世界が見たい [sekai ga mitai]: Chasing Autumn. Changdeokgung Palace and Huwon, the Secret Garden Tour

November 24, 2015
Day 3

Changdeokgung palace is one of the five remaining palaces used by kings of the Joseon dynasty and is the most-preserved. I don't know much about Korean history and I thought this would be a good place to start. We checked out the throne hall, king's council hall, king and queen's residence and the crown prince's study.

For international visitors, the admission fee is as follows:

Adults (ages 19-64): Regular 3,000 won / Huwon 5,000 won

Children and Teenagers (ages 18 and under): Regular 1,500 won / Huwon 2,500 won

Group (over 10): 20% discount offered for regular tickets only.

If I remember right, the admission to the Huwon tour was for at least 2 people only. There was a guy on the other line who was trying to buy a ticket for the tour group but was refused because he was alone (atleast that's how I understood the situation). He was the guy who offered to take our photo in front of the palace earlier and we were about to offer him to buy tickets with us for the tour so he can join, but he worked something out with the staff already.

The palace grounds was huge. I can only imagine how many guards were in duty during those days. I haven't watched a lot of Korean dramas. Most of what I saw were only snippets of the drama Jewel in the Palace and other short trailers during commercials while changing channels, and some from facebook that my kdrama-gaga fb friends posted. Being in there made me curious what happened in those grounds, what kind of festivities and activities were held in it and wondered how the royalties lived.

I was so happy that I was still able to see red and orange maple trees. I asked to have my photo taken wherever I see a place that I think would be a nice background. Haha! We then went near the entrance to Huwon (Secret Garden) and waited for the English guided tour to start at 1:30 PM.

There were a lot of people who joined the tour - around 50 or more, with one guide. The guide was a woman who spoke English well. The start of the path was littered with red and orange maple trees looming in from the other side of the wall and it was just soooo beautiful! To think, most of the trees' leaves has already fallen but it was still such a beautiful sight. What more if all of the trees were still full of red and orange leaves?! Aaaahhhh so awesome!

We were advised to stay close together and we should not wander around by ourselves, but I insisted to stay back just a bit to be able to appreciate it more and have the view all to myself. Haha!

Anyway, we had to run after to catch up with the group. I had to stop every after a while to take photos along with other people from the group. I was interested about the garden's history..at first, but since it was a big group, and with all the beautiful red and orange tree around, it was kinda hard to stay focused. Hahaha! We heard bits and pieces here and there and kinda understood the gist of what she was saying most of the time.

By the time the tour ended, we were tired and a bit hungry. Outside the palace, we saw a stall selling kukhwabbang mini cake for 2,000 KRW. It's like a rice cake with red beans inside. Yummy! It was 8 pieces per order, but I ate most of it. Hahaha!