This Korean trip is very much different from a typical tour trip. We did the obligatory visits to some of the touristy areas but we also did some very different things.
One of them is to visit the Hangang river before going to Gangnam to see what the hype is all about.
Since it was the Korean summer break, there were quite a number of student groups by the river. There was one student group which caught our attention as they were rehearsing on their traditional instruments. The teacher, upon seeing our intrigue faces, asked where we were from and encouraged the group to entertain us with an enthusiastic performance.
After the rousing performance, we were off to rent these lovelies for a ride by the river. Trust me, in the sweltering heat of Korean summer, this may not be the best idea. But I'm on a holiday, so why not?
Again, if you're a fan of Korean drama, you'd have seen those scenes where the lovers escape the paparazzi and started paddling in the river. There you go. If you want to re-enact one of these scenes, have a try at Hangang river!
One of the things I noticed in Seoul is that they have these random stations for electric cars to recharge. However, I've not seen a lot of these cars on the road when I was there so I wondered if it was a pilot test.
We visited the Bongeunsa Temple next. This is a Buddhist temple which is popular for people who are planning to stay at the monastery for 2 days.
In fact, they even tailored a group temple stay program for locals and foreigners alike to learn of things like tea ceremony, zen meditation and lantern making among others.
This is view of the entrance. You could walk all the way into the temple complex and have a look at the worship area.
At the point of my visit, there was a celebration coming up so there were many lanterns hung and preparations were underway to celebrate an important event.
In the main hall, you'll see a good number of devotees meditating and worshiping together.
Outside the temple complex, you'd see architecture as such which is similar to that of the palaces. In fact, this temple was a royal mausoleum in the past before being renamed to Bongeunsa.
Similar to many Asian cultures, there will always be a board for wishes. In Japan, they will purchase a plate to write their wish while here in Seoul, they write it on a piece of paper and tie it to the string.
We also visited Myeondong for skincare shopping and to try various street food. Myeongdong is probably one of the hippest area in town but if there's one part of Seoul which doesn't feel like Korea, it will be Myeongdong. Almost every single skincare shops were manned by shop assistants who speak very fluent Chinese to cater for the influx of Chinese tourists. You can barely hear any Korean on the main street of Myeongdong if you're ever there shopping for your skincare goodies.
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