kimchi issoyo?
07/11/2006
I expected a really hard time getting around. I expected bad food. I expected the language impediment to be tough to surmount. I expected our travel companions to be dissatisfied with my choice of hotel. I expected to buy a lot of junk. I expected the men to be kinda ugly. I expected it to be warmer.
It would seem that I expected too much.
It’s been a fantastic four days in Seoul. The city is lovely – the autumn colours are fantastic, and their choice of trees that line the street are great – maple and gingko. Right now everything’s a lovely hue of yellow, light green, orange, brown and flaming red. It’s a beautiful city.
It’s been really easy to get around. Armed with the right map (subway map, and a general direction one rolled in one was a great investment – thank you Insight Guide) and a little EQ, getting around has been a snap. Even when people don’t understand you, there are loads of solutions around that. Transportation is relatively cheap – probably similar rates to Singapore, except in USD.
Food has also been good – besides being overloaded on kimchi and selling of garlic. It’s been the most tricky figuring out food – because some menus don’t have English on it. But most of the stores we’ve been to have pictures, and in the tourist districts they’ve pictures. At the very worst, the storekeepers will whip out their mandarin, and everything’s fine.
Besides being on the small side (it’s like someone’s room), the hotel has been great. Not in the best part of town, but it’s right next to the subway, near the Dongdaemun market, malls and loads of food. It’s not a five star hotel, though. They only give you one towel, they don’t exactly offer the frills like a mint on your pillow or free toilettries (besides soap), and it’s kinda small; the bathroom is a 1.5×1.5m cube. But if you can get past that, the upside is great location, a kitchenette with microwave, utensils and a fridge, a coin laundry downstairs, and a daily rate under US$100 a night, which is a steal in Seoul.
My total loot this time: munchies – not a lot, a scarf and 4 souvenirs from Doraesan Station at the DMZ. The rest was spent on visits, transport and food.
The guys are reasonably good looking though they’re mostly the younger ones.
Yesterday we went to Seoul Tower and it snowed. It was lovely. So today when we went to the DMZ tour we really bundled up and good thing we did. It was freezing. So the scarf came in really handy.
We managed to see a lot, experience a lot, and eat a ton. Hanging out with Heesun was great too, she brought us to places that would’ve been hard to get to on our own, so that was great.
Tomorrow we head over to Cheju. More from the volcanic island later!
