Top Five Things to do in Seoul

There are so many things to do in a city like Seoul, that is really easy to stay there for weeks and not get bored. I was only there for 5 days and had to take a pick. Here's what I did.

• Sleep or eat in a traditional Hanok
  A  Hanok is a traditional Korean house and there are plenty of these to be found in Bukchon Hanok Village in the northern part of the centre. This area, which is straddled by the two main palaces in Seoul, has lots of quirky shops, eateries and places to stay. I'd heard that the paper thin walls of a Hanok meant hearing more from your neighbours than you'd like to, so I opted for just having lunch in one. 

• Visit the palaces
  There are 4 palaces in Seoul,but if you need to pick go with Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung Palace. With its mountainous backdrop, the setting of Gyeongbokgung Palace is pretty stunning and you can watch the changing of the guards here as well. Changdeokgung Palace has a 'secret garden' that is well worth a wander around. 

• Have a coffee with a cat (or a dog)
  As most Seoulites live in high rise buildings, many don't have the space to own a pet. Hence the omnipresent pet cafes. Health and safety issues aside, what could possibly be better than having a cat cuddle with your coffee?

• Hike through Namsam Park and go up the Seoul Tower
  The park is great for hiking and Seoulites make good use of it. The tower is considered to be the most romantic spot in town and THE place to take your date. And judging by the many love padlocks attached to the railings at the bottom of the tower, many couples do. The tower is also good for taking in far reaching views of Seoul, even for singles.

• Eat street food at a night market
  Namdaemun is one of those markets and I happened to be staying right next to it. This is a 24 hours market with stalls spread out across several blocks. At night the food stalls open up shop and serve all kind of local dishes. On my first night, I was lured into a tent by a woman who only spoke Korean and enjoyed some bibimbap and chicken. I think. 

Heyri Art Village in South Korea

Seoul can get a bit crazy after a few days, so daytrips to the countryside are a nice break from all the glitter and neon madness. I had read about an art village called Heyri, which is located a short bus ride away from Seoul and that sounded very much like my cup of tea. I downloaded some directions on how to get there from the web and decided to check it out.

 The bus ride there was quite adventurous already. Not just because the bus signs are all in Korean and the drivers don’t speak anything else but Korean, but mostly because you drive along the Han River which is part of the border with North Korean. The road that runs along the river is lined with military watchtowers and barbed wire making it all look very ominous.

It all becomes a bit more friendly once you get to Heyri. Here it’s all about peace, nature and art. When I got off the bus it looked a bit industrial at first, but as I walked further along and deeper into the heart of Heyri, it became really artsy fartsy. Heyri is a cultural centre which was built by a bunch of artists back in 1995 who wanted to create a place where they could live and work outside of Seoul and be closer to nature.

It doesn’t look like a standard village as we know it. First of all there’s no high-street with loads of shops, takeaway places and supermarkets nor is there a main square or common. Instead the streets are lined with artists’ studios, galleries and quirky museums and meander through ponds and grassy and flowery fields. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants too. Secondly you can tell that this village is inhabited by creative minds as most of the buildings have a unique design and are made of unusual materials like container boxes.

 The first thing I place I went into was the Old Korea museum with a random collection of Manneken Pis and Buddha statues out front. It turned out to be a museum about life in Korea from the 60s till now with life size and life like displays of shops, schools and offices. It is kind of like a miniature village which is spread out across three floors really with all kinds of stuff on display, ranging from old typewriters, motorcycles and paper clippings of Dutch football coach Guus Hiddink. (He's kind of a hero in South Korea.)

My second stop was a museum that showcased hundreds of instruments from all over the world, with several available to play with. Not feeling very musical I moved on to a Gallery with a collection of what they called trick art. There were numerous rip offs of famous artists like Van Gogh and Warhol hanging on the wall, albeit with a twist. Some of them were interactive inviting visitors to be part of the art work and hold a wineglass or snap a body builder’s speedos.

 I walked around for a good couple of hours browsing the smaller galleries and shops selling clothes, jewelry or home-ware which was all created by local designers. When I started to get a bit peckish. I opted for lunch at spacious bar/restaurant where I treated myself to a glass of wine as well, which was a perfect way to end my art-filled day at Heyri.

Seoul Food Tour

I love travelling solo, but the one single thing I hate about it, is eating solo. So on my trip to Seoul last week I booked myself on a food tour with O'ngo Food Tours. What better way to share a meal and discover a new cuisine.

I happened to be the only one on the tour as the other two people didn't show up, so I had a private VIP tour. Our first stop was a tent in Skirt Alley which owes its name to the many Korean BBQ joints that are located in this narrow street. My guide and I sat down on either side of the round, drum shape table which had a BBQ grill on top. Now the way a Korean BBQ works is that you grill your meat, in our case they were long strips of pork. When done, you cut the strips with scissors and lay them in lettuce leaves, add some kimchi (pickled cabbage) some samjang (spicy paste) or garlic. Wrap it all up and put in your mouth. Then repeat. We washed it all down with a lethal cocktail my guide prepared which consisted of beer, soju and coca cola. Apparently this is what the Seoul kids drink these days.

