It was a pleasant flight from Vladivostok to Seoul. The airport in Russia was so cheap that I drank lattes and ate pizzas for hours and only spent £3.50. Finding things cheap and cheerful would end once I landed at Seoul. First of all I had to get through their immigration and after an hour later I was finally ready for the bus into town.
I hopped on one of the many buses that go into the centre. There are over 20 buses and luckily my hotel gave me the number I needed to get me to the hotel. As usual I had full instructions of how to get to the hotel. Unfortunately they only work if you get off at the right stop. I got off one stop too late and added a 20 minute walk. I finally reached my hotel in the Dongdaemun District. This was a market district full of shopping opportunities. My hotel was nestled between a dirty alleyway with a seedy club and local bar. The hotel was tiny but surprisingly with many rooms. They were just very close to each other. It was the cheapest option for me that was not a hostel.
I wandered about late at night as I needed to make sure I knew where the nearest supermarket was and where to change money. The supermarket which was the cheapest for my budget was a good ten minute walk away. There were 7 11s nearby but I soon found out how expensive everything is in Seoul. I also found the best bakery in the world. Emma’s Bakery which is 2 minutes from my hotel is wonderful. The bakery right next to my hotel was disgusting. Emma’s Bakery had my favourite custard bun and it is by far the best custard bun I have ever tasted in all my travels around the world. It was not that expensive but when you eat as many as I do, it does get pricey. It cost me about 50p so I bought on average 6 a day.
The first thing I wanted to do was the DMZ tour. Unfortunately I had arrived at an awkward time as North and South were at each other’s throats at the moment. Some bombs have been set off around the DMZ area so tours were all suspended. I tried to book it as soon as I arrived but they were not taking any bookings.
Instead of the DMZ I went exploring this mega city. Seoul is huge. It is so big I think I need a week to see all of it. I started at Seoul station and eventually found the Palace. It was a hot day and everything was glaring in the sun light. I walked all over Myundong, Insadong and Bukchon districts. Bukchon is like a show village with beautiful old fashioned designed houses. What was very quirky was the architecture although in the traditional style, the front doors had Samsung pads attached to it. Basically to enter you would have to enter your code on the pad. Very 21st century.
During my walk I managed to find a tourist info place that booked me in for a DMZ tour. I was quite excited as I thought they were all cancelled. I guess the bombings had stopped and the peace talks were successful.
I was to wait at 7am outside my hotel for the pick-up. The bus came on time and picked me up. It took me to another district to wait for the official tour bus. After 30 minutes of waiting the coach arrived but with bad news. They said the talks were not successful so the DMZ tour would be cancelled. They would do a War Memorial tour instead. I declined and went exploring myself for free. I was disappointed that it was cancelled and wondered if I was ever going to see the DMZ from the south side.
I wandered about the War Memorials viewing their amazing giant statues. I walked for miles around the Gangnam District and ended up in Dongdaemun again. I was exhausted with all the walking but I was trying to save my subway money.
The subway is wonderful and is cheaper than the UK but compared to Russia it was more than double. It was roughly $1 a ride and not sure if this was capped so I tried to budget 2 rides a day. After a few rides I realised it was easy enough to walk through the barriers when there were no officials around. This is obviously a terrible thing to do but I only got this idea when all the barriers were down on Sunday. Apparently you sometimes get free rides on Sundays. I only realised that the barriers were soft when I accidently walked through it when my card didn’t open it. I only used my hotel card instead of the subway pass by mistake. But I was surprised when I got past it so the idea came to me to try again when it was quiet.
The next morning I was flying to Jeju Island. I wanted to do as much of Seoul as I was missing out on the DMZ. I decided to visit Namsan Park to see the Seoul Tower. The views from above were great. Seoul is such a mega metropolis. The buildings are huge and vast.
I arrived on Jeju Island during a mini storm. It was dark and it was raining heavily. I found a lovely and friendly tourist person who explained to me how to get into the city and he provided me with numerous maps. The journey was approximately 20 minutes and the instructions I got from the hostel was very exact. I got off at the correct stop and walked 1 minute before finding my hostel behind some shops. I chose a hostel as it was my cheapest option. Hotels on the island are very expensive and the inexpensive ones are further away from the city. I chose one with my own room with private facilities and breakfast, although you had to get the breakfast yourself. The hostel was mostly DIY but each room came with an iPad which I found strange. After checking in I usually wander about trying to find the nearest place to buy drinks and snacks. I would have ventured further but the storm was getting worse and I nearly got blown away. I stepped into the nearest mini mart and got what I needed before falling into a deep sleep.
The next morning after a long lie in as it was still raining, I went looking for the main bus terminal so I could explore the island. Even though the island is small, there is so much to do. It is jam packed with so many museums and sights. The museums are all weird and wonderful. I took a local bus to Seogwipo which was south of the island. It is a fishing town with an eco-habitat islet that connects the town with a bridge that looks like something you find in Dubai. While I was there I fancied a submarine tour. It was a bit pricey so decided against it as I remember doing one when I was in Hawaii.
I then took the Eastern route bus which was really long but I got a general idea of the rest of the island. The day before I was desperately looking for a tour to join. Luckily I they managed to fit me in on an East Island Tour. It was quite expensive but I was tired of exploring and wanted someone to drive me around. At least lunch was included and it was the famous black pork. Apart from the fatty bits, it was quite delicious. On this tour I saw short Jeju Island horses with pot bellies, black pigs and an old folk village which is still being used to this day. We saw the famous old lady divers who had an average age of 68 years and the oldest lady was 85 years old. They were really cute with their wetsuits on and diving gear. I can’t believe how they can go diving at their age but they are the best on the island. We also visited sunrise peak, Woljeaong Beach and the lava tube in Manjang Cave.
