Day 7 : Seoul - running on fumes

Flew through the night from Singapore, landing at Incheon as the sun came up.

The sunrise was stunning. Less stunning: Clare’s 30 minutes of sleep, my four hours, and whatever Kristine and Ben managed somewhere in between.

Check-in wasn’t until 3pm so we did what any sensible sleep-deprived family does - Starbucks, put our bags into one of Seoul’s very convenient street lockers, and straight to the markets for breakfast and shopping.

Ben, within about an hour of landing in a foreign country, located a public piano on a raised walkway above the city - Seoul’s version of the New York High Line, but done on a budget. I think he played for half an hour - I’m not entirely sure as I fell asleep on one of the benches nearby. A guard was about to move me on as I woke up.

We then grabbed supplies hiked up Namsan Gardens in genuinely warm sunshine - this was not the activity for day one on no sleep. Got about a kilometre from the top before quietly agreeing as a family that the cable car queue and the crowds were not worth it.

Wandered through to Myeongdong for lunch and found ourselves at a restaurant with a table full of fried chicken, kimchi, and dumplings.

We left there and caught train back to the start:
Bags collected, train navigated, Airbnb located.

The apartment is smaller than Bali. Much smaller.

But clean, cleverly designed, and in a lovely uni suburb near Ihwa-dong with great cafes, restaurants, and little theatres where you can catch performances from local actors - I assume from the arts colleges nearby.

What it does NOT have, as Kristine and I established on our evening supply run, is bars.

The students here are clearly very focused on their studies and their coffee.

We bought Tiger beers from the supermarket and Kristine cooked pasta while I booked tickets for our adventures later in the week.

20,000 steps on four hours sleep. Not bad, but hope to wake up tomorrow more fresh.Read more