안녕하세요 - Annyeonghasaeyo". Seoul, South Korea - Day 5 : COEX Aquarium & Namsan Tower

This is the 3rd part of my Seoul, South Korea series. The earlier parts are as follow. If you have any questions, please feel free to post your question in the comments section, I will try my best to answer.

Part 0 - Planning
Part 1 - Day 1 and 2: Setting foot in Seoul
Part 2 - Day 3 and 4: Skiing at YongPyong

In the footnote of Part 2, I mentioned that I intended to publish this together with my tour of DMZ, but I realised that the visit to DMZ warrants it's own page due to it's rich historical content.

COEX Aquarium, Namsan Tower (a.k.a. Seoul Tower)

Foreseeing that we will be tired after our skiing trip, the 5th day is planned to be a relaxing, free and easy day. So by the time we got out of the hotel, it's almost 10 am. Brunch, we decided to be at Macdonalds since we want to try the Bulgogi Burger.

After lunch, its down to the subway to go to COEX mall. Little did we know, the whole mall undergoing major renovations and none of the stores have anything which represents a shop. The only shops open are a couple of cafes and the multiplex cinema, and thankfully, the aquarium. Since we had nothing to do, we head in for some close encounters of the fishy kind.

Location of COEX mall. Take Green Line to Samseong Station (View Larger Map)

The COEX aquarium is divided into different sections exhibiting marine life forms from different part of the world. The aquarium tries as much as possible to recreate the native habitat from where the fishes come from. So, it's as if you are transported from one part of the world to another part of the world in an instant.

Piranhas in a tank. LOTS of them...

Animal feeding time is also something not to be missed, especially for those with children. Kids will enjoy the feeding time tremendously. The only downside of the aquarium is, most of the explanations are in Korean language and very little English texts.

Mr Shark, why are you always looking so pissed?

By the time we're out of the aquarium, it's almost 4pm. As it is winter and the sun sets early, we immediately take the subway back to Myeongdong to go up Namsan (lit. South Mountain) and Namsan tower (also known as Seoul tower) to catch the sunset.

To reach the top,  you can either take the public bus or the cable car. Namsan Suwan Bus number 02 and 05 are available from Myeongdong station exit 3 while bus number 03 are available from Seoul Station.

To take the cable car, a 10 minutes uphill walk is required. Take exit 3 from Myeongdong station and turn right. Follow the road on the right side of Peninsula hotel and you'll reach the cable car station. Tickets cost KRW 6.500 one way and KRW 8,000 return. So unless you want to experience public bus on the way down, buying return ticket makes more sense.

Walking directions from Myeongdong station(A) to Namsan cable car station(B). (View Larger Map)

Once you're up on Namsan, going up the tower observatory deck costs another KRW 9,000. I'm not exactly a big fan of viewing towers because the best way to experience a city is down in the streets itself. But going to highest vantage point in Seoul has it's pros, and that is watching the beautiful sunset and the "magic hour" afterwards, when the sky is still a shade of dark blue with a hint of orange from the setting sun, but the city lights has already turned on.

At the observatory deck, you get a 360 degrees view (which tower observatory don't?) of the Seoul skyline. And you can even send postcards from the post office up here. YES!, you can buy postcards and stamps and post them right up on the tower.

Sending postcards back home. In the end, we reached Singapore earlier than these.

For those who are hungry, there are a about half a dozen of restaurants, cafes and fast food up on Namsan, and most seems quite popular with the local Seoulites. I cannot comment much on this since I decided that the best food are still to be found in the many alleyways in the city itself.

Straight line distance back home

Namsan Tower basking in it's own light

One last thing. If you're visiting with you're significant other, on the right of the tower (looking from the cable car station), there is an area where there are literally thousands and thousands of love locks. Couples will lock padlocks with the love message hanging on it on the railings before throwing away the keys. This is to signify their everlasting love. So lovebirds, bring your locks (unless you are willing to buy padlocks at inflated pricing at the souvenir shops at Namsan tower itself).

Up next. Into a warzone, the Korean De-Militarised Zone.