A Stroll in Seoul

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After the success of ‘A Ramble in Rabat’ last year, it’s time for another blog takeover from the husband, Mr Saasdia Travel Gid (MTH). This time he’s taking us on a walk around Seoul in South Korea.


Having only been to Spain and Cyprus before meeting Hannah, South Korea marked my 41st country. I think it’s safe to say she’s rubbed off on me. I got a job a few years ago which affords me the privilege of lots of travel and it’s a job I never would have taken had she not previously encouraged me to push my comfort zone and try new things. My wife is a law unto herself, but she has a way of making you want to reflect, grow and learn… often as much about yourself as anything else.

I learnt on day 2 in South Korea that I don’t like being ill alone in a hotel room 9,000km away from home. As I lay there with food poisoning, vomiting and with the worst cramps I’ve ever experienced, I wished I’d never boarded the plane. But it was all up from there… so once I’d recovered it was time for a stroll.


I started at Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was built in 1395 and was the Royal Palace of the Joseon Dynasty, but destroyed by fire in the 1500s and then destroyed by Imperial Japan during the days of occupation. Since the 1960s, it’s been being slowly restored to its former glory… I took photos of all the boards so I didn’t forget.

The Palace

The Palace is in a park, so the next point on the stroll is Hyangwonjeong Pavilion. I really nailed the arty shots for Hannah here.

Also within the Palace grounds are a couple of museums, including the National Folk Museum which I had to pop in to. I loved the intricate traditional dresses which I learned are called Hanboks, and often signify the hopes and dreams of the wearers. Perhaps I should have brought one home for Hannah with every country in the world on it. That or sticky toffee puddings.

Traditional Korean dresses

After that, it was time for lunch. I decided to be brave and hit the famous street food markets of the city. I was worried about food poisoning part 2, but you only live once. I settled on Myeong-dong. I decided against insects and octopus as a first post food poisoning meal, and had some plain(ish) Korean stew.

On the way to Myeong-dong I had walked down to the Cheonggyecheon Stream and Insadong Street. I got very excited when I saw shops full of highlighters because Hannah loves her stationery so that was present number 1 of the trip (probably cheaper than a Hanbok as well).

Highlighters galore
Some city views along the route

I continued walking southwards in to Namsan Mountain Park. There was a big tower in it called the N Seoul Tower, but I didn’t go up as I don’t love heights. I even took a panoramic shot for Hannah which I think looked nice.

Park in the evening light

After hours of walking and it now nearing 5pm, I was tired, so decided to head for an ice-cream and drinks. By this point I was in Itaewon-dong so I bought some fun ice-cream from a street vendor (and a pair of socks for Hannah with a woman wearing a Hanbok on them as a compromise), and then headed up to the rooftop bar at the Grand Hyatt… I had a few drinks more than I’d planned and ended up watching the sunset.

Typical Korean ice-cream

By this point I was getting peckish but the hotel menu didn’t take me. I decided famous Korean BBQ was the way forward and it didn’t disappoint. My work colleagues came to join me and we shared BBQ beef and shrimp.

After dinner, we all crossed the river and went on an evening boat tour from the Banpo Bridge area which was all a bit exciting as the show was made entirely with drones.

Skyline views from the boat


After such a long day and covering over 20km by foot, I was completely exhausted. Thankfully neither my Korean Stew nor my Korean BBQ killed me… and I slept soundly ahead of work the next morning. I did have another adventure in South Korea, visiting the DMZ (area between North and South Korea), but that can wait for another day.

Overall I found Seoul to be very busy and full of people, but not half as humid as I’d expected. I didn’t find it as overwhelming as some cities (such as Tokyo), and locals were helpful even though few spoke English. Some areas were more westernised than others but it still felt authentic and unlike anywhere I’ve ever been before… On balance, I’d recommend it… Plus Hannah really liked her highlighters and socks.

Stay safe and happy travelling – MTH!

34 responses to “A Stroll in Seoul”

  1. Standing ovation here, MTH! You did a fantastic job of covering Seoul, and I enjoyed the post very much. Extra points for getting great gifts for Hannah.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Aww he feels really happy his post has gone down well – thanks so much for following along Kellye 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Another great post MTH. I spent a week in Seoul a few years back and really enjoyed the city too. Also, like Hannah I’m a big fan of stationery and can never resist a new notebook, pencil case or pen!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you so much Marion, he’s delighted you enjoyed it. And I totally agree on the stationery, I get so excited whenever I’ve got a new pen haha!

