Across the river

I started the day early again, and left for Samcheongdong around 7am. My last visit to Seoul had included Bukchon Hanok Village, but it had been packed with fellow tourists, and I wanted to see if I could come back and catch it at a quieter time.


I was successful in my mission, and had a nice wander around the neighbourhood, overhearing mothers waking up children for school, encountering neighbourhood mobile vegetable seller, and making friends with the many stray cats.








As I left, a fellow visitor came and set up her tripod in the middle of the road, so I took my cue to leave. As I exited the village area, a tour group had just arrived - the clock had just struck 9am.

I decided to walk to Gwanghwamun on a whim, and stayed to watch the changing of the guard.






As I was walking to my next destination, I saw a sign for a Kyobo store, and decided to make my way over. I gleefully finished my album collection here, and packed them into my backpack without the intention of carrying them for the rest of the day.



Insadong was the next stop, and I walked over to find a line outside Ssamzigil, and decided to wander around. I was getting pretty hungry at this point, but most restaurants did not open until 11am to 12pm.




I wandered until I was pretty lightheaded, but made my way into what I later found out was Tofu Village, which had opened earlier than most other places.




After a satisfying meal, I headed out through Jongro3ga, and as I was just passing by, I passed a lot of interesting scenes that went unrecorded. Many middle-aged men crowded around outdoor tables playing baduk, deliveries via motor scooters of soju and groceries to restaurants, and people bustling around on their lunch hour.

Dongdaemun was my next stop. We had stayed in this neighbourhood during our last visit, I had really wanted to revisit it. I still did not really enjoy the shopping mall experience here again, but I was more accustomed to it and knew how to navigate it.





I spent the next little while sitting by the Design Plaza writing letters, and it felt great to sit and relax after a morning of walking.



My friend was back from her adventures in Jeju, and we made plans to meet in Myeongdong, as we both wanted to get some shopping done.

Being back in Myeongdong in the late afternoon was an even more unpleasant experience than our last visit. Crowds, a heavy backpack, and a personal dislike for shopping meant my stay there did not last very long. I had wanted to obtain more postcards and stamps at the visitor centre, which I had done previously, only to find out that they no longer sold stamps.




A change of plans led me to meet my friend and a couple others in Gangnam. Up until this point, I had visited all the areas I had been today during my previous trip, but that was about to change. This also marked the first time I was on the south side of the river in Seoul.

 I got off at Apgujeong Station, and my heart skipped a beat when I saw the sign for the Nonhyeondong exit. I made a mental plan to visit Hakdong Park after dinner, and with that, I made my way over to Garosugil.

I was surrounded by oddly tall buildings with medical names, until I realized I was in the midst of plastic surgery central.

We had a dinner of Hanwoo at Two Plus BBQ. Thank you, Jess, for treating us!





Garosugil was lined with many upscale cafes and shops decorated for the purpose of attracting people looking for photozones. We shopped around for a little while, before my group announced they would be heading over to Itaewon for drinks.





My low-key plans unfortunately were shelved as I decided to be social for one last night. We crossed back over the river and found ourselves among the bustling nightlife of Itaewon.

The first bar we visited was a bust, so we decided to head to one of the many rooftop bars we passed on the walk over. It was a rather chilly night to be outside, but there was a beautiful view of Namsan Tower from our seats.



We laughed over terrible whiskeys and funny stories, and then headed downstairs when the bar closed at 11pm. Standing beside a mandoo place, my friend gave in to temptation and got a round of beef rib mandoo. They were glorious.



I had forgotten the subway closed shortly after midnight, so I boarded a bus with hopes I would not miss my stop... fortunately, I only missed it by a block and ran back home to shower and sleep. My brain was hardly functioning after being awake for 22 hours, but I knew I would need rest for the day ahead.