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Published: December 25th 2008
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seoul
christmas day in seoul, not too shabby
When I was a kid I made an abstract painting using found paint and crayons, I mother still has it hanging in the garage. I entitled it 'Sell your Soul for bacon'. I had no reference for the the expression and to this day still don't know what I meant by it but I enjoyed the collection of words. Now I am actually in Seoul and still don't have a frame of reference for the saying but I have seen bacon in Seoul, is that a connection?
Merry Christmas from Seoul, I arrived last night after a grueling plane ride to one of the busiest cities in the world, Seoul South Korea. I sat next to a guy going to Saigon, not Ho Chi Min City as it is know in the west. He didn't speak very good english and sat with both his legs on the seat. On the other side sat a heavy set woman in leopard print clothing from New Mexico. She was korean and spoke to everyone surrounding us. She would ask one question then wait for the begining of your response before she would begin her story.
On the plane I watched the Dark Knight
which actually put me to sleep, I couldn't believe that was the movie everyone raved about. I drifted in and out of sleep and more movies: My English Teacher, an appropriate titled korean movie and then Hancock with Will Smith, Hancock was a favorite. We touched down, I said farewell to the leopard woman and buttoned my coat in the cold korean air. The airport was busy and had a smell like I'd never smelled before. I breathed in deep.
Earlier in the day, actually a day ago now since the time change, my neighbor T2 took me to Union Station in LA to catch the Fly Away bus to LAX. He picked me up at 8am and helped me pack my final belongings for my journey. We stopped for gas on the way at the local AM PM. I looked around, the sun was rising over the Echo Park hills and people of every nationality pulled into the gas station. I took in a deep breath and remembered the smell, this was a smell I have grown to like: stale exaust mixed with eucalyptus trees and a hint of salt air. I started to think about how that might
be my favorite part about traveling and the only part that could not be expressed in any easy way. I thought of the smell of Guatemala and then Mexico and then Peru, I was going to smell something completely new. So, I thought of the smell of K Town, was this the smell I was preparing for?
Fast Forward thirteen hours and it smells nothing like K Town, it's more like Little Tokyo with a strong odor of Kimchi, really, it does smell of Kimchi. I quickly got on a bus headed to Anguk Station were I had made a reservation at a guest house, traditional style korean hotel with a futon, paper doors and a heated floor. The traffic from the airport reminded me of LA, thick, long lines of cars without a Chevy or Ford in sight, I thought of the smog levels and came to the personal conclusion that their smog levels were not as bad as ours, and so the auto company bail out is on the back burner (for me) again.
I got off at the right stop Anguk and fumbled to find my map, I walked up and down narrow alley ways as the
temperature seemed to drop. I finally found a sign, Seoul Guesthouse, in english! I walked around the perimeter to only find a shaggy dog so I rang the front bell. An enthusiastic man with grey hair and glasses emerged from the shadows, he said "You the Night, right?" I said "Well, I don't think so?". "No, No." he said, "Your name is the the Night or Nice?" And the funny english starts. I explained that my name was NYE and he showed little interest. He showed me to my room were I immediatly took off my shoes and pranced happily on the heated floor. My tiny shoe box of a room was home sweet home. I took a quick shower then walked around the neighborhood of Insadong wishing myself a merry christmas. My nerves had settled and I found a bit of peace.
I returned an hour later to find it late, I had no idea what time it was in America the whole idea of the international dateline confused me from the start. I laid down and fell into a deep coma, I awoke at 4am completely refreshed and ready to go, then I realized it was 4am and
I had to go back to sleep. I got up again at 8am and couldn't help but go exploring. I was in the north part of downtown and figured why not walk to the south part? I hit the streets and didn't stop until I was at the top of Namsan Mountain in the middle of the city. I watched as couples wrote on locks and locked them to the guard rail declaring their love. I gazed at the gigantic city and thought that this had to be the perfect christmas present. From there I walked slowly out of the park following the birds as only a bird nerd can do til I found Itaewon the tourist center, or what I thought was the tourist center. I was referencing a tourist map I found at the airport and had no idea really where I was, I found a sign that matched and followed it, two hours later, I'm lost and surrounded by american military soldiers, instead of asking for directions I pretended to be european and refused to acknowledge the military presence which is a hot topic of debate for koreans anyway.
After a general, 'where the hell are you'
panic I calmed myself by a traditional bulgogi christmas lunch, just like at home! I found a traditional restaurant, sat on the floor surrounded by korean families and ate an excellent meal. Most korean meals come with a plethora of side dishes, kimchi included, one side dish stood out, I thought, wow it tastes a little fishy, on closer inspection, I found it was tiny fish and seaweed, so literally a little fishy, some things are more obvious than they seem.
After I ate I hit the trail again just walking and taking in the new environment or designer shops and tourist restuarants, how different! I turned a corner and found that I was in the hussling and busseling tourist hud, it seems I had been just at a different part. I wondered found a bunch of white people and got scared so I ran down into the subway. Seoul has one of the biggest underground train systems in the world. It took me about twenty minutes to figure out how to buy a ticket but once I did I become a pro! I rode from Itaewon back to the palace district not far from Anguk.
And now I sit
namsan
bird house or nest in a huge computer room where everyone from grandpas to little kids are playing world of warcraft. I entered the building since it said PC Club really big. I asked the guy behind the counter 'Internet?" thinking like most he would not speak english he responded with "You want the internet? What about World of Warcraft, you don't play video games? Sit over there, how about some coffee?" You see some things are not as obvious as they seem.
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sheevens
non-member comment
nye! fun travels, keep on keepin on. love you man.