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Published: August 28th 2012
(Yes, the title of this blog entry is a reference to the song by The Killers. I get it stuck in my head when I think of the name of this city.)
(Also apologies for the delay in getting this post up, life has been busy since I got back to LA!!)
Second last blog entry about my Asian adventure!
We landed in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, on Monday, August 13th. The first thing we did was drop off one of our suitcases at luggage storage so we wouldn't have to lug it on the subway. This was an excellent decision. We then got on the Seoul subway. We could tell right away we were going to like it here. First, people here don't push. They wait patiently for people to get off the train before boarding. Second, they don't really stare. Sure, sometimes you'll catch someone watching you but as soon as you look back, they turn away. They know staring is rude. And for the most part they don't stare. The subway passes through Incheon, a suburb of Seoul, and is above-ground. We had some spectacular views of
the mountains and lakes in this area as we cruised along.
When we got to our final destination station, we discovered there was one final set of stairs which didn't have an elevator or escalator. Oh crap. As I attempted to lug my suitcase up the stairs, a Korean man came and just grabbed the end of it and helped me. This was the start of a trend we noticed in Seoul: Korean people go out of their way to help you more than any other people I've ever met. Like it's not just that they help when asked - they will come up to you if you look like you're having trouble and just help.
We got to our hostel and checked in, then went in search of food. We discovered most places don't have English menus and also don't have picture menus (as are common in China). So we went into a little Korean place and I ordered bibim bop (a favourite of mine which I also know the name of so don't need a menu) and Fernanda pointed to a picture of Korean sushi. After dinner, we went up to the
roof of our hostel where some people were hanging out. We then went on a mini-pub crawl to 3 local places. The last place was by far the best - the k-pop (Korean pop music) was blasting and at one point a Korean dude started ballroom dancing with the various girls at his table. I also had some Korean rice wine which was really good! I spent most of the night telling my fellow hostellers (many of whom were on their way to China...woops...) how happy I was to not be in China anymore and how Korea was instantly a massive improvement. I think it's because Korean people have money. But also because they have manners. At any rate, it's just so much better here.
Our first day in Korea we had a late start to the day - we decided to sleep in. We then went for brunch to "Paris Baguette", a chain bakery that would be a regular spot for us. We went to do a hop-on, hop-off bus tour of Seoul but the lady at the ticket office said it wasn't a good day because several of the spots were closed on Tuesday. Again,
so helpful! She told us about a palace down the street to visit so we visited Deoksung Palace. After the palace, we had some shaved ice, a Korean desert. It was pretty good and seemed really healthy. We then hopped back on the subway to go to a shopping area, Itaewon. It was like the Sanlitun of Seoul - full of foreigners. We couldn't even find Korean food so we had arabic food for dinner. It was good and we were entertained by (I kid you not) video footage of prayer time at Mecca while we ate. It felt like I was back in the middle east and not in Asia! Seoul in general is a very international city - sometimes Korean food is genuinely hard to find! Especially Korean food with any English or pictures on the menu.
We walked around Itaewon for a bit when it started raining. That, we decided, was our cue to head home. When we got off the subway near our hostel, it was downpouring. When we got out into the rain, I started walking fast to avoid getting soaked, when I heard Fernanda calling to me. When I looked back,
a man was holding an umbrella over her head! Yet another example of a Korean person just stepping up and helping without being asked! LOVE THESE PEOPLE SO MUCH!!!
Wednesday, August 15th was a special day - it was Liberation Day, Korea's National holiday! So we celebrated with a full day of sightseeing. We set alarms and got up in time for waffle breakfast at our hostel. We then went and did the bus tour. Our first stop was the Korean museum where I learned more about Korea that I ever thought I would know. Next we got off at Dongdaemun Market for lunch and shopping. Here is yet another example of Koreans being awesome - Fernanda wanted to order Korean sushi again so she decided to ask a young Korean (since young people are more likely to speak English) for the name so she could order it again. Well, the girl we asked not only gave us the name, she also pulled out her phone to look up a local place - then WALKED US THERE! It was unreal. The place had only one menu - it was a plate of sushi, kimchi, and octopus. Authentic
Korean! And we were brought there personally by a Korean!
After lunch we did some shopping/browsing. Korea seems to be a treasure trove of cosmetics so we went into a bunch of little shops and sampled their products. It was fun! Next stop was the Seoul Tower. It's up on a hill and not actually very tall so we just went to the top of the hill and looked from there for free. It's always fun to see a city from above. We wanted to visit the main palace, Gyeongbokgung, but it was closed by the time we got there so we had to save it for another day. When we got off the bus, we heard music. We followed it to a free concert of Korean traditional music. It has a VERY different sound from Chinese music - very interesting to hear.
