Seoul City Bus Tour, N Seoul Tower & Itaewon

Tuesday, July 31^st

Seoul, South Korea

We got a later start this morning due to our early morning arrival.  Fortunately, right by our hotel is the Hollywood Coffee Shop & Café.  It was the perfect place to plan our day’s adventures.  We decided the best way to see the city would be to do the hop on, hop off city bus tour to give us a good overview of the city and all the neighborhoods.  We took the metro to one of the stops by City Hall.  The subway in Seoul is a lot like Taipei, in that there underground cities at the stops.  There are 7-11s, clothing and shoe stores and food vendors.  Plus, there are about 10 exits for every stop.  At the City Hall stop, I was sure if we were ever going to be able to find the exit we wanted!  The best part of the subway is the warning trumpet that sounds as a train is approaching.  It’s such a soothing and relaxing tone.  This is stark contrast to my subway experiences in Beijing.  I know Seoul does have the same population as Beijing but we weren’t packed in like sardines, and no one shoved us onto or off the train.  I find Seoul to be a much more relaxed and enjoyable place.  I think its democracy!  

We hopped on our tour bus and started riding around the city.  We noticed that the people are better dressed in Seoul than what we saw in China.  Maybe we weren’t in the business areas in China, but we’ve noticed a very different standard of dress here than China.  After awhile on the bus, both Valerie and I were getting sleepy so we thought it would be best to get off and walked around so we hopped off at N Seoul Tower to check it out.  I am so glad we saw it up close.  It has amazing views of the city and is covered in love locks. 

The legend goes that if lovers made a wish on Namsan (where N Seoul Tower is) it would come true.  Now, the area is an icon for love and friendship in Seoul. 

N Seoul Tower

In addition to enjoying the views, I enjoyed a kimchi hot dog for lunch.  I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect but it was a good and the kimchi was spicy!

We got back on the bus and headed around the rest of the city and then met up with Claudia, Andre (her husband), and Carol-Anne.  Today is Carol-Anne’s birthday so we were ready to take her out to dinner to celebrate.  We also met up with another of Valerie’s friends from college who teaches conversational English to adults here in Seoul. 

Celebrating Carol-Anne's b-day at Din Tai Fung

Carol-Anne also shares my love of Din Tai Fung so we thought it would be the perfect place to take her for dinner.  Unfortunately, this Din Tai Fung experience was not as good as my others in Taiwan and Shanghai.  Here’s to hoping they open one in Washington, D.C. soon! 

Andre is retired military so he took us to Itaewon to some of his old stomping grounds when he was stationed here.  It was cool to talk to him about his experiences here 25 years ago and how much the city had changed in his eyes.  We all enjoyed a great night out and look forward to our remaining two days in Seoul!

Out in Itaewon

Arrival in Seoul

Monday, July 30^th

Beijing, China & Seoul, South Korea

Our itinerary for today was to pack up before our evening flight to Seoul, meet up with Valerie’s friend, Trisha who teaches in Beijing before heading to the Lama Temple one last site. 

Our trip out to visit Valerie’s friend took longer than expected and the taxi driver originally drove past our stop.  He was speaking to us in Chinese about the location but we had no idea what he was saying so we probably added a good 20 minutes to our trip since we couldn’t effectively communicate with him.  Fortunately, we were able to spend two hours with Trisha and her friend talking about life and teaching in China.  It was interesting getting her perspective on living in Beijing.

Since it took us longer than expected to get there, we ended up scrapping the Lama Temple to get back in time for our airport shuttle. 

Unfortunately, our plane we delayed for three hours in Beijing so we didn’t arrive to Seoul until 1:00am. We found a cab easily and our cab driver was really nice helping us with Korean phrases as he drove.  It seemed as though our fare would be a flat rate of 70,700 Won (Korean dollars), but when we got to the hotel he told us it was 100,000 which is approximately $80 USD.  My guide book said it should be 60,000 Won plus the toll fare.  Thankfully, the hotel clerk came out and helped us out with the fare and we ended up paying 75,000 Won.  It’s hard not speaking the language but glad we had researched the estimated cost so we didn’t get taken advantage of. 

