Travel Fail

Todd and I had a huge travel fail last night. We thought we were doing really well by visiting several differen popular attractions in surrounding areas of where we are staying in Myeongdong. We walked and wandered for probably 8 hours straight, came to the room and passed out at about 6.  Never woke back up to go out for dinner or continue experiencing Korea's crazy night life.  We are pretty disappointed with ourselves!  However, let me tell you what we DID do. It was an awesome day of sight-seeing.

We have learned that Koreans love to sleep in.  Now I know why I'm not a morning person.  Sorry mom, I know how fun it was to smack me awake every morning. Now you know why!  We got out around 8:30, and needed our coffee fix, but it was hard for us to find anything that was open.  Coffee shops are about every third shop where we're staying, so it just took a matter of finding one that was open.  

We then headed off to try and conquer the subway system.  We had a list of items that we were going to try to visit and we did a pretty great job of it.  I've never seen a more organized subway system and it's SO clean!  You don't see them yelling and screaming like typical Americans. They just sit and play on their Samsungs or sleep (shocker!).  Our first stop was to Jongmyo Royal Shrine, but it was closed on Tuesdays. Our luck!  We also wanted to see the main palace called Gyeongbokgung, but it was also closed on Tuesday. Awesome. Luckily these were all in the same general vicinity of one another so we found our way to Changgyeonggung Palace. 

Wow! This place was beautiful.  It was occupied during the 1400s when Korea was still ruled by kings.  Much of these palaces had been destroyed by fire from Japaese invasion and later restored in the 1600s.  We had the cutest little tour guide that shared a ton of interesting facts about the place.  

Here is the entrance to the Changgyeonggung Palace.

This is the entrance where the king would meet his subjects. You'll notice that the walkway has 3 different parts with a higher section in the middle. The higher section was obviously for the king and his royalty, while the lower right side was for civilians and the lower left side was for military personnel. There are stone tablets that lead up to the palace, and this is where those walking in would stand according to their rank. 

A picture of the tiered walkway and the stone
pillars where civilians and military personnel
stood according to rank.

The stone Phoenix and justice gargoyles.

The above picture was before you walked up to the palace. The center stone is of a Phoenix and represents the royalty of the king, while the 2 scary gargoyles represent justice. Are you scared yet? (That's what our little lady kept saying. Todd just loved her!) 

This is where it all happened.

How beautiful is this? This is where he sat and did all his business.  The painted picture behind the throne had a very important story, but ya know, I can't remember all that now. 

The serene back gardens of Changgyeonggung Palace.

Here is the back garden in the Changgyeonggung Palace. Everywhere was just absolutely beautiful.  We walked around and observed some of the plants and bugs...no wildlife! Whew! This was a very serene area and we saw several people just sitting and relaxing. Koreans love to take their sweet time doing things. 

Next stop was to Changdeokgung Palace.  You're probably thinking, "that sounds exactly like the first one?!"  Well, you're just not pronouncing it right! Try again.  This was much like Changgyeonggung, but a bit more massive in size.  Here is a picture of the inside of the king's palace at Changdeokgung. 

The amazing and beautiful palace of Changdeokgung.

This was GORGEOUS! Notice that the supporting pillars are round. This is because round stood for the heavens and they believed the king came from the heavens.  All other building surrounding the palace had square pillars and stood for Earth. 

Me in front of the Changdeokgung Palace.

Todd in front of the breathtaking Changdeokgung Palace.

Next stop was lunch where we stopped in an area called Bukchon.  It took us a bit to find a place that we thought we could handle. For example, live octopus is often a dish served.  NO THANK YOU! We finally settled on a neat little place called Garage 107 where we had some rice pilaff.  Better safe than sick!  We then ventured to the Bukchon Hanok Village.  This was just an area of old villages that were gorgeous!

The quaint villages of Bukchon.

So now what? Keep touring of course!  Todd is like an energizer bunny traveler. Did I mention that we walked EVERYWHERE?  Did I mention that I wore a bad pair of flip flops? Did I also mention that it's mid 90s here?  Man, my dogs were barking!  I made Todd stop at a shoe store and bought a new pair...that was easy since there is literally a shoe store in about every block.  

Our last stop was to Gwanghwamun Square.  This seemed to be the heart of where most things happen and was where the main palace sits. This also has the statue of the 4th king during the Joseon Dynasty (the last dynasty to rule). He is important because he is the king that created the Korean alphabet, so he is highly admired by all.  

This is where the ever important King Hunmin
Jeongeum sits.

Of course, we were walking and saw an opportunity for a photo op.  These were the costume Hanboks that the king's court would wear.  This was so worth the whole day and made for a great laugh! 

Todd and I fitting right in.

This was far too fun!

Seriously, I can't handle myself. Hilarious!

Acting important. These were HOT!

It was a long day, but a great day!  Mad at ourselves for sleeping, but we were just trying to fit in with the rest of Korea!  We are enjoying our time and the people.  They are great!

A view of Gyeongbokgung Palace in the background with
the king.