We spent our monday off this week at Seoul Zoo. It was a lovely day, the remnants of summer lasting into October.
Giraffes
Feeding
Like a big gerbil
He couldn't get up onto that rock, no matter how hard he tried!
Hippo
Baboon
Monkey
In the monkey enclosure people were feeding the monkeys crisps, which meant that they weren't interested in the bananas in the cage. One mother was trying to force her little boy to hand the monkey the food into his hand. I'm pretty sure that's not allowed in the zoo, and also unsure why she'd think that was a good idea. The monkeys are so used to being fed by the public that this one actually hold out his hand Oliver Twist style...
Cute little baby!
I don't know who was more fascinated by whom...
Chimp...?
Chimp!
Elmer
Zebra hiding from the sun
Seoulites in their natural habitat
Otters swimming around:
Ostriches doing something naughty
Is the egg really produced that quickly?
I'm watching you
The audience for the Dolphin show
To get to the Zoo, take line 4 (light blue line) to Seoul Grand Park. Exit 2 brings you out at the park and it's about a 10 minute walk to the zoo entrance.
I visited three cafes recently. One in Hongdae and one in Itaewon and one in Seoul Dae. If you're in the area, give them a go, totally worth it!
Neil's Yard in Itaewon
Iced Cramel Macchiato and chocolate and nut cookie
If you're next to the window you can watch as multicultural Itaewon goes about it's business
It's a bit pricey but worth it. Go out on Exit 1 and walk about 4 minutes. Neil's Yard is on the right, 1st floor.
This saturday, I ticked off another thing from my list and visited Hongdae during the day. I met Ji Eun (who has been living in the UK for the past year) and she took me to a cool little cafe on the tree-lined streets of Hongdae. Out of exit 8, turn right and carry on up the hill (past a lot of other nice looking cafes, wine bars and boutique shops) at the top of the hill turn left and walk about 5 mins. It's called Sukara (which apparently means spoon in Japanese). The cafe is owned by a Japanese guy, and the waitress who served us was also Japanese. It's a mix of a modern interior, traditional oriental decor and Korean/western drinks and food. It has a big outside terrace and the front window of the shop slides back so it's a nice place to come while the weather is still good enough to sit outside. Great way to spend an afternoon with a new friend!
Two teas and some pound cake
All gone...
Lovely little private corner
Lots of Oriental art work scattered around
Canvas bags for sale!
Some of the designs
No rain today.
Stumbled upon a swing dancing event on our way back to the station
Dresses and petticoats galore
Nope, still not bored with this view
Recently I've seen a lot of water sports on the Han. This is something I think I'll investigate!
Near my house at Seoul National University station is a nice little coffee shop. I spent the afternoon of my day off this week sitting in here writing and people watching. Outside exit 6 you will see Zoo Coffee.
