More Seoul

From Seoul & Hong Kong Kyung Bok Gung, old temple in the middle of Seoul

Yesterday we went to this crazy indoor mall called COEX - has an arcade, shops and a theater. We saw a movie - Love in the Clouds - some older movie with Charlize Theron (not good). Everything was sold out so we ended up buying from a guy trying to get rid of his pair.

It is so freezing here! Sub 20 degrees F everday. I have a bit of a flu. I couldnt eat much yesterday and am achy (feels the same today). I feel relatively ok though, so hopefully it will pass. Jina has a cold too. We have been getting a lot of rest though and Jina's mom owns a pharmacy so she stocked us up on vitamins. They drink all these health drinnks here. They come in little brown glass bottles that look like nyquil.

Korea-isms:
- So many people live in high-rise apartments...really high! The horizon is filled with them and its all you see when you are driving on the highways around the city. Jina was joking that is why so many Koreans live in Jersey City - similar set up there.
- Ondal system = heated floors in apartments and restaurants where you sit on the floor. Amazing!
- Confucian philosophy - apparently Korea is the most confucian country in Asia although Jina said its changing. Confucian translates into conservative thinking with emphasis on hierarchy: respect for elders, men. On the subway there are seats you cant sit in unless you are old, even if the whole train is full. From reading about it in Lonely Planet I thought it sounded severe, but I dont get a severe vibe being here. Everyone in Seoul is friendly and modern. Actually, its a first for me: Being somewhere where people dont look like me and everything is modern. India being a developing country, is very different.
- All the signs are flat rectangular boards and are all over buildings. At night they all seem to turn into electric signs. Lots of crowded lighted signs! Also animated characters abound...even at the military base. There were statues of little cartoon character soldiers! and cartoons soldiers on the signs.
- So many Hello-Kitty-esque stores and in people's style - very whimsical.
- Lots of mountains - they cover 70% of the country.
- Lunch for breakfast! It was the same in India and something I dont think I could get used to if I was here for a long period of time. (Renee and I rationed our granola bars in India!)

From Seoul & Hong Kong

From Seoul & Hong Kong

From Seoul & Hong Kong

From Seoul & Hong Kong

From Seoul & Hong Kong

New Years in Seoul!

I beat everyone to New Years :) We celebrated last night. Jina and I walked around one of the shopping districts - so many lights, like a mini-times square, then we met her friend Steven for dinner and went to a party at the Imperial Palace Hotel with Steve's friends. Good times! We had planned to wake up at 6am to see the sunrise from the mountains. It's a korean tradition to do so. But we decided against it - it is bitter cold here and I imagine that hiking for an hour at 6am, 10 degrees, may NOT be the best way to kick off the new year :) We did have rice cake soup for breakfast which is traditional and will supposedly add a year to my life!

From Seoul & Hong Kong

From Seoul & Hong Kong up the elevator at the hotel

From Seoul & Hong Kong party folk

We went to a Buddhist temple yesterday. People were praying with meditation beads and kneeling to the statue of Buddha- flashback to catholic church! It freaked me out. From my limited experience with Buddhist philosophy and mediation, I had this hope that Buddhism surpassed all that ridiculousness of other religions. However, I shouldnt be disheartned because Buddhism was polluted as it was adopted by other cultures and their prior beliefs. So I can still believe that there is a tradition out there that is spiritual/philosophical sans religion.

From Seoul & Hong Kong paper lanterns at the temple

First 24 Hours

My first day was great and packed with new things. I met Jina and her dad at the airport who were nice enough to pick me up, 2 hours from their home. We stopped on the way back at the Fish market. We got to pick out fish from the tank. The fish guy bashed them over the head a few times then turned them into sashimi for us. The best! The flesh is so firm its delicious. We also tried a speciality which is LIVE octopus/squid. You buy them alive and bring them home and either (1) stab them in the brain and eat them whole or (2) cut off their tentatcles and eat them while still writhing around. I did #2. Apparently you can soemtimes die if you do #1 because the octopus suctions your throat. Fun!

From Seoul & Hong Kong spread from the fish market, at jina's parents place

Next day we went the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which separates North and South Korea. A friend of Jina's family is in the Korean army and gave us a special access tour around the area, which is usually closed off except to military and pricey/limited tour buses. It's amazing how much easier it is to learn history when you are right there where it happend. North Korea is crazy - they put up this "promotional" town that can be seen from the South Korea side. Nobody lives there - its just to show off how people supposedly live in North Korea. A farce as North Korea is struggling economically. Also, since the 60s, North Korea has been secrelty building tunnels under the DMZ to reach South Korea. Even as the tunnels were discovered they kept building more. We went into the Third Tunnel. We also saw this town Cheorwan, that was completely destroyed during the war. Literally, its flat farmland for miles, where there used to be a thiriving town. On the upside - had two delicious meals - fresh tofu in a restaurant in the DMZ and fresh grilled eel for dinner.

From Seoul & Hong Kong meeting the cute lady who runs the tofu shop, near the DMZ

It's been nice staying with Jina's family. They are so welcoming. I am savoring this time because it will be so much easier than my time in Vietnam....in terms of amenities (shower! privacy! computer!) and decision-making (I dont have to wake up and decide what do to and how to get there). Ah, luxury. But I am still excited for part 2 - its invigorating to start a journey where outcomes are so unsure - from the extreme of dying, to the possibility of loving a place so much you never come home, and all the unknowns in between.

From Seoul & Hong Kong at the fish market (also visited in No Reservations - Korea!)