Here in Seoul. 

The hostel I’m at has…real….drip…. coffee. I made coffee today!  Hallelujah !

Spent the morning at Gyeongbokgung palace. Was lucky enough to get in on an english-language guided tour. This place was tragically destroyed several times over the years but is being rebuilt once again.

Admission was free to the nearby Folk Museum. Many other people knew of this so my visit was short. I may go back another day to see this excellent place. Really well put together.

Lunch was ramen on a cute shopping street.

After a short walk avoiding a demonstration  (100,000 in attendance!) I found my way across town to a temple.

Bongeunsa temple is very old, very nice.

Featured at the temple was a display of Bonsai. Beautiful!

I was delighted to also find a gathering of a different sort; an outdoor concert. The occasion was to promote reunification. This was a spectacular way to view cultural treasures. Over the next 2 hours I was treated to a selection of Italian opera (Il Trovatore), American showtunes (Phantom), and English classics (The Beatles). It wrapped up with a Korean national anthem sing-along complete with flag-waving!

Then a long metro ride home to street food and some tv.  All the news channels are full of the demonstration. It’s estimated that 10,000 police were there. I believe it.

Heres today’s pictures 

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