Last Night in the Orient

Tonight is our last night in Seoul. We have decided against going to Singapore. We are ready to go home! Tomorrow we will depart Incheon at 3:15pm and arrive in San Francisco at 8:20am the same day. It's a time warp.

Today we visited Gyeongbokgung also known as The Palace of Shining Happiness. I found it odd that this monstrous estate shared the same name as my 500 square foot condo in Denver, Colorado. This place is huge. It was originally built in 1395 but has been destroyed and rebuilt a few times. It is a true Asian expression in architecture. I say Asian because it borrows from Chinese, Japanese and of course Korean style. Inside the walls of the palace are 13 individual structures that embody the palace. I would guess the size of the estate to be about 80 acres. We had perfect timing on our exit because as we were leaving we got to see the changing of the guards ceremony.

We decided to head up to Seoul Tower. The tower sits atop a hill in Namsan Park. We had to take a gondola to the summit. I have a bit of a fear of chair lifts. I am not as scared of the chair lifts as I am of the cable breaking. I was a bit tense about riding the gondola. I am happy to report that the cable stayed intact. It was a bit unnerved when the gondola took off and all I could see was Seoul sinking below me. I just looked down and pretended I was on the subway. The ride down was much better because it was dark, and for some reason that is easier. Anyway, We made it to the top of the hill. We then, of course, took a elevator the rest of the way to the top of the tower. The view from the top was awesome. Seoul is huge. It helped me understand how the city is laid out. The bathrooms up there are super cool. The urinals face the window, so while you pee you have a spectacular view. We sat and enjoyed a couple of beers while the sun set. We met a very nice German guy named Andrew. He is in Seoul fixing a piece of medical equipment. We talked to him for a couple of hours.

After the gondola ride down we headed for dinner. We had Korean Barbecue at Itaewon Galbi. It was very good. We ordered two big slabs of meat. The waitress stood right there and cooked out meat for us. Along with the meat came 7 side dishes. They love their sides up in there. One of the side dishes was Kimchi. Kimchi is fermented cabbage. I just don't think fermented and cabbage belong anywhere near each other. Koreans love red chili paste. It is everywhere and comes on everything. I really like it. Angi does not. Even on the flight from Hanoi to Seoul the flight attendant handed us each a small tube of red chili paste to accompany our meal. I thought is was an awesome and fitting last dinner for us to have in the Orient.