One and a half weeks into my stay in Korea back then, I decided to finally join a city walking tour. That was the original plan but because I was busy in the first 1.5 weeks, and I was exhausted from the madness of carrying luggages here and there. Furthermore, I had went on a trip to Busan that weekend, I took a day off to rest at the apartment and do some thinking..some Seoul searching.
It was Monday. I could hear the sound of the cold harsh wind crashing on the windows. It sounded unforgiving. After breakfast that day, I did some research work for my thesis paper (which my professor decided to want to publish it after a year since we completed thesis so I had to do extra work on that). I got a little tired and the apartment got a little stuffy. So I went up to the 29th floor to visit the rooftop lounge to clear my head.
5 seconds into the open air, I decided, I should do some walking tours. I had totally forgotten about doing it. I wanted to go on a walking tour and find new friends who would like to visit some places together. I also remembered my host telling me to visit Naksan Park which is supposedly gorgeous to walk around with a cup of coffee or tea in my case, in the evening or at night. So there I have it – a plan for Tuesday, the next day.
I went back to the apartment and looked up for walking tours around Naksan Park. It wasn’t that difficult to find one that is free, so signed up I did for the Seoul Fortress Wall walking tour course. This course would bring me along the Naksan section of the wall.
On Tuesday, I went out bright and early for a heavy br-unch at Eid Halal Korean food restaurant in Itaewon. I have heard of so many good reviews of the food there and wanted to try it out. A few years back, it was not easy to find halal Korean food, so I relied mostly on Muree Halal Korean food restaurant (also in Itaewon and they also serve Indian food). This time round, I noticed many new halal restaurants serving Korean food in the area as well. At Eid Restaurant, I ate Bulgogi with Seaweed Soup and it was amazing.
After br-unch, I slowly made my way to Dongdaemun History and Culture Park where the meeting place would be. And the rest… you can watch it in this video!
That place is absolutely gorgeous! We also had a quick round at Ihwa Mural Village and it is bursting with colours! The entire Fortress spans all around Seoul and that day, we only visited the section with Naksan Park. Nakta means camel. San means mountain. Nak-san is basically camel mountain – and the place got its name because the hills resembles that of a camel.
The views are amazing. We spent about 3 to 4 hours walking through that section but it felt like it was over in minutes! I also felt that our tour guide was rushing us a little bit here and there so I couldn’t digest the view that was in front of me. I wished I had more time for photos and videos but I guess this is what happens when you go on a walking tour – or basically just any tour. Definitely, I prefer to roam around the area at my own pace.
This was also when I met a Singaporean lady who was travelling by herself in South Korea for about two weeks, just like me. She had only started her trip while I was about to end mine. At first, I was a little upset when she told me that she will be going to Busan in two days because I thought we could go to some places together for this week. But then, she said,
“You know what, if you wanna go to these places together, I can totally push my Busan trip to the week after. I am in no rush but you’ll be going back soon!”
My heart squealed with joy! Is she for real? Will she really do that? But why? I mean, I’m fine I could go on my own but if she’s going to come with me, it will make the trip better! I was doubting myself, her decision and just questioning if this was real.
After the walking tour ended at Hyehwa Station, I asked her if she would like to sit down at a cafe and plan out something. We visited Beansbin Cafe (my favourite cafe serving amazing waffles!!), had our quick early dinner and started planning our route for the days to come.
When I got back to the apartment, I could not believe what I did or what just happened. My final week in South Korea started to look exciting and I had no regrets!
x
Nur
Travel & Come Back 