When we moved to Shanghai back in 2019, the plan had been to explore this part of the world and see as much as possible but COVID put a very firm stop to that. I’m not complaining because other doors have opened and I have been able to immerse myself in Taiji with all the benefits that has brought me. But now the world has opened up again and travel is possible so we are taking advantage of it.

This is our first school break where we ‘can’ explore a bit. It is Golden Week in China and a national holiday so it is a good idea to get out of the country. We have headed to Seoul to see some of Korea.

Actually we very nearly didn’t make it as Kevin, who has been a COVID virgin managed to contract the virus and he very kindly passed some on to me! Being his first time around Kevin had it worse than I did. Maybe I had some immunity. Kevin was down for about 7 days and I was off school for 3. It was touch and go but fortunately we both tested negative in time to fly this morning.

It felt good to be traveling again and on a plane going to explore somewhere new. Seoul is only 1:5 hours away from Shanghai so it was an easy trip.

Having said that, the flights were quite pricey because of being Golden Week so we had to bite the bullet on that. Being ever mindful of costs Kevin decided to save some money and booked us into a ‘budget’ hotel in the city centre. With not exactly enough room to swing a proverbial cat it’s more of a shoe box than anything else but I get the impression that most hotels are like this.

The location is good though being near Myeongdong which has lots of shops, restaurants and a lively night market full of street food vendors. Shanghai has missed a trick when it clamped down on street vendors. They give the place a certain vibrancy and atmosphere.

We wanted a sit down meal but have absolutely no idea about Korean food at all. We took a chance in a ‘Galbi’ restaurant. Galbi turned out to be a shared dish of chicken, sweetcorn, cabbage and cheese, which they cook in front of you in a huge skillet.

The hotel does have a rooftop terrace which was ideal for doing some early morning Taiji exercises (see previous lack of room in the room)

Today was a full day’s excursion to visit 3 (at least) palaces. All the palaces were built on the same format with an entrance gateway, a little bridge and then the wooden rooms around imposing courtyards. All were decorated in exactly the same pattern which was only allowed to be used by royalty.

And if I am totally honest they all began to merge into one another!

I do remember that each gate has 3 doors. The central one for the King. The one on the right for government officials and the one on the left for the military. Inside the courtyards this distinction was maintained as you can see from the road on different levels.

These courtyards were used for official ceremonies and so placed at strategic points were ‘ranking’ stones so that you knew where to line up according to your position at court.

One of the wonderful things here is the love of dressing up. You can rent Hanbok costumes for the day and people do. They wander around the historic sites looking resplendent in the most gorgeous colours, chiffons and silks. Leping and I would have enjoyed ourselves.

We also visited a Buddhist temple, and while it wasn’t a patch on the ones in Thailand I did like the environmental symbolism in their statues

Lunch was included and we were treated to a traditional Bibimbap (which sounds to me like a 60s pop song!) but in reality was a veg dish

In the afternoon we were subjected to the ‘hard sell’ at a Korean ginseng shop. We resisted on the grounds that a) it was hideously expensive and b) all the benefits that they listed can also be obtained by doing Taiji. I did like the ginseng display though. They look like tubes of mandrakes screaming to be released!!!

Finally, the Korean flag is interesting. The influences from China are clear. In the centre is a yin/Yang symbol (without the small dots). Then in 4 positions (starting at 2 o’clock) are the ba qua symbols of water, earth, fire and heaven.

At one palace we saw a re-enactment of the changing of the guards. They all wore colorful costumes and did a lot of drum banging!

The weather was glorious for October and if anything the sun was a bit strong but unlike Shanghai it wasn’t humid which made the walking easier.