Thursday, August 16th, we decided to do some border-stalking by joining a tour to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) right on the border with North Korea. Unfortunately, the best tour to the Joint Security Area was completely booked up for the entire time we'd be in Korea. But the DMZ tour was
still really cool. We got to meet some soldiers, see a train station which once had trains to Pyongyang (maybe one day those trains will run again!), and of course look through binoculars over to the DPRK itself. A highlight was a trip into a tunnel dug by North Korea to try to invade South Korea. They've found 3 such tunnels, but South Korea suspects there are more still. This country is blanketed with CCTV cameras (closed-circuit aka security cameras) and you can really understand why. I wouldn't want to neighbour North Korea!
The tour was only half-day so we had time to visit Gyeongbokgung palace in the afternoon. It looked like the Forbidden City - all these palaces and temples really start to look like one another after awhile...anyways, we discovered there was an opportunity to do what we love to do: dress up in traditional clothing. And it was free! We just had to wait for a while for our turn. But it was fun and we got some great pictures in Korean garb. Their clothing is so comfortable!!
After the palace, we went to what was labelled as Korean traditional village
but was really an upscale/quaint shopping area. We had dinner, which I loved. I had bibim bop and bbq pork. Fernanda has not been a fan of Korean food but I maintain she isn't trying hard enough to like it. I am surprised she didn't like the pork we got with this meal - it was so good! Gotta love Korean BBQ. And bibim bop is so awesome with its raw veggies. After dinner, we wandered around and then were tempted into the Hello Kitty Cafe. It's Asia! Gotta do it Asian style. That was really fun.
Friday, August 17th, we decided to sleep in. We didn't feel like waffles anyways. We went back to Paris Baguette for delicious baked goods instead. We then set off to go to the river for a bike ride. But we'd forgotten to ask directions to the river before we left our hostel. We were consulting our map, looking kind of lost, when some police officers in car stopped and asked us if we needed help. We told them we wanted to get to the river. They talked amongst themselves for a minute, then pointed to their car. They wanted us
to get in! So, we not only got a free ride to the river, we also got a ride in a cop car!! LOVE KOREANS!!! At the river, we started walking along to where the bike rental place would be. The path was very pleasant and Koreans are very courteous. Unlike Chinese people who will honk and ring their bell at you until you are ready to throw a stick into their spokes, Koreans will wait patiently for you to realize you're in the way and move. Such a pleasant experience. When we were close to the rental place, we asked a security guard to point us in the right direction. He could have easily pointed us to the place but no, this is Korea, so he walked us there. It was getting to the point where I was scared to ask for directions because everyone goes so out of their way!!
We had a nice bike ride along their revitalized riverfront. Definitely a good lesson for the many cities around the world with underutilized waterfronts. There is an elevated highway above but it didn't seem to bother us. The riverfront is basically a big park and
it was being well-used on this scorching hot day!! Eventually the humidity and heat got to us, so we returned the bikes and decided to go to COEX, a big mall that we heard had a ROBOT! It was literally an hour's subway ride but it was SO WORTH IT. When we arrived, we again struggled to find actual Korean food so we ended up eating at TGI Friday's haha. Not too Korean! But they had a great lunch special. We then found the ROBOT and she gave us directions and it was awesome. So Asian. What, your mall doesn't have a robot? Pfsh...how can you call it a mall?!
Friday was our last day in Seoul and we left with a very positive impression of the city. Honestly I've never seen a place that works so well. The subway is extensive and efficient. The streets are clean and safe. The people are, to repeat for yet another time (because it's really worth repeating) the kindest, most helpful people I've ever met. I am absolutely fascinated by this city. I really want to know how they make it work so damn well! I mean, this is a
democracy! How can they afford all this? It's really, really incredible. I think it's clear I need to abandon my Chinese lessons and take up Korean!!
Our final stop on this epic adventure is Incheon, the suburb of Seoul that is also home to the airport. So that story is to come!
-Dafne
PS I've decided if I can't get a job in the Seoul planning department that I'm going to become a K-Pop star. After watching music videos, I've decided the number one requirement seems to be "sassitude" which I think I've got. Plus, white people are "in" so I could totally become famous. And then I could return to Canada to escape the fame! The perfect Hannah Montana-style plan - the best of both worlds!
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