wanderlust: Day 9: Seoul (Jongmyo Shrine, Changgyeonggung, Changdeokgung, COEX Mall)

Took a break from shopping, these two days were for sightseeing. I really like this arrangement, five days of shopping followed by two days of sightseeing. :D

Jongmyo Shrine
A place where the royal ancestral tablets are kept and memorial rites are being done at certain days of the year.

The admission fee is KRW 1,000 per person (so cheap!) and this includes visit to Changgyeonggung too.

Jongmyo Park

With those red trees it felt like autumn instead.

As you will see later, there are many houses that look like this.

Jeongjeon (Main Hall)

Jeongjeon was designed to be as simple as possible, the usual colorful paint on the roof couldn't be found here.

The corridor of Jeongjeon

Yeongnyeongjeon (Hall of Everlasting Peace)

Korean symbol at the entrance

Yeongnyeongjeon was built similar to Jeongjeon.

I was alone here.

Roofs with different height

Jongmyo Shrine is linked to Changgyeonggung by a bridge, but we exited by mistake and had to make a very far detour to find the Changgyeonggung main entrance. :(

The outdoor exercise equipments outside Jongmyo Shrine.

Saw many interesting stuff along the way.

Isn't it pretty?

If you know the name, please tell me.

Petrol pipes were hung up high, so where's the pump?

Changgyeonggung
Finally we reached here after 5 minutes of walking.

A Korean lady in hanbok

Children in traditional clothes.

This girl had the reddest cheek I've ever seen. Wanted to take photo of her but she kept running away from us.

Finally she agreed to take photo together with me.

The main ground of Changgyeonggung

These markers are to indicate where the ministers should stand. The higher the ranking, the nearer he stand to the king.

Myeongjeongjeon

Where the king met his subjects.

The gargoyles are believed to protect the building from evil spirits. The number of gargoyles show the importance of the building.

Close up view of a gargoyle.

The king's throne, it doesn't look grand enough.

Haminjeong Pavilion
This was where the king greeted the winners of royal civil and military exam.

Big bonsai :)

Looks very Japanese to me.

Young ladies in hanbok

His eyes were gone when he smiled, hehehe..

Flowers in bloom

It looks so perfect.

Chundangji

Rest for a while.

Enjoying the greenery.

Changdeokgung
The only palace that we have to join the tour to be able to go in. English tour is only available three times a day, we were lucky that we reached there on time.

Donhwamun

The main entrance of Changdeokgung

The artistic tree branches

Injeongjeon

Main hall of Changdeokgung

Seonjeongjeon
It's the king workplace, the only building with blue-tiled roof.

Seonjeongjeon

Daejojeon
The queen's residence.

Daejojeon

The ancient clock created during Joseon dynasty

Nakseonjae
Living quarter built by the king for his second wife.

Naekseonjae

Biwon (Secret Garden)

The famous Biwon wasn't very impressive.

Juhamnu Pavilion
It consists of a library on the first floor and reading room on the second floor.

The main entrance was only used by the king, his subjects would have to use the lower entrance on the left and right. With this height, they had to bend down when they entered. What an ego!

I don't remember where this steps lead to.

Gate of eternal youth, so pass thru this a few times if you are here. :P

It was almost 3pm when we finished touring the palace. We were cold and hungry but there wasn't any restaurant nearby. Went to the petrol station shop and bought a bowl of instant noodle to share.

Korean instant noodle is the best, and no MSG too.

After feeling half full, we took the subway to City Hall. When I was in City Hall a few days ago, I spotted a restaurant that sells only one item, samgyetang.

The restaurant

It was almost 4pm when we came in to an empty restaurant. The waitresses were resting at one of the private rooms. We ordered two bowls and they quickly prepared for us.