Bukchon Hanok Village is known for its many traditional Korean wooden homes, called hanok in Korean. They are all privately owned and many hanok located in the alleys along the way have been beautifully restored. The village is bordered on both sides by two palaces, Changdeokgung Palace and Gyeongbokgung Palace, which I also visited. There are signs along the streets and alleys that kindly request that tourists be respectful while walking through the village. The quaint area presents a romantic and picturesque setting. I spent a few hours walking the neighborhood and then visiting both palaces. Douglas was working this day so I went on my own. The one thing I was not prepared for when visiting Bukchon Village was the steep hills. My thighs got in a serious workout that day. The area also housed several small cafés and craft shops selling handmade Korean pieces. I was taken aback by how expensive such simple items were. The handmade cards sold there were at least four times the price of what they are sold for in Vietnam. Seeing this surely made me appreciate the prices in Hanoi that much more.
I started my day at Changdeokgung Palace. I then walked through most of the village streets and ended my time in that area at Gyeongbokgung Palace. I thought I was going to end my afternoon with a tour of the Secret Garden found in the palace, but I mistakenly went to the wrong palace for the tour. I was so disappointed. The Secret Garden is housed at Changdeokgung Palace in case anyone reading this plans to go in the future. Had I known that, I would not have started my day at Changdeokgung Palace since I booked an afternoon tour. Everything always has a way of working out though. Since my afternoon ended at Gyeongbokgung Palace, I was able to watch the “Changing of the Royal Guard” which is a short ceremony where the current guards in front of the palace are relieved of duty for the day and another set of guards assume their position. The ceremony only happens three times a day. I was just in time to catch the one that started at 1 pm. Douglas is actually the person who got me interested in seeing such ceremonies. Since he was working I wanted to attend so I could record the ceremony for him. It was a little longer than I expected, and it consisted of way more people than I imagined.
 |
| You can feel the tranquility in the picture... |
 |
| Quality craftsmanship everywhere you look. |
 |
| Signs directing the way to shops in the village. |
 |
| One of the many hills in the village. |
 |
| Roughly $9 for the same cards I get for about $2 right outside my home in Hanoi |
 |
| It looks like a mix between a gingerbread house and a Publix grocery store in South Carolina. |
 |
| As always, a traveler's lunch. |
 |
| Absolutely amazing architecture. |
 |
| The Changing of the Guard ceremony |
 |
| So disciplined...they almost look like statues. |
No comments:
Post a Comment