Seoul is clean, modern and very shiny. A rather startling difference to Manila. The weather was better as well. Warm and sunny rather than hot and damp. Much nicer. Unfortunately, we only had a couple of days in Seoul so we had to make do with a quick look around.
In Manila, every time we arrived at the hotel, we were met by a gang of people trying to help us. Someone would open the taxi door. Others would grab our luggage. A couple of people would open the hotels doors. The sole job of one guy was checking the inside of the taxi with a flashlight to ensure we had not left anything. I quite liked that. Had we been in Egypt, everyone would have expected a tip. In the Philippines, it was simply being helpful. Now we were in South Korea. Clean and modern. The taxi driver left us standing on the pavement with our luggage. There was no-one else there. We opened the hotel doors ourselves and carried our own luggage through. There was no reception. The entrance area was empty except for a small cart selling coffee and doughnuts. We could deal with lack of doormen, porters and bell boys but lack of a reception was a problem. It felt like we had gone from one extreme to another.
We did eventually find the reception. It was on the 2nd floor. Why? I was sufficiently puzzled that I explicitly asked. The only response I got was smiles. It was getting late. I smiled back as if I understood. They handed us a key and a room number. We understood at least how this worked. Half an hour later we had found an excellent Indian restaurant just around the corner and everything in the world was fine again.
If you do a search on things to do in Seoul, most of the responses will be about the DMZ and the border with North Korea. After Cambodia and Vietnam, we were full of war things. Enough killing and torture for a while. Plan B was to have a walk around Seoul and see what we could find. By luck, we stumbled across a pedestrianised shopping area. This was interesting. Possibly as much for the people watching as the contents of the shops. K-pop and Gangnam style themes were strongly on display. Many small and skinny young women strutted around in elaborate clothing that bordered on being a costume. Elaborate hair styles and perfect make-up completed the look. I was intrigued by the shops full of arcade machines. Just one type of game – the sort where you use a toy crane to lift a gift out of a transparent box. There were several shops packed scores of one type of game. Apparently immensely popular but why? Further on we came across a Harry Potter themed bar. It had a parking spot for brooms and a model dragon outside. Inside you could by butter beer. People had arrived in costumes to fully immerse themselves in the fantasy.
Next day we went to visit the Gyeongbokgung Palace. First job was to master the underground train system. The proved to be quite straight forward and we emerged, triumphant close to the Gwanghwamun Gate. I enjoy travelling new cities by public transport. It seems like an essential step in getting to know a place. The entrance fee for Gyeongbokgung Palace was only a couple of dollars however, a large sign proclaimed that entry was free if you were wearing Hanbok. This is the iconic, traditional Korean attire known for its vibrant colours, elegant lines and lack of complex pockets or tight fasteners. Should you wish to get into the spirit of this then, we discovered later, you can rent suitable attire close to the palace. It was all really rather nice. The majority of visitors were dressed in traditional costume. They paraded around in groups being followed by photographers. Only a few people, like us, were the obvious tourists.
The palace was built six centuries ago by the founder of the Chosun dynasty. In 1592, amidst the Imjin War, the palace was completely burned down. It was not restored until the late 19th century, during the reign of the penultimate monarch, Gojong. In 1910, Japan colonized Korea and systematically demolished the palace. Almost all the 500 structures were sold off and shipped elsewhere. By the 1945 liberation of Korea, only 40 pre-colonial buildings remained. Significant efforts to restore the palace to its pre-colonial state began in the 1980s. Since then, two phases of recreation have built dozens of buildings in the palace. Many more are scheduled for the future.
We would certainly have learned a lot more had we joined one of the guided tours. However, we were quite happy just pottering around taking in the architecture and the ambience. In places the contrast between the traditional buildings and high-rise glass skyscrapers in the background was quite stark. The central building of the palace is set in an artificial lake. Behind it is a small hill that is parkland. If you look in just the correct direction all you can sense is relaxed countryside with no hint of the city.
We walked back into the city centre as the light was starting to fade. The quantity and size of the display screens that adorn many of the skyscrapers is impressive. We walked past some equally impressive statues and discovered the really strangely shaped building. Most cities have one. We also passed a demonstration. Unfortunately, all the protesters’ signs were written in Korean. Even with a bit of Google Translate, I could not work out what they were upset about.
That was it for Seoul. A big, bustling, fashionable and modern city. In the morning we went back to the airport for the final leg of our journey to China.