A Nice Time In Seoul

Last weekend I spent some time in Seoul. With almost 3 weeks of vacation time, I have lots of free time and really nothing planned. So, I've decided to do some sight seeing in Seoul. Here's the results. Here is one of the remaining gates that marked the boundary of old Seoul. This one is in Deongdaemun, which is a huge shopping area in Seoul. If you want a bargain, this is the section of the city to visit. This was early in the morning.

Being morning, it was time for breakfast. Here is the most beautiful thing that I've ever seen. The first time I've had breakfast out in 9 months. Mmmmmm... mcmuffin bliss. Does it get any better than this?
Here is the most famous street in all of Korea. This is affectionately called "Hooker Hill." This street is in Itaewon, where all of the foreigners hang out. Lining the street are clubs. As you walk down the street, scantily clad Korean women come out saying "hey baby, come in here, baby, where are you going?" Won lives farther along this street. Also, at the top of Hooker Hill is the Central Mosque of Korea. Strange. When in Korea, you must visit the hill just once.

Well, Won joined me and we went to go check out the new (only opened last year) national museum of Korea. They had an exhibit from the Louvre, but that has to wait until another time. Here's some great shots from the museum.

Here is the view from the center of the museum. Here is the Seoul tower which is on top of a very big mountain. There is a gondola ride to the mountain and you can go up in the tower. You will NEVER get pictures from the gondola or the tower... I'm afraid of hights. This is as close as you're gonna get.Back to the museum. Shots from the inside.

Here's a big ancient style map of Korea on the floor of the museum. Pretty neat. Kids liked it. I liked it.

This is my cheezy pose. Big candle holder. A bit too over the top for my apartment though, don't you think?

Here is a giant stone seal, a name stamp. Sometimes called a "chop" by Westerners. It's about the size of a fist or larger.

This Buddha is about 3 stories tall. It scared the hell out of Won. Something about the color combination always scared him, as a child and to this day. It's pretty amazing. You can't really see it in the picture, but on Buddha's upper chest there is a swastika, which is a good symbol in Buddhism. It's an odd thing to see. Eventhough I know what it means, when I see it on buildings and temples, I always do a bit of a double take.

Okay. Do you know what this is? It's not a giant tylenol capsule. It's not a whale suppository. It's not a giant stone phallus. It's a coffin. How bizarre.