Changdeokgung

Gotta love holidays. A 1 day work week was soooooooooooooooo nice; finish a weekend, go to work for a day, and then have another, VERY LONG weekend. But, I only have 2 days left of my break. This break is going by so quickly. I can't believe it is already Friday. I didn't do very much these past few days; mostly just sitting around playing on the net, reading, watching movies, sleeping. I did get out a few times to do some shopping... for food and a few other things that I needed.
Today I decided I had to actually do something, so I went to Changdeokgung, or Changdeok Palace (gung is palace in Korean), one of several palaces in Seoul. I went there once before, almost 5 years ago. It is a little bit different from when I went before, in that the leaves were still green this time. Before, all of the maples were bright red. The only thing that I don't like is that you cannot just wander around on your own. You can only see it all with one of the tours. There are, I think, 3 English tours every day. I managed to get there just as one was starting. As a result, it is difficult to get a good picture as there are so many people around to get in your way. Changdeokgung is supposedly the best preserved of the palaces. The royal family still lived in part of it until 1989.

[Injeongjeon Hall - the main hall, where coronations and such were held.]

[Infront of Injeongjeon Hall. The markers indicate where which people stood during the ceremonies. You cannot always rely on other people taking pictures for you... yes that is me. I wanted the whole building in the photo, but as you can see, it didn't end up that way.]

[Details on the front of Huijeongdang Hall - the King's quarters.]

[The front of Daejojeon Hall - the Queen's quarters. What it says is something to do with the place where important things are made. The Queen's quarters was also the King's and Queen's shared sleeping quarters. So basically, the baby making place.]

[In the secret garden. The Buyongji Pong and the Juhamnu Pavilion, built in 1776 (the palace library).]

[Nakswonjae Pavilion - built in 1847 as a residence for the king's concubines. This is where the last queen lived until 1966, and the last princess until 1989.]