12 August, Seoul

Having seen a lot more of the city, we feel confident in saying that Seoul is among the most modern of cities in Asia. Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo are probably on the top rung in our experience, but Seoul, while not as big as three of the other four (Singapore being much smaller), wins. Wide, sweeping boulevards, large parks and open squares are framed by high-rise buildings with spectacular design features. Sadly, the down side is heavy traffic. Of the more modern Asian cities, only in Beijing have we seen such heavy street traffic. For us, getting about is not impacted. The subway can get us to any part of the city we want to see and the subway is not at all crowded by Asian standards, although the frequency of service is a little less than we are used to. Oh dear! We have had to wait more than 5 minutes on several occasions!!

No rain at all today, although a little overcast, but that was a blessing, as it kept the temperature down to the mid 20s. We did a lot of walking, around 17kms, doing the Namdaemun markets, Deoksungung Palace, Myeongdong Catholic Cathedral and walking alongside Cheonggyecheon Stream that flows through central Seoul.

The markets were enormous and, although we, at first, thought bargains were few and far between, in comparison to the high-end brand names that dominated the Lotte Department store we passed through on our travels, the prices were cheap, cheap, cheap. 

Our rain-spoiled visits to the other two palaces in Seoul made our visits not terribly enjoyable. Although the late 19th  century Deoksungung Palace is the smallest and most modern of the palaces, it is the most original, the others being rebuilt in the 1950s. Nicely laid out,  with nice shaded areas to sit and enjoy the open spaces, Deoksungung is our favourite. We should add, that over 65s, even foreigners, enter all the palaces and associated museums for free on provision of proof of age.

The Catholic Cathedral was extremely difficult to find, until we happened upon the “Cathedral Shopping Mall,” which led us past food outlets clothing shops and of course the Cathedral “merch” shop. You have to wonder about the bible story of Jesus throwing the money changers out of the temple. 

We went close to one of the almost daily street protests that are almost a daily occurrence in Seoul. Every side street we went up was lined with police busses. As serious as all this might seem, these demonstration very rarely end in violence. 

Ended our day at Cheonggyecheon Stream, covered over after the Korean War, then restored as part of an urban renewal plan in 2003. It is 11 klms long and features 22 bridges at street level as well as stepping stones at stream level and water features and is a popular walking path.  

13 August, Seoul

Except for our trip in from the Airport, today was our first day on the Korail network. We were headed to the nearby city of Suwon. As this was our first go at using Korean trains, we feel the need to record our experiences to help others who may like to travel independently in Korea.

Our subway line runs directly to Seoul Station so we had no line changes to negotiate. Seoul Station stands separate from the Metro network and there are walkways between the two, but we found some of the signage a little confusing. We had not pre- booked our tickets, although we could have done so online through the Korail website. Bookings can be paid for using foreign credit cards, but be warned, the identification departure and destination points will need some work until you get familiar with the system. The ticket machines wouldn’t work for us as domestic cards only are recognised. Booking at the ticket window isn’t a problem. Service staff generally speak good English and are very helpful. Just a hint at this point. Know your train number or departure time and obviously, your destination. We have spent much time fuming, while standing in line, as people who have no idea what they are doing, waste everybody’s time. 

Today we were off on a very short journey of about 30 minutes to Suwon which is on the main line to Korea’s second city Busan, so three of the types of trains on the network can be booked for this trip. As it is a short trip, we took the Mugunghwa train, the lowest level. The other options are the ITX and KTX. The KTX is the equivalent of the Japanese Shinkansen high-speed trains. The ITX are express trains of a standard between the other two. The Mugunghwa trains are comfortable, cheap, but slow. For our trip, our train was fine. Internally clean and fairly modern with toilets and ample leg room, but no dining car or snack trollies. On our return trip, we were only able to get one confirmed seat and one standing ticket, because we hadn’t pre-booked our seats. The cost for two of us was 5000W, about AUD$6. The deal with standing tickets is that the holder can sit in any seat until the person who has booked the seat shows up, then seat must be relinquished. Today, our one booked seat and one standing seat allowed us each to have a seat for the whole trip.

There is a lesson here. Today was a Sunday and Koreans like to travel about on weekends and holidays, so stations and trains are crowded. Booking is probably a good idea.

So, back to today’s trip. Our purpose was to visit the Hwaseong Fortress, built in the late eighteenth century by a king, for defensive purposes as well as to house the tomb of his father.  Much of the almost 6 klm wall has survived, or more correctly, been restored and reconstructed. The 281 steps up to the highest parts of the wall, leave the climb up parts of the Great Wall of China in the shade. 

Some shade would have helped us today as the high temperatures and humidity have returned. The views over the city compensated to some degree  for the oppressive conditions. 

Heading back to catch our bus to the station we stopped off at the Hwaseong Haenggung Palace. This is the third Korean royal palace we have visited, and while there is always an historical value in each, it must be said that the Korean royals, or their architects, lacked some imagination, as all that we have visited are very similiar.