The next day I went to the bus terminal again and took a bus heading west. I got off the nearest town near a small island I wanted to visit. I think it is called Udo Island. The walk to the coast from town was about 3 kms and it was really hot. On the walk I saw many cuttle fish on the washing line drying in the sun. There must have been thousands. I finally ended up in Chagwido and I found a boat excursion and joined it. I was the only English speaker and it was pretty much DIY again. The skipper sailed the boat to Udo Island and we got off not really knowing what to do. I didn’t realise we were on the island for 2 hours and there was a trekking route. I followed it like the others but there was no guide. We just did it. We walked up and down and through hedges and long silvery grass for what seemed like miles. The heat was strong nearly 30 degrees. I was drenched in sweat. Walking uphill is hard in normal weather but so excruciating in such heat. I met with a local family who wanted to take a photo of me with them. They didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Korean but we managed and finished the trek. We waited at the docking area for nearly an hour before our boat came along. Many boats came and went but didn’t take us back to the main island. So I stayed out in the sun on the pier sunbathing which the locals found very amusing. They were sitting in the shade.
I spent so long on this boat trip I was wary of the time to get back into town. I knew I had at least 3 kms walk and some waiting time for another bus to take me south. As I was walking I heard a car beep and it stopped by me. It was the family who I saw on the boat trip. They asked where I was heading and I showed them on my map. They told me to get in. I thought they would just take me into town but they took me all the way to Mount Sangkson and they saved me over an hour. They were so lovely and helpful; they even gave me a present to take with me. I wasn’t quite sure what it was. I thought it might be a sweet or mint but from her explanation it actually was a dehydrated towel. Pop it in water and you get a towel. I said thank you and went on my merry way.
I wasn’t going to climb the mountain as I didn’t have time. I wish I did but it was already 4pm and it was starting to get dark and I was so hungry. I took some pictures and headed for the Dunkin Donut for my custard treat. I walked along the beach and saw surfers. I walked along a hiking trail and eventually into another town. I really needed to find a bus back to Jeju City as I didn’t want to be stranded out at night. I was annoyed that I didn’t even have time to visit the Love Museum. With some of the locals help I found the right bus and got back to the hostel.
The next day I was lazy and spent the morning at the hostel having a long breakfast, watching movies and then having lunch before getting the bus back to Seoul. I was looking forward to a more upmarket hotel near the Gimpo District. The hotel was 3 subway stops from the airport and it did not disappoint. My room was fabulous and the bathroom was even better. It was open plan throughout which means the corridor led to the bedroom and then the bathroom and then to the toilet and shower room and there were no doors at all. My bed was huge and my TV was bigger. The toilet was a smart toilet and I was in heaven.
I love smart toilets and they are everywhere in Korea. Even the public toilets are wonderful and it is free and so clean. The seat is heated; you can have a little shower down below and the smart toilet in my hotel you can even blow dry your bits too. The best bit about the toilets was their modesty button. If you were bladder shy like me, you would press a button and flushing noise or music would be pumped into your cubicle and you can go to the toilet without anyone hearing you. I told you I was in heaven as this is my perfect toilet. Unfortunately the button in the subway toilet was not what I thought it was and it was actually a panic or help button. I pressed it twice to get the music but all I got was a man saying hello in Korean. I quickly exited the toilet just in case some official burst in thinking I needed help. That would have been embarrassing.
During my orientation of my fabulous room I got an email from a tour company confirming my place on their DMZ tour. The ceasefire talks were successful and the tours were now up and running. The only place we couldn’t visit was Panmunjom but that wasn’t the tour I selected anyway so I was happy. The only problem was I had to meet them in the city and Gimpo was not on their pick up list. This meant I had to get up so very early and miss breakfast in order to meet the group at the starting point of the tour. I had this niggling feeling that they may cancel and I just spent nearly 2 hours getting to the meeting point only to be told it’s off. Luckily this did not happen.
It’s been a while since I was amongst so many people in a tour. I guess once the DMZ was open everyone booked at the same time. I didn’t like the crowds and tour bus convoys and I hated the noise more. People were talking constantly. The guide had an argument with someone who didn’t care for time keeping and kept the whole bus waiting for 15 minutes. Why the guide didn’t just leave without him is beyond me?
I visited the DMZ on North Korean side in 2007 and the tour was more intense as it was a full day. This was just a morning tour and so touristy. What I mean is, it is solely done in the name of tourism even down to the lines drawn on the ground for where you can take a photo of the North Korean side. I remember being in awe and almost anxious when visiting on the other side. This South Korean side had turned this reverential place into a circus. This was such a shame as I don’t think the visitors really learned about what happened here all those years ago. In fact still is happening today. They just want to take a photo and go somewhere new.
My favourite bit of the whole tour is the tunnel walk. It was nearly 2 kms to the end and it kept getting narrower and shorter. It was a good thing we wore hard hats as I hit my head several times. The tunnel was slopping down so walking up was much harder. My muscles were hurting the following day. I also enjoyed the movie they showed about all the tunnels the North Korean dug. It was like a Hollywood movie. Most of the information on there was just as farcical. After that we visited Dorsan Station which is South Korea’s most northern train station and it has been closed since it was built. Everything was new from the trains to the empty waiting rooms. Maybe one day the Koreas will be friendly again and travel between the two sides will be normal and this station will be full of people.
On my last day I managed to get a free ride to Jeonju. This place is home to an old historic town. Most of it is pedestrianised and the architecture kept as it was with some modern twists of course. It was a quaint little place but very crowded with locals and foreigners. I guess this was the place to be. What I liked seeing was the locals dressed up in traditional costumes which made the place look more authentic rather than an equivalent Disneyland in Korea.
