After changing back to my walking shoes, we had lunch at another neighbourhood restaurant near our hotel.

This restaurant serves four banchans.

We had Tofu Soup. It came with purple rice with beans, a healthier version.

We also had a grilled fish. (more…)

Entrance fee to the palace was KRW3000 (CAD3) per person.

The royal guards.

The National Palace Museum inside the palace houses relics, artifacts and royal treasures from the palaces of the Joseon Dynasty and Korean Empire with a 500-year of history.

Heungnyemun Gate is the second inner gate into Gyeongbokgung Palace.  (more…)

On the third day, we returned to Gyeongbokgung Palace after breakfast in the hotel.

There is a wide boulevard leading to the palace. King Sejong’s monument stood in the Gwanghwamun Square, north of Gyeongbokgung. King Sejong is best known for introducing Hangul into the Korean language.

The back view of the King Sejong monument. The seat was decorated with carving of dragons.

An astrology tool also found in the boulevard. (more…)

We went out to explore the city in the evening after a good nap.

The Namdaemum Gate was reconstructed after a fire.

An interesting shape buildings in the neighbourhood.

A pretty big sculpture in the middle of the city. (more…)

Here is the glimpse of Gyeongbokgung Palace before we decided to return to the hotel due to the heavy downpour.

Bugaksan Mountain is the highest of the four mountains which surround Gyeogbokgung Place.

An interesting sculpture in the city.

A pavilion not far from the Gyeongbokgung Palace. (more…)

After the church service at Yoido Full Gospel Church, we went for coffee at Dunkin Donut.

Apparently, Dunkin Donut is very popular in Seoul. They are everywhere.

We shared a Dunkincino.

We also had a Peach Square and an Almond Chocolate Donut. The bill came to KRW7600 (about CAD7.60). (more…)

Yoido Full Gospel Church is the largest Pentecostal Church in South Korea, with a congregation of 830,000 members as at 2007.

It is founded by David Yonggo Cho since 1958.

The church is large enough to seat 12,000 people at a time.

There are seven Sunday services which are translated into 16 languages. Of course, we have to use the English translator. (more…)

We stayed at this Hotel Hill House which is located in quite a central location.

The only problem with this hotel is that it’s located at a slightly hilly location. So, each day when we return to the hotel after a long day walk, we felt really tired to climb the last bits of the hill.

The room was not big but comfy enough.

I like that they provide a kettle too. Not many hotels provide kettle; most North America hotels will have coffee machine. At least, we can boil water to have a hot chocolate or instant noodles when we feel like it.

Surprisingly, the bathroom is roomy. (more…)

We went out to Myeongdong for dinner. Myeongdong is within walking distance from our hotel too.

Myeongdong is a shopping and tourism district. It is like Robson Street in Vancouver. There were a lot of shops and restaurants. We were even greeted in Mandarin in some of the shops as we look Chinese than Korean. That shows that Chinese tourists are big business here.

We went to the above restaurant for dinner as we could see the dining experience via the glass window.

The restaurant was clean and brightly lit.

Customers help themselves with banchans at a buffet counter. (more…)

Our hotel is just a short walk to the Namdaemun Market. So, after we checked in, we walked to the Namdaemun Market for lunch.

Namdaemum Market is a traditional market; the oldest and largest in Korea. We felt that it resembles Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur.

By the way, Namdaemun means “Great South Gate”.

The first stall we came upon was some kind of fried fish cake stall.

We got one to try. It cost KRW3000 (about CAD3). The exchange rate was about 1CAD to 1000KRW. (more…)