I woke up lazily today at 9am, took a shower and headed down for my first (and only) sit down breakfast of the trip. It was another expensive buffet at the hotel costing KRW 48,000 for a very basic spread.
After breakfast that's barely inspiring, I headed out for my day tour all the way south of Seoul. It was, however, an easy ride to Suwon station due to the direct line from Seoul station. The journey took around an hour to complete. When I walked into Suwon station, I was shocked to find a bustling complex! I've always thought this would be a small town that's more known for its tourism than commerce.
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| walk towards the palace |
After getting the directions from the nearby information centre, I made my 40 min walk towards the Hwaseong Fortress. First stop: Hwaseong Haenggung. This UNESCO site was a temporary palace built in the 1700s and was also the filming location for the famous Korean drama 大长今. The palace was small in comparison to the one in Seoul, but more quaint and 'homely'. Either it was my lucky day or there was a festival going on, all entrance fees to each attractions were waived that day, and there were several free public performances throughout the city! I'll let the pictures do the talking for Hwaseong Haenggung.
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| my lucky day |
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| female lead of the drama |
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| male lead of the drama |
After the palace tour, I headed for the river. Along the way, I chanced upon a store selling fried chicken. As I was hungry and had a sudden craving for it due to the aroma from its kitchen, I stepped in to make my order. Mae-hyang Tong Dak was the name of the store, and apparently was frequent by many local celebrities! The shop looked pretty normal, nothing fancy. Apart from the rather unusual side sides of pickled radish and chips, you wouldn't really know whether it's worth the time to eat here. That is until the main dish arrived. The chicken (whole spring) was fried to perfection with thin crisp skin and still succulent tender meat. The intense fragrance of the chicken was undeniable. The first bite, the taste of salt and burst of chicken juices overwhelmed the senses. I was surprised I managed to finish the whole chicken (minus the innards).
After a very full lunch, it was a leisurely walk towards the river. Welcome to Suwon's version of the Cheonggi River in Seoul! This is a little more country with tall grass and wall creepers. I've arrived at the walls of this ancient city! The walls were preserved very well, every pieces of bricks looked cleaned and new. It was a good hour of walking, and getting lost, before I found my bearings again and headed back to Suwon Station. Almost 2 hours later, I returned to Hilton and took the airport shuttle to Incheon International for the night.
Yes, it is correct, I stayed overnight at Incheon Airport. There is a premium Jimjilbang called Spa on Air. It's a small scale bathhouse with only hot and cold pools plus showers. Of course, there are the communal sleeping mats. The good thing about this place was guests are allowed to exit for a maximum of an hour each time, hence I took this opportunity to grab a bowl of Korean spicy noodle soup for dinner.
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