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  3. Well done MTH – especially after the rotten start!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. He says thank you so much, the food poisoning was grim but Seoul was wonderful! 🙂

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  4. Nice to read another adventure from MTH! South Korea recently came on my radar, and now I’m itching to go. Food poisoning aside, it sounded like MTH had a fun time in Seoul! Can’t wait to read more from him!

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    1. He really did, he hasn’t stopped rubbing it in since so SK is high on my list now too!

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Very jealous of your job! I spent a long layover at Incheon Airport on the way to SE Asia that was so enjoyable (for a layover without lounge access) that I wrote a post about it. Also, the Korean food on the plane was excellent, so I see a trip to Seoul in my future, especially since there are direct flights from Minneapolis. So sorry about your food poisoning. We got it in SE Asia – just awful!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Ooo you’ll definitely have to visit if there are direct flights, that’s super convenient. MTH says thank you so much for reading, and yes the food poisoning is the low point of his travels so far!

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      1. At least when the husband and I had it in Laos, we got to be in misery together. Poor MTH was all alone… This is a good reason for you to always accompany him on his international business trips! 🙂

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      2. I think I need to go on every single one to be honest! He’s off to Singapore again this year so going to try and make a Singapore and Malaysia holiday out of it (he doesn’t know that yet!)

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  6. When I read that MTH was back I literally said “Yay!!” out loud! So sorry about the food poisoning, that is a terrible way to start the trip and awful away from home. The KBBQ looks delicious though and I’d love some stationary. That is so great that you can travel the world and have each other to push out of your comfort zones and explore together.

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    1. Aww you’ve made his day Lyssy – he’s very glad you enjoyed the post 🙂 Honestly the food poisoning didn’t sound nice at all, but the stationery I got as a result was a total win 🙂

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  7. I thoroughly enjoyed this post MTH, and it brought back some nice memories of my visit to Seoul four years ago this month. It’s a great place to visit with so much to offer.

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    1. It is an amazing city, he says. I (Hannah) am so jealous and need to get myself to Seoul!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Yes, it’s a beautiful city!

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Yay! Nice post, MTH, I enjoyed the tour of Seoul and I’m impressed by the drone show.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Aw he says thank you so much Diana 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Great post by MTH. You covered so much ground- can’t wait to read about your time at the DMZ.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. That’ll be coming up soon – thanks so much for reading 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Another great adventure to follow on you with MTH! Although being sick with food poisoning is not a great way to start, so glad it all went up and better from there! Seoul just looks like such a beautiful place and it is now firmly on my list. 🙂

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    1. It’s also now firmly on my (Hannah’s) list…I’m too envious of all the things he saw and did haha! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Yikes, that sucks that you got food poisoning while you were away in South Korea. Glad to hear that you recovered and were able to do some sightseeing.

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  12. […] write them when I do. Anyway, that’s irrelevant… I previously wrote about my visit to Seoul, South Korea. I knew when I found out I was visiting that I had to visit the DMZ, the border area between North […]

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  13. Great post and you nailed the artsy photo by the way 🙂 Maggie

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    1. He says thank you so much Maggie 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Oh my, food poisoning at home is bad enough … let alone in a foreign country! But you did well MTH – your photos are beautiful 🙂. A traditional dress or sticky toffee pudding – I know which one I would have preferred!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. He was really not happy with the food poisoning, that’s for sure!! But thankfully he managed to at least get out and about a bit! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  15. This is great. There is very few blog post on Seoul. Very useful info. Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

  16. A good wander around Seoul, brought back sweet memories. I stayed in Insadong, one of the trendiest areas many years ago. Obviously, there were no drone shows back then!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Seoul is such an amazing city isn’t it – I’m glad to bring back some nice memories 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  17. Gyeongbokgung Palace is so beautiful, right? Seoul has some awesome sights for sure! Seems like you did so much while you were there too! 😊

    Liked by 1 person

  18. You did a stellar job, MTH! This really made us want to visit Seoul even more

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About the author

Hi! My name is Hannah, I’m a travel blogger from the UK who fits travel around a full time (and full on) job. In this blog I share my adventures around the world and hopefully help you to find some inspiration for destinations, things to do or places to stay. Thanks for stopping by – stay safe and happy travelling.

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