Posts in Category: Travel
Tabang and Changdeokgung Palace
History was the theme of the day as we visited a tabang (traditional tea house) in Insadong followed by a quiet afternoon at Changdeokgung Palace and secret garden.
Traditional Teahouse (tabang) in Insadong
신옛찻집 is a small and sunny teahouse (tabang) serving a menu of traditional teas and sweets. We had ssanghwa tea 쌍화차, a medicinal tea made with many different herbs and roots, nuts and seeds. It is rich and dark brown, a little sweet, a little bitter. We also tried a pear and ginger tea 배숙, sweet and spicy. Injeolmi are soft and chewy rice cakes dusted with roasted soy bean powder. They are delicious on their own and an excellent combination with these teas. A warmup for Changdeokgung Palace.
Hotteok 호떡:
I have tried lots of hotteok around Seoul and I always come back to these ones sold from a cart on the main street in Insadong. They are made to order so they are screaming hot and crispy.
Changdeokgung Palace
Changdeokgung and it’s secret garden are great places to come for a long relaxed walk among beautiful buildings, gardens and trees. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. All of the buildings flow with the natural landscape, like they have always been there. I think it is the most beautiful palace in Seoul but, surprisingly, not the most busy or crowded. It is especially pretty in the fall when all the leaves are changing. We were here just after noon today so the sun is high and bright and the colours are a little washed out. The pictures have a cool vintage look to them. Here is an official site with good info Visit Changdeokgung Palace
Beauty in the details….
I am a lightweight chimney enthusiast and this is a good one…
Demonstration at Gwanghwamun and Four Seasons Tour
Before and after our tour of the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, we got to witness democracy in action during a demonstration at Gwanghwamun Square.
Four Seasons Seoul Tour
Today I connected with another old friend from the early kitchen days. I first met Shaun Anthony as a young cook at Canoe many years ago. Since then he has been travelling the world building his skill set and resume while working at some of the industry’s top kitchens. Recently, he became the Executive Chef at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul. This afternoon, he gave us an extensive tour of the beautiful hotel and all of the restaurants and kitchens within. It takes a very special skill set to operate an organization of this size and complexity. I am in awe of my old kitchen comrade and proud to know him. Thanks and congratulations Shaun! Check out this fabulous hotel here: Four Seasons Hotel . I hope I can stay here one day.
Gwanghwamun Demonstration
Koreans have a long tradition of public protest. Almost any Saturday I have been near Gwanghwamun Square there is some type of demonstration happening. Today was a big one. Supporters of Yoon Suk Yeol, the recently impeached South Korean president, were out in the thousands. It was a peaceful demonstration but LOUD. Listen here:
The ruling on his impeachment is due as early as next week. I don’t think I want to be down here when that happens…well…maybe.
Chueotang and Cheonggyecheon
Today I reunited with an old restaurant colleague for chueotang (loach soup) and later took a night walk along Cheonggyecheon stream.
History:
While I was a cook at Canoe Restaurant in Toronto, Gloria (a student from Korea) worked as an intern for a few months. I have not seen her for over 20 years but today we had lunch together at a chueotang restaurant near her home.
Chueotang 추어탕:
Cheonggyecheon Stream:
Tonight we walked home along Cheonggyecheon. The stream cuts through the middle of the city for around 10km. It is peaceful place for a quiet walk surrounded by nature and city lights at the same time. After the Korean War this natural waterway was filled with concrete and the Cheonggyecheon Expressway was built overtop of it. In 2003, the government decided to remove the freeway and restore the stream as part of its urban renewal project. It was all finished by 2005. TWO YEARS! I can’t believe how fast. It is one of my favourite places in Seoul.
Seoul Subway
The Seoul subway is shy about getting photographed.
SOUNDS OF THE SEOUL SUBWAY
The subway system has a few different sounds for different purposes.
This one is for the arrival of a southbound train:
Here is the one for the arrival of a northbound train:
Doors closing/doors opening announcements:
Transfer announcement music: This one is interesting because there is a pre-pandemic song and a post-pandemic song. The new song with an upbeat 4/4 tempo was chosen by Seoul Metro to “give a sense of vitality to citizens as they prepare for a new daily life, now that the end of the pandemic is in sight.”
