DAY ONE - A DAY TOUR OF SEOUL!

While my arrival in Korea was met with some mishaps ( I arrived with no hotel reservation due to miscommunication by KTO and the hotel!), I immediately went on a tour of Seoul on my very first day in spite of no sleep and a half-hour rest!

Here are some of the pictures detailing our discovery of this city of life and vigor! Of course, it is not complete without a visit of its National Museum of Korea!

The National Museum of Korea is  a massive structure showing the rich history of the country. I was amazed by the engineering design and how much was spent in building and even maintaining this museum. Too many school children and tourists visit this facility and I was even amazed that one can view it for free! Truly, Korea!

We also made a stop to this beautiful palace, a UNESCO  Heritage Site if I am not mistaken, called the Changgyeongggung Palace. It was formerly the living quarters of queens and was built in 1418 and later expaned to include other buildings while maintaining its natural environment. It was razed during the Japanese invasion and was restored in 1989. Honghwamun and Myeongjeongjon are two well-kept structures that survived through the palace's tumultuous years. Glad though that it had English-speaking guides.

We also made a stop to the famous Seoul Tower, one of the city's most famous landmarks. The tower's observation deck offers the best views of the city. Visitors can actually take a cable car up the mountain and then walk to the tower. It was exhilarating getting on the elevator which will bring you to the top! I even had a pic of mine on its observatory with Manila as my background!

A visit to a temple was also made where we were amazed by the display of flowers! We could not help but take pictures and be awed by the flower arrangements.

Of course, a tour of the city will not be complete without trying their traditional Korean food in one of the restaurants in Insa-dong, a center of culture in Seoul for decades. A large variety of arts have surfaced in this neighborhood over the years and is now frequented by tourists from all over.

Korean food is truly healthy using what nature can provide - grains, greens and wines made from local rice. I was shocked by the full twelve-course meals served to us as if it would not last. And to top it all, rice came last! Whew! We were so full!

Pictures of these city tour are uploaded in my facebook account, the link of which is here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151295553409789.526821.718034788&type=3

Happy viewing!