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It is day 5 of our travels and I am finally getting to write about what we have done so far - shopping, shopping and more shopping. Seoul must be the shopping capital of the world. Not only are there shops everywhere you turn - shopping malls, underground shopping centres, shopping centres at the stations, markets districts, stalls in front of shops, stalls on the footpaths, and even hawkers on the subway.
We have also eaten our way around Seoul. Lots of Korean food - Korean style of sushi and cold noodles at Korean restaurant, Korean style Japanese restaurant - ordered the thing on the menu that said 'plain' in english. Many barnyard actions to establish what it might be - turned out to be pork! First there was a bowl of finely shredded cabbage with vinegar, oil and ginger dressing - very nice to eat as entre. Next bowl of 'soup' , wooden tub of rice and pickles were delivered. Finally the thing we pointed at arrived. Turned out to be very edible and we both enjoyed it. We have even had Korean food at Korean restaurant - table had a gas burner in the middle where you cooked finely slice meat and sliced vegetables. This too turned out to be edible and an extremely enjoyable experience.
Last night we had a quick meal of Korean style spaghetti bolognaise before taking in a dance performance at an interesting theatre on the fourth floor of a shopping building in the arts district.(I did say shopping was everywhere). The performance was a mixture of hip hop, mime, and modern ballet style dance with lots of comedy and audience participation thrown in.
It is amazing how late the Korean day goes. We have not been to bed before midnight since we got here. We have repeatedly caught the subway home at 10.30 or 11.00 at night and it is like being on the train during peak hour at home. Shops are open until well into the night and everyone is out eating and drinking with family, friends or workmates.
We have also managed a bit of sightseeing. We took a cable car ride up to Namsam Tower. Everthing was pretty hazy - worst Hayley has seen since she has been in Seoul. Seoul is massive with high rise in every direction you look. We stayed until it was dark and enjoyed the effect of the lights. Oh yes, we had Turkish ice cream at the tower - sort of cold, but very sticky and delicious to taste.
Yesterday we awoke to a thunder storm and rain so decided to go for an excursion to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea) The weather co operated and only rained at appropriate times so we managed to do all that was planned. We learned quite a bit of history of Korea and has helped me understand a bit more about what is happening at present. We went deep into the earth to experience the '3rd Tunnel'. which was dug from North Korea towards Seoul to allow fast, efficient invasion of the North Korean army into the south. There have been four tunnels discovered during the 970s to 1990s.
Today we visited a Buddhist Temple and enjoyed the tranquility of the gardens and the chanting of the monks.
We also visited COEX mall - yet another shopping centre! Had to walk through it to get back to the station and on the way could not resist a visit to Macas. They had a large picture add for Kiwi icecream - like a Mcflurry but with pieces of Kiwi fruit and syrup. While there discovered that they have Bulgolgi burger on the menu so had to try one. Bulgolgi is a traditional dish with specially marinated beef. Intersting taste and not at all hot. I can recommend both so if they appear on the menu at home give them a go.
Heading off to the south tomorrw so need an early night as the train goes at 5.55am. Don't know what internet will be like down there so may be out of touch for a few days. We plan to be back in Seoul on Tuesday night.
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