Day 3: Leaving Seoul on a Bullet Train

You ever had a day where almost anything that can go wrong will?

Today we didn't have anything planned specifically, I bounded out of bed early, having already packed last night and I was out the door, checked out before Sophie was even out of bed. Unfortunately, nothing opens in Seoul for breakfast until 7:30, and even then the bakeries were still only stocking sandwiches. So I found my way down to the main palace area and scoped out the area. I found a chocolate cafe which I unfortunately wasn't able to get back to. None the less, I managed to finally get myself some breakfast (a bagel! yay!) and then bought tickets for the palace, ready for the changing of the guard.

And it was at 9:28am, two minutes before the changing of the guard began that I realised I was at the wrong palace. So I took a quick look around, got some photos, then bolted to the subway station to get to the correct palace in time to catch the end of the military training session. So I got my tickets and entered inside - only to discover that the changing of the guard happened outside the building. So I had to watch that from through the gates. But that was okay - you could see most things that were going on and could hear the commentary. It was pretty impressive.

Some accommodation for guards at the wrong palace

The bridge over the moat at the wrong palace

Main building of the wrong palace

In the courtyard of the right palace - this drum was used as part of the changing of the guard ceremony

My view of the Changing of the Guard ceremony - it was very intricate and took a long time

Coronation Building of the correct palace - looks like two stories, but just high ceiling.

It took a while for the tour to start, all the while the intense heat of the day was beating down on the courtyard. Sitting in the shade was lovely, but I knew the heat would eventually get to me today. I keep forgetting to carry water with me and it isn't easy to come by in this country.

The tour itself was wonderful, we visited a number of sites within the palace including the coronation building, primary office quarters, the banquet hall (which I could have gone into if I had booked in advance), Kings Quarters, Queens Quarters and the Back Garden. All extremely beautiful. Unfortunately, a lot of the buildings are not the originals, as the Palace was destroyed by Japanese Colonial invaders during the early 1900s and also damaged during the Korean War. The Government is currently funding reconstruction to restore the palace to its former glory - which involves the construction of hundreds of buildings.

Dragons on the ceiling of the coronation building

The painting behind the throne symbolises the need to rule all of Korea (the five mountains in north, south, east, west and centre)

Some dragons fighting in the coronation hall

The Banquet Hall - you can stand on the second level if you book in advance

The gazebo in the back garden in the middle of a lake

After the tour I got lost a little bit inside the grounds - but fortunately managed to locate a shop where I could buy some water. The line was huge. Obviously I wasn't the only one suffering. After two bottles of coolness I felt good enough to venture outside and find my way to my next tour. Unfortunately I didn't realise the tour for the Presidential House started actually right next to the Palace I was at (I blame the heat and my disorganisation). So instead I followed the guide on the website and ended up being given instructions by the police guards of The Blue House on where to go. I found my way to the parking lot grabbed lunch (a bottle of Sprite) and enjoyed the coolness of their lounge before the tour began.

When I arrived at The Blue House I was pulled aside and asked for my passport. In exchange they handed my an audio guide - because the tour is exclusively conducted in Korean. It was also full of small children, so I guess it was like going to Parliament House in Canberra. It was uncomfortable to let my passport go - but they were police and it was the President's House so...

There were only two places where you could get photos in the President's house - but the space was amazing. It is gorgeous, steeped in history and immaculately cared for. Absolutely beautiful.

The House of the President of South Korea - the Blue House (cause of the roof, duh)

It took half an hour after the tour ended for the shuttle bus to take us back to the parking lot and the subway. So I texted Sophie and arranged to meet her at the subway with our bags so we could get to Seoul Station as quick as possible. Fortunately, that all went to plan and we easily got "standing" tickets and were on the train in seats quickly. Sophie slept (again) but otherwise the journey was uneventful. It took us a while to find our meet-up, but eventually we made our way to the college. When I got there, one of the girls who is organising us was the Korean competitor from last year! That was so exciting to see.

We missed out on dinner by about 15 minutes, so had to settle with heading across the road for a Korean BBQ. It was awesome - cook yourself pork and a whole bunch of sides (none of which I ate, ha!). There was also baseball on the TV. Sophie and I ate and enjoyed the company of two other Korean girls who were our translators and guides. Upon our arrival back at the dorm we discovered a number of things:

1. There are a few repeat offenders, including the girl I got equal third with from last year

2. There are no towels, no toilet paper and no rubbish bins supplied (good thing I have friends in high places and brought my beach towel)

3. I am male (apparently) - my roommate walked in and was a young man from Indonesia. Understandably very shocked. When we checked out what was going on it turned out the registration had put me down as male. This was sorted very quickly.

4. My speech is clocking in at 4:30 - which is scarily under-time....tonight is going to be a long and very stressful night.