Day 57: Priceless Precious Palace

(Try saying that five times fast!)

I woke up today and it was so sunny and SO WARM outside! It was such a beautiful day I couldn't wait to get outside and be in the sunshine and fresh air. I wanted to do something 'touristy' in the city, but couldn't find any of my friends who were free, so I thought 'to hell with it!' I'm just gonna go and play tourist all on my own. I have had several friends rave about this one palace in Seoul that's supposed to be the most spectacular of all the ancient palaces, so I thought today would be a perfect day to go and check it out. I hopped on the train and made my way into the city.

By the time I got into Seoul and had lunch, and then made my way over to the famous Changdeokgung Palace, it was already 3pm! Luckily for me there was an English tour of the palace beginning at 3:30pm so it really was perfect timing. Changdeokgung is the largest and best preserved of all of Seoul's palaces, and has even been deemed with the much-coveted status of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Because of how priceless this palace is to Korea, well to all of humanity actually, you are not allowed to wander through it freely like you can at the other palaces. The *only* way to see Changdeokgung is through an organized tour.

The tour began with the Changing of the Guards ceremony which just happened to be right before our tour, and that was really cool to watch. The costumes worn by the guards back then are brilliant and ornate, reflecting the wealth, prosperity, and unequalled status of the ancient Korean Royal Family. The tour was about 90 minutes long and was absolutely breathtaking. I can see why this palace is so treasured and beloved. Even though the many buildings that make up the palace have been burned down at least 4 times over the centuries, they've always been rebuilt and restored exactly to their original splendour. Wandering through the palace grounds literally feels like you're being transported back in time to a period centuries ago. Changdeokgung is massive in size, and is especially maginificent because it still has all of its original palace grounds and 'secret gardens', which are at least as big as the actual palace grounds themselves. The entire site is the size of a small town with its own private forest, and its beauty is absolutely stunning. I took tons of pictures but I know that when I see them they just won't do it justice at all.

I would have loved to have been able to just wander and explore through the palace and the gardens on my own for a whole day, but alas, the fear of damage caused by foot traffic or fire is so high that you really are restricted in what you can touch and see. Most of the buildings you can only look into, (not enter), and most of the forest is off limits to the public. Even with these limitations, one is still swept off their feet with Changdeokgung. A flight all the way across the Pacific is truly worth it just to see the magnificence of this place. I feel so blessed just to have been able to see it with my own eyes. To think of all the kings and royalty that have lived and died here, all the generations that have come and gone, all the fires and wars and storms that this palace has weathered, all the centuries that have flown by like the wind....and yet it's still here, still almost perfectly intact....it just blows me away.

After the palace tour, I went and strolled through Insadong, then did some shopping at MusicLand. I bought myself two CD's that I'm very excited to own - Fleetwood Mac's 'Greatest Hits', and Boney M's 'Gold! - 20 Super Hits!' Two excellent albums indded - gotta love impulse shopping!!! I wandered down to Kyobo Bookshop and browsed through all the titles there for a while as well. Such a nice relaxing afternoon!!!

I then went and met Kevin for dinner at 7pm at Jonggak Subway Station. Kevin is Michael's friend that I met last week and is a really nice Korean guy. Of all the Koreans I've met here so far, his English probably is the best. We went and had a really delicious dinner at a Korean restaurant. The restaurant was in Insadong and was super cool - the area that we ate in had a roof SO LOW that everybody who enters has to crouch down to get to their table - it's probably no higher than 5'8" I'm guessing! Makes for a really cool cozy atmosphere for sure! We ordered bibimbap which is my *most favourite* Korean dish by far!! It's a boiling hot stone bowl full of rice and various steaming veggies (most of which I can't identify but that's okay.) They then crack open an egg and throw it on top - it's so hot in the bowl that the egg cooks right there on top of your food before your eyes. You then add some spicy red paste hot sauce, mix it all together, and chow down. IT'S SO GOOD!!!! After dinner we went and had some chocolate brownie dessert at Starbucks and just chilled for a while.

It was then getting a bit late and I had a party to head off so I said my goodbyes to Kevin and then hopped on the subway. Brad's friend Jeremy was having a housewarming party at his new apartment and I was invited along to the party and then to crash at Brad's. I took the train all the way out to Ilsandong which is the new town that Brad and all of them live in. (Note the difference between Insadong - the historic shopping street in Seoul, and Ilsandong, the suburban New Town NW of Seoul.) The party was nice and mellow and sociable - I had met Jeremy and his girlfriend Jill before and they're really friendly people. All the gang was there - Brad, Andrea, Steve, Amy, Emily, Kelsey, and plus a few new faces too. It was cool to just to chat with everybody, enjoy a few beers, and enjoy the view of Ilsan from 15 floors up. About 2 hours later or so Brad, Andrea, Steve and myself left the party and went over to Brad's place. We rented a movie ('Bruce Almighty' - an okay film) and sat and ate cookies and chocolate-covered strawberries that Brad whipped up for us. YUMMY!!!! Steve and Andrea left after the movie and Brad and I stayed up pretty late just chatting about all sorts of things, and then finally went to bed around 4am.

Another wonderful amazing day here in Korea!