Back to Seoul

So yesterday one of my co-workers took me to Seoul for my first real experience of the city. We had planned to go to the War Memorial of Korea, Seoul Tower, Gyeongbokgung Palace, then Itaewon (a foreigner area) later to have drinks. 

The ride to Seoul was about an hour. Luckily we were on an express bus that went straight there. Our first stop was to the War Memorial of Korea. The War Memorial was free to go to which makes it a great place to visit but also you get to learn more about the Korean War. It was very interesting to see how big Korea used to be, compared to what it is now. Also, you get to see really old weapons and military equipment they used. There are 8 main exhibits to see, so I would advise planning to be here for 3 hours. I was here for 2 hours and did not finish.

After 2 hours at the War Museum we decided to move on to our next destination, Gyeongbokgung Palace. Before we went to the palace we stopped to see the King Sejong Exhibition, located in Gwanghwamun Square, which was across the street from the Gyeongbokgung Palace. King Sejong was responsible for creating Hangeul (the Korean alphabet), water clock and other inventions.

Next, we were off to Gyeongbokgung Palace. But when we got there the doors were closed :( Apparently it closes really early like 5pm. So I will have to try again. But I did get a picture of the outside from across the street! Pretty cool.

Our final stop was Seoul Tower aka Namsan Tower. As we got out of the subway and started walking this is what I saw.

YAY, I thought.... Not realizing the steep hills we would have to walk up lol. As we started walking I thought to myself, this isn't too bad. Until I walked up a really steep hill! I had to look back and take a picture! Who gets this active outside in the winter?

I'm already getting tired and were not even at the tower yet! Finally we reach Seoul Tower. I was soooo happy......until I saw the massive line up for the cable car ride up to the tower. It was a good 2 hour wait! Really wasn't worth it, so I suggested we walk up the steps to the tower. BAD IDEA! I've never been so exhausted in my life! I swear it was like 1000 steps, plus climbing up a hill! Every time I thought were were there not quite!

You can tell it took us awhile by the colour of the sky! There were a lot of great spots to take pictures even though we weren't at the top yet.....which was another excuse for us to stop lol.

Such a great view and we aren't even at the top! I think it took us about 20-30 min to walk up the stairs. Which was not fun! But when we finally made it up those stars, this is what I saw.....

Seoul Tower! Finally. I've been waiting for a long time to come here! It reminded me a lot of the CN Tower in Toronto, which I loved. There is actually a lot to see here. They have love locks, restaurants, observatory, gift shop, etc. This is definitely a place you should visit when in Korea. Plus this was the view.....