After we'd finished the meat, we walked over to Insadong where we had a dish called toppoki. Technically toppoki is a snack that is eaten in between meals, but to me it was more like a full-blown meal. The original version is a soupy dish that consists of soft rice cakes, fish cakes and sweet red chili, however we had the royal version which was named that way as it used to be served at the royal court. Our royal version had noodles, some veggies and mini dumplings as well. Here my guide introduced me to makgeolli, a drink that looks a lot like milk, but tastes a lot like sake. Albeit a fizzy one. It used to be a drink drunk by peasants and therefor it's drunk from metal bowls.

Our third meal of the night was another tent where we tried freshly grilled mackerel. My guide explained that these tents were places where locals got together for a quick meal after work and catch up on things. Not my favourite dish of the tour, I admit, but what I did like of the third stop were the cartoons hanging on the tent's walls. My guide told me they were made by a famous local cartoonist and there was one particular drawing showing Kim Jung-Il demanding missile soup. The mackerel was washed down with more makgeolli.

Already feeling quite full, we had one more stop to make. We hopped on a bus and headed to Gwangjang Market, which is Korea's oldest traditional market place. My guide took me to a restaurant that was famous for its Korean omelettes. These omelettes were made of bean paste instead of eggs, and you add onions and bacon. After technically having had three meals already, I only managed to try a few bites. We finished the evening with a few more bowls of makgeolli, before I headed back to the hotel. Feeling slightly tipsy, but a world of culinary knowledge wiser.

Dog Cafe in Seoul

The week the first cat cafe opened its doors in London, I happened to be in Seoul where cat cafes are already so last season. Here they not only have cafes where you can cuddle cats, but there are also plenty of coffee joints where you can play with dogs. One to check out I thought.

It wasn't hard to track one down as I only needed to spot the man size dancing dog standing in the streets of Myongdong holding up a sign for a dog cafe nearby. He pointed me in the right direction and when I found the address I went up the stairs to the fourth floor.

Before I went in I had to swap my Uggs for bath slippers and sanitise my hands. I paid the 8000 won entrance fee which included a drink and after I was given a laminated sheet of strict do's and don'ts I was allowed in.

The 'cafe' looked more like a doggie day care that offers warm drinks than a coffee joint with dogs. The floor was made of easy to clean but very sterile looking tiles. There were tables with orange chairs and pink plastic benches lining the walls. There was a brightly orange bar where you could order your drink and buy treats for the dogs, not for humans. The walls were decorated with dog drawings and photos of the resident dogs doing funny things.

The dogs themselves were very entertaining as well. A group of 4 girls were sitting in a circle all petting dogs that were sitting on their laps. A big golden retriever and a small oddly shaved poodle were running in circles chasing each other around the room. A little pug dog decided to have a little wee against one of the chairs, which was however swiftly cleaned up by the staff. While most dogs were playing with the humans, many dogs were catching Zzzzs on the benches, on the floor or on laps.

I was given a little pointy snouted dog who got comfy on my lap so we sat there for a moment while I drank my coffee. It was  a very relaxing visit I have to say and there's just something about petting an animal. I really do love this concept especially if you can't have a pet of your own and even though the cafe didn't score points for their coffee I left with a big smile on my face. Oh and lots of dog hair on my clothes.

My Travel Wish List for 2014

Photo by Patrick Mayon off Flickr

Wow 2013 has flown by and I am sure 2014 will be no different. Looking back at all the places I went to last year, It’s been a good year. I started the year in Amsterdam, went to see the ruins in Pompeii, got washed off the beaches in Spanish Basque country, toured Andalucía, Eurostarred it to Lille, climbed Ben Nevis in Scotland, explored Hong Kong and China, visited friends in Berlin and finished the year eating Christmas dinner with my family back home in Holland. Not bad, if I say so myself. But a new year calls for New Year’s resolutions and since mine always seem to be travel related, I thought to join in with Emma from Adventures of a London Kiwi and Kelly from 80 Pairs of Shoes and create a travel wish-list for 2014. So here goes:

Newcastle in Feb

Not the most exotic of places, you might think, but I will be attending a bloggers conference here organised by Travelmassive. I’ve never been to Newcastle, so I’m very curious to explore a bit of this Geordie city. And time permitting, perhaps take in a chunk of Hadrian’s Wall while I’m up there.

Seoul in March

I've heard it is very much like Japan, and since I loooooved visiting Tokyo, I can’t wait to explore this quirky Asian metropolis.

Europe or Britain some time this year

This one is still up in the air, but since I’m a newby at Trafalgar Tours, I will be going on a famil to somewhere in Europe. Watch this space.

Lake District April or May

Having climbed Snowdon in 2012 and Ben Nevis in 2013, 2014 I shall be climbing Scafell Pike. It should be a piece of cake given that it is the lowest of the UK’s three peaks, but let’s see.

Hudson Valley in December

I love the Hudson Valley, especially when taking a train from Albany to NYC. But this year I would like to go for a different reason all together. I’d like to attend the St Nicolas celebrations in Rhinebeck, New York. Dutch colonists left many traces in the Hudson Valley and these St Nicolas celebrations are an example of that. I’d really like to see how this traditionally Dutch holiday is celebrated across the pond.

Kerala in August

This will be a trip of firsts: My first time to India and my first press trip as a travel blogger.

I’m sure this list will look a lot different when I look back at 2014 on the 31^st of December, but wherever I will end up going, 2014 will be a fabulous travel year. Just like 2013.