Asia Adventure 2016: Part 1: Seoul, South Korea
We recently returned from our two week trip to Asia. During those weeks, we made stops in South Korea, China, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar (Burma). It was both of our first times going to Eastern Asia and it was fun, exciting, and exhausting. In the next couple of posts, I wanted to share some of the things we saw and did in each place.
10 Flights. 7 Cities. 5 Countries.
Our first stop on the journey was Seoul, South Korea!
Day 1:
- We arrived pretty late, so we found our way to the hotel and settled in.
- We spent the rest of the evening walking around the neighborhood, checking out the city life and eating our first bit of street food.
Day 2:
- Bright and early, we make our way to the Trickeye Museum. Along the way, we found our new favorite treat: egg bread! Basically, a piece of cornbread with an egg on top. We stopped by there quite often.
- The Trickeye Museum was a lot of fun. Each room is themed with optical illusions and photo ops. Its just a great way to get some fun pictures. It wasn't too crowded, but you'll probably have to wait your turn to take pictures in certain spots.
- Included in the Trickeye Museum was the Ice Museum. We didn't spend much time there. It was literally a freezer full of ice sculptures. Too cold for us. :)
- Next up was lunch! We walked around where the Trickeye Museum was until we found something that looked good to us. We ended up trying galbi for the first time. Loved it!
- After lunch, we headed over to the National Museum of Korea. This is a free museum with paintings, sculptures, and artifacts from all periods of Korean History. Its both an art and history museum. We spent the whole afternoon there and still didn't see everything.
- After the museum, we headed to Myeong-dong. Myeong-dong is one of Seoul's popular shopping districts, so we went to walk around and check it out.
- Unfortunately, it started to downpour, so we popped into a cat cafe to get dry and cuddle with some kitties. We stumbled upon it by accident, but I believe this is the one we went to: Cat's Attic Cat Cafe. You pay a small entrance fee when you get there. It includes kitty time and a drink. It was nice to step away from the crazy market place and chill with some cats for a bit.
- Once the rain stopped, we headed out once again to try some more street food (This was 80% of what we ate in Korea)!
- After we'd filled up on all sorts of fried food, we headed back to the hotel. That was the end of day 2.
Day 3:
- Day 3 turned icy cold, but that didn't stop us from going to Gyeongbokgung Palace. We walked around on our own using the map (English guides were also available). And while we were there, we were able to catch the Changing of the Guard ceremony, which was super neat to see. Also, I recommend getting the combination ticket that includes all the palaces, if you plan on seeing a few of them. It lasts for three months and is only 10 won.
- Inside the Gyeongbokgung Palace, there is the National Folk Museum of Korea. This museum includes many artifacts pertaining to the history and ways of life of Korean people. The museum is free and you can get to it from inside or outside the palace.
- After walking all around the Gyeongbokgung Palace, we went next door to the National Palace Museum of Korea. This museum hold all sorts of artifacts relating to the palaces and the royal family. And the palace museum is also free to visitors.
- Next, we made our way to Insa-dong, another famous shopping district. Though, unlike Myeong-dong (which had modern shops with clothing, etc), Insa-dong had a lot more souvenir shops and handicraft shops. And it had a lot of awesome food! We ate so much great street food in this area. Poop-shaped pancakes and croquettes were among some of our favorites. I was also able to pick up some nice souvenirs for my family around the area, as well.
- After spending the afternoon in Insa-dong, we had a theater show booked called "Miso" at the Jeongdong Theater. If you're able to see it, I'd definitely recommend it. The play is in Korean, but the had English subtitles on a screen on the side of the side of the stage. But even then, you didn't need it, most of it was just dancing and not a lot of words were actually spoken.
That wraps up the first part of our Asia Adventure. Seoul was a lot of fun and we ate oh so much!
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Part 2: Beijing, China
