Seoul: Day 2

As mentioned previously, we slept in a bit on Wednesday before showering and heading back out into Seoul. My original plan had been for us to get up early and climb one of the mountains in Seoul - the city fills the valleys between several mountains - I guess for 'mountains' they're fairly small, but they're BIG hills and much more topographically exciting than anything in Singapore.

An early morning hike would have been lovely and not too hot. But we started around 11am. Brilliant!

We were in rare photographic form that morning!

We first stopped for bagels and coffee near our guesthouse, then took the train to Dongdaemun, where we followed signs for the Inwang Temple and Mt. Inwang. 

A little hard to tell from the picture...

It was a steep climb to the shrine, during which time I discovered that my 'adventure' pants, which are great for cold weather, are not so ideal for heat. They quickly became completely soaked through with sweat, which was both gross and embarrassing. I share this with you so that you can enjoy the fact that, whatever is happening right now, at least it is unlikely that you're walking around with wet pants. I did manage to mostly avoid public settings at least! But I digress...

Makgeolli!!!!

Just waiting for us.

The temple also seemed to play a bit of a joke on us. As we climbed a staircase and rounded a corner, we came across several open bottles of Makgeolli and a bunch of huge, disgusting dried/fried fish, both of which gave us flashbacks to the evening before. Well played temple, well played. 

Loved all the bright, cheerful paint! So much green!

Still, the temple was beautiful and we began climbing further up the mountain to explore the Shamanist shrines that dot the hillside. Despite feeling hot, sweaty and physically not great, I really enjoyed the hike and the view. Amusingly, the trail was almost completely unmarked, so we did a lot of guessing and also got some help from some locals who, while not speaking English, would adamantly point - or even lead us for several hundred meters - in the right direction.

A large rock formation is the focus of this shrine,
where women often go to pray for fertility.

There were many small alcoves, some of which had small pool of water with dippers, candles, and mats. We saw a few worshipers around, and I must say, it'd be a beautiful place to go to pray! The view of the city was stunning. It was amazing to feel so immersed in nature, yet to look out and see the city sprawling beneath you.

Jacob Dalager - Kickin' Shell

We climbed and climbed, eventually finding the 'well-marked' trail the guidebooks had referred too. We hiked all the way to the top, where there was a spectacular view - and also some sort of military and/or fire look-out checkpoint manned by soldiers. Pictures were forbidden, though we weren't sure why - and actually, I snapped a few before I saw the sign, so here you go!

Totally worth the hike! I just loved this part.

We hiked back down...and down, and down. Eventually the train brought us to a city street, directly to a convenience store where we stood in front of the aircon and then downed a bottle of Powerade. We hunted around for awhile to find the subway station - but when we found it, we realized that it'd be easier to just take a cab to Nongdaemun. 

Filled with cinnamon and spices.
Probably some butter too.

We saw the giant gate there, then walked around a bit until we found the bustling market. This market was far less touristy and seemed to be frequented by mostly middle-age Korean ladies. We turned down alley after winding alley, taking it in - and buying some cinnamon-filled chapati-like treats.

Hats, hats, hats for sale!

I spy with my little eye: a pink
pleather visor that I want to buy!

We also figured out where all the ladies (especially tourists) get their giant sunhats and visors - in one of the many shops, like the one picture here, which exclusively sell HUGE hats.

Bibimbap! I wonder if the name is supposed to be
onomatopoeic?
And yeah, I had to look up the spelling for that!

We found a lunch spot, ordering beef udon and 'bibimbap,' - rice with all sorts of salad-y toppings mixed in, topped with meat and an egg which you cook by stirring into the hot rice. All accompanied by kimchee, a staple in the Korean diet. (Kimchee - or kimchi? - has tons of health benefits, including providing lactobacillus, the good bacteria that is also found in some yogurts).

More market wandering followed by a coffee stop. By this time, I had embraced my burgeoning coffee addiction - this trip brought to you by caffeine!

SNACK ATTACK

We took the train back to our guesthouse to collect our luggage and change out of our nasty hiking clothes. Then we were on the road again, taking the A'REX to Gimpo Airport for our flight to Jeju. Our plane was delayed a bit, but we passed the time reading, snoozing and snacking. We even learned the official definition - and etymology - of the term snack! 

Once on board, I think we were both asleep before take-off! We landed in Jeju and hour late, and after a fair amount of confusion, a couple international cell phone calls, and accidentally getting picked up by the wrong person, we managed to get in the right car to the right place. And then it was straight to bed because breakfast, apparently, started at 7:30am! (And consisted of, among other things, a large portion or rice and small piece of nori to wrap the rice in, and - of course! - kimchee! And I liked it. At least the first day.)

The Jeju saga is for another day - but if you like trying to read Korean bus schedules, ice cream, circuses and/or erotic-themed sculpture parks, you're gonna want to check out my next blog!