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Day
12 (October 5, 2023) Seoul: Bukchon Hanok, Changdeokgung and Cheonggyecheon
Before
This day and the next should be for making pending visits,
enjoying the markets, discovering some cafe and even doing a
trip
out of the city.
The spots marked at map are:
0- Thomas Hotel Myeongdong
1- Deoksugung Palace
2- Myeongdong Cathedral
3- Gwanghwamun Square
4- Gyeongbokgung Palace
5- Bukchon Hanok Village
6- Changgyeonggung Palace
7- Secret Garden
8- Jongmyo Sanctuary
9- Dongdaemun Market
10- Cheonggyecheon
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After
As we decided yesterday, after having breakfast in the room, I
leave a little after 8 AM towards Bukchon Hanok Village and Eva stays
in bed, since she will spend the morning shopping. My journey goes
through a metro stop and taking the jongno02 bus, which drops me off at
the right place.
It's 9 AM and, since it's early, there are hardly any people and
I can take photos in these picturesque empty streets of the Bukchon
Hanok Village. There are marks on the ground that indicate the route
through the laberyntic streets.
When I finish on one side I stop by the information office where
I've told that I have to visit a house-museum right there and the route
on the East side, which I have not done yet. Baek Inje's house is quite
impressive and I would consider it a must-see.
I follow the itinerary at the east side and complete it when I
reach a long street decorated with flags and flanked by restaurants
with shops that ends at my next destination: Changdeokgung Palace. I
pay 3,000 won for the admission ticket and 5,000 more for the visit to
the secret garden at 11:30 AM.
The palace features large rooms surrounded by four low walls
with the main building in the middle. Each section has its
corresponding monumental gate.
I wander through the beautiful corners between buildings, always
painted in greenish and reddish tones until I arrive, around 11:30 AM,
to the access to the Secret Garden.
Right next to this entrance there is another one for
Changgyeongung Palace, and it is now that I notice the subtle
difference in the name. It turns out that there are two palaces here.
At that same point there is a kiosk where they sell tickets to that
palace and the secret garden.
Once in the secret garden area, I follow the path through the
trees until I reach the first building, which is also the most
beautiful. It is a small palace that stands in front of a lake. The
itinerary goes through pavilions with ponds with water lilies and lotus.
At the end of my visit I go to the kiosk before and pay 1000 won
for the admission to Changgyeonggung Palace, which is smaller and,
therefore, a quicker visit.
It's going to be 1 PM, so I take a bus to come back to the hotel
and rest for a while waiting for Eva to go eat together. As we had
decided the day before, we do it at the barbecue restaurant next to the
hotel, where we order half a kilo of meat each and give ourselves a
treat by 87,000 won.
Afterwards we go for a walk to Cheonggyecheon, two subway stops
away: an old stream that has been converted into a beautiful park.
We follow the path until we reach the Dongdaemun market, which
is impressive: huge halls with shops on each side and full of food
stalls in the middle. We do some final shopping since we need to leave
our suitcases ready tonight.
Tomorrow we have to check out the hotel, so we will have to
leave our luggage and spend the day making the last visits in Seoul,
since our flight is at night time.
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