Namhansanseong

So today, I went to another Fortress with my co-workers, but in Seoul. This one is called Namhansanseong. This fortress is HUGE.  It is 480m above sea level and is 12 km in length. I only got to do 1/4 of the fortress, which took about 7 hrs when you factor in stopping to take pictures. 

Before the hike started we saw this lady cooking Silkworms and Hotteok (Korean pancake with cinnamon inside). Obviously I did not try the cooked silkworms but I did get Hotteok which was delicious.

After we got our snacks we headed up the hill. There was lots children, families older people and groups hiking today. Apparently hiking is a big deal in Korea. 

This hike is really pretty. I would do it again in the fall just to see all the pretty colours of the trees. This was my view at the starting of the hike. Buddha's birthday is coming up soon which is why there are colourful lanterns everywhere.

This was a beautiful temple we saw on our hike. Love the colours!

I think it took about 40 minutes to get here. We took lots of breaks since we stopped for pictures and needed to catch our breath.

They were doing construction on the other side of the fortress which is why you see the blue tarp. As we continued walking there were many great sights to see of the wall. This is the view as we kept walking.

From the tallest peak on the mountain where there is a great view of Seoul. Unfortunately, it was cloudy when we went to the view wasn't too good, but I took pictures anyways! One picture is a view from a rest point and the other is a view from the cliff above.

We also passed by a commanding post on our hike so we stopped to take some pictures. I love my selfies! This places was busy there were lots of groups and children here. Luckily I snapped pictures when no one was on the command post.

It took a couple of hours for us to get to Yeonjubong Peak, which is the tallest peak looking into the mountains. Don't mind my selfie hahaha.

This was a really long hike, lucky there are lots of places to get food but people also bring food and have a picnic. But as we continued on with our hike there were many restaurants to eat at. It was like a little town in the mountains. We picked one restaurant, but I can't remember the name. It was one where we had to sit on the floor; what I had been dying to do! 

The first picture is the outside of the restaurant! It had a beautiful Cherry Blossom tree. At the restaurant we ordered Seafood Paejeon, which is basically a Korean pancake (egg, wheat flour, rice flour) with green onions and squid with a whole bunch of side dishes. Also, we ordered a dish with Bulgogi and vegetables, which is made at our table and was delicious. I was very leery about trying the Paejeon because it doesn't sound appetizing, but when I tried it I couldn't get enough!

Look what I had discovered in the bathroom. I've never used one of there before hahaha.  I definitely thought I was going to pee on myself!

After our food we decided to check out the Emergency Palace. So far the Palaces i've seen have looked similar because they were both for the Joseon Dynasty. This was a places the the King's would go in case of an emergency like war.

This was the last stop on our hike....Thank God! I was exhausted since I had 4 hours of sleep! But it was a really great thing to see, not sure I would do it again just yet. Maybe in the fall! The first picture is of the little town in the mountains. The second picture is a different view of the gate where we first started.

To get out of the mountains we had to go back down where we came from which was worse going down that coming up. It was very steep and I almost felt I needed to fun down but if I did I would have fallen!