Apologies for the lack of photos recently too - they are all sat in the camera or on the hard-drive of the laptop...I just haven't found a wireless internet cafe yet...so much for Korea being a wireless wonderland (Andy!).
Anyway...first stop on Tuesday's sightseeing tour of Seoul was Gyeongbokgung. This was the principal palace of the early Joseon dynasty until 1592 when it was destroyed by invading Japanese. It was rebuilt with most of its former splendour in the latter half of the 19th century. You'll get an idea of the place when the photos go up. Particularly beautiful is the island pavilion of Hyangwonjeong - set in the middle of a lily-covered lake. In past times you can imagine it as a beautiful tranquil spot in which to meditate or sit with a picnic. Unfortunately, screaming hordes of Korean and Japanese school kids mean it is the last place for R&R these days.
Within the palace grounds is the impressive building of the national folk museum. Inside are four halls of exhibits and models of rustic and court life through the ages. Appeasement of and prayer to the gods has been a particularly important feature of a mainly agricultural society over the last 1500 years. Many rituals and artefacts demonstrate the importance of good harvests or plentiful catches from the sea in villages that were mainly self-sufficient. Not entirely surprising is the amazing array of fine crafts and useful technologies that have evolved. When you think of the Koreans' proficiency in microchip technology in the 21st century, you can understand the incredible intricacy of the Joseon dynasty's gold and jade jewellery. The design of early Korean houses is also remarkably forward thinking - the ondol (their version of the hypocaust, using the flue gases and smoke from the cooking range to heat the stone blocks in the underfloor cavity) is every bit as inventive as those found in early European civilisations. Interestingly, most restaurants still serve food on a raised platform with ondol heating underneath. Shoes are removed when entering the restaurant and diners eat cross-legged on the floor at low tables.
En route to the southern part of the city, I passed through the famous Insadong area. The main street, Insadong-gil is strewn with art galleries, traditional teashops and small restaurants. Probably better explored at the weekends when the road is closed to traffic, it was still fascinating wending my way through back alleys, trying local street- snacks and generally immersing myself in the local arts culture. At the southern end lies Tapgol park - a calm oasis amid the hustle and bustle of city life. Tall trees bring shade and the musical sound of running water smothers the sounds of passing traffic - the high wall even goes some way to keeping out the fumes. The edges of the park are dotted with small, cheap restaurants and the sight of men huddled around games of jangii. This puzzle game - similar to draughts and chess and chinese checkers, I think...sort of ;-) - is a great way of killing time for the retired men in the locality. Occasionally, an office worker on lunch-break, will chance his arm against these wily old pros...usually to his cost. Literally hundreds of games are conducted cross-legged on sheets of newspaper, while onlookers offer advice or derision...while I didn't have a clue what was going on, it was still difficult to tear myself away from this engrossing street scene.
Next stop, Namdaemun market. Strewth! Narrow alleyways, multi-storey malls, grubby back-streets all rammed to the gills with stalls, shops, cafes, bars and snack-carts, selling every good imaginable. The clamour of traders advertising their wares is deafening; the smells over-powering and often enticing; and, for those who like to shop, the sight is mouth-watering. If you know me, I'm not a shopper. The fake Louis Vuitton (sp?) and Gucci could have been appalling or top-drawer - I'd have no idea. The mountains of highly-polished, patent-leather shoes (a local must have judging by their popularity) were blatantly too small for the likes of me and the countless high-tech goods stalls were of no interest to me at this stage of my journey. (Sorry, Andy - if I'd had the money and you'd given me a shopping list, I'm sure we'd have had a field day!) I contented myself by munching on a wide range of different snacks...although I still haven't found any bosintang! It's very difficult to spot foreign words on a menu when they don't even use the same alphabet!!
Last stop of the day was Namsan. A little like Montreal, the centre of the city is dominated by a forested, green hump. Atop sits the needle spire of Seoul Tower and spinning oh, so slowly around it's midpoint is the Revolving Restaurant, where I spent two hours consuming mediocre food (I was trying to keep the cost down), drinking refreshing beer and being totally astounded by the amazing views over the city and humbled by the beauty of the setting sun. A cable car, a short walk (downhill, thank god!) and a tube ride found a tired and somewhat-dishevelled me back at the Seoul Backpackers Motel...where a certain rucksack containing toiletries and clean clothes was gratefully recovered.
No comments:
Post a Comment