Seoul Day 1 by Gordon - Yonggungsa Temple 龙宫寺, Gyeongbok Palace 景福宫, Myeongdong 明洞, and N Seoul Tower 南山首尔塔

Seoul Day 1

Yonggungsa Temple 龙宫寺, Gyeongbok Palace 景福宫, Insadong Street 仁寺洞, Myeongdong 明洞, and N Seoul Tower 南山首尔塔

~ Gordon

Trip to Asia: Day 1 - Seoul / Hong Kong
Day 2 - Hong Kong
Day 3 - Macau / Zhuhai
Day 4 - Yangshuo
Day 5 - Guilin
Day 6 - Beihai
Day 7 - Sanya
Day 8 - Sanya
Day 9 - Sanya
Day 10 - Sanya
Day 11 - Haikou
Day 12 - Zhuhai
Day 13 - Hong Kong / Seoul
Day 14 - Seoul

Seoul Day 1 : Incheon international airport, Gyeongbokgung Palace,Insa-dong
N Seoul Tower, Myeong-dong, Incheon international airport

Han River, Gyeongbok Palace

guard changing ceremony, N Seoul Tower

    

Guard Changing Ceremony at Gyeongbok Palace

and Seoul Tower View

Thanksgiving decoration at UC Berkeley campus

Leaving for airport

from UC Berkeley

Beautiful early morning of Han River 汉江, Seoul

Free Seoul Transit Tour bus,

our big comfy tour bus

Our Asia trip started from Seoul. The flight arrived at Incheon airport at 5:30 AM in the morning. Because our departure flight was at 7:10 PM in the evening, we decided to join the Free Seoul Transit Tour at the airport. We took 3 transit tours, Yonggungsa Temple tour for 1 hour, Gyeongbok Palace and Insadong tour for 5 hours, Seoul Tower and Myeongdong tour for 5 hours. The tour includes everything, which means no worry about the transportation, the food. We even took several good naps at our big comfy tour bus. What a wonderful day in Seoul!

Transit tour group picture, at Insadong 

    Seoul was very nice, as it had many tourist attractions, and beautiful decorations. There were ancient palaces in the heart of the city. There were buildings as high as skyscrapers. There were some streets, filled with restaurants and shops. I can't believe that I walked so many places in Seoul on the very first day.

Yonggungsa Temple 龙宫寺

Yonggungsa Temple

Yonggungsa Temple

1300 old tree of Yonggungsa Temple

Yonggungsa Temple

Yonggungsa Temple inside

Yonggungsa Temple

Buddha at

Yonggungsa Temple

Yonggungsa Temple

Yonggungsa Temple

Yonggungsa Temple

Yonggungsa Temple

Bell at

Yonggungsa Temple

    We first went to Yonggungsa Temple 龙宫寺, while learning so much about the temple’s history. The building even built in 670! It also has trees over 1300 years old! It was also a place to explore nature. There were still monks that live here, along with a still working bell.

Gyeongbok Palace 景福宫

At the entrance

光化门

光化门

兴礼门

Guard changing ceremony at 光化门

Guard changing ceremony at 光化门

Guard changing ceremony at 光化门

Guard changing ceremony at 光化门

Guard changing ceremony at 光化门

Guard changing ceremony at 光化门

Guard changing ceremony at 光化门

兴礼门

Walking towards

勤政殿

Walking towards

勤政殿

勤政殿

勤政殿

勤政殿

勤政殿

勤政殿

Guardian at the palace

Walkway

Sun Clock

Guardian at the palace

Stone stairs

思政殿

千秋殿

千秋殿

庆会楼

庆会楼

庆会楼

Beautiful view at Gyeongbok Palace

庆会楼

     Gyeongbok Palace 景福宫 is the largest royal palace, built in 1395 and was the main palace for many years. This was built earlier than the Forbidden City in Beijing, 25 years. It was wrecked in 1592, during the war between Korea and Japan. As a result, it was destroyed. It was restored only in 1867. The guard changing ceremony was the one you must not miss. The music they played was traditional, along with the marching guards. It was amazing.

Seoul Tower 南山首尔塔

Driving towards Seoul Tower

At the foothill of Namsan mountain

Climbing up towards Seoul Tower

Climbing up towards Seoul Tower

At the top of Namsan

At the top of Namsan

At the top of Namsan

At the top of Namsan

At Seoul Tower Plaza

At Seoul Tower Plaza

Putting on traditional

Korean cloth

At Seoul Tower Plaza

At the top of Namsan

At the top of Namsan

At the top of Namsan

At the top of Namsan

Lover locks at Seoul Tower

At the top of Namsan

At the top of Namsan

Namsan Seoul Tower

      Seoul Tower 南山首尔塔 is located high up on Namsan mountain. It is awesome with many scenes to see the whole Seoul city. It is an observatory tower on Namsan, standing 236 meters high. It marks the highest point in Seoul. It looks like a lotus blossom on a mountain.

Myeongdong 明洞

at Myeongdong intersaction

Looking at Seoul Tower

from Myeongdong intersaction

Myeongdong

Myeongdong

Myeongdong

Myeongdong

Myeongdong

Myeongdong

Myeongdong

Myeongdong

Rose ice cream at Myeongdong

Myeongdong

Bakery at Myeongdong

Yummy bread

Yummy bread

Insadong 仁寺洞

At the sign of Insadong

Bun in Pokemon characters

Beef Stew

Lunch

     Myeongdong 明洞 is a place famous for female cosmetic stuff, as well as lots of restaurants, shopping, and night market. It is a landmark for ladies. Myeongdong has lots of modern structures. Insadong 仁寺洞 is also a popular shopping place, along with some hotels. We also ate our traditional Korean lunch there, Vegetable Mixture Rice and Beef Stew, and they were really yummy.

光化门

Leaving for Incheon airport

Traditional Korean singing and dance,

Culture Festival at Incheon airport

     We went to many places. The Gyeongbok Palace was really fun, as it was the royal palace and was also very historical. The guard changing ceremony, which lasts about half an hour, was very interesting. The Seoul Tower had an amazing city view, at an amazing 236 meters. Myeongdong and Insadong were good shopping places, and good places for many hotels. They were crowded with tourists. My first day in Seoul was very nice.