Return to the Land of Kimchi

Part 3: Out and About

Day 2 (20.5.2012) (The Plan)

National Museum Korea

Lunch @ Itaewon

Namsangol Hanok Village (closed Tuesdays)

Chandeokgung Palace (Closed Mondays)

Stop at Insadong to buy souviniers

Back to Hotel - Rest / Dinner (Yukaney @ myeongdong)

Namsan Cable Car / Tower

we started out a bit late today after some light breakfast. our destination this morning is to the National Museum of Korea today we decided to take the bus instead of the subway as we thought it is more convenient. besides the bus stop is just in front of the hotel and there will be no bus service tomorrow (Sunday). little that we know that were in for a "ride". first, we took the bus at myeongdong which is towards the end of the cycle so we have to go the long way (which took nearly an hour due to the traffic) just to change bus at the first stop in Gwanghwamun to finally get to the Museum. it didnt help that the road were winding and we were going up and down steep hills (the driver had a hard time controlling the bus during the jam at a steeeep road nearby Namsan Tower - i was shivering in my pants!). it was hot and we ended up feeling drowsy and nauseated during the journey.. luckily Q slept throughout the ride. we reached our destination at 1 oclock. the museum is huge and modern and to our surprise, the admission was free. i was busy handling Q and cant concentrate much on the items on display. We brought the stroller with us, but as usual q did not want to sit in it. We put our bags on it instead.. It did help with the load that we r carrying - mostly q's stuffs.

only hubby diligently took pictures and kinda reads into the history of Korea... we cant help but noticed there were groups of kids lead by young teachers (i think) on a study trip to the museum. we were amazed on how diligently those teachers were teaching history to the kids... we were wondering if the same thing is happening back home.

The National Museum of Korea

The Museum compound

kids on study trip

by 2.30 pm we were famished and we head down to Itaewon as planned.. again, we took the bus. we were kinda lost in itaewon cos i forgot to look for the exact directions to the restaurants.. however, we (i mean, I :)) followed my instincts and asked around some and found the restaurant i was looking for - As Salam (Turkish Restaurant). however, to reach the place, again, involves climbing steep lanes which seems never ending. at lasttt, after almost giving up, we found the place which was further further up the hill.. phewww~~.. ordered the Salam Course (to share) which was about 24k won if im not mistaken - we dug in like we haven't eaten in years. the food was GOOD and it satisfies our palettes -  we cleaned up the plates pretty fast :). sorry, no pictures ya, tak sempat dahhh.. hahaha..

the steep lane to the restaurant

As Salam Restaurant

Q was acting out and we were quite tired, so after lunch, we decided to go back to our hotel to get some rest. we took the cab which cost less than 5k won. so no palace trip and souvinier shopping for today.

We thot Q was tired but she did not sleep at all that afternoon. After an early dinner (yup, we skipped dinner at Yukaney as well), we went out at 6.30pm to do our first round of shopping at Myeongdong - which was just across the street.. We decided not to bring the stroller as we planned to go up the Namsan Tower and we used the baby carrier instead - it was a good decision indeed. Shortly after we went out, Q fell fast asleep.

shopping time!

first round of shopping

after some cosmetics shopping in Myeongdong, we start our journey to the N Seoul Tower / Namsan Tower. from Myeongdong i suggest u take the Namsan Oreumi (outdoor elevator) to go to the cable car station. seriously, if ur travelling with a kid, this is the best bet.. unless u take the taxi direct to the cable car station, or the tower itself cos man, the climb will kill ya. huhuhu..

our destination atop the hill  

Inside the Namsan Oreumi

view from inside the oreumi

unfortunately, it was a Sunday nite.. ppl came in flocks to the tower. which means, ques, ques and ques!!! OMG, it took 30 - 45 mins waiting at each q u know. we reached at the cable car station greeted with a long que to board the cable car and it was humid.. luckily Q was still sleeping which makes it much easier. it took 30 mins before we were able to board the cable car which took 10 mins to reach the top. inside the cable car it was dark and there were a lot of couples and some took advantage to make out in it! we just pretend not to notice, but were quite surprised..

the que to the cable car

we reached the station again, to be greeted by a steep steep flight of stairs. no picchas cos we were kinda exhausted by that time, no kidding k. slowly we climbed the stairs and finally reached the top.

ok we got one pic of one section of the stairs on our way back. watch ur steps, it doesnt have any railings.

it doesnt help that hubby's knees started failing him by this time. we reached the tower area and bought the ticket. again, there was a long que to go up the tower. this time it was 45 mins! we went up for barely 20 mins, indeed the view was magnificent, but guess what, there was a que to go down the elevator!! another 30 mins wasted there. ok this was no fun anymore..

the tower

the view

view from the loo :P

love messages

we were relieved when we reached the base again and went back to the hotel exhausted. reached our room, wind down, and zzzzzzZZZzzzz.. the best part was, Q did not have trouble sleeping that nite.