Seoul, South Korea

I woke up this morning and took a shower utilizing the facilities provided by the hostel I was staying at: the shower stall and the toilet stall are one and the same, sharing all four walls and the tile floor – making it very likely to wet the toilet seat despite how carefully anyone tries to shower. This was a first.

After getting cleaned up, I started off early today on foot with Gyeongbokgung Palace as my first stop. It was the largest palace built by the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897). After dodging more than a few pedestrians preoccupied with their cell phones and mopeds on the sidewalks, I made it to the palace gate. The palace itself is rather expansive and I ended up walking around out in the sun more than I expected, though it was completely worth my time and it was beautifully laid out, following geomancy and feng shui.

 

 

Next to the palace is the National Palace Museum of Korea and the Korean Folk Museum, both of which contained many interesting exhibits and artifacts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My next stop was Deoksugung Palace, another great palace built by the Joseon Dynasty. After visiting this palace, I wandered around the streets of Seoul until returning to the hostel to write this journal entry out – I am exhausted from walking all day (“my dogs are barking”). I finished up the night by having Naengmyeon (ice-cold noodle soup) and grilled pork belly wrapped in lettuce with kimchi and other banchan.