1 April 2019
3rd times a charm
Walking up N Seoul tower and annoying its many cats
Tonight was the third time I walked up to the base of the Namsan tower to enjoy the view without paying to go up the tower to enjoy a view obscured by glass that costs $20. As always I avoided the cable car and took the steps, saving another $20. Then I ate poor people food for dinner, kimchi stew, for about $5, to which I added more kimchi.
Korea is so kimchi they put kimchi in their kimchi. Opinions are divided on the supposed health benefits of kimchi, obviously Koreans think it is the key to health, wealth, spiritual wellbeing, auspiciousness and the glue which bonds the impenetrable fabric of Juche ideology. There is a real belief that just like sleeping with a fan on, if you do not eat kimchi with every meal then you will surely die. Non koreans find it to be cabbage soaked in brine with added msg.
I find it to be a slightly concerning yet mildly delicious mix of chilli and decomposing vegetable matter.
I took an alternate route to the top of the tower, through this place known as Hanok village. I originally thought it said Hanbok village, Hanbok being the traditional Korean dress, their version of the kimono, except it looks more like something the pilgrims might wear when milking a cow. But no, it is Hanok not Hanbok. I googled what Hanok village is, and it said 'A place to take photos for instagram'.
Hanok village does indeed have a lot of places you can take photos for instagram.
Last photo of Hanok village, taken from the top of the path, I noticed a lot of wooden cutouts you can stick your head in for photos to make you look like a cartoon character wearing a Hanbok, so there you go, you can do Hanbok in Hanok and put both on instagram.
There is the tower. The light was great at this point, I was excited to go enjoy the sunset. Note the dead grass looking stuff, snow kills everything.
Then I was ATTACKED! I am lucky to still be here. This cat pretended to be all nice and happy and friendly, but no, he was vicious and tried to kill me. I noticed as I tried to get away a small army of cats had suddenly appeared!
The yellow flowers are particularly fetching during a golden sunset.
I tried to get a sunstar around the cable car by lining it up and hitting the shutter at the right time. I kind of lined it up but did not get the effect I wanted, I needed a zoom lense.
I think this is just a cafe, which does not explain why they have a giant pink orb alongside the traditional building.
The pollution and a bit of cloud on the horizon made for a rather dim sunset, probably making the photo more interesting.
Look at all those mountains behind the city! I think I have already climbed all of them except one. Possibly the least polluted sky I can ever remember seeing in Seoul, people have actually been complaining it has been very polluted in the last couple of weeks, I guess it blew away as I blew in.
The love locks are still at the top of the tower hill. I think they all get removed and thrown out once a week. Theres millions of them.
I waited for ages to get a photo of the rubber duck unobscured by selfie sticks. Was it worth it? Obviously yes. My main regret is that I couldn't get one of me with the duck....because I dont have a selfie stick. Anyway, here he is, Mr B.Duck. Whatever that is.
Here is the tower. I find tower shots to be quite boring. But you cant climb up to where the tower is and not take a photo of the tower, so here it is. Looking all towery, and phallic. I bet I could get an article published as an opinion piece on the ABC (Australian News) website declaring that towers are a phallic symbol of male dominance over women placed in prominent positions in every city as a constant reminder that women must accept their fate as servants to all men.
Bonus tower.
Starting to get dark now, and damn cold in the wind, my hands were struggling to operate the camera effectively, but I pushed through the pain.
The last bit of orange glow, this is still a handheld shot.
Here is a long exposure, well medium long anyway, still not quite fully dark.
There are lots of places to enjoy the view, I got asked 3 times to take peoples photos, each time I ran off with their camera and added it to my collection. Now I have to lug around 4 cameras.
Random colorful rain shelter.
Another long exposure. Remember thats not the main business district of Seoul, its just one of the suburbs. My fingers had basically stopped working at this point.
And here it is, poor person kimchi stew, with all the accompaniments. I chose a place that looked reasonably busy, striking the right balance between 'why the hell is no one at all here?' and 'why the hell would a busy place like this want to use up an entire table for my party of one?'. Anyway after I sat down it became clear that the 3 other tables were the children of the owners and waitresses doing their homework. In between serving me they went and sat down and explained to their 3 year olds that their entire life is hinging on the score they get on their test on naming the shapes correctly.