Where was I? (4) - Seoul

It was a quick trip to 서울 (Seoul) on a Monday 25 Aug, because I need to get some document signed at the embassy. Since it was not my first time to Seoul, I did not prepare much on sightseeing, as I expected to return to Busan on the day. Took an early morning KTX to Seoul, which cost me a bomb. I headed straight to the embassy once I reached Seoul station by taking the subway. Two 아줌마 asked me on separate times how to get to their destination. I just simply answer, as if I'm very familiar with Seoul. Lucky my guesses are correct.

Going to the embassy was actually quite a hassle, as the nearest train station is Hannam (한남 漢南) on the Central Line (중앙선 中央線). The station has only a single exit, and the embassy was on a slope, and require walking 15-20 minutes from the station, depending on how busy is the Hannam junction. When I finally was there, the staff (nice Korean lady who can speak fluent Malay and English) by the counter told me the person-in-charge was not available and told me I should have made an appointment before I come. I was stunted for awhile, but she was kind enough to get my number and try to schedule it as soon as possible.

I met a friend of a friend in Soongsil University to get Singapore mooncake from him. There, I had lunch at the university canteen. I did some sightseeing on my own, since it's not that hard to navigate around Seoul, since I was there just a year ago. Too bad that Monday a lot of museum and palace were closed. My focus of sightseeing this time was historic building, especially those of Japanese colonial building which I have missed last year. Here are some of the random scenes I took.

After my short sightseeing, I was about to head back to Busan, the embassy called to inform that I can drop by the next day to get my document signed. I was lost for a moment since I did not want to do another trip up from Busan again, I need to get a place to spend a night. I was so lucky that Jimmy (a friend of a friend mentioned above) managed to find me a place to rest for a night at Dr. Andrew's place at Ramada hotel near to City Hall. Great place to stay. And for the first time I saw Korean drama (식객 食客) on HDTV, super clear. So clear until it lost the drama feel to it, as the images looks like those shot with a news camera.

I spent my birthday in Seoul, which the staff by the embassy noticed as well. Anyhow, here are some of the scene I took, especially around Gangnam (강남 江南).