Asian Adventure - Part 2 - Gangnam Style, South Korea

On my final night in Japan I was feeling slightly stressed since I would be arriving in Seoul, South Korea the next day and still had no accommodation.... I resorted to posting a message on the 'Emergency Couch Request Seoul' group page and hoped for the best. To my extreme relief, Maeve from Ireland messaged me to say her couch was free and I was welcome to stay. Phew! No hostel costs for me :)
I met up with Maeve and we clicked instantly. She was really knowledgeable about the sights of Seoul and I soon had a whole list of things to do over the next couple of days.

I wanted to see what cultural sights Seoul had to offer but I also wanted to see some of the natural sights since I didn't have long in the country.

I went to see Heunginjimun Gate aka Dongdaemun ('East Gate'), one of four gates to Seoul:

Around this area were markets of all shapes and sizes with scooters buzzing around all over the place, it was absolute chaos. I found it quite odd that they had entire markets for the same product; there was an entire market just for shoes, then there was the pet market with cages full of the usual things like fish, rabbits hamsters, chickens etc, and the less usual things like hedgehogs and terrapins.

Then I went for a hike up Inwangsan Mountain where Shaminists chant and worship along the way. There was a pretty good view from the top!

Next I made my way to Gyeongbokgung Palace where I was met by traditionally dressed guards....

...and was lucky enough to arrive in time to see the changing of the guards...

....I have no idea how long each guard has to stand as still as a statue for before the next guard comes to fill his place!

Then I went to Gwanghwamun Plaza...

...where they did free calligraphy writing. My Calligraphy says:

'Life is not to be flown away, But filled with beautifully'!

After receiving my free souvenir I wanted to visit the N Seoul Tower at Mt. Namsan. This time I was lazy and took the cable car:

At the top there were also beacons and whole fence of padlocks with writing on them:

They are left by couples to symbolise their eternal love.
On my second day in Seoul I went to the busy streets of Insadong and the tiny lanes of Bukchon Village to see Changdeokgung Palace:

After lunch, since Japan had given me cat cafes, I thought I would check out one of Seoul's popular dog cafes 'Cafe Pawz' in Gangnam. It was fun, a little chaotic, but I made some new friends!

Later I tried traditional Korean Kimchi (kind of a spicy cabbage based dish) and prepared for arriving in Hong Kong.
I thought my Korean experience was over but when I arrived at Incheon airport there was loads of traditional experiences going on:

and I even got to paint my very own pendant in traditional patterns:

South Korea has so much to offer and I only scraped the surface. Hopefully I will get a chance to go back and see some of the more scenic and rural areas one day!