Lost in Korea: and so ends the weekend

Right now I am just relaxing after the long day and having myself a nice ice-cold can of Cass beer (hey I'm allowed to splurge every so often). And it was yet another long day indeed, jam-packed full of interesting sights and sounds. I was actually rather annoyed at the start since I didn't get up until about 11:15 this morning. It was my own fault though...I stayed up way too late last night. Oh well...

To begin, I wanted to go to a bookstore I had heard about called Kyobo Books, which was supposedly located in the Gwanghwamun subway station. But of course I couldn't find it when I got there so I pulled out my handy dandy guide to Korea which told me that the location of the bookstore was actually down the street...so out into the sweltering heat I went. Half an hour later I still couldn't locate Kyobo, but I did manage to find a different bookstore in the next subway down at Jonggok. Even so, they didn't have the cd I was looking for and the new Harry Potter book they did have was too darned expensive! And thus, empty handed, I left the store only to find that it had started raining, and here I am without my umbrella. I ran back inside and bought one and then decided to roam around the subway for a while because there was all kinds of shops down there as well. As it turned out by the time I actually left the station it had stopped raining, so my stupid umbrella purchase was all for naught.

After that things got increasing better and it ceased raining for the rest of the day. I began walking in the direction of Tapgol Park which was very near the station. While I was there I came across a camera crew that was in the midst of shooting...something, not really sure what. I watched them for a while and then travelled further down the street to this ancestral shrine called Jongmyo which was a wooded solace smack-dab in the middle of the city. It was almost strangely out of place...if I hadn't noticed the tops of the buildings just over the shrine walls I might have thought that this very quiet and docile place was no where near the city. But still there it was, this picture of serenity nestled among the hustle and bustle of downtown Seoul. I walked around there for a long time just taking in the atmpsphere and absorbing the nature all around me; it was wonderful.

Next I went back towards the station to a Buddhist temple that was located nearby. There was a service going on so I didn't actually get to go inside (though I did manage to snap some photos from the doorway). I walked around there for a bit, ate some kimbap that I had brought with me and then continued on my way. Since Insadong was very close I walked through the main street and then towards Myeong-dong which is also in the same area. I did some window shopping there for a while and then decided to spend the evening climbing up Mt. Namsan yet again since it had finally cooled down and I felt energized enough to take on the challenge.

It was a long way up Mt. Namsan and I thought those steps would never end! But finally, about 45 minutes later I reached the top, though sweat soaked and dehydrated beyond belief. I don't know why I do this things to myself... Still, once I cooled down, drank some green tea and sat for a bit I felt loads better and probably even more energized than when I had begun my hike. I meandered around the top for a while and then headed back down the mountain. By this time it was about 10pm and so I got on the subway to go home.

And now here I am at home, completely amazed at how I could have possible been able to squeeze so much into one weekend. But again, this is Seoul and there's still so much I want to do here. These things I've done so far...they're only the beginning. :)