namdaemun... and what's this a historical landmark?

it was a saturday, no one was really answering their phones, language class was usually from 10-12 but it was off for the end of semester and i had no idea what to do with my morning. wow! how lazy is that of me to not throw something together fast and go do something. i felt pretty bad about that so i woke myself up out of bed and surfed the net for some things to do on the other side of the city. i heard about a few markets that sounded interesting to go to, so it looked like my morning was one of exploration.
i arrived at the market fairly early and got a lot of my orientation done before it got especially crowded later in the day
and later, i wasn't even prepared for the random historical land mark gate of dongdaemun to come out of nowheres while i was walking around. all i did was walk, well, i did take the subway out to that side of town, but i followed it above ground all the way back home... which was probably one of the most diverse walks i've been on yet!!

there are malls |  children running around everywhere, often without parents | and then of course stall shopping

basket

barter for your pots and pans

buy your foods and roasted silk worms here as well

herbals and ginger

after the market rounds, walking around that area of town was a must, so many fun things to see and look at!

awwwwwww...

they're to cute, i can't help it. 

i said to her - "rockin' socks, kid".

yes, i was there. there are never many pictures of me.

this is next to the dongdaemun station. i didn't start my walk home till after this picture