Thursday was the last day of term and students went home at lunch, so I was told I could sneak out too and not come friday although I'm supposed to. I had planned the three day break to goto Seoul during the summer to do some more exploring. However, everytime I goto seoul a massive rain storm seems to hit.

When I first went in Chuseok Sept/10 there was a record rainfall flooding the streets several inches. The next time in May there was a heavy downpour all day so I had to hide out in malls. This time I kept checking the forecast and it was showing massive monsoon rains every day with 20mm downpours.

July is monsoon season and korea is hit with a lot of rain. It moves from the ocean across the china coastline, over seoul and into north korea. Daegu has luckily been spared of a lot of the rain. We have been getting passing showers but nowhere near the massive floods we are seeing in seoul and other parts on tv.

Seoul keeps getting hammered daily when I watch the news and check the forecast (and I ask myself why this is the no.1 choice destination for foreign teachers when the weather is so bad in summer and winter compared to daegu?). Unluckily for me, my trip co-incides with the tail end of seoul monsoon season. Also when I arrived I noticed everyone here is pale as they havent been baking in the sun like we have in daegu, and instead have had three weeks of daily rain.

Each time I goto seoul I am trying to find a nice place to stay. The last two times I tried two different hostels I didnt like. Then I found out about traditional hanok homes you can stay in for 40,000w. I paid 50,000w and 30,000w the two times I stayed in a hostel so this is the same price range as the hostels I stayed in, and what you would pay for a motel.

The room had a comfy floor mattress, air con, ceiling fan, tv, self serve western breakfast, and free internet, which is more than what I got at the hostels I stayed at. Very peaceful and quiet. There is no noise as there are no cars in the village so all you hear are the birds and the raindrops.

Here is their website www.bukchon72.com but there are many other guesthouses in the neighbourhood if you look online or check the korean tourism site. I tried to book before in May but they were full so be sure to book early as its a popular neighbourood with koreans as well as tourist.

I would really recommend the hanok as you get more of an experience from the whole neighbourhood. This reminds me of Kyoto in Japan with the traditional homes and alleyways. There are many converted guesthouses in this area so plenty to chose from. Other homes have been converted into cafes, art galleries, museums, hotels, as well as private residential homes.

Wondering around I discovered the Bukchon Traditional Culture Centre which was a free museum. Then a lady in hanbok dress invited me into a room for tea drinking. It was interesting watching how she pours the liquid into different objects, swirl it around, and the whole process as they dont use teabags.

She made me sit with my back straight and do a seated bow first. Then she showed me how to place my hands on my lap. After she showed my how to take the cup in both hands and drink the tea like a whisky shot. There was a very sweet lotus leaf dessert also which I liked. It was good that I could now have a basic conversation in korean with her too having finished my korean classes.

The hanok village is very interesting. There are many tourist friendly english maps of the neighbourhood. Unfortunately they are out of date as some museums have closed or moved such as the Tibet Museum, and Silk Road Museum. There are also a surprising number of tourist info offices around the neighbourhood. I love when they ask where I am from, and I reply Daegu, confusing them as they expected me to answer from overseas!.

Many of the homes are now museums and start from as low as 1000w ($1). There is a combo ticket you can get for 10,000w ($10) which gets you into five museums. An interesting one I found was a house where you can dress in tradtional clothes. For 1000w entry you can walk around and take pics ($1). I wanted to dress as the king and a courtier but photos started from 10,000w and up ($10).

There are several villages within the larger Bukchon neighbourhood, which are a cluster of traditional homes. There are several designated photo spots recognized for their scenic vantage spots. One was at the top of the village and you see all the rooftops. Another was of the Seoul skycrapers behind the village rooftops. I also bumped into two friendly english speaking tourist guides waiting to steer people the right way.

After a while climbing up I could see Gyeongbokgung, the royal palace, a few blocks away, as well as the korean presidential palace. After coming back downhill I noticed an english speaking fortune teller so I thought I'd give it a try since they are all korean in Deagu.

I had a tarot card reading, and she showed me the high priestess, meaning I was going to meet someone who is an educator. She will be a foreign teacher, living in korea, not far from daegu. All this will happen within the next 12 months... Well, lets see how much of that is true.

Wondering further back to the main road, it become quite european with many cafes, jewellery stores, clothing stores, and many european style bakeries. The main street running along the Gyeongbokgung wall had many galleries. I went into the Hyundai gallery which was free to get out of the rain for a bit.

There was also an interesting temple at the main corner of the main road. I wandered back across to Insadong for something to eat, but food you can normally get for 5000w was selling for over 20,000w since this is peak tourist area. So walked back to the Bukchon neighbourhood and was back in the 5000w price range so had as stir fry seafood udon (which I've never seen in Daegu?)

Rain was not so bad, heavy drizzle, but so long as you have a hood or umbrella still able to go about. Tomorrow looks like still a lot of drizzle, so I wont goto Ganghwa Island which I had planned on, as its all outdoors so you need more clear sunny weather. Instead I'll goto Incheon at the end of the subway line and check out a few spots there.

Bukchon neighbourhood was a great way to spend a day and discover a whole new area of seoul peaceful and historic, with no noise, crowds, or flashing lights. Aside from the hanok home cost, most things can be done for free wandering around the alleys and appreciating the layout and design of the homes and their rooftops. I'll certainly try to stay in these guesthouses again.

To get to Bukchon goto Anguk Subway on the orange line, get out at exit 3, turn left and walk for 2 mins and you'll be in the heart of the neighbourhood.