Wandering around the Seoul tourist trail
Last day for touristing, better go do tourist things.
Before that, currently when re-entering Australia, even as a citizen, you need to fill out a digital passenger declaration (DPD). You can not board your flight if you do not, Singapore Airlines sent me a reminder that I would be denied boarding if I did not complete one.
So I filled mine out, you need passport, flight, vaccination info etc, it is easy enough. Upon completion the site tells you to take a screenshot! What? I printed to PDF but it does not provide a download to PDF function or email you a PDF at all.
So that is weird. I then get an email telling me I have completed it. Great, I am done.
This morning I receive an email telling me my DPD is incomplete. I go log in again, it is complete, I re submit without changing, email tells me it is complete, email an hour later, it is incomplete.
So I search for info, whirlpool (Australian text only forum on every topic) has about 50 people complaining this happened to them also. Way to go Australian government, cannot even work out a web form, should have used survey monkey (that is a real thing).
Anyway, back to Seoul, and possibly I will still be here after being denied boarding for not completing my DPD tomorrow but today I toured 2 palaces near to each other in 2 separate locations and 2 tombs within the same tomb park.
The weather was very clear and not too hot. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADIEU (more correctly ado, apparently), lets go to the pics.
Here is an amazing combo of 2 previous rants. I.SEOUL.U and the weather museum. Sadly, not open at the time I was passing.
In keeping with things I talk non stop about that are of little or no interest, here is a hessian mat laying ceremony in progress. Another item ticked off my bucket list.
The path to the first palace went through a cultural village. Woman would not get out of the way for my photo.
And after much ado about nothing, here is palace #1, Gyeonghuigung. Now bear in mind these are the lesser palaces of Korea, I have previously visited the main one, Gyeongbokgung on a previous visit. Gyeonghuigung has no entry fee.
Perhaps because it is free, no one goes to see it. I had the place all to myself.
Most of the palaces are in walking distance of each other, I guess it is the old city.
On my way to the next palace over I passed a tram at the Museum of Seoul. This museum was open, and was free because most of the exhibits are being re-done.
The best exhibit is the diorama of Seoul. I wondered if I had been here before. I have checked and do not think I have. I have been to similar places in Shanghai with similar diorama's.
And the Edo museum in Tokyo also has diorama's similar to this one. That is enough diorama's.
Gravity was high today.
The second palace on my journey is Deoksugung. This one has an entry fee of about $1.20 and has a lot more people. I kind of think the free one above was nicer.
However, Deoksugung is a rare beast, as it was still a palace for the emperor when western influence had entered Korea, there is this building, and out the back a dining hall that looks like what we would call a 'Queenslander' house in Australia.
There is also a lake with gold things in it. Crap photo for some reason.
Out the front I got to participate in the changing of the guard. They were honoured that I had chosen to attend.
OK, that is the palaces done, now off to the Tombs on the other side of town. Specifically the Seolleung and Jeongneung tombs from the Joseon dynasty which only ended in 1897. The park is large, and the entrance is quite a walk from any subway station, even though the other end of the park is on top of a subway station. Strange choice. There were a lot of office workers wandering the park in groups having outdoor meetings. Like the palaces, the entrance fee is about $1.20.
I think this is the tomb keepers house. His main job is to feed the stray cats.
The interesting thing is, the way the tombs are constructed you cannot really get a good view of them. This is the top of Seolleung tomb that houses King Seongjong who died in 1495. You can kind of get a view of this one by leaning over a fence.
This is Jeongneung which houses King Jungjong who died in 1544. He was not originally ENTOMBED here, but moved here by his third queen who outlived him. This is about as close as you can get.
And here is one more photo of old Jungjong. Today's update was factual, relevant and enthralling, on that we can all agree.
Walking around the Lotte tower lake at Jamsil
The actual lake is called Seokchon lake park, or Songpa Naru park, but basically it is Lotte world. There actually is Lotte world theme park on the site.
I have been here before, but under unusual circumstances. The last time I flew to Korea my flight landed at 6AM and I could not check in until 3PM so I came here early in the morning and waited for things to be open so I could go and sit in a cafe and fall asleep.
This time I walked a lap of both halves of the lake, then explored the shops, and had my last meal.
This is a short update, but it won't be the last. Tomorrow I have to get up at 5:30 to go on the cheap train to the airport cause thats how I roll.
Then it is 7 hours to Singapore, where I have a 6 hour airport happy fun time experience break, before another 7.5 hours to Melbourne.
So I will type some more nonsense from Singapore, assuming I meet all the regulations and am allowed to board, and then I may even type something after getting back into Australia, about how to get back into Australia in 'the age of COVID'.
Last pics of non airport Korea...GO!
Well hello there, it is the 6th tallest building in the world.
The lake is split in two, first I set off around the quieter part. It is a nice place, with markers for runners around the soft path made of tyres.
I headed under the bridge that splits the lakes in two. There is a piano under the bridge outside for people to play on. No one has pushed it into the water. Also it was dark and grey this evening, but no rain.
First signs of Lotte world on the busier side of the lake.
I think I took a photo in this exact spot last time, at 7AM.
Tower from afar. I was never going to get far enough to do it landscape, so it can never be used as the title photo for this post on the main page.
A bit more amusement park with nice sky.
That is pretty low pollution, 1. Clear views all day. So clear you can see me in the reflection.
Here is what this lake area looked like in 1981. I should mention it is a favourite of youtubers, they do the big xmas light thing here and also the trees around it are all cherry blossom's.
Time to head into here and find my dinner. The statue is of Wolfgang von someone not music related. I do not know why.
Lotte has made a boat out of recycled plastic, and parked it on the lawn. Now... if you make something out of recycled material and do not actually use it, you have damaged the environment further than not recycling at all. This is hard for a lot of people to grasp.
There are 3 malls of varying degrees of luxury, this is the low rent one of course, it is much like any other Lotte mall. Avenue L is the next rung up, and then there is one in the actual tower that the likes of me cannot even glimpse.
My dinner came from a food truck. Not really, but it came from a fake truck in basement level 2. It was ok, healthy, the pic had a lot more vegetables than I was given. Final meal in Korea, and I am eating off of cardboard with a plastic spork.
Kodak no longer make anything, they do not make cameras or film... until now! They have been reinvented as a fashion brand. I feel this is likely to happen to a lot of iconic brands that go out of existence.
And because I could not let a Kodak clothes store be the last shot of the night, here is an almost getting dark Gangnam street as I return to my hotel.