For our last few days in Korea, we took a bus to Seoul and checked in to adjoining rooms at Dragon Hill Lodge, an Armed Forces Recreation Center at the Yongsan U.S. Army Garrison.
Britt accompanied us only to babysit while Meg, Tony and I jumped on the Seoul City Bus Tour. He had to work the next morning, so he caught an afternoon bus home after we got back to the hotel. (Thanks, Britt!)
The hop-on hop-off bus offered a glimpse of downtown Seoul with a recorded narration detailing 27 highlights.
We only hopped off twice, but there were plenty of intriguing destinations I would have loved to visit, given more time.
The 777-foot N Seoul Tower perches atop Namsan Mountain (hence the N) and overlooks the city sprawled in all directions. I had no idea Seoul was this vast! The city spreads over 605 square kilometers (234 square miles), creeping into the surrounding mountains. The website Hi Seoul has lots of interesting facts about the city, if you want to know more.
Waiting for the elevator, we watched a cheesy light show. On the ride up to the observation deck, another quick cartoon suggested we were flying right off the earth and into space. When we reached the top, the attendant said excitedly, “Arrive only 30 seconds!”
The observation deck included displays where people could leave New Year’s wishes.
Tony found a candy store, of course, and loaded up on malt balls.
I sent a postcard from the tower.
Megan warned me that Korean temples and palaces look just like the many temples and palaces we toured in China, but I wanted to see at least one anyway. So we hopped off to visit Changgyeonggung.
Originally built in 1418 as a summer palace for the king, it was expanded over the years, burnt down in the Japanese invasion of 1592, re-built in 1616, partially destroyed in an 1830 fire and re-re-built in 1836. Beautiful architectural details.
The main hall of Myeongjeongjeon is the oldest preserved throne hall of a Joseon era palace. This is where official meetings and state banquets would have been held.
Meg and I both loved the quiet tree-lined paths around the palace grounds. We felt far removed from the hustle and bustle of the big city.
(Yes, it did, in fact, look like all those Chinese palaces, but that’s because Buddhism was brought to Korea from China in the late 300s. Duh, Megan.)
Here’s the link to my photos from this bus tour on flickr.