I have 9 days in Seoul, 4 before the Busan/Gyeongju trip, and 5 after. Too many days, most people advised. What is there to do? To satisfy their curiosity, I replied, “that will give me enough time to undergo plastic surgery…”
Seoul is base from which I ventured to Chun Cheon, Busan, Gyeongju and Paju.
I arrived Seoul on March 26 at 5am, a very cold morning, freezing…. I could feel the cold draft coming through the glass doors of the airport.
Before the scheduled airport transfer arrived, I made currency exchanges and picked up my rental phone. The rates were better and the phone proved to be very useful throughout the trip.
Kim met me at the guest house. She brought me her winter clothes, conveniently packed cereal beverages, cups, tooth paste... wow! Although we have never met prior to this, it felt as though we have known each other from somewhere. She is the best thing that happened on this trip. It makes all the difference. I talked to many friends who traveled with tour groups to Korea and most of them did not enjoy their trips and are not likely to return. What a shame that they feel that way about Korea, because it could have been a very different experience.
I had a few errands to run, it was a good opportunity to get orientated. Very useful to get at the first instance: a T-money card that can be used on the subway and buses.
Seoul is much larger than I imagined. The subway is convenient, but not the most user friendly. Often it is a long walk up and down the platforms, no escalators. One of the reasons I booked the hostel near Jongno 3-ga station was because it says “one minute from subway” on the internet. Actually, it is more like “one minute walk from subway exit 14”. Jongno 3-ga station is where 3 subway lines intersect. Sounds deceptively convenient, but in reality, depending on which exit you want to go to, you may end up walking underground for more than 20 minutes.
The first stop is the United Service Organization (USO)’s office to secure my place on the Joint Security Area (JSA) tour the following week. Then off to Seoul station to get train tickets for our Busan and Gyeongju trip.
Kim took me to a wonderful lunch at Insadong. From this meal onwards until I leave Korea, I was to have almost all my meals seated on heated floor, shoes left at the door.
Insadong is a cool street to stroll along and a favorite tourist destination. We milled around for a while and then walked to Kyungbok Palace. Along the way, the streets are lined with ancient looking houses.
The weather turned cold, I think it must be zero degrees. Korea is seldom this cold at this time of the year, according to Kim. My hands were frozen as soon I took them out of my pockets. Those soft white flakes that floated for some 5 minutes – that’s snow, Kim couldn’t believe it too! But we were lucky. We arrived just in time to catch the changing of guards ceremony that they put up at the Palace.
Last errand of the day – to find and book my accommodation for the 5 days after Gyeongju. Kim had already short listed a few hanok guest houses. We liked the first one we saw, great value, friendly owners, perfect location (subway and airport bus station within 3 minutes). That did it, mission accomplished.
I wandered around the area near my hostel in the evening, tried one of the many PC bangs (internet cafes). Seoul felt safe.
Back at the hostel, I caught the 46th Baeksang Award (one of the three movie/TV awards in Korea) on TV, happy to see some familiar faces.
But March 26 will go down as the day ROKS Cheonan split in half and sank nearly instantly. Throughout my entire stay in Korea, news on the Cheonan sinking would horde the headlines as more and more sailors were discovered dead/missing. It will make history if war breaks out as a consequence. I pray not, for it is sad enough to have Koreans fought Koreans during the Korean war, they do not need another one.
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