Welcome to week twenty-six of the backpacking diaries. I’ll be updating you weekly on where I’ve been, what I’ve been getting up to, and most importantly, how I’m really feeling about this insane decision I’ve made.
As you probably know, I’m currently backpacking through Asia after quitting my job and leaving London for good.
I want to remember every moment of this experience, and document as much of it as I can, just like I’ve documented everything else in my life post-18 on this website.
You can keep up to date with my travels on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube but for now, enjoy week twenty-six of the travel diaries!
We’re officially six months into backpacking now which is crazy!!
If you missed the first twenty-five weeks of backpacking diaries, you can catch up here.
Top tip: for mobile data around Asia, we used the Jetpac eSim. This was super handy and easily installed onto our phones as soon as we arrived in Japan! Get $5 off your eSIM package when you use my referral code: 4293IOA9.
Day 176: Monday 9th September 2024
Location: Gyeongju, South Korea
Dear travel diary,
Since we had basically seen everything there was to see in Gyeongju when we arrived yesterday (here’s where you can read last week’s travel diary), we had a laptop day.
This started with a long lie in, watching more Selling Sunset in bed while typing on my laptop. We didn’t actually leave the hotel until after 1pm, and headed for brunch.
Himself found us a great brunch spot nearby the hotel and it was everything I’ve missed about my brunches from home.
The last brunch I had was in Bangkok around four weeks ago, but this brunch spot could have been in Liverpool or Belfast, it was incredibly home-y with lots of plants and wooden furniture. Plus, the avocado toast and hot mocha were both incredible.
The cafe is called Nerd and I’d highly recommend if you’ll be visiting Gyeongju in the future – just note that it’s closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Since they were closing at 3pm, we headed back to the Soha Salt Pond cafe from yesterday and spent the entire afternoon here working on our laptops.
At around 6pm we made our way to dinner to have some Korean Fried Chicken from a local, unassuming spot. The owners spoke zero English which was a fun experience, but we had some chicken and headed on our way to walk around the tombs.
The area is said to be much better at night as everything is lit up and illuminated. We strolled through the National Park, and then bought a ticket to enter Donggung Palace & Wolji Pond.
The area was really busy with school kids, but it was beautiful to see at nighttime.
We headed back to the hotel and finished Season 8 of Selling Sunset (a let-down of a season if you ask me) and then had a movie night to watch Kingsman: Secret Service – a much better movie choice than Sunday night.
Day 177: Tuesday 10th September 2024
Location: Gyeongju & Seoul, South Korea
Dear travel diary,
We’re on our way to Seoul! I’m on the KTX train from Gyeongju as I type this. Our train left at 10:30am and we should get into Seoul around two hours later, at 12:30pm.
I’m very excited for Seoul. I’ve seen so much on Instagram, and I’m especially excited to visit Starfield Library.
We’ll be there for a full week, so we’re taking a slow approach to the city and hoping to work in a few coffee shops as I’ve heard it’s a great place to do this.
I can’t believe this is also our final destination of this leg of our travels. From Hong Kong to exploring so much of Japan and now our third and final destination in South Korea.
The backpack will be taking a break for five weeks (thank God) when we pull up to Bangkok and our new AirBnB next week.
We arrived to our guest house which was up a lovely hill, and checked into our room on the roof of the building. We have our own separate area basically, with the rooftop deck as our garden. It’s quite lovely.
It was lunch time, so we headed to a famous dumpling spot and filled up on delicious dumplings before exploring the city.
There was a noticeable difference between Seoul and Gyeongju, with Seoul being more like Tokyo than any of the other cities we’ve visited.
There were a lot of people, beauty stores, food and tourist shops. We wandered around some famous monuments, grabbed a donut from Randy’s Donuts and explored Bukchon Hanok Village.
After wandering the city for hours, we headed back to our hotel to fully check in and rest up before our first full day of exploring Seoul tomorrow.
Day 178: Wednesday 11th September 2024
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Dear travel diary,
We were up nice and early this morning to head out and explore Seoul. Himself went and got us iced coffees from the GS25 store. You buy a cup of ice, a packet of iced coffee, a little carton of milk and make yourself.
It was surprisingly really nice.
We then got ready and headed out for the day. Our first stop was the Korean War Museum. Since we’re visiting the DMZ tomorrow, we though it’d be good to learn about the war before we go.
We spent a few hours here and were surprised at how large the museum is – it’s definitely something to do if you’re ever in the city.
Afterwards we grabbed lunch at a little cafe we had walked past on our way into the museum. It had two tables inside and we both ordered toasted sandwiches.
I had some tomatoes on a toasted baguette with a pesto and garlic spread and when I say this is one of the best things I’ve eaten in months, I mean it. It sounds so simple, but with the oil and salt on there, it was incredible.
The cafe is called Cadette if you ever find yourself in the area, I can’t recommend it more.
Carb-loaded, we headed to my most-anticipated place in South Korea – Starfield Library. I’ve seen it all over Instagram and it didn’t disappoint.
Shelves and shelves and shelves of books. I was in Heaven. There are some areas to work with plug sockets and even a Starbucks inside (what more could you want) so we’ll definitely be back to do some work before we leave the city.
Another Instagram find, we had spotted a New York-themed bar and headed towards it for a coffee. It was so well done and you could tell the owners have put a lot of money into it.
There’s a subway car replica in the basement bar, a replica of an underground Subway staircase with signs and memorabilia all around. The place is five floors in total, and it looks brand new.
There weren’t many people here at all so we were able to explore all five floors and enjoyed a coffee downstairs. For the money that’s clearly went into it, it was sad to see it so empty. It’s another must-visit if you’re in Seoul.
