Last days in Seoul

The next day, since the sunny (if somewhat chilly) weather was holding up, we decided to do a bit of hiking. Seoul is one of the biggest cities in Asia (with no less than 10 million inhabitants), but it's also blessed with a large number of very nice parks. To me, it makes Seoul one of the most liveable cities I've been to in Asia.




So anyway, after considering the various options, we decided to walk up Namsan peak, up to Namsan tower. With an altitude of 262 meters, we're not exactly talking about Mount Everest here, but we figured it would still make a nice break from museums and other urban attractions. The walk up was pretty nice, the autumn colours and the sunny weather really making it a delightful outing. Part of the walk followed a remaining, restored section of the Seoul city walls, which was a nice added bonus.

The walk ends up at N Seoul Tower, a communication & observation tower. It is actually the highest point in Seoul. There was a nice display of traditional Korean drumming by the tower. In general, it's a massively touristy affair, the tower, with restaurants, Perikura-type photo booths (which we, I have to admit, make use of!). I naturally had to ride up to the top of the tower for some aerial photography (actually, the view from the top of the tower isn't that much better than from the foot of the tower...).

For dinner, Andi and Vijola took us out for Korean Barbeque (the 2nd time, actually). It made for a nice change after all the fermented & ultra-spicy stuff we've eaten so far. Korean cuisine is a bit of an acquired tasty, it has to be said. One that I did acquire by the end of the visit, I must say - I was starting to accept Kimichi (fermented cabbage) as a mandatory part of any meal by the end of our Korean sejour! Naturally, the meal was accompanied by Soju, Korean rice wine (considerably more potent than for example Sake, a fact that was obvious to me every morning in Seoul!)

The next day, we decided to continue our healthy outdoorsy streak, and try cycling for a bit - even if the weather wasn't quite as good as we'd gotten used to during the previous days. We started our tour in Yeuido park, a pleasant ocean of greenery in the middle of a business district, by the river. We rented bikes there, and embarked on an itinerary suggested by our Lonely Planet guide. The pleasant ride took us along the river up to the World Cup football stadium (a rather impressive piece of modern architecture).

We even came across a replica of the little mermaid from Copenhagen (hmm, the Koreans are kind of known for copying stuff, right...). After returning our bikes back where we started, we explored the park for a bit. There is a nice Korean garden there, and even a C47 airplane on display! All in all, a very nice place to stroll around.

For our last night out, after a few beers at Andi and Vijola's place (as usual, it's getting to be a bad habit!), we headed off to try Pa Jun - Korean pancakes. Delicious - possibly my favourite food in Korea (close tie with the Korean BBQ). That, sadly, brought an end to our stay in Seoul.

Time to bid farewell to our wonderful hosts, Andi and Vijola. I hope to see them again, in some part of the world! Even more sadly, it was time for me to also say temporarily say bye bye to Mathilde, since she was travelling back to France, while I was continuing on my own to China.

On the whole, Korea was quite a revelation. I definitely have to say I prefer Japan, but Korea does merit a visit, definitely. And Seoul is one of the top cities in Asia, no question about it!