Day 71 – Seoul
Today we decided to finish what we started yesterday, so we went back to the Korean War Memorial. What we saw today, were the upper levels that were dedicated to the recent Korean War. It was once again very powerful and thought provoking. There was even a brief exhibit on the Vietnam War, which was interesting.
Once we had completed the exhibits inside the complex, we went outside for lunch and we were lucky to see a military band playing. There was quite a few band members, so we are unsure if this is a daily occurrence or not.
From the War Memorial, we walked to the National Museum of Korea, which houses lots of ancient artefacts. The museum has a bit of a cross over with the War Memorial in regards to the ancient kingdoms of Korea. Once again the National Museum is massive, and we only completed the first 2 levels thoroughly and then sped through the third level until it was closed.
The Museum also housed nice views of the Seoul Tower (aka Namsan Seoul Tower). After we left the museum we caught a train close by to the tower. Google Maps (which isn’t that great in Korea) was showing a short route, but as the elevation was not shown we were in for a bit of a shock. First there is a decent incline, and then stairs. Heaps of stairs.
Once we made it to the top, we were greeted with beautiful views of the city. We bought tickets to go up to the observatory. There was a 15 minute wait to go to the top, but once we were up we could enjoy 360 views of the city. It was stunning. The tower it not well suited for cameras as the glass is smeared with fingerprints. The journey down the lift took almost 30 minutes, which was a bit annoying, but it gave us time to further appreciate the views.
Ancient signalling system There is a walkway full of locks.
We then headed back home to the always busy Itaewon district.