Sunday, October 19, 2014

Asia – Day 12, Sunday, October 19, 2015

After a short night’s sleep, we awoke in Seoul, well actually the port of Inchon which is several hours away from Seoul.

The city of Inchon had a shuttle bus that we took at 8:00am to the center of the city of Inchon.  There we boarded a subway that took us into Seoul.  We went 24 stops and finally came to the subway stop that was right at the Gyeonbokbgung Palace; the Imperial Palace for Korea built beginning in 1395 and expanded a number of times.  There are 330 structures with 5,792 rooms taking us 4,414,000 square feet of land.  The place is huge.
Since we were touring on our own, we did not have a tour guide.  We did however find one - a high school junior who was a volunteer at the Palace.  She spent the next couple of hours with us taking us around the palace.   We could not believe the hours that she spends in school.  She goes to bed at 2:00am and up at 5:00am – her school schedule is incredible.   High school students do not play sports as they do not have the time.  They also have the highest suicide rate in the world because of all the pressure they have on them!
After seeing the Palace we asked her about a famous shopping street and she told us she would be happy to take us there.
So we all got into a cab and away we went.  For the next couple of hours, we walked this huge street that was blocked off from traffic, shopped and found a neat backstreet and then downstairs restaurant where we ate lunch.  No English – not even any signs in English.
After lunch she was very excited to take us to a place where you put on traditional Korean dress and we all did and had our pictures taken – and she insisted on paying for the pictures.
Following that, she took us to the subway/train station, walked us to the correct train and then said goodbye.  What a delightful experience we had – and she was very special to take the time to do this with us.
We did not have a lot of time in Seoul, but the time we did have was a fun time.
When we arrived back in Inchon, we then took the shuttle bus back to the ship.
After a very tiring day, it was time for a nap.
As we had seen the entertainer in the show, we missed the show and instead just people watched until dinner time.
The other two couples did not show up so we had each other as dinner partners – and we just relaxed and ate and ate, as usual.
After dinner it was time for the casino where we did very well again.
It was our Casino Hosts Selma’s last night so it was a little sad to see her go but Sead (Sea-Nod) is still here so we will still have a good host in the casino.
Tomorrow we visit JeJu Island from 1:00pm – 10:00pm – a total resort island off the Korean coast.
Night from somewhere on the ocean.
Summer Palace

Our new guide Liea

Winter bedroom

Part of the Summer Palace

Dress up time

Lunch restraurant

Lunch

Part of the Summer Palace

Our Casino Hosts - Selma and Sead  (Sea-odd)
 

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