Pre-pandemic transfer song (you can still hear this one on line 1 sometimes)
Post-pandemic transfer song
If i can get a picture of a naked train later, I will update this post…
Getting Around Seoul
Here is a link to the Seoul Metro website for maps, fares and user guides: Seoul Subway. In Japan, Google maps and Apple maps seem pretty reliable but, I find local mapping apps much easier and much more accurate in Korea. I would recommend using either Naver Map or Kakao Map instead. They both have excellent apps which will work (mostly) with English too.
If you do end up using Google or Apple for directions in either Korea or Japan, I would suggest selecting the “direct” or “easiest” route (if there is a choice) rather than the “fastest” which often goes through alleys, construction sites and backyards to save a few meters. Trust me on this one…
If you enjoy subway sounds, check out this post from Tokyo or this one from Busan.
COEX and Kalguksu
COEX Aquarium
We love aquariums so we went to see the one at Coex Mall in Gangnam. The aquarium was pretty good, lots of sharks and rays. The Coex Mall itself was not that interesting. Just lots of shops and food courts, same as any big mall. There were some cool places to take photos but otherwise, not for me.
COEX Aquarium …in case you want to visit. If you like aquariums there are a few pics of Sumida aquarium in Tokyo in this post.
Kalguksu 칼국수
Hwanghak-dong Flea Market
These are just a few quick snaps of Hwanghak-dong Market. It goes on for blocks and blocks. You can buy anything here but you have to do a little work to find it. It is a fun place full of clothes, books, records, electronics, food, antiques, army surplus, kitchenware, ingredients, car parts…everything!
For a more detailed look at Hwanghak-dong check out this post.
Naksan Wild Cats and Kaesong Mandu Koong
Before heading up Naksan to look for cats and and eat mandu, we had to go to Seoul station:
KTX can’t take payments with foreign cards online right now so we went to Seoul Station to buy tickets. The station is huge and open and full of light and the buzz of travel. There are cafes and food vendors everywhere so you can buy a snack, sit on the steps in the sunshine and wait for your train. And you can go right down to the tracks even if you don’t have a ticket.
Snow and Seollongtang
Snow!!
Today is the first time I have seen snow in Seoul so we decided to go out and take a morning walk around Gwanghwamun Square. We tried to go to Gyeongbokgung Palace to take some pictures but unfortunately it was closed today. You can check here for information and hours..I should have too!
We went to the KBL shop and I got an official LG Twins cap for summertime. I don’t usually wear baseball caps but this one seems to fit well. I like it. Sorry Doosan fans!
Seollongtang
We walked back through Hwanghak-dong. During the day this is a massive outdoor flea market crawling with people. After dark it is empty. I love the look of these old shops when they are closed up…the colours and the signage. Look at that coffee vending machine: it has a print of an old grandpa taking a little kid fishing.
Welcome to Seoul / 도착!
Jeju Air from Tokyo to Seoul
We flew Jeju Air from Tokyo to Seoul. The onboard service was efficient and friendly and we departed right on time. Once I sat down and pulled my seatbelt tight, I began thinking of the tragic Jeju Air accident in Muan that had happened only 2 months earlier. I was a little nervous every time we hit some turbulence and especially during the landing in foul weather. I knew that the chances of something bad happening was almost zero. But watching that crash footage on the news left impressions on me that logical reasoning had no power to erase.
Looking at the faces of the young flights attendants in the jump seats facing me, I wondered if they knew any of the crew onboard Flight 2216. I wondered if the pilots knew each other. I worried about them. After a bit of a rough landing in heavy rain and gusting crosswinds, the plane rolled up to the gate and we walked off into the airport. The flight attendants smiled and thanked us. For some reason, it all felt a little strange. Maybe I was just tired.
Our house in Seoul
Our 19th floor apartment in Sungin-dong is warm and spacious with a big sunny window looking west over the city. We have 2 queen sized beds, a couch and coffee table as well as little kitchen with laundry machine. The floors are heated (best Korean invention). Sungin-dong Airbnb
Dinner with Minu
Minu! For our first meal out, my old friend and coworker took us for BBQ chicken and beers in the neighbourhood. I have known Minu since the early days of Pearl Diver when he was a cook in my kitchen on his working holiday visa from Korea. We meet up every time I come here and I am always happy to see him. For some reason, we always end up eating chicken! And it is always delicious! We have already discussed our next chicken meal : 닭한마리 (kind of a soup that has a whole chicken in it). 🐓 🐓🐓
An afternoon trip turned up some real treasures at Gimbab Records. I’ll post about music later…
Sayonara Tokyo
Where are all the Tokyo food posts??
