Who would’ve thought a big city would fall asleep on 1st January?
Turns out this happens in Seoul. Major department stores are closed. Some small shops open.
And it turns out majority of the galleries and shops in the Bukchon & Samcheongdong area, found between the two famous palaces of Gyeongbok Palace and Changdeok Palace, were closed.
After walking through the streets, we got hungry and felt lucky to find a cafe that was open. Only after we filled our tummies and turned around the corner did we find more cafes that ready for business.
As far as I can read from the business card, this place is called Cafe 2.
I had citron tea again, but this one was much thicker and more generous (or heavy handed) with the citron mix than the one I had at Insadong. The other was much finer, lighter, more summery. I could go either way.
These waffles are more like the ones we find in Singapore. It was well cooked and crispy outside (unlike those in Singapore) but the inside was doughy and more like a pancake. I preferred the one from Coffeesmith. But I preferred the cream and the syrup on the side, rather than drizzled on, as it was at Coffeesmith. The blueberry dip was pretty much the same.
We did a bit of walking at Samcheong Park.
Then wandered down the narrow streets of traditional houses in Seoul.
We got a bit lost and asked a Korean family for help. They took us in for a 2-minute tour of their mother’s house. Here are her kimchi pots.
Then we made our way back to the subway for a ride back to Myeongdong.
We had Dak Jjim for lunch, which is a bit like chicken stew with flat-shaped tang hoon.
It’s an all-in-one dish you eat with rice.
In the afternoon, we headed to the prestigious Ewha Womans University.
The Campus Centre is designed by French architect Dominique Perrault. Although it is all steel and concrete, I think it fits pretty well with all the old buildings. The setting sun really made the place feel special.
There were some little shops around the area outside the university.
These tourists took a photo of the shops, I took a photo of them.
We returned early that night, had our last dinner of Korean BBQ, and packed our bags.
The next morning, we left at 5:30am and it was snowing slightly.
The airport was white with snow and our plane had to be de-iced.
Two cranes come next to the plane and spray on this thick viscous foamy stuff – like a snow wash for planes, a process that takes only 15 minutes. But we were waiting for take off for about an hour.
Two or three days later, after we returned, Seoul received 26cm of snow overnight and the airport closed. I wish I had been there to witness the white blanket.