Day 2 in Korea was by far the coldest day for us. We spent nearly 4 hours outside in -20c temperature while visiting Changdeokgung Palace. Note to anyone visiting the palace in the winter – there are no facilities with heating inside, so be prepared to stay outdoors the entire time you’re there.

After buying our tickets, we spent about two hours exploring the palace grounds. (Which was actually more than enough time considering how brutally cold it was.) We had specially booked an English guided tour of the Secret Garden, which started at 11:30am. I would say the guided tour was worth the extra cost, especially since visitors aren’t allowed to go inside on their own. While the garden looked a little dreary in the winter, it was still interesting seeing the places where the royal family and court officials spent their leisure time.

By the time we finished the tour it was nearing 1:00pm, so we hurriedly found a nearby restaurant to warm up and have lunch. Later that afternoon we shopped at Insa-dong and Ssamziegil, which has over 70 artisan shops selling things like handicrafts and souvenirs. Then we stopped by Korean Tea & Time for afternoon tea. I really like how they have a variety of fruit and herbal teas to choose from. Later we headed back to the hotel for a rest.

That evening we took the subway over to Myeong-dong for some shopping. The entire area feels like Causeway Bay in HK, with lots of trendy shops and restaurants. We first visited the Myeong-dong Cathedral, then tried to pick out a spot for dinner. There were a lot of choices in the area but we finally settled on eating dak galbi for dinner. None of us have had this before so we really didn’t know what to do when the grill came out. Luckily the waiters pretty much cook everything for you and tell you when it’s okay to start eating. I ordered extra cheese and ramen noodles, which I thought made it even more delicious. While my stomach was happy the rest of the night, my clothes certainly weren’t as it just reeked of food by the time we left. =P