I'm not going to lie. I totally forgot to finish this. So the next day, I had a late start as I was trying to sleep in after being kept up all night listening to the other people in the hostel. When I finally got going, I of course, headed to Starbucks and my window seat for my cuppa Joe and people watching. I wrote in the journal that I was keeping to help with the soul searching. I wrote about my thoughts and opinions of being in Seoul and traveling on my own. I wrote about general life things, like my hopes and dreams. And of course my fears. Eventually, I headed out and took the subway to see my first Korean Palace. I went to Changdeokgung Palace. I had originally planned on seeing all 4 of the palaces, but as it was I spent the afternoon getting soaked in the rain. I was not thrilled about this. I paid 8,500 ($8.50 CAN) won to get into the palace, to buy a map in English, and to get into the Secret Garden. Because it rained all day, I didn't get too many pictures. I wandered around the palace checking things out on my own which only took about half an hour. Sadly, I had to wait outside for about a full hour in the rain to go into the Secret Garden. They were offering a tour with an English speaking guide. He was very informative and tried his best to keep our spirits up in the soggy weather. Sadly though, for me it was just too wet and muddy. I stayed until the bitter end and then I took the subway back to Itaewon. My last dinner in Seoul was a terrible chicken burger from KFC, but I was just so tired, cold and wet that I didn't really care. I quickly ate it and headed back to the hostel. I showered, and spent the rest of the evening on my bed reading one of my new Stephen King novels. It was a pretty tame night, but after a freezing, wet day, it was just what I needed.
The next morning I got up early, went to Starbucks with my bags to get a frapuccino and then headed to the bus terminal. I got a bit lost in there and frustrated when I couldn't find anyone to help me, but I eventually got it figured out and got my ticket printed. I made my way to the bus, and headed home to Daejeon. I was surprised to discover that there were only 3 people on the bus for the whole trip. It seemed to me to be a waste of fuel and not entirely environmentally friendly. I got into Daejeon at around 2pm I think, came home, unpacked and went to bed.
I didn't get to all of the places that I was hoping to see in Seoul. But I did get to the main ones that I was the most interested in and I am happy with that. I did do a lot of soul searching, thinking and writing which I am also very happy about. And I took another step towards conquering my fear of being alone and traveling alone. I hope that as each time I continue to do trips alone, I will be able to eventually overcome my initial nervousness that I feel at the beginning of each trip, and that it will just be smooth sailing from here on out.
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