Farewell Miles – A Mileage Burning Party with All Nippon Airlines, Thai Airways and Asiana Airlines in Business Class (with a BMI Leg)
Featuring the ANA International 787-8.
- Oh BMI *shakes head* (The Introduction)
- The Off, Birmingham Airport, Birmingham Airport to Frankfurt with BMI for Lufthansa
- Hotel Savigny, Around Frankfurt
- Frankfurt Airport and Meeting the 787
- Frankfurt-Tokyo Haneda with ANA’s International 787
- The Strings by Intercontinental, Tokyo
- One Time Exception: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building
- Tokyo Haneda International – Hong Kong International with ANA’s 777-300
- Crown Plaza Causeway Bay (Happy Valley)
- One Time Exception: An Emergency Camera Clean…
- Hong Kong to Seoul with Thai Airways International
- Ramada Seoul Dongdamun
- One Time Exception: Jongmyo Shrine – THIS SECTION
- Seoul Incheon to London Heathrow with Asiana Airlines
- Wrapping up
Time for a One-Time Exception – something a bit more slower than the fast-paced frenetic madness that has been parts of this trip as I head to a Shrine.
In some trips, I can go blindly from one place to another without appreciating some of the peace that a country has to offer. And I did a lot of that the last time in Seoul. And a lot of it during this trip in fact. I’ve wanted to head to some of the palaces this trip. I chose the Jongmyo Shrine according the guide book.
Jongmyo Shrine
W1000 (English Tours on the hour, but check for exact timings).
The pictures:
- http://www.photoblog.com/kevincm/2012/03/15/jongmyo-shrine-1.html
- http://www.photoblog.com/kevincm/2012/03/16/jongmyo-shrine-2.html
Now whilst the shrine does allow the public to wander around one day a week, the rest of the time, it is by tour only. And at 1000 Won (the best part of ooh… £1) I thought – hey – why not.
I got my ticket at the booth and was told there were Korean Language tours in on the twenty and forty, and an English language tour on the hour. It was by this point 11:20. And rather than rushing off to do other things, I took the time to sit down for a bit, and enjoy the peace of the park. Something I try and do once a trip (and often fail) – to stop for a minute and reflect on the whole thing. And this gave me the chance to sit down near the entrance and watch the world go by.
And it was lovely not to have to rush to the next stop somewhere – just to have peace to myself for a bit.
And that sums up the tour. The Shrine is dedicated to the memorial services for the deceased kings and queens of the Korean Joseon Dynasty. UNESCO deem this place important enough to add it to their World Heritage lists – and it is a peaceful place from the areas where the living king prepared to the long building of hte Yeongnyeongjeon (Hall of Eternal Comfort), with 19 memorial tablets of kings and 30 of their queens, placed in 19 chambers.
And with so few people around – it felt like the spirits were happy at rest.
For now, I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
Overall: If you need the peace of a shrine, and need to get away from the wilds of a city to a place where spirits roam in peace…. this is a wonderful escape from the noise and the hubbubs of a city. An excellent place to take in some of the history of Korea.
Next up, I head homewards with Asiana. But not without breakfast first…..