Seoul, Korea: August 8, 2009

On the way home, I had a 13 hour layover in Seoul, South Korea. Although I was physically exhausted from the rush of the last two weeks, I wanted to get as much “tourist activity” in as possible. When would I ever be back in South Korea!?! A friend from high school, Brooks is teaching over in Seoul and literally the day before I left, he had told me he was there and he would meet me. SO we kept in touch via facebook and e-mail and when I landed in Seoul I was to call him and meet him and he was going to show me around the city. WELL…. Turns out his phone wasn’t working or was off when I landed. I tried calling for about thirty minutes before I gave up and decided… “Hell, I only live once!” So, I decided to tour around own my own.

I got a bus ticket from the airport and my first stop was to Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was in an amazing setting with luscious trees and mountains in the background. The palace is surrounded by five-meter high walls with only four gates each symbolizing different seasons and the yin and yang theory of the five elements… spring and wood, summer and fire, autumn and metal, and winter and water. I was so lucky, when I was there, it was about 80 degrees so wondering around the palace wasn’t a problem, as it is all outdoors. You are not allowed to step into the actual buildings.

My next stop was to the Insa-dong market and shopping mall. This was something that was in walking distance and a way for me to see an authentic market place without going to far away. It was very expensive compared to Thailand and the items they were selling seemed more “junky.” The actual mall was nice, it was five stories, all outdoors!

From there, I headed to the World Cup stadium where their soccer team plays. I couldn’t stay much longer because I had been out for about five hours and needed to head back to the airport early since I was an international flight. Plus they had a free place to wash up, shower, relax, and get massages! :) On the bus ride back to the airport…. I could hardly keep my eyes open – at that point, I was ready to go home and sleep in my own bed and relax! Going around South Korea, I had to take all my stuff since I wasn't quite sure I wanted to leave it all with Ben, (more of a pain for him!)