With family summer trips all but impossible now that my kids have their own commitments, winter break became the only time for any kind of meaningful travel (and wife couldn’t make it because of work).
Enjoyed that. 인선동 pictures looked familiar. I remember enjoying the quaintness of it all...almost magical. Why did I think it was 인사동?
Also, 동대문 and the other remnants of Korean history are astounding. Odd size rocks appeal to me. Didn't know my history well enough though so now I will try to remember the dates...1300s... incredible.
What you describe is exactly the same impressions I got of Seoul every time I went there: juxtaposition of extremely old and brand new.
Yes, as far as 익선동 is concerned, it gives off that "best of both worlds" vibe. You have a traditional Korean house with those centuries-old frame and 기와 tile roofs but the body of the house has this ultra-modern interior. I loved what they did with that place.
What part of Korea do you live in, anyway? I thought it'd be Seoul.
Actually I'm back in the USA after two years in Korea -partly in 태백 area and then 영월/평창 area. (There was signage from 2018 평창 Olympics in jogging distance from where I lived...) Got a good feel of Korean countryside. Loved it.
태백 & 영월? the old coal mining towns. my gosh... you lived in REAL korean countryside. quiet and peaceful, i'm sure, but still backward towns, weren't they not? the mountains, the valleys, the bitter winters... phew... but i'll bet your lungs are perfectly clean from breathing in all that crisp, pure air. i'm glad that you liked it. both places I definitely want to visit -- I've heard about this really old and slow train that goes through the steep valleys.
Thank you for sharing some of the ways you have made travel plans affordable.
Also, I appreciate your humor, "There are things that a 54-year-old man wants to do when he travels, and there are things that 20-year-old girls (20, 19, 17 to be exact) want to do. And they’re largely incompatible. I don’t need to tell you whose plan we went with."
I love the idea of a Tokyo stop over. I have a friend who just came back from Japan and loved it, especially the bamboo forest. Cloud Gate Dance Theatre has a dance called Bamboo Dream and ever since seeing it performed, I have wished to visit a bamboo forest. [Also, the tv drama The King: Eternal Monarch has some marvelous scenes in a bamboo forest. - "One of the major filming locations of the series is the bamboo forest, where the door to either of the two worlds is located. The related scenes were shot at Ahopsan Bamboo forest, Busan. Some scenes were filmed at Taepyeong Salt Farm in Jeungdo Island in Sinan." - wikipedia info.]
Your stories are always fun to read and give me lots of ideas.
Yes, looking for bargains actually worked out for the better. I would book exactly the same itinerary again in a heartbeat, given an opportunity.
One of the things on my bucket list is to spend a month or two in Korea (not in Seoul) traveling to remote locations, to places you just talked about. Like the salt farm in Shinan, I know there is a very picturesque bamboo forest in Damyang, few of the very old Buddhist temples tucked away deep in the mountains...
Regrettably for me, Tokyo was about shopping also... And thank you as always for your kind comments.
Enjoyed that. 인선동 pictures looked familiar. I remember enjoying the quaintness of it all...almost magical. Why did I think it was 인사동?
Also, 동대문 and the other remnants of Korean history are astounding. Odd size rocks appeal to me. Didn't know my history well enough though so now I will try to remember the dates...1300s... incredible.
What you describe is exactly the same impressions I got of Seoul every time I went there: juxtaposition of extremely old and brand new.
Thanks!
Yes, as far as 익선동 is concerned, it gives off that "best of both worlds" vibe. You have a traditional Korean house with those centuries-old frame and 기와 tile roofs but the body of the house has this ultra-modern interior. I loved what they did with that place.
What part of Korea do you live in, anyway? I thought it'd be Seoul.
Actually I'm back in the USA after two years in Korea -partly in 태백 area and then 영월/평창 area. (There was signage from 2018 평창 Olympics in jogging distance from where I lived...) Got a good feel of Korean countryside. Loved it.
태백 & 영월? the old coal mining towns. my gosh... you lived in REAL korean countryside. quiet and peaceful, i'm sure, but still backward towns, weren't they not? the mountains, the valleys, the bitter winters... phew... but i'll bet your lungs are perfectly clean from breathing in all that crisp, pure air. i'm glad that you liked it. both places I definitely want to visit -- I've heard about this really old and slow train that goes through the steep valleys.
Thank you for sharing some of the ways you have made travel plans affordable.
Also, I appreciate your humor, "There are things that a 54-year-old man wants to do when he travels, and there are things that 20-year-old girls (20, 19, 17 to be exact) want to do. And they’re largely incompatible. I don’t need to tell you whose plan we went with."
I love the idea of a Tokyo stop over. I have a friend who just came back from Japan and loved it, especially the bamboo forest. Cloud Gate Dance Theatre has a dance called Bamboo Dream and ever since seeing it performed, I have wished to visit a bamboo forest. [Also, the tv drama The King: Eternal Monarch has some marvelous scenes in a bamboo forest. - "One of the major filming locations of the series is the bamboo forest, where the door to either of the two worlds is located. The related scenes were shot at Ahopsan Bamboo forest, Busan. Some scenes were filmed at Taepyeong Salt Farm in Jeungdo Island in Sinan." - wikipedia info.]
Your stories are always fun to read and give me lots of ideas.
Yes, looking for bargains actually worked out for the better. I would book exactly the same itinerary again in a heartbeat, given an opportunity.
One of the things on my bucket list is to spend a month or two in Korea (not in Seoul) traveling to remote locations, to places you just talked about. Like the salt farm in Shinan, I know there is a very picturesque bamboo forest in Damyang, few of the very old Buddhist temples tucked away deep in the mountains...
Regrettably for me, Tokyo was about shopping also... And thank you as always for your kind comments.