N Seoul tower, Namdaemun Market, and Sungnyemun Gate
MAP
This morning we walked to N Seoul tower. There was a diagonal escalator followed by a ropeway (cable car). Then a separate ticket for the tower with its 360° views. We could see the morning commute along the Han river as well as palaces we had seen. Even the bathrooms had a view. I heard people laughing loudly when they entered and encountered the commodes with grand views.
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| View to the north with the lower ropeway station below, and to the left by the large brown building is our hotel. |
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| View to the south with the Han River in the distance. |
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| Heavy traffic on both sides of the Han River and the Lotte World Tower in the distance. |
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| Restroom with a view. |
We went down to Namdaemun Market and found tofu pots for lunch at Jeongdongsim Sundubu Bossam (정동심 순두부·보쌈). It was very good. They make their own tofu. Even though it looked touristy from the outside, there were locals there.
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| Jeongdongsim Sundubu Bossam restaurant. |
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| Why is it that the country with the hottest food in the world, also gives you the smallest drinking cups in the world? |
After lunch I had to go to a fruit stand that was selling Korean melons also known as Chamoe (참외). The reason was because their sign said this: "TRAVELING KOREA WITHOUT EATING FRUIT. BIG MISTAKE. FRUIT IS THE REAL TASTE & SECRET OF KR.” And the melons were, in fact, very sweet and delicious.
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| Namdaemun Market fruit stand. |
In the market, we went clothes shopping with our niece. One vendor tapped my shoulder as I was passing his display of old-man clothes. I guess I fit the demographic. I said no thanks and he was fine with that. One thing about our experience in Korea, is that no one really hassled us, which really made it pleasant. If I was in the market for old-man clothes, or anything else, I think it would be best to know exactly what I wanted and how much I would pay. Few items were marked with prices. I'd say the majority of shops had women's clothes & accessories.
After we were done shopping, I got some lemonade at one shop and hotteok at another. Ah, lemonade & hotteok - this is happiness. The vendor at the hotteok stand told me "arigato!" I guess one foreign tourist is the same as another.
On the way back we watched the changing of the guards at Sungnyemun Gate. Their uniforms are so colorful! And it’s fine to take a picture with them.
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| Sungnyemun Gate. |
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| The Royal Guards. |
We went back to the hotel for a short nap. We can still hear the guards drumming from our room. For dinner we went to a gimbap shop with our niece and nephew while their parents were at a baseball game. gim=seaweed, bap=rice. It looks like maki sushi, but the rice is different. I had vegi bibimbap for about $4.50. Apple pay didn't work, so I just used cash. Most places that take Apple pay have you sign too. With T-Money at stores, I found that you have to leave your phone on the pad while it first checks beeps, then debits your account and beeps again. It’s not like Suica that’s just tap & go to pay. We got snacks at the CU convenience store. We checked at the front desk about a taxi to Gimpo Airport. No need to reserve a taxi the night before, just have the front desk call for a cab 10-15 minutes before you need it.
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| A good place for gimbap and bibimbap. |
Proceed to next day ->