It’s early morning here and I need some sleep, but one of things I noticed immediately here is that there are 7-11’s again!  I think 7-11’s are a symbol of democracy.  I didn’t see one 7-11 in all of China.  They have convenience stores, but there are no 7-11’s.  Taiwan had a 7-11 every block!  I will definitely write more about my time in China and comparisons between Taiwan and Korea, but I must sleep!  (And please excuse any errors in this one, its 3:30am here in Seoul!)

Summer Place & Nanluogu Xiang Street

Sunday, July 29th
Beijing, China

This morning our plan was to go see the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace was a summer home to several emperors and empresses, hence the name. The palace is outside of downtown Beijing and our trip there was uneventful until we were a few feet from the entrance. We were walking along the street filled with food vendors when some sort commotion started. I still don’t know if it was an argument between two vendors or if the police were coming to move the vendors off the street, but all I know is that all of a sudden vendors were trying to drive away on their carts. Two crashed in front of me and then one ran into my side, which caused me to lose my balance a little and I caught myself on something behind me. Valerie and I quickly walked away and then I looked down at my hand and purse and saw blood all over it. Nothing hurt so I didn’t know what happened, but then realized the blood was coming from my fingers. I guess I had cut myself when I was trying to catch my balance. Thankfully, there was a first aid area right by the entrance, so I was cleaned and bandaged up right away. I looked like Edward Scissorhands! I ended up with gashes on three of my fingers and thankfully they were not too bad. It was definitely a really weird experience, especially because we had no idea what caused all the chaos in the street.

Me as Edward Scissorhands

A few cuts didn’t ruin our day though. The weather was beautiful and it was a perfect day to see the Summer Palace. The place is humongous. We were there for 5 hours but felt like I only saw half of it! There is a huge lake, Kunming Lake there where you can use a pedal boat or ride one of the dragon boats from one side to the other, which we did of course.

View of Longevity Hill from other side of the Lake

I really enjoyed the Palace. I have to say, I enjoyed it more than the Forbidden City. We also walked up Longevity Hill, which requires you take 100 steps to the top, and the saying goes that those who walk the 100 steps will live to be one hundred, so it was worth it to me! At the top, you have amazing views of the lake and the rest of the grounds of the Palace.

View from Longevity Hill

The Summer Palace is similar to other palaces in that it has gardens and lakes, but this one seems to cover a much larger area and has more buildings spread all throughout the area.

We also continued to notice couples and families in matching shirts or in the case of one mother and daughter pair, the same dress. We even saw a store on Nanluogu Xiang Street that was selling matching his and hers shirts. I guess it is the cool thing to do in China. We also saw plenty of high heeled ladies walking around the Palace looking like they were ready to go to a club not sightsee! My feet kill after walking in Toms or running shoes all day, I don’t know how they can do it in heels.

After our day at the Summer Palace, we headed over to Nanluogu Xiang Street which we had read in our guide books as a good example a remodeled old time Beijing neighborhood, with good restaurants and shops and traditional hutongs (alleyways) as offshoots from the main street. It was nice way to end our day and our last night in Beijing. It’s off to Seoul tomorrow evening!

Mao’s Memorial Hall, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City and theTemple of Heaven

Saturday, July 28th
Beijing, China

This morning we headed over to Tiananmen Square again to see Chairman Mao Memorial Hall in Tiananmen Square. The place was bustling with hordes of people. To get into the Square you have to go through airport-like security minus removing your shoes. We got into the Square without any issues and headed for the Memorial where Mao’s mummified corpse lies. As we approached, we were told by one of the security guards, “no bags,” and he pointed across the street where we saw a sign for locker storage. So we headed back across the street to store our bags. It was slightly chaotic in the storage area, but we stored our bags and were told to take our passports, phones, and money. Of course today was the day neither of us had pockets, so Valerie brilliantly used her camera case as storage but as you’ll see that got us some more scrutiny. I was very nervous about leaving my stuff there but we wanted to see Mao and at least we had the most important stuff in our hands.

So we headed back over to the Square and through security again. There are so many security officers around Tiananmen Square. I was only little during the Cold War period and never traveled to any Communist nation, but this is what I would have imagined it to be like. The weather only added to atmosphere, it was overcast and foggy.

