남산 (다시!) | Namsan (again!)

No, I'm not! Rude.

So, Mike came back from Hong Kong, and Nick's brother Jon also joined us for a few days. Having guests is really hectic but great because it means we usually actually put some effort into doing something interesting ;p

We discussed for a while the sort of thing we'd like to do as a nice, gentle introduction to Korea, considering Jon had just come off a long-haul flight mere hours beforehand.

A photo posted by Jon Desmond (@jeanpauldemon) on Jan 30, 2015 at 11:21pm PST

As a joke, I suggested we climb Namsan and get a good look at the entirety of Seoul but guess what we ended up doing?

Yup.

We took the cable car up, as it's cold and easier to walk down than it is to climb up.
I've never taken the cable car before, but it was really quick and easy to use, and really fun!

Same as last time, we managed to arrive just as there was a performance setting up. The performers put on a display of fighting techniques using old Korean weapons, cutting up bamboo and set practice drills, all to dramatic music. Afterwards, you can get a photo with them.

남산 | Namsan

Namsan is a really popular mountain in Seoul, and it's name literally means "South Mountain". Nick and I went with a lovely lady from my school (Rachel) and her sister (Jamie) as we continue to bond and trade languages. It's always really fun whenever we go out together, and we get to eat a lot, so I'm happy, hahaha.

We started off by getting the train together, and grabbing some Thai food in Itaewon. Afterwards, we grabbed some 'dessert' (bearing in mind this is pretty much our breakfast) of churros and coffee. There's a big churro trend going on in South Korea at the moment, and I'm not complaining. I love them. We went to Standing Coffee, a tiny but very popular little coffee shop selling good-sized, good-tasting coffee, and drank them while we waited in the queue for Street Churros, another tiny little window churning out hot, fresh, crispy churro goodness. I was so happy, haha.

So was Nick, but true to form I took an awful photo of him.

We took a bus from Yongsan all the way up to a bus stop which I would assume is about halfway up the mountain. The weather was great and clear, which I'd been worried about because the day before had been a little hazy. We stocked up on drinks and set off! Thankfully the slope wasn't too steep.

Nick, Rachel, Myself, and Jamie~