Hwaseong in Suwon

Suwon is most famous for its World Heritage listed fortress wall. While it's no Dubrovnik, it is in good condition and its elevated position affords special views of Suwon on a fine day, as today is fortuitously.

I took 30 photos (that's a lot for me), then whittled these down to 12 (sorry, selfie-lovers, my selfies didn't make the cut). So it was hard to choose just 6 to post.

I started out catching a bus and alighted once I saw the Padalmun gate. It's in the middle of a large roundabout. I firstly went through the Hanggeung Palace complex, built for King Jeongjo in the late 18th century (thanks, Lonely Planet).

After this I backtrack to the Padalmun gate and walk up many, many stairs to the top. It's worth it though, as the views of Suwon are magnificent. The fortress walls and watchtower are in excellent condition, I highly recommend this activity to all travellers.

After all this, I trudge to the train station to buy a ticket to Jeonju. I want to take the 12:02 service there tomorrow, which gets in a bit before 3. I'm told that only standing tickets are available, the first service with seats is at 3:30 pm. This is the big mistake I alluded to previously. I should have bought the ticket on arrival at Suwon previously. Travelling during Chuseok 😓. So I buy a standing ticket for the 12:02 service.Read more