Mao Zedong Memorial Hall

We got into line to see Mao and we were shuffled along by guards every 10 feet, saying something in Chinese. We were the only foreigners that I could see it the line and started to get eerie as we approached the hall. However, we had to go through security one more time and they almost pulled Valerie out of line because of her camera case. She quickly opened it up to show the guard our passports and phones, so we were able to proceed. As we proceeded up the stairs, it got extremely quiet. There were flowers for sale and it felt very much like a funeral procession. When you walk up the steps, there is a statue of Mao and some people paid their respects to Mao and laid flowers in front of the statue. Then you are ushered into the next room, where Mao lays with a red hammer and sickle fIag over him. I have to say it was eeriest thing I have ever experienced. Valerie and I were definitely taken aback by the whole experience, but it was something I had to see. We took a few pictures outside the Memorial and quickly headed back across the street to retrieve our bags.

We decided to head back over to Tiananmen Square again, which meant our fourth security check of the morning and it wasn’t even 10am! We strolled around a little bit and contemplated heading into the Great Hall of the People, where the National People’s Congress meets, but it looked like a fortress as well and I think were both a little shaken (and my guide book was pretty ambivalent about it) so we opted to head directly to the Forbidden City. Being in Tiananmen Square was much like being in a cage. There are only a few ways in and out and you have to be screened every time you enter. I was fascinated to be there with all its history, but was ready to move on to the night sight.

Great Hall of the People

The Forbidden City was okay. I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I would be. I think it was part fatigue and part expectations. Also, I think any site you see after the Great Wall (especially the day after) pales in comparison, especially after the hike we had. I expected it to have some museum like-elements in the main buildings but you could only look into the buildings from the outside and there really wasn’t much to see.

The place was jammed packed with people and any time you got close to a building it was survival of the fittest. There was one building where there crowd in front turned into a mosh pit. It was insane and turned me off from the experience. I don’t even think most of the people even knew what they were looking it!

We spent the rest of the morning walking through and were exhausted. The thrill of the Great Wall hike wore off and the fatigue set in. Fortunately, there was a restaurant nearby on the North Gate so we ate lunch. We were able to have braised eggplant, the same dish we had yesterday after the hike and loved, sprouts and an onion pancake.

Braised eggplant

Our bodies wanted to take a rest and since our hotel was so close we thought about going back for a nap, but didn’t do it. We had to see more of the city. You’ll never know when or if you’ll ever be back, so we headed to the Temple of Heaven Park.

The park houses the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests among many other ritual sites for the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the reason we went there is because Valerie had read about a calligrapher who paints on the walkways in the park. As I mentioned earlier, we were pretty tired, so we sat down on a bench to rest for a few minutes and fell asleep! I have never in my life fallen asleep on a park bench before today. I woke up after a 20 minute snooze to a girl scurrying away from us with her camera. It seems as though she got a picture of the two tired Americans asleep on the bench. I am sure there are several Beijingers (I think I just made up a word) who have our picture as well! I didn’t feel weird or out of place sleeping on the bench, because as we walked through the rest of the park, we saw people sprawled out on benches taking naps.

We walked around the park for almost 3 hours minus our 20 minute nap looking for the calligraphy man. The park is that big. Think Central Park but not as well kept. We finally found him at the South Gate, but he was doing calligraphy with water that he was shooting through a syringe. He saw us among the crowd and instead of writing calligraphy wrote, “Hello USA.” It was cute. I guess sometimes he does it with a big paint brush and other times water. Either way, he is talented.

Fortunately, we were able to find a cab to our hotel after several tries. Many of the cab drivers here refuse to the use the meter even when you ask them. They try to tell you it’s a flat rate to wherever you are going, but if you use the meter it is usually 3 times less than the amount they have told you. It’s ridiculous, but obviously it works some times otherwise they wouldn’t do it.

Tonight our whole travel group, Valerie, Claudia, Carol-Anne, Jennifer and I had dinner at Quanduje Roast Duck Restaurant that was recommended by a friend and our guide books. The restaurant was established in 1864 and is considered the best in China. I was looking forward to having Peking duck in Beijing and comparing it with Peking Duck in Falls Church, VA and the one I had in Taipei. Quanduje was good, but I have to say I enjoy the duck in Falls Church and Taipei better.

