Our last stop on our Round The World trip was Seoul, South Korea, a modern city with old tradition intermingled sporadically. It’s a very clean and orderly place that I enjoyed visiting for the first time. By this time, we were exhausted from the rest of the trip, so it was good we booked two activities that required very little walking.
Where Did We Stay?
The JW Marriott Hotel Seoul is centrally located and near the famous Gangnam district. It cost 28,000 points per night, which we earned from the Chase Ritz Carlton credit card. We mostly stayed in the hotel as there was a food court downstairs, along with a bus and train hub, and a mall adjacent to the hotel. There were so many restaurants in the building and everything we ate was so delicious, from traditional Korean cuisine to bubble drinks. Other than eating, we spent a lot of time in the large pool and hot tubs.
The Attractions
We booked a City Tour that included Gyeongnokgung Palace, Namsangol Hanok Village, and N Seoul Tower. The highlight of the Palace was the changing of the guards, dressed in colorful uniforms, which occurs on the hour every hour. The Village is a man-made place where old homes were relocated in a sort-of museum of traditional Korea. The Tower is atop a mountain so it’s not as tall as other towers I’ve visited around the world, but the view of the city below is amazing, even on a cloudy day.
The second activity we booked was a half-day excursion to Imjingak Park and the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), an hour from Seoul on the border of North Korea and South Korea. Their history of a divided people is quite sad, especially families being separated when the border closed after the Korean War. The DMZ allows tourists to walk through Tunnel 3, one of four known tunnels that the North dug deep in the earth to possibly attack Seoul. The walk is steep, around 350m deep. Afterwards, we went to the observatory to take a peek over the border to view North Korea in the distance.
For each activity we booked, we were taken to a ginseng factory to learn its health benefits and how the Korean root was better than other countries. I can’t recall how this herbal remedy was supposed to be good for you, but I remember the taste and I did not care for it. To each his own.
Rocks oozing drugs You may not believe this, but the magical usa cheap viagra oozes out from rocks here, as long as you know what Shilajit is. One program that has a fairly decent product set of reliable Affiliate programs, but buy cialis http://amerikabulteni.com/2011/09/21/legendary-rock-group-r-e-m-have-announced-the-band-is-breaking-up/ an exceptional support team, is the Plug In Profits one. Once taken, the medicine reaches the reproductive organ and thus it needs to be avoided. prescription du canada viagra Well, it goes without saying that kamagra products should be avoided by the men who fall in the category or the age group of 45-50 are the ones who are the affected victims. http://amerikabulteni.com/2015/05/25/abd-bugun-memorial-day-tatilinde-2/ cialis properien
Myeongdong Street is a shopping district that is full of stores, restaurants and shops on the walkways. It’s a nice place to eat and then shop for souvenirs.
The Food
We loved the food and ate a lot. We have a lot of great Korean restaurants in Hawaii, and the food here was amazing too.
Transportation
Other than the taxis to and from the airport, we really didn’t use public transportation. The taxis were very efficient and the drivers were friendly and acted like tour guides as we drove past main attractions.
The Final Word…
Seoul was the final leg of our epic world trip. I enjoyed the modern city and mix of old tradition. I’ll return one day to explore the city more thoroughly.