On our third day, we wanted a changed of scene. All we've been seeing are palaces in the two days we've been there. So we decided to go to Bukchon Hanok Village!
How to get there: Anguk Station (Line 3), Exit 2, just go straight until you see a Tourist Information Center! From the Tourist Information Center, they have maps and suggested routes around Bukchon Hanok Village (see what I'm holding in the photo). The map's confusing at first but you can get a hang of it after a while.
Since Bukchon is a residential area, tourists can't go before 10AM.
I'm warning you now... There are a lot of uphill climbs!!!
When lost... follow the other tourists! Hahaha there are a lot of tourist groups around Bukchon and we followed them when we got lost in one uphill climb.
This stairs is the end of the Bukchon Village course. After this, you get to go outside to the street and we found Noodle Box where we had lunch!!!! (You'll see the Samcheongdong Community Service Center across the street and I think I remember seeing Haagen Dazs restaurant along the way.)
They have delicious Pad Thai!!! One of the best I've eaten! It sort of tasted like the one from Thai Orchid in San Jose, California. I think it costs around 7,000won.
Our next stop was
Insa-dong Street! (The orange arrow is going to Bukchon Hanok Village from Anguk Station Exit 2, the Tourist Information Center would be on your right. The pink arrow is going out from the end of the Bukchon Hanok Village route. Follow the map they gave from the Bukchon Tourist Information Center. Walk down and down and down until you see Insa-dong street.)
You'll see a lot of shops along the way. And this is just the path going to Insa-dong!
You'll know you're at the start of Insa-dong street when you see this landmark! They also have the Tourist Information Center around here. Ask for an Insa-dong Street map. Remember, maps are very important!
Okay, I haven't really watched Yongseo's WGM but Cyril did. So here's what happened... Hahaha I was exchanging my money at Hana Bank (we're still at the start of the Insa-dong Street), right after that, I just stopped coincidentally right in front of this restaurant! I was like, "Diba si Yonghwa yun? Anong meron?" then Cyril said, "Ay shet, oo nga! Eto yung nagdate sila sa Yongseo!"
So we decided to have our dessert there! The place was full of people!
We ordered their special Patbingsoo and it costs us around 15,000won. It's worth it!!!
We didn't stop for any shopping at Insa-dong street (that would come in later) because we wanted to catch the English tour at
Jongmyo Shrine at 2:00PM. Just walk until the end of the Insa-dong Street. At the other end, you'll see another Tourist Information Center. From there, just cross the street to Tapgol Park and then just walk straight.
Jongmyo Shrine is very different from the palaces and we actually learned facts from our English tour guide! The Jongmyo Shrine is holier. You can't go inside unless there's a tour guide. They allow self-tours on Saturdays only.
See that path where there's a sign saying you can't step on there? They still believe that the spirits of the dead walk on there. Yes, they have paths for spirits only. And they have paths for kings only. And they have paths for princes only. Oh, you get the point. Women actually aren't allowed around the area during those days.
Back to Insa-dong after Jongmyo Shrine! And look, more dessert for me! It's just regular ice cream served in a 'puff' cone. The puff cone tastes like some of the cereals you eat for breakfast. There are seriously a lot of this around Insa-dong. Even Myeongdong, Dongdaemun and Gapyeong Wharf!
This is a Dojang Stamp I got for my brother, Mickey. I bought it at Insa-dong for 35,000won. Their base cost is 30,000won. It's a last minute thing and I was hesitating to buy it since it's expensive but since it's what my brother asked me to bring back home... hahaha I'm such a good sister. Anyway, I have this particular design I liked, they have one with Van Gogh's painting of Starry Night (which is my absolute favorite painting by him) and it costs around 70,000won so... huhu, anyway, I consoled myself by reminding myself that I already bought a necklace.
They have these tiles at Anguk Station, around Exit 6 (look at the bags I'm carrying, good thing I exchanged money before I went shopping)
After shopping at Insa-dong, we went to the last palace,
Deoksugung Palace! It's open until 9:00PM unlike the other palaces.
How to get there: City Hall Station (Line 1 or 2) Exit 2
We were lucky to watch and hear these guys perform! A very kind old man told us that they have a performance there because we didn't know anything when we got there. He even found us a good spot to watch from.
Another kind old man offered to take our picture! So here's to our second picture together! hahaha
We stayed at Deoksugung until dark. Haha it gets dark around 8:00PM during our stay there.
Anyway, a short story I want to share.. We were supposed to meet our friends Pritzy and Klariz back home. They're going straight to the apartment we're staying at but when we arrived, they still weren't there. We asked them where they were but they told us they overslept and can't go anymore. They'll try to make it the next day. (We were almost annoyed by then because we needed to get up early the next day because of our Namiseom Island trip) But we got on facebook and saw their post that they were on their way. So we pretended to be 'surprised' when they arrived at 11:00PM hahaha Almost one year of not seeing each other but they're still the same!
They arrived and they were looking for McDonald's near our place. At 11:00PM. Which is crazy. So we were, "Ano? eh 11 na ah!" They googled McDonald's and there weren't any near our apartment so we settled for a chicken place right across the street. Hahaha we ordered the Cheese Chicken Roast. That's actually the time I found out how fond Koreans are for cheese and chicken. I noticed that they're almost literally everywhere. Hahaha
Day 3, chicken at midnight!!!