To keep with the New York theme, we headed to a nearby pizza spot for dinner. And when I say this is the best pizza I’ve had in a long time. I might even go as far to say better than some of the pizza I’ve had in New York.
We had half cheese and half pepperoni, but wish we’d just stuck with the cheese. It was delicious!!
Day 179: Thursday 12th September 2024
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Dear travel diary,
It was a very early start this morning to visit the DMZ. Our bus was heading off at 6.40am near the metro station by our guest house.
We opened our room door at 6.30am and were met with lashing rain. Not ideal. We headed down the street and grabbed some iced coffees before getting on the bus.
It was around an hour’s drive to the first part of our tour which was to grab tickets and walk around the memorial park. Our guide Chloe was great, explaining the history of the war and what the DMZ is both used for and represents.
We booked this DMZ tour via GetYourGuide which you can find here.
We had some free time here for coffee and breakfast before our bus left the area at 9.20am to take us past the checkpoint of the DMZ and taken to the tunnel.
After our experience with the Chi Chi Tunnels in Vietnam, this was a quick ‘no’ from us. The third tunnel of the DMZ that’s open to tourists is much longer than the one in Vietnam and quite strenuous.
We happily sat in the waiting area and watched our group depart down the tunnel and the other groups come out, panting, sweating and looking a bit pale. We were very happy with our decision not to enter.
Later in the tour we were taken to the Suspension Bridge which turned into quite the hike, but a lovely view of the surrounding area. Then it was onwards to one of the villages inside the DMZ.
I found it so baffling that people actually live inside the DMZ. They go to school here, work here and don’t really leave. The village only has a population of around 400 people and they have a curfew every day of the time they can leave the DMZ and the time they must be back. This time also changes every day dependent on sunrise and sunset.
The main part of the tour that everyone talks about is the observatory. From the observatory, you can look directly into the south of North Korea.
This was the most insane part for us. Looking through the binoculars, you could actually see people on the other side – walking, on bikes and in the fields. It was mental.
The buildings around here are mostly propaganda. Empty buildings with no windows and roofs. But made to look like a functioning village and that all is fine and ok in the area.
The tour was quite devastating, learning about North Korea and those people over there who really have no idea what happens outside of where they live.
There was also a weird white noise in the area that our guide said was speakers on the North Korea side.
It was surreal to be so close to North Korea and to see actual people there too. Not something I’ll forget in a hurry.
We were back in Seoul at around 5pm and it had been a very long day. For an early dinner we had some Korean BBQ with tasty steak prepared right in front of us.
Day 180: Friday 13th September 2024
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Dear travel diary,
It was another rainy day in Seoul today. We had a long lie in since we were up early the day before.
Our first stop of the day was a cafe where you can write a letter to yourself that arrives in a year’s time. I wrote myself a novel of course, while himself wrote about three lines.
The letters should hopefully arrive with us this time next year. So we’ll see what hopes and dreams come true by then.
After this, we headed around the corner to a coffee shop that we’d had our eye on called Artist Komplex. The cafe interior was very white inside but it also functioned as a clothing shop.
It was very quirky with strange artwork, but an enjoyable spot to sit. Plus, the pastries we had were incredible and I was very close to buying the homemade jam.
Since it was still lashing with rain, we headed to a Starbucks across the way to sit and work on our laptops for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening.
For dinner, we headed to a burger spot across the way that we’d also had our eye on and it really didn’t disappoint. It was like a small American diner and the burgers were very greasy but also very tasty.
We had an early night hoping to do laundry back at our guest house, but there was a lengthy queue so ended up having a TV night instead.
Day 181: Saturday 14th September 2024
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Dear travel diary,
Since it was Saturday, we had a nice morning in bed. Himself went to get some coffees and I read more of my book that I’m really enjoying (In Memoriam by Alice Winn). Then the cramps kicked in.
I was bed bound for over an hour, so himself went out to have some Korean Fried Chicken. While I felt sorry for myself hugging a pillow until the cramps subsided.
I met him around 2pm and we headed across to the Gangnam area that’s said to be the Beverly Hills of Seoul.
I love it around here. Every designer store that you can think of lined the street. Think Bond Street in London or Fifth Avenue in New York.
There was a baseball game on today at 5pm, so we headed to the stadium at 4pm hoping to buy some tickets. But it wasn’t meant to be. The game was sold out, so not as easy to get tickets here like it was in Fukuoka, Japan.
We took the loss and headed back to our guest house to do laundry. A wild Saturday night in Seoul!
Day 182: Sunday 15th September 2024
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Dear travel diary,
We headed out later than expected this morning due to some more cramps that I woke up to. By lunch time, we were finally out the door and headed to Isaac Toast & Coffee for a breakfast sandwich.
Today was a working day so we made our way to Starfield Library hoping to grab a table upstairs to people watch all of the tourists.
It wasn’t meant to be. But we grabbed a table in Starbucks downstairs within the library at the window seat and got to work.
After a few hours, it was getting chaotic with screaming babies, loud people and the hustle and bustle of a Starbucks in a very touristy area that I’m sure you can imagine.
The famous Gangnam Style sculpture is above the shopping mall (Coex Mall) so we checked it out, heard the song a few too many times and then found another coffee shop to work in for the late afternoon.
For dinner, we headed to a famous spot in the Jongno district called Gaeseong Traditional Dumpling House. There was a queue down the street to get in, but we managed to get a table before it closed.
We ordered dumplings along with some dumpling soup – Korean dumplings are huge!
After stuffing ourselves full of dumplings, we took a long walk back to the hotel. And made a detour along the Cheonggyecheon stream which made for a beautiful stroll.
Make sure to check back in next week as we finish our time in South Korea and make our way back to Bangkok, Thailand! The travel adventures commence!
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