Seoul, South Korea

So, where to start...we have done so much fun stuff and I've wandered to many areas of Seoul, it's hard to describe it all.

Shopping: We went shopping in Myeongdong - Namdaemun Market, and I've also wandered around shopping in Hongdae, Samcheongdong, Insadong, and countless subway stations and random streets. There is SO much shopping in this city, that I was surprised there wasn't a store at the top of Mt. Bukhansan. Given the interesting/cool fashion sense they have here, I've been trying not to buy too much. Though every shirt with weird English phrases calls out to me, I just can't keep spending. So, I try to quell this urge by buying socks. They have very funny socks here and cost anywhere between 500-1000 won (the ones I buy at least) which is about $0.50-$1. My favorites right now are ones that say I love soju! and the ones with a singer from Big Bang (a boy band) on them. I don't know if he's dreamy but the cartoon version of him is pretty cute.

Hiking: All Koreans hike apparently. And they are seriously hardcore. I hiked in two particular areas. One was at this Buddhist Shamanist temple. It was so incredibly beautiful and quiet and eerie because the only sound you hear is this chanting. It's on a steep peak, so the views of the city were incredible. There's also very cool rock formations - one that looks like a skull. The guidebook discouraged photography, and I was enjoying just seeing everything so I didn't end up with any pictures of it, which is sad. But others have taken pics, so here's one with some pics of the temple and the bell and a cool painting. Here's some info about the mountain. Since it was my first time and there are very few signs, I followed this older gentleman up the mountain. Halfway through the hike (during which he didn't even seem fazed, while I was huffing and puffing the whole time), he sort of adopted me though he didn't speak much English. He took me to see the cool rock formations and the fortress wall and then insisted on walking me back to the train station. I didn't have the heart (or ability) to tell him that I wasn't going home yet, so I got in the station and walked to the other side.

We also hiked Mt. Bukhansan on a beautiful Saturday morning. Unlike the other hikers, we took food and water. They brought makgeolli, a kind of rice wine. The mountain was beautiful to hike, and most of the trails were easy to navigate. The older Koreans passing us by made us look bad though. Unfortunately, I think I sprained my knee sometime the day before our trip because it was hurting even before we started. So, while I could keep up pretty well going up, I was limping the whole way down. However, we did a pretty good 5 hour hike complete with delicious lunch, a couple cool gates, a buddhist temple and one of the high peaks! We even rock-climbed (bouldered) for part of it to be at the absolute highest we could get. Amazing.

Fun fact, there is free exercise equipment scattered throughout the park (and actually everywhere in Seoul). Because apparently, getting to the top of a mountain is just warming up. All of us tried one in which you hang by your feet. Nisha was able to do it easily but I had some trouble and required help. I blame it on being shorter, but really it's because she's probably more fit. It's really scary when you do it though, because your feet are supporting all your weight and it feels very insecure.

Okay, that's all for now. I'll write more tomorrow because I'm so sore from hiking and from limping that I don't want to go anywhere. Also, I figured I'd let my knee get some rest before we go to Jeju Island and resume more hiking (volcanos!).

Here are the links to my flickr account. One set is of general pics from Seoul and another set from Changdeokgung Palace which has tons of pics of traditional architecture from the Joseon dynasty. I loved it, but I went crazy with photos, so you really don't have to see it all. There are descriptions for most of the pictures. Flickr has a limit on monthly uploads which I have reached so I'll figure out something else for the rest of the trip.