Chilling in Seoul - 16th-19th February

My arrival in Seoul, South Korea was a shock. It was 25°C on leaving Hong Kong and 0°C, but sunny, on my arrival in Seoul. I knew it would be cold, but not that cold. I made my way by bus to the Golden Pond Guest House where I was staying. By the time I ventured out of the GH, night time fell, and my goid the temperature also fell. I was really

chilled in Seoul. I thought that the coat I had with me was adequate but oh no it was not. The wind was so chilling that I had to buy a winter coat and hat ASAP. Bizzarly, I had gloves. The next day, somebody in the GH told me about a charity shop around the corner. Luckly for under a tenner I bought myself a decent coat. And what I mean by decent, I mean a warm coat. The hat I bought on a street stall.

Now that I had warm clothes, what did I do in Seoul? Well nothing really. For the next few days I just stayed in the GH and for the first time on my travel goit up late out of bed. It does help when it bloody cold outside and I had Internet connection in bed. Who would venture out into the cold? When I did drag myself outside, I drank coffee in Starbucks - sorry Claire, don't worry we will drink in other coffee shops when I get to NZ - Dunkin Donuts and walked around the area of the GH. This area, Daehangno, was vibrant. Full of students. Great place to stay

I was told that the best palace in Seoul was around the corner. A 10 min walk. I dragged myself their. In visiting the site, I was wondering was it worth it. The palace had no charm. Was is it due to the mood I was in? A lot of Koreans heritage was destroyed by the japanese. That to me buildings in South Korea, building are either;

Old but New - Old building restored/rebuilt that they now look new
New but Old - New buildings built to look old
New but Concrete - New building built out of concrete. Of course there some different style

I arrived in Seoul on the Monday and by the Thursday I decided that I need to drag myself out Seoul and head into the country. Early Friday I headed by bus to the South East and Gyeongju. Gyeongju was a different story.