When I arrived in Korea in April, just after winter, there was little greenery. The trees were mostly brown and lifeless looking, but when I left the whole scene had changed. Lush green foliage on trees, the ground cover green with various grasses, and in the fields the new rice crops were like a painting of green - pale green, dark green, bright green.
In the cities the pots that had been planted with annuals were showing their blooms, petunias, poppies, penta's, and so forth. Great splashes of colour everywhere. Hanging baskets of petunias from power poles, dotted the streetscapes.
In some places there was a lot of colour. I'm always frustrated being in a bus, which makes it very hard to take good photos, but I managed some out of the window of my bus from Incheon to Seoul.
One of the other features was the climbing plants that covered the entrance to bridges, or wrapped around dreary cement columns.
In some places, especially traffic intersections which were often surrounded by lawned areas, there were amazing plots of colour, just like this one above.
I had a day to spend in Seoul before my flight to Brisbane. I had pondered a trip to the DMZ, but in the end I chose to have a quieter day, and in the end caught the bus from the airport to Gyeongbokgun Station which is right near the Gyeongbokgung Palace.
The bus stopped near the station, but initially I found it difficult to find my way to the Palace, but I ventured underground into the train station and discovered directions there. Interestingly it took me through two galleries which were fascinating and as I climbed the stairs out in into the sunshine I found myself in the grounds of the Palace.
When I looked towards the Palace I could see guards in uniform. This excited me as I enjoy the traditions of countries and it is clearly a golden opportunity to show more than just the buildings. And what a golden photo opportunity.
I couldn't work out if it was a changing of the guards, or just some exercise the guards do - as I imagine standing still for long periods would not be easy. They marched in formation out into the grounds in front of the gate of the Palace, and hundreds of cameras clicked.
I had been told that at 1.30 pm there would be a tour of the Palace with an English speaking tour guide, and I had time to explore inside on my own before going back to meet the tour guide at the appointed time.
I had quite a good look around on my own, and discovered that at 2 pm there was going to be a re-enactment of an event known as the King's Banquet, so I planned to do that too.
The Palace is at the foot of a mountain - a delightful spot. Nearby is the Blue House - (not to be confused with "the White House" of US fame, but the house of the South Korean President) - again in beautiful surroundings. I could have spent many hours within the grounds of the Palace, so will visit again if I am lucky enough to visit Seoul again.
My booking in was painless. The guy on the desk spoke English and everything was fine. I set off to my room on the 7th floor. Oh, what luxury after where I have been living.
I was a little hungry and didn't like the Room Service Menu so went to explore the restaurant downstairs. Oh, what bliss.
A glass of white wine. Korean Reisling. Great. I had two glasses. Then I had a Smoked Salmon Waldorf Salad. Again a great meal, although it was entre and very small, and then the dessert. Now I'm not usually keen on cheesecake and had opted for the cheese and biscuits but was told it was a huge plate, so I chose the cheesecake. I'm not usually a fan of cheesecakes, but this was exceptional!
I would rate this meal as one of the top meals I have every had. Simple, tasty and the service was exceptional. So if you every visit Seoul, I'd recommend the Best Western Incheon Airport Hotel!!!
I managed to get to Seoul one Sunday. A friend was arriving from Australia so I caught a bus from Jeonju and travelled the 3 hours to Seoul. A lady I had met previously was there to meet me, and we went to a wonderful restaurant for lunch. The bus trip was very comfortable, but a long time to sit on the bus, and I was keen to walk around when I arrived.
The restaurant had an all you could eat buffet and we had a glass of Chardonnay too. Quite civilised. It was in the big Seoul bus station which was very flash. The bus trip was very comfortable, but a long time to sit on the bus, but I did enjoy sitting at the restaurant.
The Restaurant was called Muscus and was an award winning place. After our rather long lunch, and after we'd eaten more than we should have we walked around the department store which was above the bus station.
Wow! A very upmarket place called Shinsegae, which backs on to the Seoul Marriot Hotel. We walked around a little, but time was short as we had to catch a bus to Incheon Airport, which was an hour away.
So back on a bus, and we were soon out of the city proper and travelled for a long way on a road beside the Han River. It was a lovely sunny day and thousands of people were picnicking along the banks of the river in the many parks.
It is a wide and beautiful river. The airport must be on the northern side of the river and there are quite a few motorways, bridges and expressways going in all directions. As we approached Incheon Aiport it was interesting to see the mountains in sandbanks along the rivers edge. I'd never seen anything like it. Not flat with little gutters the way it is at low tide anywhere I have been, but quite large areas with deep narrow water courses through out. I'll post a picutre, but as it was taken out of a moving bus, it does not give a clear picture. There were grasses growing on the sandbanks, so maybe it is some sort of seaweed.
We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, so had a cup of coffee, while we waited. The planewas not listed on the huge arrival board (too many planes arriving I think) and I had to ask at Korean Air Information desk and found that Sue had arrived over 20 minutes earlier, so we didn't have a long wait for her. These days it takes a little longer as there are now Swine flu checks.
Soon, Yoomi, Sue and I were chatting on the pavement waiting for yet another bus. Yoomi went in one direction (back to Seoul) and we caught the bus back to Jeonju.
Well - here I am. Korean Airlines safely transported me from Brisbane to Seoul - a long ten hour flight, that apart from the length of time, and the fact that I could no see the television/movie screen _which didn't really bother me, all was well. Food OK - service good.
I must say when I arrived at checkin at Brisbane, with my two cartons of books I nearly freaked at the cost of the excess luggage - over $A900! Thank goodness for credit cards! As it turns out, they reduced it somewhat - for reasons I don't know, but am very grateful, they reduced it to $330! Still a lot of money.
When I arrived at Incheon (Seoul's International Airport) I went through customs without any delay and soon arrived a the arrival hall. Huge. As I expected. But no welcoming party.
Mmmmm. It had occured to me that this might happen - and I was prepared to go to a local hotel, but soon the guy I was expecting arrived. He really only was a couple of minutes late.
He, and another guy and a lovely young lady "collected" me, and took me to the car. By this stage fatigue had really set in, and my cold had freshened, so I was a bit "challenged" to say the least.
It was dusk as we set out on the highway, and soon dark, so there was little to see. The high rise buildings on either side of the highway soon disappeared and we travelled through mountains, through huge long tunnels, and on to our destination.
The guys kept asking if I was hungry - which I wasn't, but in the end we stopped at a roadside place with lots of fast food. I had some noodles and something - I don't know, nor care, what it was but it was OK.
We arrived at my home for the next 10 weeks - a small apartment that I will describe later. How knackered I was. By eyes were streaming, and my cough was persistent. I unpacked a few essentials, made my bed and fell into a deep sleep in an instant.
