The journey from Melbourne consisted of a 14 hour overnight layover at Shanghai Airport in China. Thankfully I was able to find a room in the airport hotel, allowing me to get a solid night of sleep, significantly reducing what would otherwise have been a painful test of endurance. Though my time spent in China was extremely minimal, my one observation was the unfriendliness and the rude nature of the local people. In all my life, I have never been spoken to in such an appalling manner by so many people in the one place. I wouldn't go so far to say that it has completely put me off the idea of visiting China in the future, but the country certainly has dropped down my must-see list significantly due to this experience.
Seoul, on the other hand, has left me with nothing but fond memories. It a city of beautiful contrast between old and new. It is so typically Far-Eastern in it's design, with the buildings displaying numerous flashing neon lights, and bright signs, each one a different colour from the next. The streets are usually thronged with people, similar in many ways to Tokyo. This is hardly surprising though, given the fact Seoul has one of the largest metropolitan areas on the entire planet.
However, it is the remnants from Seoul's past which are particularly fascinating. Being honest, due to my extended travels around Australia, I never got around to doing much research with regards what to see and do once I got to Seoul. However, whenever one has a lack of knowledge about an upcoming travel destination, you can always call on UNESCO to lend a hand. A quick look at the UNESCO World Heritage list showed me that there are 3 World Heritage Sites in the the Seoul metropolitan area. Barring the odd exception, any time I have been to a UNESCO World Heritage Site I have left very impressed, so I put my faith in them that they wouldn't let me down this time around.
The first of the three was Jongmyo Shrine, which served as the venue for royal ancestral rites in years gone by. The structure of the buildings are quite simple, but the fact it is located in a sort of urban forest, gives one the impression of being far away from such a large city and the place certainly has a very peaceful feel to it. Next up was Changdeokgung Palace, one of the 5 Great Palaces of Seoul. What makes this one shine above the rest however, is the fact it blends in so well with its natural surroundings and shows outstanding examples of traditional palace architecture. All of the many buildings in this complex are beautifully designed with some very picturesque artwork.
The final part of this UNESCO-fest took me to the nearby city of Suwon, just 30 kilometres south of Seoul. Suwon is best known to Irish people as the site of Ireland's heartbreaking penalty shootout loss to Spain at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. However the purpose of my journey was not to visit the stadium, and revisit all those painful memories, but rather to check out the Hwaseong Fortress. This construction was built in the late 18th century, and surrounds the old city of Suwon. The walls of the fortress have a total length of 5.7 kilometres, making for a long walk, painful at times given the high heat and intense humidity. Throughout this journey I came across numerous attractive facilities that were used in the past, such as observation towers, shrines, gates, and small castles. The most scenic part of the fortress is at the West side, as the walls climb steeply up the Paldal Mountain, allowing for some impressive views of the construction and of the modern day city of Suwon.
Another attractive part of Seoul I visited is Bukchon Hanok Village, a small area of traditional style Korean residential houses situated on narrow winding hilly streets. While it is not as beautiful as places like Paraty in Brazil and Colonia in Uruguay, it certainly is very pretty, and the fact that such traditional style structures exist in this day and age, in the centre of an ultra-modern metropolis is the main appeal of the village.
Another aspect of Seoul which deserves mention is its landscape. South Korea is a very mountainous country, and Seoul is no different from the rest of the nation. From the top of the N Seoul Tower, which stands on top of a hill, the views of the city are quite impressive, with numerous mountains surrounding and cutting through this enormous urban area. I was pleasantly surprised by the views that I witnessed.
One of the great discoveries during my time in Seoul was the Korean Barbecue, known to the locals as Samgyeopsal. This is no ordinary BBQ however. Basically you select a meal from the menu (all of which is in Korean, so it is usually a case of pointing and hoping for the best), and within minutes a huge chunk of raw meat is presented to you on a plate. The waiter provides you with a scissors to cut the meat into small pieces. Next he throws a load of hot coal into the middle of your table and gets the flame started. A temporary grill is placed on top of this random BBQ which is located in the middle of where you are supposed to be eating, and then you are all set to cook the meat yourself. Stretched around the table is lots of other elements of the meal. There's lettuce, huge chunks of garlic, a pepper and salt mix, some sort of sauce, and a bunch of other random things which I couldn't even pretend to describe to you. Once the meet is cooked, you put a few pieces on top of a leaf of lettuce, mixed with whatever else you want. Finally you wrap the lettuce around everything, and eat it one mouthful. Absolutely bizarre stuff, but highly addictive. I certainly was impressed and went back to the same restaurant the following two evenings and ordered the same meal. However on one occasion I was dining alone, and the restaurant had a bizarre policy that the minimum order allowed was for two people. Just as well I possess an enormous appetite.
What is most endearing about Seoul is the amount of oddities you come across simply by strolling the streets. From the moment I arrived in Seoul Airport and was greeted by a large poster of Pierce Brosnan welcoming me to South Korea, I knew I was in for a few bizarre observations and experiences. Seoul is so wonderfully weird, and the following are some of the strange things I have come across in my short time in this city:
1) When looking for a place to eat one afternoon we wandered down a particular street. On this road there were no restaurants however, just jewellery stores, about 20 of them, lined one after the other. This surely has to be the most densely populated area of jewellery stores in the world!
