Our final days in Seoul we had no tours planned and had nothing we had to do, so we would see where the day would take us. Today it was the Gangnam neighborhood of Seoul, which is south of the Han river; made famous by the “Gangnam Style” song from a few years back; and both our guides told us that for most of Seoul’s history the area was farmland, once it began to be developed in the 1970s, it took off; and is now where the wealthy live and play and shop.
We ate lunch in on the first floor of a tall office building with many small restaurants inside; we saw a line for one called Wasshoiken and joined the queue. In just a few minutes we were inside, where a kind older lady who was running the front of the house showed us how to order on the kiosk, and we did, gave her the receipt, and sat down to enjoy an excellent Ramen lunch. They even had bibs as one knows Ramen is splashy.
After we walked around Gangnam, taking in the tall buildings, familiar and some not so familiar stores, and the hustle and bustle of the area. While we were not fully Gangnam Style (when planning for extended travel, cool and trendy clothes just aren’t on the menu).
After enough window shopping we hopped on a bus, headed for nearby Seoul Forest. It was a peaceful walk, as the park was sparsely populated, and winter was still in effect, but was a nice change of pace from the busyness of Gangnam.
We had seen a youtuber visit a Salt Bread bakery during our research, and she raved about it, and we noticed it was nearby. So we walked that way, through the Seongsu neighborhood, which is trendy we found out. There were a lot of young people shopping and walking through the streets, and we took it all in, making our way through the throngs of people.
We had heard the lines for Jayeondo Salted Bakery (which is unmarked, as you can see above) could be quite long. Salt bread “has a crispy, crackly crust and feather-light, pull-apart interior,” and lucky for us, the wait was minimal. Soon we had our four, which came in a plain white bag tied with string. We had to eat one right there, and it was one of the best, maybe the best, bread I’ve ever eaten (seriously). Then we ate another.
For the remaining two, we found a coffee shop and had coffee while sitting outside and listened to a young man play the violin. (Here is Jessica with our bag, and a stock photo of Salt Bread, since we ate them too fast as they were so freaking good!).
We took the green line train, which runs in a circle, intersecting with the other train lines (and if in Seoul, it is very easy to get from the Seongsu station to the Jayeondo Salted Bakery). Later, for dinner, we went to the Namdaemun Market to pick up some tasty dinner treats of steamed, thick, bun-like dumplings (one had ground meat and onions, the other kimchee) and pot stickers. They were great!
The next day was a chilly 26 degrees Fahrenheit (for the high temp!), so we looked for something to do inside, and that was visit the huge (and fancy) Coex Mall, which was back in Gangnam. But first, we decided to brave the cold (at least the sun was shining) and visit the sprawling and impressive Bonguesa Buddhist temple, just north of the mall. As we entered, four huge figures flanked massive doors into the complex:
Just inside the gates are steps leading to the main building.
We did not enter any of the temples, as that required taking off our shoes, and it was much too cold to do that, so we walked around the grounds, where there are paths to different buildings and through the nature.
I appreciated the contrast between the modern skyscrapers in the background, the tall trees, and these many buildings from past times. We saw the tallest stone Buddha, over three stories, from behind, and were awestruck, when we reached the front, we were even more so.
Finally the cold got to our bones, and we headed into the Coex Mall, which has many, many stores. The highlight is the Library in the center, which has shelves so tall its a wonder how the get books down, and everyone there is taking pictures or passing through on their way to more shopping, or simply riding the escalators to gawk.
We found restaurant row in the mall and ordered bibimbap on a computer screen before doing some more mall walking.
We had a dessert of blueberry ice cream (for me) and treat coffee for Jessica at a French styled cafe before taking the train back to the hotel, to blog and get ready for dinner.
For our last meal in Seoul we returned to Myeongdong Kyo Ja for more noodles and dumplings, and it was a perfect meal to end our time in Seoul. Highly recommended city full of good food and cultural things to do.
On to the next stop, Hong Kong!
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