I am alive and in Seoul!
After a 12 hour and 25 minute flight, I landed at Incheon
International airport right outside of Seoul. I made it to my motel five hours
later after getting in a car with the wrong driver at the City Air bus
terminal. Apparently I am not the only “English teacher” in this city.
Surprise.
I am staying at the Motel Prince in Songpa, right across the
Hangang River from the main city of Seoul, until my apartment is ready and I
have finished training. It is quite the quirky little motel. In accordance with
what I have read about Korean sleeping arrangements, my bed is rock hard and
has no sheets, only a plastic-like comforter. So far it has done the job, as I
have been quite tired every night so far. And I have the rare gift of being able
to fall asleep anywhere. My room also comes with gnarly shower shoes and an
array of toiletries. No, not the miniature hotel shampoos and lotions, but full
size toothpaste tube, hairspray, and combs that could have been used and left
by other guests then carefully arranged by the motel staff to look inviting.
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| Motel Prince in Songpa |
My first bathing experience was fun. The shower here is just
a showerhead on the wall with no tub or shower curtain to prevent water from
spraying all over the bathroom. Hence the shower shoes I suppose. I could not
manage to get the hot water to work, so I ended up sticking my head under the
water and washing just my hair. I could not just suck it up and take a cold
shower, it is literally freezing outside and the water was so cold my head was
aching. Then I gave my body a lovely bath with the warm water from the sink and
the handy little cup holding the aforementioned toothpaste tube.
The day after I arrived was Sunday, and I did not start
training until Monday, so I decided to take the opportunity to explore Seoul.
The best decision I made was to order a phone and some other supplies from The
Arrival store before I left, so my LG smartphone (set to English and already
set up to have unlimited data) was waiting at the motel when I arrived. I planned
out my subway route and headed out into the November cold (already busting out
the warmest gear I brought).
The Mongchontoseong subway stop on the 8-line was only a
two-minute walk from my motel. I transferred to the 3-line into Anguk station
in Insa-dong (dong means neighborhood). Using my T-money card (like a prepaid
metro card that you can use to ride buses and subways), the trip was under 2
KRW. I was starving at this point, and I stumbled upon a tiny little Korean
restaurant that was packed with people. I sat squished between two guys along
the wall, and ordered some kind of ramen (ramyun) off the menu. It came with a
side of kimchi (definitely on the spicy side) and some pickled vegetable that
was green and very crunchy. I think it was some kind of radish or root
vegetable. My ramen came in a huge bowl and was piping hot. It was also
extremely spicy and was of the seafood variety, with clams and I think octopus.
Between the temperature and the spiciness, my nose was running like crazy. Side
note, Koreans do not think white people can handle spicy food, so I had to
prove myself. I kept pulling napkins out of the dispenser on the wall to wipe
my nose. My food was 4 KRW (less than $4!) and I couldn’t even finish it. I’m
so happy I found that place.
I eventually found my way to Bukchon Hanok village (literally
“North Village”) and meandered through streets of cute shops, restaurants, and
galleries. The traditional Hanok houses were beautiful and the streets wound up
the hill, making for a great view of the village with the mountains in the
background all covered in fall colors. I should probably also mention for the
first time how attractive and fashionable Koreans are. Also every young person
(literally, everyone) is with a boy or girl. Couples everywhere. Extremely
beautiful, stylish couples. I wonder what the lag time is between
relationships. I just can’t figure out how that can work.
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| Bukchon Hanok village |
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| Fall colors |
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| From what I could tell, this guy brought his little bunny out to be photographed in Insa-dong |
Anyway, I spent several hours in Insa-dong, which is packed
with antique art dealers, traditional teahouses and restaurants, and lots of
street vendors. I saw a huge line forming behind one stall selling fried dough
pancakes I had been seeing all day. Figuring this was the place to go, I waited
in line about 20 minutes for one. Turns out they are called “hoddeok,” or sweet
pancakes filled with brown sugar syrup, and one of the most popular street
foods in Korea. Also probably one of the most delicious things I have ever
eaten.
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| My beloved hoddeok |
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| Lady making hoddeok (not the place I got mine) |
After searching for a bank that takes American ATM cards, I
made it back to my subway stop and back to Songpa. I tried and failed to ask
the woman at my motel for a Korean restaurant nearby. She kept saying I need
two people (thanks for pointing out that I don’t have any friends), which I
figured out is because all of the places nearby are hot pot restaurants where
one goes with friends to share food and soju (more later). Flying solo, I found
a hot pot place down the street and went in. There was nothing in English, but
the waitresses was super nice. I conveyed that I wanted soup and she suggested
something with tofu (phone translator). It came with a bunch of sides: kimchi,
pickled radish, mushrooms, eggplant, and something green. The “soondubu jjigae”
(spicy tofu stew) was served bubbling in a hot clay pot. As if I didn’t learn
my lesson earlier in the day, I again spent the meal wiping my nose and
sweating profusely.
Now it’s Monday and I have training in an hour, wish me
luck!