2) At each subway station music blares loudly to signal that a train is about to arrive. The kind of music however is the type you would expect to hear when Rocky Balboa is making his entrance into the ring to tussle it out over 12 rounds with Apollo Creed!
3) In Seoul, it is perfectly acceptable to buy a beer from 7-Eleven, and crack it open once you've stepped outside the door and guzzle it wherever you see fit. Drinking on the streets in Korea is perfectly legal and acceptable.
4) There are many Irish people who have forgotten, or indeed may not have heard of Dunkin' Donuts. If my memory is correct, this US donut chain went out of business on the Emerald Isle in the early to mid 90's. In the USA it now merely exists, according to a few Americans I have met recently. However in Seoul, business has never been better. It seems that there is one on every corner in downtown Seoul, and from my observations, they appear to out number McDonalds by about three to one.
5) While wandering through the Bukchon Hanok Village, I started to feel peckish, and decided to go in search of somewhere to grab a quick bite. In the distance, on the other side of the road, I saw the word "Chicken". Intrigued, I marched straight over, in search of a much needed meal. However, upon my arrival, I learned that this was no restaurant, but rather the Seoul Museum of Chicken Art, consisting of the largest collection of chicken related paintings and sculptures in all of South Korea. Enough said!
6) When in Burger King one day (I need my daily intake of Western food, I can't be eating Korean cuisine three times a day!), having ordered my meal, the lady behind the counter presents me with my drink without a lid. Maybe a bit odd, but nothing that made me take much notice. Then, however, when I asked for salt, she proceeded to grab a plastic lid, which she had not seen as necessary only moments earlier, and shook the salt into it. I found it impossible not to show my amusement as she handed me a plastic lid full of salt. The next day in McDonalds, in a different part of the city, the entire process was repeated.
7) In Downtown Seoul, crossing a busy road is the ultimate test of patience. On a couple of occasions I stood at the side of the road for five minutes. No joke. Pedestrians seem to be an after thought in this city, and it is actually easier to walk down into the subway, and cross the road underground, than it is to stand waiting for the damn green man to arrive!
8) While walking through the bustling Namdaemun Market, I could not help but notice the amount of people selling cooked food on the street. Within the market, there must have been approximately 50 different vendors selling to hungry passers-by. The strange thing though, was the fact that each of these had exactly the same cuisine on offer as the next. There literally was not one bit of variation. Surely there's a chance there for one of them to make a quick buck by putting something new on the menu!
9) While the Korean BBQ was a delightful experience, some of the other foods on offer in Korea are a lot less likely to be purchased by myself any time soon. Some of the stuff people eat out here is weird to say the very least, and in some cases doesn't even look like food at all. Many restaurants have pictures of their meals, and after one glance at it, more often than not I am on my way in search of the next restaurant. This process repeats numerous times until I inevitably give up and settle for McDonalds!
10) The favourite alcoholic beverage of many Koreans is Soju, a drink with a percentage of around 20-25% volume. Despite the fact Soju is so strong, a 300ml bottle is available for sale in all good 7-Eleven stores at a price less than that of a bottle of beer. It is quite amazing that hard liquor is available at the ridiculously cheap price of AUD$1.50. You'd swear that the South Korean government were trying to encourage alcoholism among university students. What's more, it tastes absolutely vile, somewhere along the lines of a mixture of vodka and sandpaper, and it is the world's greatest producer of all day hangovers!
11) Seoul is so very easy to get lost in. All street names sound and look pretty much the same as each other, in some cases the sign posting is brutal, and the maps are not detailed enough. In addition the subway system bizarrely has two Number 1 metro lines, which go to complete opposite ends of the city. It doesn't help when the burning heat and suffocating humidity of August time Korea is preventing the brain from concentrating properly. Getting around this city is challenging at the best of times, but when the weather is causing havoc to the body and mind, then it is almost inevitable that a first time visitor will get badly lost, which I did... on many occasions.
12) It is quite amazing that Seoul hasn't developed a litter problem, as rubbish bins are certainly at a premium in this city. When I ask the locals where I can find somewhere to dispose of my rubbish, they usually just take it off me. It's easier for them to just take it off me, than have to give me directions to the nearest bin!
13) As a general rule, if you are looking for something in particular in Seoul, then you are destined not to find it. I spent 2 hours one day walking through the busy shopping streets looking for an electronic store so I could purchase a plug adaptor. In that time, I walked past no fewer than a dozen mobile phone stores, all in close proximity to each other.
My time in Seoul has been thoroughly enjoyable and I would highly recommend anybody travelling extensively around Asia to strongly consider adding this charming city to the itinerary. Now I am in Daegu, where I will spend 9 days watching the IAAF World Athletics Championships, the main purpose of my journey to South Korea.
Until next time, take it easy.
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