Tomorrow it’s off to the Summer Palace!

Great Wall Hike & Massage

Friday, July 27th
Beijing, China

I was so excited this morning for our Great Wall hike that I kept waking up before the alarm. It reminded me of the morning of my first ever soccer game – I was too excited to sleep (that was for you Tina!) so I was up and ready to go at 6am with my shinguards and cleats for a 12noon game!

Our guide, Peter picked us up at 8am at our hotel. I had read great reviews about this hike and Peter from Trip Advisor so I was anxious to see if this excursion was everything it was cracked up to be.

It took us two hours to get from downtown Beijing to the start our of hike at Jiankou, an unrestored portion of the Wall at 10:15am. The first hour and a half of our hike was up a mountain in dense shrubbery and a rocky terrain. It is definitely not for the faint of heart or those unsteady on their feet. It was definitely rigorous as advertised and a good workout. I felt like I was hiking in the jungle. We went through brush, mud, over rocks and up steep inclines.

We were handsomely rewarded once we reached the top of the Jiankou section.

We made it! Touching the Wall.

The views were breathtaking and I was just so thrilled to be standing on the Great Wall. I was grinning from ear to ear!

The unrestored section at Jiankou was incredible. It is part of the original wall built by the Ming Dynasty from 1368 – 1644. One of the best part aside from the views, is the fact that there was no one else there, so we really got to take in and enjoy our time on the wall. The unrestored section is almost just as treacherous as the hike up the mountain, just not as steep. There was a lot of vegetation on the wall and only narrow section passable in some parts. We walked through several original watchtowers.

Peter was great! He had us pose at all the best spots on the Wall for pictures. He happily agreed to take as many pictures as we wanted and was very patient with us as we took our time taking in the views and the history of the Wall. Peter even had us pose for a picture on the Jiankou section placing a brick on the wall, like we were building it.

On the Mutianyu side, Peter had us do a jumping picture. After the first one, he told Jennifer she needed to try more. The sequence of jumping pictures is hilarious.

At the midway point, which was dividing line between the original and restored wall, we stopped and Peter had Snickers for us. I can’t remember the last time I had a Snickers, but it certainly satisfied us! It was about 1pm and we were now on the restored portion of the Wall, called Mutianyu. The distinction between the two is great, but it was nice to be on open and clear walkways.

We saw a several more tourist on this portion of the Wall, but it still wasn’t as crowded as I thought it might have been. I think the weather might have had something to do with it. Today it was overcast and drizzling, so it I think it might have kept some people away. At least it wasn’t pouring rain. There were more stairs on the Mutianyu side and at several points quite steep. Fortunately, we didn’t have too many problems, except for a few spills on the slippery stones.

I am proud to say I climbed the Great Wall and really climbed it. We finished our hike at approximately 3:15pm, which was a little less than 5 hours. Claudia kept a pedometer during our hike and clocked us at 6 miles. Of course, I bought a t-shirt from one of the vendors at the bottom of Mutianyu! I will wear it proudly.

My legs were shaking at the end of the hike and I was looking forward to sitting down and having lunch. Peter took us to a restaurant nearby and told us Russian President, Vladmir Putin had eaten there when he visited the Wall a few years ago. Lunch was delicious and it wasn’t just because we were hungry. Today’s lunch ranks as one of the best meals I’ve had all trip – we had rainbow trout, tomato and egg noodles, vegetable fried rice, marinated cucumbers, mushrooms, eggplant, onion egg pancake, and tofu. I was so hungry that I forgot to take pictures of our lunch! You’re just going to have to believe me on this one!

We arrived back at our hotel around 6:30pm and alI I wanted to do was sit down! Fortunately, I found a massage place right around the corner from our hotel and got a foot and back massage for an hour and a half. It was the best money I’ve spent all trip! It was so worth it after our hike today.

Tomorrow we have full agenda tomorrow covering more of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I am loving every minute of this trip, but in a week’s time I’ll be back stateside! Looking forward to seeing everyone soon!