First, poop cafe happened. I was going to save this picture for the food post, but I find the poop cafe in Insadong to be so exciting that I had to share it.
Once we had gotten our fill of poop-themed things and artsy things of Insadong, we forged through the holiday crowds to Gyeongbokgung.
Gyeongbokgung is the largest palace in the country and is home to gardens, historic buildings, a great museum, and a lot of kids roaming around.
Fortunately, the weather was nice and clear today – most of the polluted haze that had crowded our view of the surrounding mountains had cleared out due to the rain. I didn’t even know there were so many mountains nearby – gorgeous!
When we entered the palace grounds, we were just in time for the changing of the guard. They blew horns and paraded around the gates with flags in traditional dress.
Once inside, my powers of get lost immediately did not fail me. We proceeded to get lost in the maze of symmetrical palace buildings and gardens. We battled some schoolchildren to view a replica of a bronzeĀ sundial which also measured the seasons along with the time near one of the buildings…as long as pollution from China wasn’t overpowering the sun š
The palace rooms and buildings were segregated into different areas for men and women following Confucian principles – men separate from women at all times.
Perhaps the best part was the pond with a pagoda in the garden in the middle. A nice lady gave us some bread to feed the koi in the pond, and the sunset was just beginning to strike the pagoda. The palace was beginning to close and it was crowded with KoreanĀ girls and couplesĀ taking selfies.
Note to self: purchase selfie stick.
After Gyeongbokgung, we headed back to our hanok – traditional korean housing – for chicken, beer, and shenanigans.