When we arrived in Seoul at 5 am it was dark, and very very chilly. Wearing every long piece of clothing we had our extremities were still almost frozen, a dramatic change from the jungle temperatures of the south. Once aboard our bus bound for downtown Seoul things warmed up fast, not only was the bus comfy and somewhat luxurious, it really pumped out the heat.
An hour later we were back out on the streets in the early morning, this time facing the challenge of locating Eric's apartment while some nasty wind gusts intensified the chill factor. Amy had been here before, so although in the dark things were a little confusing we still managed to find Eric's place in less than 30 minutes. After taking a quick nap and allowing for the sun to rise it was off to spend the day in Seoul, this time with more clothes scrounged up from Eric's bedroom. We went straight to the subway were we met Seoul's workforce, a very hustle and bustle scene, before arriving at our destination in the old, artisan district. We had a quick breakfast at Starbucks before meeting up with one of Eric's coworkers to leave our bags with during the day and also to confirm a lunch time and location.
From here we just kind of cruised around, did some shopping, checked out a building project Eric had worked on, went to a mega underground bookstore, and then finished up the walking tour with a stroll along the man-made river within downtown Seoul. Eric's building was currently under construction, but a large poster was mounted on the containing wall showing renderings of what would eventually stand behind it. A very cool building, resembling a tree stump in design. Then it was time to meet up with Eric's coworker and enjoy a large Korean lunch. Soups, savory Korean pancakes, kimchi along with a Korean rice wine, not Soju. It was one of the best meals of the trip for sure.
After lunch we headed off to the royal palace were we spent about another hour cruising around, taking pictures, being cold and thinking about our next Korean meal. Maple Tree restaurant had been glorified for years, and throughout the course of our trip. Eric's favorite restaurant in Seoul, he had taken every member of the Druse family and often goes with his boss for special occasions. This also happened to be Brandon's favorite restaurant in Seoul, but he was now in Ho Chi Minh city. Too bad. Inside the warm, amber lit room the wood chip fueled grill thawed Amy's hands and provided some great smells. The kimchi salads here were fantastic and service was fast. Within minutes of the grill reaching full heat we had our own chef cooking steak and mushrooms right in front of us. The beef was of extremely high quality and some of the best I have ever had. Our chef would cut it up and instruct us to put each piece onto a pickled sesame leaf before eating. The mushrooms were also very tasty. If I had lived in Seoul this would have also been my favorite restaurant.
Next it was off to the airport after getting our bags back and doing a little more shopping, our trip coming to a close for good. I would have enjoyed spending more time in Seoul, but there is always next time. And knowing Amy there will probably be a next time.
Korea pics
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