June 29, 2017 - Day #27 Reaching the Peak

June 29, 2017

Our hotel is steps away from the Namsan Trail that leads to Seoul Tower.  I wanted to hike up the peak at least once so this morning I did.  Last night Steven volunteered to go with me, to Russell's delight!  The alarm went off at 4:45am and we were on our way by 5:26am.  It was a good idea to go early because it can get really hot once the sun is out.  The trail is safe for the blind population, they either walk with the aid of a walking stick or run with a guide.  It is also popular with the elderly (who are in excellent condition).  High school track teams can be seen training there as well.  I'm not sure how long we power walked up to the peak but it took us 70 minutes up and 60 minutes down.  It was a beautiful and peaceful hike.  The trail was well maintained and I am impressed on how conscience the South Koreans are with taking care of their environment and recycling.

Our free day today ended up not being one. Last minute plans were made to visit the Hongdae area. This area is known for shopping and the nightlife. We made our way to another subway station to avoid a transfer and it ended up being a 30 minutes detour. 

It was lunchtime when we arrived in Hongdae and we have chosen Kyochon Chicken after searching TripAdvisor for guidance.  It was easy to find and there was no problem finding seats for our group. We ordered a variety of fried chicken from honey, spicy, and soy garlic. It was all good but the spicy ones was too much for some. The verdict...good but I prefer the Buchon chain that is available in the US. 

Soon after lunch, we were already thinking about dessert.  We slowly made our way to the dessert shop, Bee Sweet On, doing some shopping as well.  Be Sweet On is in a popular shopping area, mostly clothing. which got the girls excited.  Even with Grammy's phobia of 2nd story establishments, she grudgedly walked up the stairs to join us.  This place lost points with Grammy for  requiring everyone to order something.  We enjoyed our desserts and realized that the pastry chef was in house.  Everything was homemade and the chef was meticulous in composition and presentation.  I wanted to take her picture but she was shy and ran away.

Emilie, Nicole, and I stayed to do some shopping while the others went back to the hotel.  Russell also accompanied Matty shopping for fidget spinners in the underground malls.  Around 5:30pm, the area was getting crowded with the start of nightlife activities.  We decided that it was a good time to start heading home.  I enjoyed some street performances from musicians to K Pop dancers.

Russell and I opted out of going to dinner with the family and rested in the room instead.  Nicole wanted us to go clubbing with her later tonight.  We took a taxi to the Itaewon area at 9:30pm.  Before going to the bars, we had a Thai dinner at Glamping.  Its's a super cute place with camping themes.  The food was ok but I was happy to have something other than Korean food.

Our first and only bar that we went to was Fountain.  Nicole loved the ambience and I loved the music.  The DJ was playing all of my favorite songs.  We danced, laughed, and had a ball.  We even made a few Korean friends on the dance floor.  We tried to get into another bar but was turned down by the bouncer (we learned later that they age discriminate and turn down entrance to foreigners).  



By 12:30 am we were tired and wanted to go back to the hotel.  We didn't realized that the subway shuts down at midnight.  Hailing a taxi was quite difficult as we were competing with so many people to get one.  And since Myeongdong was not that far away, some taxi drivers turned us down for a better deal.  We walked down the street towards our hotel, away from the crowd and a nice Korean guy gave up his taxi for us.  We were back at the hotel by 1:30am safe and sound, grateful for having a super fun night with our Goddaughter.