Cuisine & Culture the Chinese Family Way
We were so lucky to have booked a hotel (Ibis Ambassador Myeongdong Hotel) so close to Myeongdong night market! Little did we know at the time of booking that this place was so convenient! It is located in the popular Myeongdong shopping district and is within walking distance of many popular locations, like LOTTE Department Store, LOTTE Young Plaza, Namsan cable car, meeting point for day trips etc. It is near Euljiro 1-ga subway station exit 6.
If you are a foodie, then you should visit Gwangjang market at least once! It is a highly recommended place to visit! Just remember to go there with an empty stomach! There are over 5,000 shops in a very small area! This place is very near to Jongno 5-ga Station line 1, exit 7/8, which takes a 3-minute walk or Euljiro 4-ga Station line 2/5, exit 4 and about a 5-min walk. After finishing your food, you can take a stroll near the bridges with stepping stones and shop at the fashion malls near there.
Day five of our South Korean trip was a Saturday and both my children wanted to have a lie-in. Hence we decided to take it easy and visit the local area instead. We were within walking distance (maybe 30 minutes) of N Seoul Tower and booked the tickets with Namsan Cable Car via Klook (costs £76.16 for four people). As the Wonder Trip ticket office only opened at 1pm on Saturdays, we had plenty of time to explore the nearby area before picking up the tickets.
Jogyesa Temple is the main temple of the Jogye Order and a symbol of Korean Buddhism, and it is located in the heart of Seoul. It was founded in 1910 and is a place to practice Buddhism as well as a centre for education, culture and social services. This is a very impressive and colourful temple. The Main Dharma Hall/Daeungjeon is open 24 hours a day to the public.
Bukchon Hanok Village is home to over 900 traditional Korean houses and it is one of the recommended places to visit while on holiday in Seoul. The location didn’t disappoint me at all, but many tourists dressed up in hanbok and spent ages taking multiple shots and some were even doing a live feed on the street. They do have a number of tourist officials to control the crowds and make sure they don’t invade the local people’s privacy, especially around the hilltop. I still think it is not easy to enjoy the architecture of the buildings. All we did was try to avoid photobombing other people’s photos or videos. It was not easy to take any nice shots.
When we first researched South Korea, a biking activity never came across my mind. Someone even suggested to me to go biking at the Han River which is definitely not my cup of tea!
Anyway, I decided to take on the Gangchon rail bike only after I came across the day trip for Nami Island offers on the Klook app. As the Nami Island day trip offers add-on activities, I decided to book it along with Petite France and Italian Village. I was so glad we went for it as both my children loved this activity!
