Overview
The Budget
2 people/ $1700 per person/ 6 Days
- $60AUD each spending money per day
- $60AUD each per night accommodation
- $900AUD return flights each Brisbane to Seoul via Beijing (Air China)
Hotels
- Ramada Hotel and Suites Seoul Namdaemun
- Swissôtel Beijing Hong Kong Macau Center
Destinations
Beijing (Round 1)
We booked a flight from Brisbane, in Australia, to Seoul, South Korea, with both of us having wanted to visit for quite some time. After a quick scroll through skyscanner.com, I managed to stumble on a relatively cheap flight with a decent layover in Beijing both ways. So, we got on the Air China flight which was pleasant enough, although the entertainment options were limited and the console controller very user-unfriendly.
Eventually, we landed in the very cool air of Beijing, in stark contrast to the Queensland summer we left behind, and we made our way to the visa application booth. We had done some research and discovered that as Australian passport holders we could get an on-arrival entry up to 144 hour because we had arrived overseas and were heading to another country. ( see here for more details: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/beijing/144hours-visa-free.htm) Once, through this and headed to the train-line. Now, to get a ticket from the machine or the counter, you need to have cash so you should get some out at the atms in the main part of the airport. We got on the comfortable train and headed to the terminus, Dongzhimen
We decided to wander from here towards the hutong (traditional streets and houses in Beijing). It was a bit of a walk to the more traditional part of Beijing from Dongzhimen so we stopped off to grab some tea to warm us up and continued south west along the grid until the streetscape began to distinctly change. Just wandering through these living old neighbourhoods was a great experience although it was clearly a bit worn. We did stumble onto Wangfujing market though, just off the main pedestrian mall. Wangfujing was alive with tourists, international and domestic, and it seems here is home to some of the more interesting foods (see below).
We tried to head to the forbidden palace but some language difficulties, strange blockades and the naturally pedestrian unfriendly layout of a socialist city meant we missed on on this step but we managed to see Tianamen square, just opposite the forbidden city. We honestly walked for hours around the streets, stopping in a little food stores embedded in the streetfront walls. We didn’t have long on this stop so we headed back to the airport to move onwards to our main destination, Seoul.
Seoul
The flight from Beijing to Seoul is relatively short, about two hours, and we got out of the older Gimpo airport at about 9 at night. Whilst Gimpo may be older, it was well connected and had all the facilties you will likely need. We ccaught the metro and then checked into our hotel in Namdaemun and crashed after a very busy day.
On the very first day in Seoul, we headed to my personal favourite, Family Mart, for some fantastic fast baked goods. Our hotel was really close to the Namdaemun gate so we headed there first to take some selfies and to watch the changing of the guard. After this, we wandered over to Namdaemun markets to peruse the wares and to grab some buns and snacks along our way.
Being the avid walkers we are, we decided to walk north to see something of personal interest to me, the Cheonggyecheon-ro. This small river was once buried under a highway and was rehabilitated into great public space but one of the progressive mayors in the early 2000s and since learning about it in my studies, it was great to see and wander along its banks in person. I strongly recommend anyone who visits to spend some time casually strolling along it.
As the day started to darken we headed back in the direction of the hotel but decided we needed to have some Korean fried chicken and beer in the home of these foods so we found one that was quite popular with locals in Namdaemun and over-ordered. I think we had a whole chicken each, slathered in delicious chilli sauce. Of, course, with a big stein of hite on the side.
The next day, we decided would be a bit more cultural, once again we walked north to Bukchon Hanok but on the way we stumbled on the Bosingak, a large bell pavillion. It sits in an unassuming spot on the corner of two streets but here you can dress in traditional korean garb and walk onto the belfry. After this deviation we headed onwards and hit the quaint and steep streets of Bukchon, we spent quite some time wandering around, briefly stopping for bubble tea. We followed one of the suggested loops before managing to stumble on a side entrance to Palace grounds. This was a beautiful site, the national folk museum is located here and there are multiple pagodas and well manicured gardens to wander.
Eventually we hit the actual palace itself and had the chance to enter the enclosed spaces, rooms and gardens. We couldn’t help but think of the Chinese Imperial Palace in Beijing and apparently, the Korean palace echoed the forbidden city in many regards but on a much smaller scale. We later visited the forbidden city and I would recommend Gyeongbokgung over it any day of the week.
That night, we booked a tour to the demilitarised zone with the USO. So, the next day we headed off early to the USO office. The tone of this day was quite reflective, we were in a small group in a minivan with an amazing Korean guide. I can’t remember her name but she was great. We headed out early and went to the Bridge of Freedom park. It was here we saw the bridge where Prisoners of War were exchanged and a bombed out train that once headed into North Korean territory.
After this, we headed out of South Korea and into DMZ. Our first stop here was the Dora observatory, here we looked out over the bunkers and the patrol line into North Korea whilst propaganda blarred from both sides espousing the virtues of each Korea.
We then travelled a short distance to the tunnels. These were where one of the tunnels were dug by North Korea in a plan to get thousands of troops into South Korea, beyond the border by surprise. It was here that I learned that in the 1970s, North Korea was the wealthier of the two countries and the more advanced and if the tunnels were not discovered, may well have won. The most exciting part about point in the tour was that we were able to enter the very steep and confined tunnel under North Korean territory.
Next, we headed along a more recently built highway connecting both Koreas and had a quick Korean lunch beside some military personnel stationed in the DMZ. The highway and train station were built at a time of hope and cooperation when it was believed that they were on the path to reconcilliation and reunion but at the time of visiting the train station and highway did not allow travel any further north. We headed home after a long but enjoyable day reflective of the modern history of South Korea and how it was still affecting the peninsula.
On our final day in Seoul, we walked to the National Museum of Korea and managed to catch a party for the Winter Olympics, we couldn’t understand a thing but it looked like a hoot. The museum was mixed, I thoroughly enjoyed the lower levels that walked us through Korean history, although more detail about each of the periods would have been appreciated. The remaining levels of the museum were largely devoted to pottery, which we aren’t a fan of.
We caught the metro back to Namdaemun and waked up Namsan mountain, which is pretty steep but has fantastic views over the city. The goal was for us to reach the top of Namsan Seoul Tower to see the sun set and we managed to get there but it was already extremely busy. We did slowly weedle our way to the window to see the lights flicker on over the city. For dinner, we decided to head down the main shopping streets in Myeongdong. The place was alive and in the centre the streets were kiosks with the best food. We ate so much and I do recommend the giant clam with cheese delicious, albeit expensive. And so ended our time in Seoul unfortunately.
Beijing (round 2)
The next day we headed back to Beijing for another two day stopover. We got the same visa and checked into our hotel in Dongzhimen. This time we managed to get into the forbidden city. Which is huge by the way, we spent a fair bit of time wandering the parks, complexes and broad open spaces that defined the forbidden city.
On our second day in Beijing we wandered the nearby Beihai patk andn Jingshan Park, enjoying the views from the peak and tranquil sounds of the buddhist temple. We found some delicious noodles for lunch in Dong Cheng before our flight back home.
The Other Travel Guide 