Seoul
While at the guesthouse near Asakusa, in Tokyo, I succeeded at using the Internet to call my sister's phone. It costs 2.5 cents per minute to call the United States. So, I shared the microphone with other guest house tourists. Being able to call will be handy.
I stayed in a second guest house near Ueno (National Museum and surrounding areas) and was more relaxed after visiting my 3M friend at a coffee shop, on Saturday. This was a lot of fun for my last day in Tokyo. I still like Tokyo very much.
During my flight from Tokyo to Seoul (via Hong Kong), I watched three excellent movies-- Closer, The Incredibles (except the ending, which was canceled by an early arrival), and Kinsey. I grade Cathay Pacific highly.
Banghwa has a Hostelling International location where I stayed two nights. I had a dormitory room with six beds, a television, a lamp and a bathroom, all to myself. Since Banghwa is an hour from anyplace else, I returned to the airport to pick up maps and to learn more about Seoul. There are six subway lines, and stations on some of them number from 1 to 60. My quick return visit to the airport turned into a many hour project. They gave me good advice and good maps, and booked me to a guest house, centrally located near City Hall.
Calling is a challenge, as the largest coin that pay phones will accept is 100 won (ten cents) and it seems that is good for about thirty seconds of conversation. I bought a Diet Coke from McDonalds, just for the change, so that I could call Sook. Sook, whom I met in Japan, but whom lives in Seoul, showed me around town, and we drank "five flavor" tea and listened to alternative rock together. The deejay was great, even by KALX standards (we heard Flaming Lips), and the places kept giving us snacks. Sook taught me how to say thank you in Korean (kahmops meetah), which is an important skill. I am looking forward to seeing Sook again on Friday.
I went to the Palace, from 500 years ago, next to City Hall. The king on the statue there helped to refine typesetting and is still on the Korean money.
I also found a giant store with many English books, which reenforces the lesson that one should travel light. (I have more books with me than I need.)
Throughout my trip, I've noticed many vending machines with canned sweet coffee. Georgia brand coffee is made by Coca Cola and costs 120 yen ($1.20) for 180 ml in Japan. You can get it hot or cold. I like it both ways. In Korea, cans of Maxwell House go for 600 Won (60 cents) or for 250 Won at the grocery store around the corner. So, I've been drinking lots of coffee.
When I visited Korea ten years ago, 3M sent me to a hotel near the Itaewon area, where I bought leather luggage, some tailor made shirts and some faux Rolexes. The same tailors, luggage salesmen and prostitutes still seem to be at this special "tourist area", which is where you see more American soldiers than anywhere else. My memory of Itaewon is as a nicer part of town. Now, it seems like the worst part of town.
Many Japanese come to Korea to shop, and it does not appear that Itaewon appeals to the Japanese. In the rest of Seoul, there are many department stores that would fit in Japan or the Mall of America.
Friday morning, I walked to Gyeongbokgung, which is a huge complex of palaces, first built in 1395. They reenact a changing of the guard, which was first established in 1496. The costumes and facial hair of the soldiers is impressive. Just as with bobbies, you see pictures taken of little kids standing next to the upright and expressionless traditional soldiers.
When I first visited Seoul, I ate nothing but Korean food-- mostly bulgogi and bibimbap, always with kimchi. Afterward, in St. Paul, El Cerrito and Berkeley, I often stopped by Korean restaurants for more of this healthy, addicting food. This trip, Sook has introduced me to more variety. Last night, I had a Chinese dimsum and a Korean pumpkin soup with rice. We also had a traditional sausage with pig's blood snack from a street vendor. It was served with liver, onions, and something much like ravioli noodles and tomato sauce. The pig's blood snack sounds and looks worse than it tastes. Sook tells me that the spiciest Korean food is a type of chicken, which is a lot like buffalo wings. I am enjoying the spicy food, except when innocuous looking vegetables surprise me. (Seoul also has KFCs and Outback steakhouses. I'm really not interested in American food, except for doughnuts, which are everywhere.)
After the Food Court and Traditional Market, we met Sook's mom. She has worked in a department store, in the Corning-ware dishes area, for 25 years. Then, we went to a game place, where we had coffee and played Jinga, Battleship and Connect Four. (Bethany, who hosts a monthly game night in Oakland, would love this place.)
While at the Hongik University area, we got passes to visit the clubs and saw several live bands. The first band was a three piece which I really enjoyed at first, then decided they were too much like the "Every Breathe You Take" band, the Police. Then we saw Latin Jazz, which Sook described as stiff. The third band was led by a guitar playing woman, with an Adidas cap, whom I thought was great. She was funky in the same way as John Fenner. After one song, a man joined the band in the Japanese pop star tradition, which I feel is too much like Wayne Newton. So, we found a hip hop band, which had the RUN DMC look and feel. They were good doing that style music, for example their rapping cover of "Come Together". But, the Japan pop star syndrome affected them to some extent, also. The oddest thing was to see one style of music transform into something totally different. For example, they covered "White Christmas", with what to me was a crazy hodgepodge of musical traditions. In excess, it comes across as silly, but toned down slightly, it could be genius. We shouted "Ancook" for encore, and after that, an older, bored jazz band took the stage, and we called it a night. It is really nice of Sook to show me around.
I will plan to go to the Southern part of Korea on Sook's recommendation. Gyeongju is an historic capital, since over 1000 years ago. I'll take a bus there and spend a night at a traditional hotel. I depart for Bangkok on Friday morning.
