"The Climb"

On Election Day a few of us hiked up Gwanak Mountain (Gwanaksan). It was a fairly warm day, and the hike was pretty exhausting for some of us who are out of shape!

It was well worth it though as we reached to summit and could see most of Seoul. Next time, I hope to do the hike at night. What a view that will be.

There were 2 other parts that really stood out. One, our feet were tired from climbing over rocks and up the stairs built into the mountain, so we took a break and soaked our feet in a small running stream. It was extremely cold, but felt great! Two, once we reached the bottom, we relaxed in the shade at one of the few small restaurants that serve makeoli and pajeon. Always an amazing treat.

Here are some photos of the hike:

Overlooking Gwanak

Stonewall facade on the way up to the temple

Some hikers taking a break at the Yeonju Hermitage

The temple overlooking Gwanak

I loved the view...

Another part of the temple teetering on the edge of the mountain...

Seoul Racehorse Park

Seoul Grand Park - Seoul Land in the distance

Southern Seoul

Half of Seoul

Southern Seoul - The Han River

A closer shot - Namsan tower and the Han River

Panoramic - Gwansan

Our little group...

"Zoo Station"

As my short vacation has officially started, I awoke early and took the train to Gwacheon (Seoul Grand Park). From what I've seen online, it looked like a relatively small place. Boy was I wrong! This place was huge! It not only incorporates a ginormous zoo, but also has a botanical garden, National Museum of Modern Art, Seoul-land Amusement Park, and probably more.

I decided to only go to the zoo and museum for now, as it was scorching hot (I have a lovely sunburn now). I'm not a big fan of amusement parks anyways, and I figured it would just be a ton of kids and lines. I didn't bother taking the available tram (which was only about 50 cents) and decided to walk, as on the map, the place doesn't look that large. Wrong again - as it was about a mile from the subway stop exit to the zoo entrance. Thankfully I had bought a liter of Gatorade to get me through the day!


I was able to get some nice photos around the zoo, and even splurged ($2) to see the Dolphin and Seal show. It lasted only about 15 minutes, but was cute and entertaining. Below is a video of the highlights of the show as well some photos and a link to more zoo photos.

As usual, the rest of the photo's can be found here.

Here are a couple of shots from the Museum of Modern Art (at the same link as above):