TacoCat’s Travels #233 (Seoul): Enjoying Mountaintop views from N Seoul Tower 🗼

Hey Hive!

So if you missed the last few posts, I've been sharing about our first trip to Seoul back in Nov 2022! We were waiting post-covid for everyone to go on their holidays before taking a big one and we finally decided to go on our honeymoon! It's also our first time experiencing Fall so we were double excited!

Last week, we visited a couple of snack shops after our very unique hanbok experience and palace visit, including a cool industrial-country style bakery!

They had plenty of delicious pastries and fluffy bread loaves which we were sorely tempted to get! We would've if we were not on the way to lunch at this place called Abiko Curry, which is probably one of the best Japanese curries we've ever had; ironically in Korea!

We took a nice leisurely stroll along a street with lots of small shops and cafes after that, passing by a few cute doggos on the way.

But there's still quite a bit more to this day so let's go!

10 Nov 2022. Thursday.

The next place we were heading to was quite a ways away even by train, so Sean suggested we try taking a cab instead, or the Korean car-hailing service called Kakao T.

We couldn't communicate with the driver but since everything was done through the app it was surprisingly simple, and not too expensive either. Plus I needed a break for my feet after all that time in heels in the hanbok.

It was a very smooth journey and although it was a little awkward not being able to understand the driver and vice versa, we arrived at our destination without any trouble.

We were on our way to visit one of the skyscrapers here called N Seoul Tower which is located within Namsan Park. Turns out they don't allow cars in there to preserve the natural surroundings so the driver had to drop us off just outside the park.

There are shuttle buses within the park that go on the special route to see all the sights within the park including the tower, which was a relief since we were afraid we would have to hike all the way. Ordinarily I wouldn't have minded, but after walking in heels for a few hours earlier I think my feet would've died.

We weren't very sure about the shuttle bus schedule so we decided to just walk to the nearest bus station and check if they had a schedule. It was nice to walk in here and enjoy the fresh air though.

There were lots of small trees here with a singular red one in the middle. If I had my sketch book I'd be tempted to draw it.

When we were almost at the bus station the bus was already there so we sprinted for it and managed to catch it thankfully! So we could rest for a bit while the bus took us to the tower.

It was a pretty short ride, about 15 to 20 minutes by bus but we were thankful we didn't have to walk since that would've taken at least twice as long, and we needed the energy to actually walk around the tower too.

This bus station already seemed like we were really high up since we were technically at the top of Namsan Mountain.

We already had a nice view of the city from here if not for the trees in front.

We even ran into these two cuties who came by to wait for the bus!

After a few shot of the tower from this angle we refilled our water bottle with the very convenient water cooler before setting off. Already this trip was starting off great so we were pretty excited!

The trail leading up to the tower was to be on foot only. I don't think any vehicles could get up here, except probably those staff or maintenance ones. But it's alright, there were lots of lovely red trees and the air was so refreshing up here that we were looking forward to a nice leisurely stroll.

We saw a few other dogs here too!

We stopped every few meters taking photos and I tried to get a shot of the tower with some red leaves too. I think this one looks pretty good.

It wasn't too long a walk but they did have a restroom on the way from the bus station that we used.

Then we came up to this road with a pretty steep incline. It really did feel like a hiking trail at that point.

But thankfully the road was smooth so we didn't have to worry too much. We joked that it would've been fun to slide down with Heelys (the shoes with wheels on the heels).

We tried to get a few nice shots of the view on the way to the tower. It was a little foggy in the distance but that might've just been the weather.

After a while we seemed to have arrived at the base of the tower.

Here's a picture from the same spot but behind just to show how steep the incline was. You definitely would get quite a high speed if you had Heelys on.

After that we came to an open plaza area with some benches and pagodas, where we saw two very excited doggos!

There was a lookout area with steps where people were sitting and admiring the view, with quite a few photographers as well.

There were also some sheltered areas with benches where people could sit. Thankfully the weather wasn't rainy at the time too.

It was indeed a very nice view, and from here you could see most of the Seoul skyline, including several important buildings.

The sun was slowly setting and it would've been perfect if it was on this side.

But unfortunately, it was on the other side of the plaza. It did give me this nice shot with the trees though.

It was actually surprisingly crowded here given how inaccessible this place is. We were amazed at how many people there were here compared to the palace we visited earlier.

The sun was slowly setting and I tried my best to get a few extra shots of the sunset.

There was quite a crowd on this side of the plaza with the fancy pagoda. We initially wanted to head there to take some photos but figured it wouldn't be nice with so many other people around.

So we decided to head towards the tower; we didn't want to head up too late lest it get dark.

Thankfully there wasn't a queue for tickets so we managed to get our tickets quickly. I guess the crowd outside had already been up the tower.

At the base of the tower was a little shopping center where they had souvenir shops and booths.

But we figured we could check those out later if we wanted to, so we headed to the tower entrance first to see how long the wait was to go up.

The N Seoul Tower or Namsan Seoul Tower is 236m tall, making it the second highest point in Seoul and is considered a local landmark. Built in 1969, the N Seoul Tower is South Korea's first general radio wave tower, providing TV and radio broadcasting in Seoul. Currently, the tower broadcasts signals for Korean media outlets, such as KBS, MBC, and SBS. (Source: Wiki)

Here's the floor guide for the tower. We were heading up towards the observatory and were surprised to see how many shops there were below.

On the way to the observatory lift we did pass by a few shops on the way as well. It felt like an underground mall even though we were on a mountain.