I think I am kind of tired of taking pictures of food. There are millions of food pictures online and, for me, they don’t have a lot of impact anymore. On this trip I am enjoying my meals without documenting them too much. The less I involve my phone in my meals, the more I seem to enjoy the food and the company I am sharing it with. In fact, the less I let my smartphone interrupt my experiences in general, the more I seem to enjoy whatever I am doing. I do miss the engagement with posts on social media a little bit. Writing on a site like this, you sometimes wonder if anyone is even reading it. I guess we are all a bit addicted to our little red heart “likes”. But, for now, I am enjoying the break from it.
Another reason for the lack of food posts is that we have a kitchen in our place, so we have been making most of our big meals at home. Our neighbourhood has many small grocery stores that are full of beautiful, high quality fruits, vegetables and fish. The rest of our meals are snacks on the road. Tokyo is a snacker’s paradise.
Bicycles in Tokyo:
The cycling culture in Tokyo is very different from what I am used to at home. There are bikes everywhere: you can see them in almost any picture I have taken. The sidewalks here are shared by pedestrians and cyclists. Everybody is used to this and it works. Everyone cycles here: old people, little kids, business people with briefcases, moms carrying one on two kids on the front or back. Most buildings seem to have a space dedicated to bike storage. Same with subway stations. Bikes usually have one or two big baskets for carrying stuff around and every bike has a sturdy upright kickstand. Some bicycles have little calliper locks on the frames that go through the spokes on the back wheels but I haven’t seen any “New York Kryptonite U-locks” here. You could pick up any bike you wanted and walk off with it, but many people don’t seem lock them at all and I doubt that any get stolen. Maybe “borrowed” and later returned by a drunk person trying to get home after the trains stop (I saw this once in a movie haha).
Buildings:
Tokyo has all kinds of different architecture from steel and glass high rises to old wooden houses. By far the most common are low rise apartment buildings covered in ceramic tile. To resist earthquakes, concrete is the main construction material because it flexes and can withstand the shock. But, instead of having dull grey buildings everywhere, Japanese achitects have tiled most buildings from bottom to top. There are many colours and designs and I can’t help thinking of fancy vintage bathroom renovations you would see in a magazine. I think they are truly charming and beautiful with their saturated colours in the day and glossy shine at night.
These are buildings in Kappabashi. I like the way they all look different, all in a row, with their whimsical details. Tea cup balconies and giant chef heads.
This was our Tokyo home. A modest corner building of painted concrete:
Night photography:
I love to take pictures at night and Tokyo was a beauty after dark. These are a few shots I like that didn’t really fit into any other posts:
Construction workers dealing with a late night job. All the men from subway drivers to couriers to construction workers have colourful and stylish uniforms. It always makes me think of Lego men.
Akihabara at night. There are many city scapes in Tokyo where you can see all modes of movement mashed together and moving fluidly. Trains, cars, people, bicycles, buses.
Beauty is everywhere:
My overall impression of Tokyo, the largest city in the world with a population of 41 million, is that it is quiet and peaceful. I am sure that it is not without its flaws, but from my point of view, it just works. Japanese society in general seems to value harmony. People are patient with each other. They approach others with respect and understanding. And kindness. I was walking around with my backpack open and the cashier at the grocery store turned me around and zipped it up for me with a smile. My daughter dropped a 5 yen coin under a table at another store and a teenage girl squatted down to pick it up for her. This city is absolutely overrun with tourists but most shopkeepers and people in the street are incredibly patient. More than I could ever be! This makes it an easy and comfortable place to visit and I have really enjoyed my time here.
What strikes me the most about Tokyo is that everywhere I go, I am struck by little moments of beauty and wonder emanating from the most ordinary things. There are a few in previous posts and here are a couple more:
Shibuya Scramble Crossing
There are thousands of great pictures of Shibuya Scramble Crossing from above so I wanted to do something a little different. I set up my camera so that it would focus on anything 2 to 5 meters in front of me. Walking through the crowd with my camera against my body, I shot many frames without looking through the camera. The result is a random assortment of crooked and out of focus photos but also a few fun candid shots. They look cinematic to me, almost like movie stills. I like black and white for people photos.
Here is a video I made of Shibuya Crossing with my iPhone today…it is not even that busy, it gets much thicker than this.
These are the best of the pictures:
