South Korea 3: Birding on palace grounds, a ghost tour, and a raccoon/pig cafe

We ate dinner that night at a highly rated restaurant known for their dumplings, called mandu.  I was expecting dumplings like Japan's gyoza, which are small.  I ordered a set of 6 for Miles, six for myself, in a soup, and a set of six vegetarian mushroom variants.  They ended up each being about three times the size of gyoza.  The soup was wonderful, but by the time I was done, I was barely able to eat anymore.  I ate two of the mushroom variants and called it a night.

Miles was worn out from running around so much, so he stayed in the room watching shows on his laptop while I went by myself to the nearby Changgyeonggung Palace grounds.  At the other major palace I regretted not having my birding lens with me, so this time I came prepared.  The grounds were extensive, with a large lake, many buildings, and of course, the big palace.  People were there with their families around the pond.  Near the palace I saw a photographer ordering a model how to pose, with the old buildings as a backdrop.



After returning to the room, it was time to take Miles out to the third surprise, which was a highly rated ghost walking tour around town.  The starting point was Anguk station, just a few minutes from our hotel.  It ended up being just us and another couple, which was great.  We were informed that the previous night had ten people.

The tour lasted about two and a half hour, and was led by a white man who has lived in South Korea for the past fifteen years.  We walked through a former red light district, now turned into shops.  We were brought to a section of wall that was a gift from Berlin to Korea, being another country that was divided.  We walked along the Changgyecheon river pathway.  This was a waterway filled with greenery, and has apparently become a couples' paradise, who were seated everywhere.  There were also street musicians that performed down there.

This building was reported by our guide to be built in this style to let cursed air through the center.  It used to be a failed restaurant and is now a think and work space for a company.

Our guide reported that this street was used as a backdrop for tv chef Anthony Bourdain.

A historic Japanese building with its modern day replacement.

Part of the Berlin Wall.

Near the end, a young man approached us and asked us to be quiet.  A show was being filmed just nearby that we were able to witness while a scene was in motion.



We ended the tour at the Gyeonghuigung palace that we had visited the other day.  This time however, we were able to see the Seoul Wall lit up behind it, and the main doors were closed.  The place was serene and devoid of people.  He also showed us the secret Japanese air raid shelter build just next to the palace, that we had not seen during our first visit.  Throughout the tour he told various ghost stories, mostly filled with young woman ghosts.  He explained that since women were of the lowest caste, and young women being the lowest among them, they were the ones most likely to be angry after death.  A day later, Miles informed me that this was his favorite part of the trip.



Exhausted, we overslept this morning and then just relaxed around the hotel all day.  We left around late afternoon to visit a raccoon cafe.  This cafe had pigs that roamed the cafe grounds, with a large background that housed three racoons.

Before we opened the door, we saw this scene, so we knew that it'd be an odd experience.

The raccoons were very tame, and a corgi laid on the floor, much to Miles' delight.  He happened to be wearing one of his corgi shirts.



Next, Miles was invited to sit on the floor of another back room, used to feed the pigs.