Seoul, May 13th, 2014

We arrived in Seoul on Saturday morning 10th May. We caught the stopping train from Incheon airport to Seoul station in the centre of the city and close to our hotel. Although the airport is nearly 50 km from Seoul the train fare is less than $5 and even the stopping train takes only 53 minutes. Seoul station seems to be on at least 10 levels and by the time we reached daylight and street level we were a bit disoriented, so although the hotel was close by we caught a taxi. 

It was still only 9.00 a.m. and check in was 2.00 p.m, so in spite of the lack of sleep we set off to explore the city.  First problem was to locate the bus stop which in spite of a map was not immediately obvious. Eventually we boarded the City Tour bus and went to the National Museum of Korea - a wonderful museum although I was too tired to absorb very much. The shapes and decorations of the ceramics and other artifacts are very different from those of Central Asia.

That evening we ventured out of the hotel looking for somewhere to eat and found a whole street of mostly barbeque restaurants just a few metres away.

11th May. Back on the bus to explore the city's palaces. I knew nothing of Korea's history or that of the Joseon Confucian dynasty who ruled Korea from 1392 to 1897 and left a legacy of several large palaces so we had a lot to learn. We only managed two palaces and the Secret Garden.

12th May. Monday and most palaces and museums were closed so we explored our local market, Namdaemun and then intended to visit the fabric market at Dongdaemun but I developed a cold and went to sleep instead.

The photographs below record some of our impressions of Seoul.

I was surprised by the number of churches in Seoul and to learn there were over 100 Korean saints who were martyred for their faith in the 19thC.

 

In the grounds of the National Museum.

 

 Polishing the floor of the museum.

Not sure of the significance of ducks.

 Page from a child's textbook of Confucian principles.

 Examples of Korean ceramics.

A garden on the dashboard of the City Tour bus.

An entrance gate to Changgyeonggung Palace which was originally built in 1484. It was destroyed by the Japanese in 1592 and again in the early 20thC.

 Sungmundang Hall where the king held banquets and discussed affairs of state and classical literature.

 Interior view of Sunmundang Hall

In the Secret Garden at Chang Deok Gung Palace.

Guides from the Secret Garden.

 

 Waiting at the bus stop and conversing with this Korean via his smart phone. You can speak to it in Korean or English and a translated version appears on the screen.

 

Console for the loo in the Hotel Manu.

Namdaemun market could be anywhere in Asia.

Camera Alley had a whole street of cameras and enormous lenses, but no compact cameras.

Dog Outfitter.

I hope this gives some idea of our experience and impressions of Seoul, the last stop on our trip.We are now back in Melbourne and it will soon be winter and time for this blog to go into hibernation until we set off travelling again.

Tashkent, May 9th, 2014

Monday 5th May. (Still in Kyrgyzstan) We drove to Chon-Kemin. Although the fruit trees are covered in blossom and the villagers are busy planting potatoes a lot of the land is still without much colour.

In Chon-Kemin we stayed in Ashu, a lovely guest house with views out to the mountains. It started out in 1994 as just spare rooms in the house, but has just grown and grown catering to local as well as foreign visitors for seminars and tourism. In the village I liked the fact that there was often a horse tied to the fence in front of the house and the local children gaily galloped around.

May 6th. We headed back to Bishkek and then south to Ala Archa National Park. We walked into the park and although it was hazy we could see some of the glaciers, but alas still no wildflowers on the alpine meadows.

On the outskirts of Bishkek we happened on a V.E.  day ceremony. 400,000 Central Asians died in the Great Patriotic War or World War ll (fighting with Russia.) and it is a public holiday.

May7th We caught our 5.20 a.m. flight to Tashkent although the lack of signs and loud speaker announcements made it a bit tricky.

After a nap and breakfast we walked to the Metro and caught the correct train to Chorsu Bazaar. It is huge, but with a bit of help from a sandal seller we found the textiles. Like the world over, there are plenty of Chinese goods, but there  were a few stalls selling local ikat fabrics both silk and cotton.

We found the fruit and vegetables and spices, but the dried fruit and nuts are on a balcony above the huge meat hall so were not immediately obvious.

May 8th. A city tour with Kemal, an electronics engineer who enjoys guiding for variety during the two short tourist seaons in spring and autumn. It got very hot so we went to some museums rather than more monuments in the hot sun.
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The first eleven or so photos below are in Kyrgyzstan and the rest are some of the monuments and museums we visited in Tashkent.

The door of our yurt 'dining room' in the yard of our homestay in Kochkor.

View from the Ashu guesthouse

Always a good idea to have a horse saddled ready to go!

The lady in the village shop. Two shelves of vodka and some other goods

 

 Embroidered suzani in Ashu guesthouse - dated 1969.

Picnic near Chon-Kemin.

 Cafe in Bishkek. Ladies get a straw with their pot of beer. The Quit campaign has not yet reached Bishkek!

The band introduces the ceremonies for V.E. day in Bishkek.

Waiting to lay the wreaths - actually buckets of flowers.

In Ala Archa National Park.Note the jagged ridge, but it is too hazy to see the glaciers clearlly.

Fabrics in Chorsu Bazaar, Tashkent.

Cafe kitchen in Chorsu Bazaar. Smoking in the kitchen is not a problem here.

Memorial to the victims of Stalin's 1930s purges. It was built on the site of a mass grave.

Amir Timur museum.

The school children were more interested in us than the museum.

Earthquake memorial. Tashkent was flattened in 1966 and people came from all over the Soviet Union to help rebuild the city.

26th April at 5.23 a.m.

 Ikat in the Applied Arts museum.

Embroidered Suzani

Embroidered skull caps. The paisley motif is a pepper motif here and should protect one from the evil eye. Women's skull caps are more colourful.

More embroidery.

 Stringed musical instrument.

Examples of machine embroidery from about 1960.

A wishing tree in Kyrgyzstan. Although the Arabs came in the 8thC many pre Islamic traditions such as this still survive in spite of 70 years of Soviet rule.

Finally for today a few street scenes around our hotel in new Tashkent - the area which was rebuilt after the 1966 earthquake.