Walking. Eating. Shopping.
That, in a nutshell, is what I did for 2 days and 2 nights in Seoul. Last weekend, my mother, her cousin, and I went to Korea. With only 2 days, we were only able to explore the Myong-dong district, a hip, young shopping area peopled by as many foreigners as natives.
Seoul is only an hour away by plane from Fukuoka, but being an international flight, we were still treated to an airline dinner. I was asleep going, and judging by the meal coming back, I didn't miss much. Besides, food in-country is what I was looking forward to.
We landed in Korea at what seemed like the other side of Incheon International, and we were rolling at least 15 minutes on the ground. Impressive if you consider that taxiing to and from runways made up at least 20% of the time we were planed.
Arrival, otherwise proceeded smoothly and soon we were on our way to the Westin via shuttlebus. I noticed 3 things almost immediately. First, people drive on the right side of the road, figuratively and literally. Second, the highways and streets are wide and spacious, an almost welcome sight compared to the narrow deathtraps that are Japanese streets. Last, there were an inordinate number of cars parked on the shoulders of the highway. For what reason I couldn't fathom, but I saw one car virtually blocking an offramp. At one point, I'm sure I saw a food stand, doing business on the side of the elevated highway. All of this seemed foolish to me, but in Seoul it was business as usual.
The Westin was very posh, and the room we were in a very nice reminder of the Canadian essentials I miss in Japan; faucets that run hot water, stand-up showers, central heating, and wall insulation. Sadly, Seoul was pretty warm (about 3-10 degrees C), so I couldn't enjoy the benefits of modern construction techniques. Instead, we actually ended up sleeping with the windows open a crack and the heating turned down to 15 degrees.
Dinner that night was at a ma & pa joint, with wickedly delicious kalbee, fried-pork, and seafood-nabe (hot pot). Even my mother, normally adverse to meat, got in to a little kalbee action. The walls of the restaurant were covered in polariods of other satisfied customers, and we gladly added our own mugs to their collection. It will be fun to go back one day and find that picture.
We wandered around, soaking in the atmosphere. Being Lunar New Years Eve, many stores were closing up early, but we managed to snag a small truck selling little golden pigs, famous in Korea and those in the know for bringing good luck.
After we returned to our hotel, filled with ice-cream and kim-chee (not in that order), we ended up collapsing into sleep at about 2am. We'd be up in about 5 hours.
Despite the short sleep time, I felt pretty good for someone more-or-less constantly on the go for the last 2 weeks. Brekkie was at the hotel's Executive Lounge (thanks dad, for booking us as Exec club members), and soon enough we were out on the streets of Myong-dong again. First stop was the Lotte duty free shop next door, where I managed to get a fair chunk of my souveneir shopping done. You couldn't turn around without smacking into a Japanese person there.
After Lotte was Myong-dong proper, and I was surprised to see so many American chains there. Smoothie King (is this American?), Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and my personal slice of heaven, Burger King. I indulged my Whopper cravings later that night (and the next day), but for now it was off to find lunch.
Lunch was a bit of an ordeal, as we got ourselves a little lost and overshot the restaurant by about 6 blocks. A quick consultation of the map had us back on track, but by then my mother, no longer quite the spring chicken, was pretty close to collapse. Part of the wonder of Seoul is the seeming lack of crosswalks. I'm not sure if this is a phenomenon restricted just to just the Myong-dong district, or whether Korea is a nation of anti-crosswalk-ites, but crossing the street involved going downstairs to subway level, to a pathway lined with shops, and climbing back up. It seemed that many, if not all, the underground passage ways were interconnected, creating a large super network of underground passages. I can only think of two possibilities for this odd construction. One is the fact that Seoul is a sort of winter city. No snow when we were there, but perhaps on colder days people just stay underground. The other possibility is that they are ad hoc bunkers, in case ol' Kim Jong Il decides to start lobbing in arty. I seem to recall reading that Seoul is within range of North Korea's artillery.
We finally found our restaurant, and we were treated to a sort of chicken stew/gruel. I forget what it was called, (something like samgeta, but I'm working off a Japanese translation) but it was very tasty. I think, however, we enjoyed the simple act of sitting after our long trek more than anything else.
Following lunch, we wandered past a famous eyeglass store, and on a lark we decided to all make new glasses. I am pleased to say that my new glasses suit me very well, better in fact than my old ones. I am sadly to say that they also cost about 1/8 of my old glasses. At least I've got a REALLY nice set of back ups.
After we made our glasses, it was to the nearest department store, Shingekai. It was a very nice store, and while I was there I picked up a small North Face duffelbag, and a pair of Timberland loafers. After about an hour we headed back for our glasses (20 minutes a pop to make), and then wandered the streets of Myong-dong again, stopping in a variety of shops. A lot of the time was spent trying to find Krispy Kreme, which took some awesome 40 minutes or so due to us not knowing were to go, and by the time we got there, we just had the free donuts and just bought coffee before heading back to the hotel.
After a bit of rest, we headed out again, this time to a nearby restaurant that specialized in chi-gu. What that is I'm not sure, but it basically seems like a variation on rice-gruel. Good food, though we were confused at first on how to eat it.
Tired as hell, we headed back after dinner to turn in early, and all of us lay sort of comatose at one point or another before mustering the energy to bath. Our early night saw us asleep by 11pm.
The next day I felt the tiredness overwhelm me, and I was asleep until about 10am. By then, my mother and her cousin had had breakfast, and I woke up soon after and got ready to check out and go for lunch. Thanks to my new duffel I got rid of my boots and switch to my infitely more comfortably new loafers, and we wandered around a quiet, Japanese tourist filled Myong-dong. Most of the stores were closed, and would be until 11 or 12, but we managed to scope out a likely lunch venue. We then hurried back, checked out and settled our bill, and headed back for lunch. Lunch was delicious bulgogi, but a bit rushed as were on the clock for the airport limosine bus. We hurried back, me with a Whopper in hand, and made it back with about 7 minutes to spare.
The bus ride back to Incheon, about an hour, was quiet and a nice chance for us to unwind. There was however, one last drama for us to overcome. While my mother's cousin, of course a Japanese citizen, and myself, a non-permanent resident of Japan, had no problems procuring our boarding passes, my mother, who is neither of these couldn't be issued one until she presented proof that she had a flight out of Japan.
Everyone was very nice, and the delay only took up the time required to explain the situation, cross the terminal to the Air Canada check-in counter, and then pick up a reprint of the e-ticket itinerary at their office in the same building, but it was still a big relief when my mother got her boarding pass.
So in the end, how do I feel about the whole trip? It was certainly a learning experience, in that I got to finally understand what most JETs probably feel when they arrive in Narita for the first time. I arrived in Seoul, a modern Asian city, surrounded by language I don't understand. I also felt that Korea is a city trying to play catch up. It is a vibrant mix of Japan, China, and America, yet it doesn't seem to have it's own niche just yet. Every where I looked, I saw the glitz and glamour of down-town Japan, but in the morning light, the litter on the streets, the greasy stains on the kerb, and the buckets of organic food waste waiting for pick up reminded me of Chinatown. Ultimately, Korea left me intrigued and wanting a bit more. But in a sense, I'm also glad to be back home in Japan.
Pics to come when I have some free time this week.
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