Day 7 – 이천 십이 년 구월 이십구 일 [토요일 ] 2012 September 29 [Saturday]
Part 3 >> Gwanghwamun and Cheonggyecheon
Samcheongdong was sandwiched between Gwanghwamun and Cheongwadae. Cheongwadae (청와대 or Hanja 靑瓦臺), the Blue House, is the presidential residence. According to Korea Travel Guide and some websites, there are tours conducted within Cheongwadae but reservations must be made 3 weeks in advance via online application [http://english.president.go.kr/tours/cwd_tours/cwd_tours.php]. However, I think the 60 minutes tour are only conducted in Korean and there are no interpretation services provided and individual tour guides are not available. Unless you are very proficient in Korean (unlike me), you would not be able to understand / appreciate the tour. As side entrance to Cheongwadae is beside Samcheongdong, there are military guards on duties, but I did not take photos of them on duties cos not sure if it is permitted… haha, I am such a coward… *Think too much perhaps*
Studying the map again, realised that Cheonggyecheon (청계천 or Hanja 清溪川) was located within walking distance from Insadong, so I backtracked towards Jonggak Subway Station. Jongno Tower was at Exit No.3 of Jonggak Subway Station, walking pass Jongno Tower, crossing Gwanggyo, you would find the staircase to walk down and walk along Cheonggyecheon.
Reached Cheongyecheon in the evening, as the day was still bright, I went down to walk along the stream towards Dongdaemun (half the distance of the entire stream). There are 22 bridges over Cheonggyecheon, near to Dongdaemun was bridge no. 15 known as Malgeunnaedari. As day turns dark rather fast, I could only turn back at bridge no. 8 Seungyo before it got too dark. 
Tonight also marked the last night I stayed in Seoul Tower Ville, I would be shifting to Namsan Guesthouse 3 when Julie arrived tomorrow morning. Although there was daily uphill walk from Myeongdong to get back to Seoul Tower Ville, I had enjoyed staying in the very comfortable room, excluding the inconsiderate neighbours…
Insadong, Samcheongdong and Bukchon made me feel the tradition are keeping up with the modernization… It was not left behind.
As yesterday was caught in the rain and couldn’t enjoyed Insadong, I was back for a second visit. Although it was a weekend (and only 1 day difference), it was soooooo quiet. Many Koreans had gone back to their hometown or their parents’ hometown to prepare for Chuseok [추석] on 30 September 2012. Chuseok is a 3-days public holiday in Korea although most of other Asian countries such as Singapore and Malaysia did not classified it as public holiday. Chuseok is known as Mid-Autumn Festival [中秋節] in Singapore and Malaysia, we celebrated by having mooncakes (traditional one are baked with lotus paste filling) with chinese tea with families and friends while children carried lanterns…
I liked the alleys in Insadong. Although quite a lot of the shops in these alleys were closed due to Chuseok, I enjoyed the opportunity to walk these alleys quietly. Enjoyed the walk so much that I decided to extend the walk to explore Samcheongdong and Bukchon. If you loved walking in the city, I think you would enjoyed this route too…
Since it was raining, I asked her if she has other places to explore, and she mentioned she need to go Kwangjang Market [광장시장] (Jongno 5-ga Station) to get silk cloth, Namdaemun [남대문 / 南大門] for brooches and then proceed to MyeongDong to meet up with her friends. I asked to tag along and she agreed. We spent some time wandering around Kwangjang, trying to find a shop no. 187 which was supposed to be selling silk at very reasonable prices. Kwangjang also have many stalls selling different goods, both edible and daily goods. When we found the shop, it was a shop selling buttons… (T_T)lll Still, Zarina was able to get her silk after browsing more shops. Then we took another train to Namdaemun for brooches hunting. It was really an eye-opener for me to see so many stalls side by side selling huge variety of accessories (necklaces / ear-rings / brooches etc). Was still raining but had great fun before heading back to MyeongDong for short rest while Zarina went off to meet her friends.
Only get out to travel to Samgakji Kooridoor to settle payment for DMZ tour reserved on Saturday 6 October 2012. Bought snack from Samgakji Station as I passed by because the aromatic smell was too irresistible.
Back to MyeongDong, did a big loop, no sales person in MyeongDong ‘pestered’ me to buy things… Guess I really don’t look / dress like a shopper… Tiger Balm was sold in MyeongDong for ₩6,000 a bottle! Back to Seoul Tower Ville to rest further from too much walking in Gyeongju. I got to watch ‘Running Man’ in HD!
Walking to the museum leads me to pass Wolseong Moat and Gyerim Forest before reaching the museum. Free Admission to the museum. As I only had less than half a day, I could not covered the entire museum > only managed to cover the special exhibition hall and the main hall. *Museum Volunteers are on ‘duty’ on Wednesdays in the main hall. I had the opportunity to meet one where I was blessed with more indepth knowledge of the exhibits. Non-flash photography are allowed in this museum too. Not going to upload the countless photos taken in the special exhibition hall and main hall because I believe a actual visit would do more justice to the museum. I would definitely be back to cover the museum, maybe even allocate an entire day for it.
Rushing back from the museum around 1110hrs to check out of Sa Rang Chae, I found I have some time to enjoy my lunch (walking distance from Sa Rang Chae too) before leaving collecting my luggage, took a cab from Sa Rang Chae to the Express Bus Terminal ₩2,200 to catch my bus.
The hike was fine till I passed Geumobong and went for a toilet break. Saw the sign to Yangjang Village, walking towards it, clearing the three ‘short’ ropes [used to pull yourself down safely], with confirmation from a high school principal in Suwon who was doing his own trek, but along the descending, somehow the directional signs disappeared and doubts started forming… I was LOST in the mountain!!! As I could not hear any other sounds of hikers, I backtracked up the way I had descended. Am really relieved to see a group of Korean University Students. They were really sweet! There were 6 of them, 5 of them went ahead while 1 paced me and we conversed in simple English and Japanese > he was much more comfortable to converse in Japanese as he had stayed in Japan for few months for his industrial attachment. The 5 who were ahead of us would make regular stops and even offered me water. Was told that they couldn’t converse in English so they speed ahead to avoid talking to me. (@_@)lll This group of students were from Seoul and they rented an apartment in Gyeongju with intention to hike Namsam. They would be back to hike another side of Namsam the next day! We finished the descend around 1630hrs. I am really thankful for their help, can’t think what would happened if I didn’t found them, but I totally forget to take photos with them and didn’t even asked for their names.
usaginotabi 