The Wilful Sunflower

I've figured out why I couldn't sleep on the flights. It's because my legs couldn't get comfortable.

Now, I don't usually have leg problems. I'm only 158cm (about 5' 2") tall — err, I mean short — and most of the time, I sit with my legs curled up, like a Buddha except I'm not quite that plump. (But I think I might be getting there. Erk!) I sit like that at the office, too, in front of the PC, if I'm wearing jeans. Which I do. A lot.

So it surprised me to find the lack of leg room a problem on the aeroplane. I don't know how all the long-legged guys ever manage. Yet they all slept on the flight, and I couldn't!

On our last day in S. Korea, our group purposely booked the late evening flight so we would have some time to sight-see and get gifts/souvenirs. I'm afraid we did the whole tourist thing. Oh no, I'm just like any other foreign tourist! I buy cheesy keychains and big white T-shirts with the word "KOREA" emblazoned over the front in big bold print!

When I was told we'd have to leave at 5am in order to make the 3-hour drive to Seoul, so as to give us an early start & more time to do/see/buy stuff, I was like, "Good grief, I can't believe I'm waking up at 4am to go shopping!" But of course it was worth it :)

First, we went to a place called Namdaemun Market. It's a maze of narrow lanes packed with shops on either side. There were souvenir/gift shops, accessories shops, jeans shops, T-shirt shops, footwear shops, leather goods shops, hangbag shops, jacket & winter wear shops, traditional costume shops, and even a few shops selling mannequins and clothes hangers! Quite reminded me of Petaling Street here, in a way, except that these were proper shops and not stalls. But there was the same kind of feel with the narrow lanes and the goods being displayed on shelves out on the sidewalk.

I'm always looking out for unusual earrings, so I walked into several accessories shops. Discovered what Scott meant when he said it's depressing to travel so far and see the same stuff you would get at home... A pity, really.

Next we were taken to the Gyeongbokgung Palace. According to the guy who drove us there, no one stays in the palace anymore. Info from the Net (I love Google) says the palace was constructed in 1395 — man, that's OLD — and was meant to be the royal family's primary residence. Its name apparently means "palace of shining blessings".

We were in time to witness the change of guards and I have to tell you, those fellas look very fierce indeed! I had my picture taken with two of them. Really hope the photos turn out well :D

After visiting the palace, we went to Insadong, which had a lot of craft shops. Ceramic pottery shops, calligraphy shops with different kinds of paper and brushes of all sizes, art/painting shops showcasing Korean artists' work. I din't buy any of these things coz they'd be difficult to carry back, and Dad had already warned me that anything fragile might break before I even get home. However, I did manage to get some Korean traditional biscuits. Or at least I assume they're traditional coz some of them slightly resemble the Chinese ones we have, with sesame seeds on top and such. I really wished I could speak some Korean so I could ask what they were made of!

To round off our sight-seeing, we went to Itaewon, where I was amazed at the number of foreigners (read: Westerners) we met on the street. I'd hardly seen any Westerners in the other places we'd been to; someone speculated that perhaps the US military base might be nearby the area. Itaewon's an ordinary road flanked by shops on either side, selling all kinds of stuff. By this time all the souvenir stuff had become "normal" to us — "Oh, it's that again, eh". How quickly the novelty wears off...

So, after doing some serious damage to my credit card, I'm now back in KL. I got T-shirts for family members since I couldn't think of anything else. It was the most practical thing I could think of for my practical parents!