Seoul! 2nd June 2012

So, the last full day in Korea...

We left early for Seoul, passing paddy fields, ramshackle small towns and villages and eventually sped along the blue traffic lane that allowed all buses to pass all cars to the palace called Gyeongbokgung. Quite Chinese in style, with an assortment of buildings, the prettiest of which was a smallish chunky palace set on water.

Hot, and difficult to walk around in a group of 30 or more, with some consistent stragglers! Good to be with the Croatians (Reno Fleiss et al) and Hungarians.

Lunch was taken on a street full of food stalls and small cafés serving traditional Korean food. My noodles, seafood and spicy sauce were very good. We saw more traditional houses, went shopping in Insadong, and then found our way to our hotel, the rather grand Lotte. A wander round the local department store, also called Lotte, and along street markets. No purchases made, but good fresh lemonade and sweet and sour ?pork from a food stall. Back to the hotel, and a very relaxing time in the lounge with my book, a couple of beers, and an excellent guy playing the keyboard and singing Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, etc. I'd forgotten how good that music is!

And finally an early night... It will be a long day tomorrow.