Tourist on Weekends: NAMSAN PARK (Part II, N Seoul Tower)

bus to N Seoul Tower

From the Namsangol Hanok Village, we walked straight to the main road and took an eye catching bus to Seoul Tower. We opt to take the bus and walk to the tower instead of the cable car. A lot of Asian and European tourists indulging in their cup of coffee boarded the bus with us.

Not more than fifteen minutes and were almost at the tower. A short hike should take you there. Good, comfortable shoes is a plus in this steep, tiring trek to the top and stopping for a shot is a good excuse to catch your breath. Like the previous year, I was desperately gasping for air when we got to the tower. We went there a little late on purpose to see the tower's colorful lights since I didn't get to see it like that, the first time I was there.

First thing we had to do was grab some food! So we went into the very packed cafe and tried to get us a table while my husband was ordering food. I was lucky to get a table with a good view of the wall with the Love Tiles. These tiles are sold at the souvenir shop adjacent to the cafe. Couples buy these, write their messages and stick them to the wall. Some even put picture stickers on them. While waiting, the grizzly bear mascot passed by and mingled with the crowd for a while.

the grizzly bear mascot and the
love tile wall

the love tile wall up close

After several minutes, our food arrived. My husband ordered

our dinner

some spicy franks, fries and cappuccino. My coffee addiction is now rubbing off on him. He paid around 30,000 KRW for these, if I remember it right. Forgive me for the blurry image as a result of some arguments about the camera. And I lost the energy to take another shot out of extreme starvation.

We headed to the view deck after dinner to take a look at the

city lights and the famous padlocked fence. Couples who visit write their names on locks and put them on the fence to signify that their love is locked forever. But now they put a lot of items with it from key chains to cellphone covers to plastic mugs.

Another attraction on the deck is this cutesy bench which draws lovers together and a huge metal heart which also has a lot of locks inside. People put a lot of effort just to have these locks on the deck, huh?

We agreed not to go to the tower's observation deck since we've both been there before on different occasions. But if you wish to experience a very futuristic elevator ride and get a view of Seoul 1,574 feet about the ground, all you have to do is pay 9,000 KRW for the entrance

After more photos around, we stopped a few minutes to get a glimpse of the city. Then we headed back to Chungmuro Station, via the Namsan tour bus we took earlier from the Hanok Village to the tower, for another long journey back to Pyeongtaek.