I stayed in a second guest house near Ueno (National Museum and surrounding areas) and was more relaxed after visiting my 3M friend at a coffee shop, on Saturday. This was a lot of fun for my last day in Tokyo. I still like Tokyo very much.
During my flight from Tokyo to Seoul (via Hong Kong), I watched three excellent movies-- Closer, The Incredibles (except the ending, which was canceled by an early arrival), and Kinsey. I grade Cathay Pacific highly.
Banghwa has a Hostelling International location where I stayed two nights. I had a dormitory room with six beds, a television, a lamp and a bathroom, all to myself. Since Banghwa is an hour from anyplace else, I returned to the airport to pick up maps and to learn more about Seoul. There are six subway lines, and stations on some of them number from 1 to 60. My quick return visit to the airport turned into a many hour project. They gave me good advice and good maps, and booked me to a guest house, centrally located near City Hall.
Calling is a challenge, as the largest coin that pay phones will accept is 100 won (ten cents) and it seems that is good for about thirty seconds of conversation. I bought a Diet Coke from McDonalds, just for the change, so that I could call Sook. Sook, whom I met in Japan, but whom lives in Seoul, showed me around town, and we drank "five flavor" tea and listened to alternative rock together. The deejay was great, even by KALX standards (we heard Flaming Lips), and the places kept giving us snacks. Sook taught me how to say thank you in Korean (kahmops meetah), which is an important skill. I am looking forward to seeing Sook again on Friday.
I went to the Palace, from 500 years ago, next to City Hall. The king on the statue there helped to refine typesetting and is still on the Korean money.
I also found a giant store with many English books, which reenforces the lesson that one should travel light. (I have more books with me than I need.)
Throughout my trip, I've noticed many vending machines with canned sweet coffee. Georgia brand coffee is made by Coca Cola and costs 120 yen ($1.20) for 180 ml in Japan. You can get it hot or cold. I like it both ways. In Korea, cans of Maxwell House go for 600 Won (60 cents) or for 250 Won at the grocery store around the corner. So, I've been drinking lots of coffee.
When I visited Korea ten years ago, 3M sent me to a hotel near the Itaewon area, where I bought leather luggage, some tailor made shirts and some faux Rolexes. The same tailors, luggage salesmen and prostitutes still seem to be at this special "tourist area", which is where you see more American soldiers than anywhere else. My memory of Itaewon is as a nicer part of town. Now, it seems like the worst part of town.
Many Japanese come to Korea to shop, and it does not appear that Itaewon appeals to the Japanese. In the rest of Seoul, there are many department stores that would fit in Japan or the Mall of America.
Friday morning, I walked to Gyeongbokgung, which is a huge complex of palaces, first built in 1395. They reenact a changing of the guard, which was first established in 1496. The costumes and facial hair of the soldiers is impressive. Just as with bobbies, you see pictures taken of little kids standing next to the upright and expressionless traditional soldiers.
When I first visited Seoul, I ate nothing but Korean food-- mostly bulgogi and bibimbap, always with kimchi. Afterward, in St. Paul, El Cerrito and Berkeley, I often stopped by Korean restaurants for more of this healthy, addicting food. This trip, Sook has introduced me to more variety. Last night, I had a Chinese dimsum and a Korean pumpkin soup with rice. We also had a traditional sausage with pig's blood snack from a street vendor. It was served with liver, onions, and something much like ravioli noodles and tomato sauce. The pig's blood snack sounds and looks worse than it tastes. Sook tells me that the spiciest Korean food is a type of chicken, which is a lot like buffalo wings. I am enjoying the spicy food, except when innocuous looking vegetables surprise me. (Seoul also has KFCs and Outback steakhouses. I'm really not interested in American food, except for doughnuts, which are everywhere.)
After the Food Court and Traditional Market, we met Sook's mom. She has worked in a department store, in the Corning-ware dishes area, for 25 years. Then, we went to a game place, where we had coffee and played Jinga, Battleship and Connect Four. (Bethany, who hosts a monthly game night in Oakland, would love this place.)
While at the Hongik University area, we got passes to visit the clubs and saw several live bands. The first band was a three piece which I really enjoyed at first, then decided they were too much like the "Every Breathe You Take" band, the Police. Then we saw Latin Jazz, which Sook described as stiff. The third band was led by a guitar playing woman, with an Adidas cap, whom I thought was great. She was funky in the same way as John Fenner. After one song, a man joined the band in the Japanese pop star tradition, which I feel is too much like Wayne Newton. So, we found a hip hop band, which had the RUN DMC look and feel. They were good doing that style music, for example their rapping cover of "Come Together". But, the Japan pop star syndrome affected them to some extent, also. The oddest thing was to see one style of music transform into something totally different. For example, they covered "White Christmas", with what to me was a crazy hodgepodge of musical traditions. In excess, it comes across as silly, but toned down slightly, it could be genius. We shouted "Ancook" for encore, and after that, an older, bored jazz band took the stage, and we called it a night. It is really nice of Sook to show me around.
I will plan to go to the Southern part of Korea on Sook's recommendation. Gyeongju is an historic capital, since over 1000 years ago. I'll take a bus there and spend a night at a traditional hotel. I depart for Bangkok on Friday morning.
Labels: travel
posted by David Rasmussen at 4:22 PM
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