Seoul- Day 3

Hi all ! Well we decided to venture out and try the Seoul Metro Subway!

We were right in the middle of morning rush hour ! People rushing everywhere on their way to work. Everyone dressed in their business attire, on the phone or reading the paper. We found the Yeoksam Station, which is not far from our SWS Guest House. We just followed everyone else ! We go below and had no idea what to do or where to go ! So many people ! How do we do this??? I tell Ed , lets go to the Renaissance Hotel and get some help ! We need a map or a tour guide !!!!! So back up we go to the street and walk to the RHotel. By the way, there are many many stairs !!! I can't believe these ladies do it in their high heels !!!!!!!!!

We found the information booth, got a Subway map and got directions on where to go. Could we walk there???? Nope !!! Gotta take the METRO !!!! So off we went, back to the Yeoksam Station. Once below many levels, where do we get tickets ??? We found the electronic ticket booths and had no idea how to use it. This nice man who spoke english , told us how to use it !!!

We had to take 2 subways to get our destination 1 ( oh ,oh !) . We can do this !!!!!

We followed the map and got to Anguk Station. ( me asking Ed every few minutes=are we going the right way?? Will we get lost????? Where do we get off again?? )

Once climbing all the stairs to the street level- we just walked and walked and ended up at Changdeok Palace.

This is a palace that was built many many years ago on which the King and Queen lived at. We took an english tour and took many pictures. We paid about $6,000 won each and the tour lasted about an hour. It was very sunny, but very cold !!!! We did not pack well for our warm clothes. Its very damp and it goes right through you !!! UGH ! I tried to stay in the sun as much as possible and later grabbed a large coffee to warm up.

We then walked and found our way to the Insadong Market. More walking !!!!!!! It was a long and narrow street with many vendors on each side. Little closed in stores, or small malls, and or street vendors trying to sell their stuff. The Koreans really love their cell phone trinkets. Everywhere we looked there was stuff for cellphones, carriers, key chains, business card holders, cigarette cases, and many many more trinkets. We looked in many shops for a Tea set- that was reasonable and good quality. We did not find one but found the name chop shop.

This is a very famous stamp shop. They carve names, in Hangul- on soap stones and you can use them as stamps with ink. We saw pictures of the Queen Elizabeth, Prince of Netherlands and Queen Sophia getting their names carved for their own stamp. We bought one for Kijin and Kyler. They even gave us free ink !

I bought a keychain and a 1 year , TON birthday card for Kijin when he turns 1 on June 18th. We did not spend much, but we are going to go back to the CoEx Mall and get a Tea set before we go home.

We did soooo much walking, now it was time to head back before the rush hour begins !! We followed the metro map and made it back to the SWS Guest House without getting lost!! YIPPEE !!

For those who will be coming to South Korea and are following our blog-----make sure you ask Mr.Lee the SWS Guest House doorman for a Seoul Metro map or get one at the Renaissance Hotel before you head for the subway!!!!!

The Metro is very overwhelming at first, but take your time, read the maps, the stations are written in english and you will get the hang of it . Wear good shoes, bring your bags to carry your purchases, bring some snacks, your water bottle and your Won $$$$ ! They do take Visa and matercards at some locations.

I think for the rest of today we will be chilling out, watching TV ( yes , there is one or 2 tv stations that play english movies all day and night !) and resting our bodies !!! I bet so far we walked miles and miles and miles........................................ !

Take care !

Karen and Ed signing out from Seoul, South Korea.