Seoul is teeming with beautiful parks strategically located in the different parts of this peninsula. One of those we had the pleasure of seeing is Dosan Memorial Park, set in the fashionable district of Gangnam-gu.
From our point of origin which is Myeong-dong, we took a train that took us to the Gangnam station. Travel time is about 15-20 minutes. We passed by so many stations, I lost track of time and promptly lulled to sleep. Ha ha ha.
By the time, we arrived at the Gangnam Station it started raining again with the wind furiously blowing in all directions, I was afraid my fake-suede boots will fall off even before the end of the trip. As we got off the train station, Anne and Vien were in a bind. How do go to the Rodeo Street again? They've been there on two occasions the past two years.
They pored over the map to no avail. So, Anne and I volunteered to go inside a grocery store and ask for directions while Vien and Tyrone took shelter in a bus stop. Well, the Koreans are very friendly so they accommodated us. They took their time looking at the map we were holding. But trying was not enough; with their limited command of English, the best that they could advise us was to take a cab. And that it would probably take us five minutes to get there.
We got a taxi pronto. Let me tell you the cabs in Seoul are clean, smell good and driven by very respectable looking cabbies. We told him we wanted to go to Rodeo Street and just like that he drove. That drive lasted for ten minutes with hardly any traffic, we only stopped at the traffic lights on red. Far! It cost us 6,000 Korean Won. About P240.
It must be said that in Seoul they have a different system of naming a street. In the Philippines, a whole short stretch is normally what constitutes a street like Paseo de Roxas in Makati. Avenues of course are longer than the streets but then they're one whole stretches. In Seoul, a street has one whole stretch with so many auxiliary roads. It baffles me but am determined to find out how its urban planning works before our next trip.
But am digressing. The point is it took us a circuitous route to get to this really pretty park. It's like the Salcedo Park of Salcedo Village in Makati. But way better and bigger. Apparently, the park is surrounded by luxury condominiums which are home to the stars and gazilionaires of Korea.
On foot en route to the park, we passed by a seemingly public showroom of Aston Martins, Porsche, Benzes and other top-of-the-line cars parked on the streets. But these sights were all eclipsed by the beauty of what greeted us in the park.
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| Dosan Ahn Chang-ho. |
The park was erected in his honor for his patriotism and for being at the forefront of the Independence movement.
What a pretty sight to behold. It would be incredibly satisfying to take long walks here in between office hours. I bet one could get his or her own little nook her to contemplate or just de-stress.
Thank you, Dosan for a lovely afternoon walk in the park.
Photo Credit: Tyrone Arreglo
Xx
Sheng
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