I am not sure that I’ve ever said this before, but I was delighted to wake up to rain. The heat of the previous day was so painful, and the rain and clouds promised for a much cooler day. We decided not to let the sprinkles get in our way, so we decided to try the previous day’s agenda with some new sights.
First up, Gyeongbokgung Palace. Thankfully, no guided tour needed!
The rain got heavier, and as we got wetter, we decided to explore the Korean Folk History Museum since it was on the palace grounds, reportedly well-done, free, and inside. This was a pretty cool museum, with lots of interesting artifacts to teach us about Korean life throughout time (something I will admit, I knew nothing about).
After a subpar lunch (we were hungry and wet and couldn’t find the restaurant we were looking for so we just picked something random), we decided to head to the markets. On our way to the markets, we passed Jongmyo Shrine and decided to pop in. This site has important cultural significance as a place for the spirits of deceased royalty (mostly kings and princes, but some queens mixed in). It was under construction so we couldn’t see the largest building, but from what I could gather, it looked a lot like the smaller building, just a lot longer.
Markets are big in Seoul (really, they are pretty big everywhere but the US), and we enjoy them, so we set off to Gwangjang Market. While there are some durable good stalls, this is primarily a food market, with probably hundreds of small food stalls set up in every square inch of the market.
It was crowded, loud, and wonderful. Smells of all types mixed with sounds of people having a good time and the sights of all types of food being prepared. I thought Luke might stop to tr something, but the crowds were rather intense, the language barrier was intimidating, and the humidity had climbed once the rain stopped to an almost oppressive level, making the market feel like a steamer with us as the entree.
Dongdaemun market was just a few blocks away, and this behemoth of a market is supposed to be quite a sight, but as far as we could tell, it was closed. Maybe it closes early in rain? On Saturdays? Or maybe we had the wrong place (or the wrong end, which seems more likely). Anyway, there wasn’t much there to see or do so we headed over to Myeongdong, another shopping area near the city’s university.
I would like to take a moment here to recognize how incredibly competent Anna-Sophia is. She needed to use the bathroom, and we discovered after we paid to enter the subway that the bathrooms were outside the turnstiles. She got herself to the bathroom on her own and then bought herself a new subway ticket (using a machine and money that is not in English) without blinking an eye.
I should also note that Korea (and Japan) offer clean and plentiful public bathrooms. It is the most delightful experience, and means that we can drink all the water we need to during this heat without fear of having to hunt down a bathroom later (let alone having to hunt down a bathroom that you wouldn’t be afraid to use, as is the case in any US subway station). Being a tourist makes you highly attuned to things like restroom availability. Oddly, Korea and Japan both also seem to balance this great bounty of bathrooms with having a complete and total absence of public trash cans. I have no idea why. But people don’t litter (ever, as far as I can tell), so it seems to be working for them.
Early to bed was a must since we have a 6:30am departure time for the DMZ. 😐
Vacation Days 