Seoul Round 2

Flew back to Seoul for Round 2 on this trip. What was originally scheduled as Sokcho became Seoul as I was concerned with the overall travel for the day as well as activities within Sokcho. While part of the reason of going to Sokcho was to stay in a hotel overlooking the sea a hottub, it no longer quite make sense timewise.

One of the things I'd wanted to do in Sokcho was visit Mt Seorak, but there were no tours that I could find. Little that I knew later was that I could've taken a bus. But as always, things happen for a reason and you'll see why later on.

Anyhows, back to Seoul, I took a mid-morning flight and still got a full afternoon in before meeting my friend for dinner. Since it was sunny this go around, it was off to the Lotte Tower, measuring 555m to check out the views. It is absolutely stunning to see the sprawl of Seoul and marvel at what the Koreans in history would have to say to the view. Yes, they'd reunited the peninsula in the dynasties, but seeing the land covered with buildings instead of just green is quite something. I'd wanted to do the Bridge Tour as well where they clip you and you can actually walk outside, but it was a 2 hour wait. They do have terraces outside though on a lower floor so that is an option as well.

Coming down from the tower, I took a quick jaunt around the lake, which was beautiful and peaceful. Part of it borders Lotte World the amusement park. Next stop, back to one my favorite Korea activities - cafe hopping.

This time we're off to Grandpa Factory, featured in the K-drama Vincenzo. It's quite non-descript from the outside as the building and many others in the neighborhood, had a facelift from the original industrial uses. There's a treehouse on the property as well and you can climb into it from the 2nd floor of the cafe. They also serve meals here so you're not limited to drinks/desserts.

Next it was off to Seoul Forest Park, a nice city park to walk around amongst the locals, and close by my friend's workplace. We ended up going to a Korean Japanese fusion restaurant called Ioro Bistro, before one last dessert at Cafe Marly.Read more