Flying from Myanmar we landed in the ‘New York of Asian’, Seoul, where Maglev trains exist and fashion and skin care products are a necessity. We were in awe at the ease of the public transport system that took us directly from the airport and dropped us in Hongdae, where we were staying. Hongdae was predominantly a university town with restaurants on every corner and bars at every turn. The streets are alive with small boutiques and shops and we spent many hours just strolling the streets and watching the crowds. We went out for a traditional Korean BBQ which is a must in Korea, unsure of what needed cooking and what didn’t we stumbled our way through a delicious meal. Pete found himself in the Samsung shop trying out the virtual reality technology and I found my way into the amazing world of Korean skin care products.

We did the tourist thing and ventured out the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone) where North and South Korea split at the 38th Parallel. It is hard to imagine how two halves of one country could be so very different. The tour took us down one of four infiltration tunnels dug by the North to attack the South. The last tunnel was found in 1978 and the South believe there are many more, although North Korea deny they ever built them!

Everybody knows the famous Gangnam song from 2012 so we thought we would go and check out the streets of Gangnam. This area was a bit of a contrast from the university district, this was the playground for the rich and famous. There were street performers and great little bars - definitely recommend a visit there.

All in all Seoul was an amazing city to visit I have come away with more face products than can fit in my bag and Pete had begun dreaming of his future virtual reality purchases. The Koreans are great fun, they love a good party and a few laughs.