This was one of the areas we passed by on the way to the lift and it felt like a science museum for some reason.

Eventually we made it to the lift and it was a small enclosed space with a few other people but there was a video that played on the ceiling of the lift showing us zooming through space. I'm not sure what it has to do with the tower but I guess that was their theme.

The observatory also had a few shops, including a huge sweet shop which was the first thing we saw.

We had a nice view of the city below though it did feel quite small from all the way up here compared to the bus station.

There was a gift shop here too of course, with special memorabilia features the tower.

There were also plenty of pretty postcards including a mailbox for you to send one all the way from here!

I tried my best to get shots without any reflections but it was tough with the lights from the shops.

Some spots were better than others too, with a different view at every window.

We still had a pastry we bought from the bakery we visited earlier so we figured now would be the perfect time to eat it while sitting and enjoying the view!

And what a view it was! We sat there while we enjoyed the flaky pastry. Unfortunately I don't remember what kind of pastry it was other than it had almonds but it was still a good snack after all that walking.

After finishing our pastry we went around taking more photos while waiting for the sun to set. We couldn't really see the sun anymore though so we didn't wait around long.

We did visit the restroom up here to see if there was a view and there was a window next to the sink with a huge mirror for the ladies.

There were some fancy stone sinks as in the restroom too, it felt like a hotel.

The cubicles themselves also had a view and a little excerpt about the sights!

It was actually a really nice restroom. Outside, there was a photo wall of other people who've been here.

After that we walked around the observatory some more to see if we missed out on anything, but it was more of the same with some information on a few of the windows.

We went to the lower level of the observatory to check it out but there wasn't much else here besides the gift shop and a cafe where it was pretty crowded.

So we went all the way back to the ground floor again so we could go check out the underground mall.

The basement had 4 floors with most of them being restaurants or fast food places.

There was a huge arcade here with crane machines, and lots of other games too.

We were pretty surprised that there was no one around playing though given how many people we saw in the plaza.

Unfortunately there weren't any DDR machines so Sean couldn't get to say he played on top of a mountain.

We finally saw a few other people playing one of the racing games.

But given how big the arcade was I fully expected there to be more people around. They even had some classic tabletop fighting games that looked pretty cool.

Other than the arcade, there was another photo wall full of people's faces here. It felt like looking at a physical version of instagram or something.

There were also some stuffed animals here that looked pretty cute but also trapped.

Outside, there were benches with lots of cute/creepy characters. I guess they were mascots for the N Seoul Tower.

At this point I was pretty tired from all the walking and my back was aching so badly from the heels earlier I just laid down to rest and ended up taking a short nap.

I felt better after the nap and we walked around a little bit more, where we came across this very pretty staircase with lots of twinkly lights!

We thought we came across a hidden secret or something since we were lucky that nobody else was here, but then some people started showing up.

After that we headed out and went back to that pagoda that was packed with people earlier. Now there was no one so I could take a nice photo. The view from here wasn't as good as the other side of the plaza so I'm not sure why everyone was gathered here.

It was getting dark and we were pretty tired so we started making our way to the cable car to go down the mountain.

There were so many love locks over here and lots of graffiti. It was clear this was done by tourists since no where else in Seoul had this much graffiti.

Thankfully there wasn't a queue to go to the cable cars either! I guess all the people we saw earlier had all gone down the mountain already.

We bought our tickets for the cable car which was slightly pricier than we expected (11,000 KRW each).

But we were too tired to think much of it. We waited for a few minutes before the car arrived.

We enjoyed a nice ride down the mountain. I think the buses probably were still available but then you'd have to walk down the steep slope again.

And we didn't want to miss out on this view! We didn't get to see the lights coming on since we left the observatory early but it was quite pretty.

We arrived to a pickup/carpark area so we had no choice but to order a car to pick us up.

We waited for about 10 minutes or so and unfortunately we couldn't find a driver.

It was late and we were tired and hungry and just wanted to go back to the hotel. The train station was more than 600m away but we didn't have a choice so we decided to walk it.

Eventually we arrived back to the regular city area.

By then I was so exhausted and Sean knew how much my back was killing me so he proposed we go check out a sports massage place.

It was in this older looking shopping center but it was pretty affordable.

We checked out their packages and they had a sports massage and foot spa package that was pretty reasonable so we tried it out.

They made us change into these outfits for the massage and it was pretty comfortable. I think Sean fell asleep during the massage but after that I did feel quite refreshed.

I was still pretty tired though so we went for a quick dinner at the Lotteria we saw earlier.

Lotteria is one of our favourite fast food chains that we visit in Japan, so we were excited to try it here since it's actually a Korean brand.

They had quite a range of burgers and sides to choose from, but our favourite of theirs if the cheese stick.

Since theirs is the only cheese stick where you can do this!

We ordered two sets to share

We tried the mushroom burger which was pretty good, nothing to complain or write home about.

We also ordered the bacon burger which came with extra cheese sticks as well. This one I really liked although the bacon wasn't crispy, the crispy cheese was a good complement.

We also got these chicken bites which were basically like chicken pops or nuggets.

But that's it for today! Sorry for the long post but we're going to be away next week so I figured I just finish this day for now since I won't be updating until we're back from another vacation!

Thanks so much for reading!

To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!

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Check out my previous post in this series!

TacoCat’s Travels #232 (Seoul): Tastry Treats and Comforting Curry 😋

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