Insadong
My foot was still bad and as we had a guided night tour of the palace booked in the evening, we decided a fairly quiet day was going to be needed so that I would be able to walk and keep up with the group later on.
We went out in the morning to get rolls from Garlic Boy again, and iced fruit drinks for breakfast and visited a few shops in Insadong.
Jangsu Sky Beef
To make up for not going anywhere, I booked us a nice beef restaurant for a late lunch/early dinner. They specialised in hanwoo beef, Korea’s version of wagyu.
We chose two cuts of meat and then the staff cooked it with some mushrooms and onions at our table.
To go with the meat, a selection of sides were provided – carrot soup, pickles, sesame salad, kimchi, spicy onion salad, japchae noodles, pajeon pancakes, mandu dumplings, seaweed soup and rice. It’s normal for BBQ restaurants to provide a random selection of side dishes that are included with the meal, and they usually have free refills, not that we needed any!
Changdeokgung Moonlight Tour
In the evening we walked over to Changdeokgung Palace. We’d visited a couple of days before during the day, but this time we were going on a special moonlight tour that only run for a few weeks each year. The tour took place after closing so only a few small groups were going around and was going to include areas you aren’t normally able to access.
We started at the main palace buildings as the sun was setting. There were people dressed as guards at the main gate.
As it started to get darker, the buildings were lit up.
We then went into the parts of the grounds were hadn’t been to before. There was a little traditional flute performance at this pavilion.
In the ‘secret garden’ area, the ‘king and queen’ were having a stroll around the ponds.
The tour ended with a performance of traditional music and dances, that we got to watch whilst drinking a cold refreshing Omija tea.
