I love getting out and exploring! We had such a fun day yesterday doing just that. We decided to leap right in and go to Seoul. Not only that, but we decided to explore it through public transportation.
Our journey started in Pyeongtaek, where we took the Korail train to Yeongdeungpo.
our train tickets... 11-11-11 at 11:14 lol
he was soooo excited! waiting by the train tracks
a glimpse of a train going through on another set of tracks
riding the rails! lol
We then caught (multiple) subways to make our way to Samseong to check out the COEX.
on the subway...thankfully (most of the time) seats are given up to pregnant women and children
Seoul subway map...we actually caught on to it pretty quickly
(and only got lost once)
yep, they had one of these!! But decaf coffee is hard to come across here :(
One of the highlights of our trip was discovering that they had an On the Border there!!!! YAY!!! And it tasted just like the ones in Texas. It was sadly the best food we have had since arriving here. (In all fairness though, we have not ventured out to try the local foods yet)
corona margarita...I think it was called a "coronarita" lol
The COEX is a HUGE mall, but we did not do too much exploring of the shops. We were on a mission and had a few other places we wanted to check out. So we booked it to the entire opposite side of the mall to the COEX Aquarium. It was a pretty cute aquarium. B enjoyed it and we saw some of the local fish and some we had never seen before.
jelly fish
one of my favorite pictures from the aquarium :)
watching the sharks from inside the tunnel
sea lions...they were pretty playful and funny. I've never seen these ones before. They were white with grey spots.
the gentle giants! manatee
HUGE coral aquarium
sharks!
things got a little national geographic lol
these little fishies live in the water of the rice fields!
Dr. Fish...a VERY interesting experience lol. You put your hand in there and they nibble the dead skin off :\
B ran up to this aquarium and right away identified the dogface fish! We were both pretty surprised :)
the vending machines here lol
We learned that the COEX also had an International wing that housed a casino! Apparently the casino is ONLY for international guests though. The Koreans aren't supposed to use it (that is what we were told at least)...not sure why. Brian went in to blow some money check it out lol.
Next, we caught more subways over to Dongdaemun. We experienced the crowding that happens in subways this time. It was HORRIBLE!!! People literally there pushing other people in as the doors are shutting ans the people are packed in there like sardines!! It was quite scary! I was afraid for B and my belly! We waited out the crowd and caught one of the less crowded subways (although it was still quite packed). We were so relieved to get off and thankful we only had to make it one stop. We arrived safely at the Dongdaemun Gate (Heunginjimun Gate). And for those like me... here is a tidbit of history:
Originally called Heunginjimun, Dongdaemun Gate (East Main Gate) is Treasure No.1. Dongdaemun Gate was built by King Taejo in 1396, renovated by King Danjong in 1453, and its present structure was built by King Gojong in 1869. Apparently people started calling the gate Heunginjimun from King Sejo’s (1455~1468) reign. Although the gate is generally known as Dongdaemun Gate, many people still call it Heunginjimun with the intention of preserving its old heritage.
The most interesting characteristic of Dongdaemun Gate is that it has a specially built outer wall, usually a half-moon shape, that surrounds a city wall. The area where Seoul Palace was built was a low region, and difficult to defend from invaders, so they built this wall to counter such disadvantages. You can see that the gate was made with considerable consideration to the surrounding geography. The ongseong rocks have different colors, and these are from the many renovations the gate went through.
At the center of the stone reinforcement wall is the Hongyemun, above it is a middle floor composed of five sections at the front and two sections on each side, and the roof is in the Ujingak style. On the eaves of the roof there are Japsang statues, which resemble animals and are said to drive away evil spirits. The structure of Dongdaemun Gate has a very intricate and effeminate side to it, and there is strong emphasis on decoration, which show the architectural style of the latter day Joseon Period very well.
Pretty cool!
And.... my absolute FAVORITE part... The Dongdaemun Shopping Complex. It's the LARGEST fabric/craft store I have ever seen!!!! Sadly we got there as many of the shops in it were closing. We did spend an hour or so browsing and seeing what (the shops that were still open) had to offer. Tables and tables of various buttons, zippers, yarn, fabric, sewing accessories...more than you could ever imagine!!!
Imagine a HUGE building 7 floors + basement packed as tight as possible (with a bit of walking room, of course) of all this goodness! I want to go back! lol
it lined the streets outside too!
I did get a super cute corduroy to make baby R a winter dress. The cords were only 4,000 won a yard!! That's just under $4/yd...totally beats the $12/yd you usually find for cute printed cord fabrics in the states! And I got TONS of yarn for my next knitting project.
the project:
Well, that is all from our trip. It was pretty fun!! Can't wait to do it all again :)
