos. We chose what looked like a chicken place (to play it safe). Well we ended up with
skewered offal (we didn’t know we ordered this), fried chicken and Tteotbokki (thick rice noodles in a semi spicy sauce), I rather enjoyed this and of course a few side dishes always came with the meal including kimchi.
Day Two - Demilitarized Zone tour
Second day was an early start, we had booked a tour to the Demilitarized zone (DMZ). You can’t actually visit this area without being on a tour. The zone itself was quite plain, it had the entrance to one of the tunnels that North Korea had built (they have found 3 so far), souvenir shop and a theatre to explain the history. I have always found Asian history fascinating and just how intertwined this region's history is.
We ended up checking out the suspension bridge (uphill climb to this bridge), an outdoor museum which had the last train that crossed the border and a number of monuments for families who were split up when Korea was split in half.
There was an observatory where you could see a North Korean village and the tunnel that the South Koreans discovered. The tunnel was well guarded, no cameras or phones allowed, the tunnel was 25 stories deep, which meant going down it was a breeze but coming back up was horrendous. Best thing about it was that it was a nice and cool in the tunnel which was a respite from the heat.
We checked in on some markets on our way back, tasted some street food, all pretty good,
obviously cash is must. Managed to do a bit of souvenir shopping as well. Checked out an Olive Young, a Korean beauty product store, this place was crazy busy. Slightly overwhelming, most women would enjoy it. And they did have one floor of skin care and cosmetics for men which was just as busy. Husband, not really interested, but I was quite amazed by the variety.
Day 3 - Gyeongbokgung Palace
Day 3 we headed out to Gyeongbokgung Palace (again just a 20 min walk), built in 1395, it is the largest of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty. This is the last and longest lived dynasty, back then Gyeongbokgung served as the home of the royal family and the seat of government.
Top tip: Every last Wednesday of the month is cultural day at the palace which means free entry (bonus). We watched the changing of the guards, it was a very colourful event. Then we walked around the palace checking out the throne of the King, the different quarters of ministers, the palace grounds were massive.
After the palace we headed into a Hanok village (meaning a traditional village), people still live there. It was very quaint, although the facade looked old and ancient, the door knobs had digitized locks. While walking around there was a caretaker to keep people quiet in case it got to rowdy and he directed us to an open home. The home had paper thin walls and polished floor boards but it was totally air-conditioned. That is Korea, old and new mixed in all kinds of ways.
Heading back we managed to pass through Insadong which is a shopping area. It has cobbled streets lined with quaint little shops and family-run restaurants. It has an interesting, sprawling network of alleyways.
We had some wonderful food while in Seoul and once we got over our apprehension of going into a restaurant, it got a lot easier. We discovered that side dishes are part of the deal and kimchi is always served, and in some restaurants the kimchi is self serve. I would have happily spent a couple of more days in Seoul, I was just getting comfortable with the city. We didn’t get to test the subway, although we had the transport cards, as the places we wanted to see were all within walking distance.
Day Four - Busan
Following day we headed to Seoul station (once again 20 min walk) to catch their bullet train to Busan. I managed to get tickets online and all we had to do was check the gate and platform, quite seamless really, it was a 3 hour train ride.
We took the Busan subway to our hotel, very straightforward. Our accommodation was quite central but possibly on the wrong side, we were a block away from the red light district. Nevertheless we never felt unsafe.
Day Five - Haeundae & Haedong Yonggungsa Temple
The following day we headed to Haeundae to check the temple by the sea, Haedong Yonggungsa Temple one of the oldest Buddhist temples in South Korea. We tested their buses out and they were pretty good, fabulous temple but super crowded and hot.
Then we checked Haeongdae beach, this was a westernized spot which I didn’t really enjoy, the beach looked lovely but crowded. I didn’t find Busan my favourite, I wish I had chosen an island instead.
All in all, I found South Korea friendly and if you say thank you to them in their language, like many countries, they are always so willing to help. Basic words go a long way.
Top tip: Google maps wasn’t great in Korea and we relied on Naver maps.
Japan
Fukuoka, Japan starting point, a short hop from Busan!
Day One - Fukuoka and Hiroshima
Fukuoka was familiar and comfortable having done a trip here last year we changed money and purchased transport cards before leaving the airport. We stayed quite central once again, shopping district was close and so were the traditional villages. Despite the heat we soldiered on. Our next stop was Hiroshima. But before that...
The tooth story
On route, I had an unfortunate event with my tooth, which ended with having it extracted! I think we were lucky, I googled English speaking dentists and rang the first one on the list. Dental services were quite cheap in comparison to home. A tooth extraction and a full mouth x ray and a clean for the princely sum of $170 (Australian Dollars). I received a prescription for antibiotics and pain killers. What a blast, we got through seamlessly, hand gestures got us through it.
Day Two - Hiroshima Anniversary
We arrived for the 79th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. We had an early start to the day, it was already 36 degrees at 7:30 am and the place was busy, everyone was heading towards the memorial. This was Japanese organisation at its best, volunteers and police/security were everywhere and directing people locals and foreigners alike. Bag checks were quick and towels and water were available.
Ceremony commenced and the 1 minute of silence to commemorate all the lives lost that day. The theme of peace was everywhere and providing us all an insight of the destruction that day. Everything conducted in Japanese but it was quite clear the message they were conveying. Main plea and message was
"Nuclear weapons abolition is not an ideal to achieve far in the future, " Governor of Hiroshima said. "Instead, it is a pressing and real issue that we should desperately engage in at this moment since nuclear problems involve an imminent risk to human survival."
The rest of the day was spent looking through memorial museum and the rest of the precinct.
Day Three - Osaka
Osaka was a quick visit, with the castle being the most significant spot that we visited. Osaka Castle, is a beautiful building (even though it has been rebuilt a few times) with amazing gardens and views. It played a big part in the reunification of Japan in the 16th century.
Day Four - Kyoto
Trip to Kyoto, from Osaka, was quick and we found our accommodation with ease thanks to Google maps. Our accommodation was an experience, we went for the more traditional room on tatami mats and everything on the floor.
I know everyone thinks that its an experience, however at my age it was hard getting on the floor and getting back up again, the mattresses unfortunately were uncomfortable but we can at least say we did it.
The bamboo forest was a highlight despite the distance and a surprise lily pad field, worth the travel I thought.
Day Five & Six - Tokyo
The trip to Tokyo was an event in itself, we travelled during Obon week, a multi-day Japanese
festival dedicated, remembering and honoring the dead. It is a time of homecoming, with families taking part in traditions to respect their ancestors, and it was double busy. Couldn’t find two Nozomi train seats in economy so we ended up in first class. The Nozomi trains are the fastest train service running in Japan which is know for it's trains.
Once again our accommodation was in a great location, very close to Senso-ji Temple in Shibuya.
Tokyo is very busy but people are very polite, they won’t bump into you, but they do walk very
close but I never felt uncomfortable. We ventured out into the suburbs for Teamlabs Borderless, very impressive digital display of art. No photos really do it justice, click on the link for a video!
Top tip: Once again transport was a breeze when you work it out and Google maps worked perfectly.
Shibuya Sky was next on the list, unfortunately the open air viewing platform was closed due to heat. The views were amazing nonetheless.
As we were close to Senso-ji Temple, we went there at night. Although the shops were closed the temple was open and it was very peaceful.
Before we knew it, it was time to go back home. It was a lovely last place to visit before boarding a plane.
Thank you for coming on the journey with us!
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