Day 2 ... heading south of the river

Having seen the temperature predicted for today we made the decision to alter our plans for the day to avoid being outside for long periods of time. We decided to head to the south of the river, first to the Gangnam District and then on to Jamsil.

We were all dressed and ready to go by 9.00 am when it was a balmy -10 ⁰C. We grabbed a quick coffee for Claire and then headed outside to brave the chill. Surprisingly it wasn't unbearable! Yes, there was a definite chill and we were breathing fire from our mouths ... but after a few minutes we were used to it (somewhat).

 

We headed to the station to grab our first train of the day. Once in the station it was warm (okay  ... I'll admit ... I was sweating). We caught a train and then switched to another line which took us to Gangnam. Here we left the warmth of the subway to brave the street so that we could look at some amazing sculptures ... including the Gangnam style hands!

Our next stop was to visit the Starfield Library in the Coex Mall. We had read about this Library before and seen many photos. To see it in person was incredible. The sheer size of the book shelves is incredible. 

We wandered through the Coex Mall ... an amazing shopping mall. Lots of beautiful stores, columns decorated with plates or glassware, and an indoor walking track!

On to the Coex Mall Aquarium ... lots of fish, frogs, turtles, sharks, jellyfish, sea horses, otters (my favourite animal) and penguins. 

The Aquarium was wonderful but our next stop took us back to the subway and heading towards Jamsil where we stopped for lunch at one of Kim’s favourite fast food places  ... The Lotteria which was delicious, and just opposite the Trevi Fiuntain. Basically think Korean McDonalds ... where you can get a Bulgogi Burger and Shake Shake Fries.

Then it was time to head to the top of the sky ... to the tallest building in Korea (and the 6th in the World) ... Lotte Sky Tower. We were whizzed to the top of the tower (555 metres) in under a minute. The views were spectacular  ... and with clear skies we could see for a long distance.  Ian braved the glass floor to step out and look below (123 floors).

And on to Lotte Folk Museum ... a must visit when coming to Seoul.  Imagine the history of Korea told through dioramas ... both life size and miniature.  We have visited every single time we have travelled to Korea ... and this trip was no exception. 

Our final stop for the day was to spend several hours exploring Lotte Adventure Park. A theme park a bit like Disneyland  ... but thankfully inside! There is an outdoor section which we were able to wander around ... admittedly very quickly due to how cold it was. All but 2 of the rides on Magic Island were not operating due to the temperature being below -5⁰. The rides inside were operating though so Ian,  Kim and Claire hit up the Adventures of Sinbad while I happily bag and coat watched. We headed to the Aeronaut Balloons but with a 70 minute wait we opted to head for the Monorail for a ride around the resort.  Then a stop for dinner at a lovely restaurant ... pork chops, pork cutlet and pasta dishes revived the flagging energy. We then raced back to the Balloons and after a wait of only about 20 minutes we were flying high above the wonderful world of Lotte. Our final ride was on the carousel 🎠  and then we were done.

And then time to head back to our apartment ... all the legs are weary. Some have blisters (me and Claire), Ian's ankle is swollen ... and we have walked over 18,000 steps. We were out for just under 12 hours. We may have "killed" the young ones! 

Now to plan another day.