Day 6 in Seoul: Hanboks!

 Day six in Seoul our group was kind enough to indulge me in something I wanted to do: dress in traditional hanbok and go to the palace!

I really wanted to do this, for a couple reasons. For one, it's Gyeongbokgung Palace and is a major touristy/historical place. It is also where I was when I first met Mandy! Or at least where I got her first message online. We met while I was on a trip with my friend Mindy (yes... Mindy, Mandy, Maddie... it gets confusing). Mindy and I were at the palace and we had stopped to get a drink. I got a notification while we were waiting for a drink and it was a message from Compatible Partners (the gay version of eHarmony) that someone had seen my profile and wanted to talk. It was Mandy! She was on a choir trip in Ireland and we were both ignoring the warnings from Compatible Partners to not message people who said they were on vacation abroad (cuz it can be a scam). 

The rest is history.

So, I wanted to show Mandy the place where we met. And take cute pictures in hanbok.

I had found a recommendation for a place to rent hanbok (there are so, so many places) near the palace where they a) spoke English and b) had plus sizes (not always the easiest to find). The place is called Daehan Hanbok. You can choose any skirt you want for plus size and you need bigger they have panels to put in back so it will close. They also have a large selection of jackets to fit even my large arms. 

I had also heard complaints online that the outfits smell because they don't get washed between patrons. Ours did not have that problem. I don't know if it is because we arrived at the start of the day or if they wash them between each wearing. Either way, ours were fresh smelling. Even if we weren't by the end of wearing them.

We arrived around the time they opened and it was already soo so hot. But we got there and chose our hanbok skirts. There were so many to choose from! I liked the premium ones that had fancy ruffles, but I wanted to coordinate with Mandy who fell in love with a jewel toned purple skirt so I got a dark blue with gold medallion designs and we got matching jackets (even if I kept accidentally popping the top snap on mine).

Mandy and I also wanted to get our hair done. I was less than impressed with how they did my hair. It was not well done. And the first thing she did was brush my bangs and then couldn't get them in the hairdo so they were just a bunch of limp frizz in front of my face (when usually they are a fluffy semi-curly frizz). And it was already so hot in the hanboks that were were super red and sweaty, lol! But we still had fun taking a bunch of pictures. Though, to be honest, we did not get far into the grounds because we were so hot.

Maddie started to get too hot and wasn't feeling good, but she still looked so fancy!

Also, if the embroidery on my jacket looks a little wonky, it is because I did a little bit of quick editing. I had been told they would put it over our clothes so I had worn a sleeveless dress, but then they told me to take it off... and my bra was HOT PINK and stood out quite a bit in all the pictures. Hence the quick editing. Hey, I'm just glad they had fat sizes!

Aw, look at how cute we are! 

I love how cute Mandy looks in this picture. So sweet! *heart eyes*

Looking off in the distance... all majestic like. 

I think Maddie looks so cute in this picture.

Precious beans! Dan was such a good sport playing dress up with us not just once but TWICE on this trip. And doesn't he just look dapper in his cool hat.

Getting a little hot and sweaty...

More obligatory door lean pictures. This one is right after I accidentally smacked the hair pin Mandy was wearing, pulling her entire head to the side by the hair... oops. Sorry, babe!

You can see in the background more people dressed in hanbok. You can get into the palace for free if you are wearing a hanbok so it is pretty popular. There were a lot of people wearing hanbok.

A regal looking Dan.

We then took some time to cool off in the museum (air conditioning!) before making the short trek back to the rental company where they cheered and said we made it. I think it was funny because we were SO SWEATY and red in the face. But we did it!

On the way out, Mandy found another drum.

We then had lunch at a tiny place close to the hanbok store. We were all hungry at this point and in need of sustenance. However, we were still so hot that I couldn't finish my food... again.

After the palace, we headed back to the hotel to rest. Maddie didn't feel well and Mandy was exhausted after our two weeks of hiking around in the heat. I did some blogging and watched Brooklyn 99 while those two took naps and Dan went exploring. He found the Coex Mall aquarium and had a good time.

Maddie and Dan bought tickets to go see Nanta, a comedy cooking show and they had a blast. It seemed like fun, but Mandy didn't really want to go out and I didn't care about spending the money on it. Dan and Maddie had fun. Dan even got called up on stage.

After the performance, I met up with Dan and Maddie to buy street food. I wasn't hungry, but I wanted to go out so we could try a bunch of things.

Got some tasty skewers.

A tornado potato.

I also got a stick of tteokbokki that was way too sweet and kind of old. Sad day. And I didn't even get a picture.

But we did find some good lemonades and a fluffy pancake that Dan had wanted to find in Japan. He even shared.

We also got croissant waffles which was probably the best thing I have ever eaten. They took a croissant, put it in a waffle iron and then covered it in sugar cinnamon and a little maple syrup. Oh my god... I want one now. 

Then we walked down a cool lit up side street to buy a few more makeup items from Tony Moly (which now has a US website and I'm in trouble).

The next day was going to be our last day of our trip.