Sparkling Seoul

Seoul, the capital of South Korea or sparkling Korea as it is called, is well-connected to most big cities of the world.

Seoul, the capital of SouthKorea or sparkling Koreaas it is called, is well-connectedto most big cities of theworld. Also referred to as the'Land of the Morning Calm',Korea is the seventh largesteconomy of the world.

The city is a unique blend ofthe traditional and the modern--what with being home totemples, palaces, pagodas andancient gardens on the onehand and a large number ofskyscrapers, shopping mallsand multi-storeyed apartmentblocks on the other.

Seoul is about three and ahalf hours flight from HongKong and we flew from NewDelhi to Hong Kong and thenfurther to Seoul. On landing atthe Incheon International airport,the first thing that strikesone is the enormous size of theairport; well-designed and keptsparkling clean and pretty.

The airport was a windowto the way Koreans are withvisitors. The people are everready to help and extend a lotof warmth and love to thevisitors. Language is a still abarrier although nowadaysmost of the people within thecity speak minimal English andthe signage and subwaysdisplay instructions in English.Still it is only good enoughto survive!

Barring language, Seoul hasa number of touristy things tooffer such as palaces, museums,art galleries, theatre, asalso ski resorts, river cruise,amusement parks and the like.

One of the palaces wevisited was the Changdeokgungpalace which is almost 700years old and was registeredwith UNESCO as a WorldCultural Heritage Site in 1997.It was meant to be used as asecondary palace but after theJapanese invasion became themain palace for 270 years. Itwas quite an experience goingthrough the palace and evenbetter was the narration ofhistory by the tour guide whoshared humourous anecdotesabout the royal lifestyle.

The city is a fun place forseafood lovers and there are adime a dozen joints availableroadside. They offer food whichis not only cheap but unbelievablyclean and hygienic thatone feels tempted to try themout. Interestingly, Indianrestaurants have made inroadshere and the ones we tried wereGanga and Indian Gate. Besidesthere are many Korean restaurantsand tofu specialty eateriesserved in addition to thepresence of multinationalchains. The good thing is thateven a vegetarian can findoptions to eat here.

The Seoul Tower is anotherexciting place to be if you wantto get an aerial view of thewhole city. It is situated on a262m high peak in Namsampark and is 370m high. An experiencenot to be missed.

For commuting, thesubway/metro is a good meansof transportation. Besides beingcheap, fast and reliable, it alsoprovides tourists with a glimpseof the lifestyle of the localinhabitants. It takes one tomost parts of Seoul and itssuburbs, and all signage andinstructions are well markedin English.

For shopping, Seoul offersthe most modern of shoppingmalls as well as traditionalKorean ware, which can bebought from the souvenir shopsin palaces etc. They seem to bemuch like the Feng Shuiproducts which are a rage backhome too.

Seoul has something or theother to offer people of all agesand interests. The best time tovisit would be summer andautumn because winters arereally harsh and does not allowtoo much outdoor activity.

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