First Stab at Seoul

Forty-eight hours in Seoul! Navigated all the bus and subway stations smoothly and met Jaclynn in front of Burger King, of all places. I hadn't seen her in four years, but she showed me around her neighborhood and other parts of the city like it was her job. We had drinks in a bunch of Gangnam and Itaewon bars, sang karaoke (at a place called a noraebang), ate lots of delicious restaurants and street food, slept in, went to the gym, browsed some shops, and visited the War Memorial of Korea. My favorite part might have been riding her pink bike down the narrow cobblestony streets near her apartment. Jaclynn and her many friends were super nice about answering all of my nerdy questions. It's great to get reassurance and advice from people who have been doing this for a long time: it will always be vague, don't take it too seriously, push right back when people are jostling to get on the bus, it will always be cold in the school, try as many foods as you can, buy a moped.

Yum, let's get some coffee & fancy!

Delivery mopeds. Ruthless. Will run you over.

The War Memorial of Korea is an enormous, amazing museum. Once you get past the loads of tanks and boats and planes outside and enter the huge building, there are artifacts from the beginning of Korea's history all the way up to modern day, with a lot of emphasis on the Korean War. Combat gear from the year 300! Scale models of battleships! Mobile rocket launchers from the year 1451! Dioramas of refugee conditions after North Korean attacks! So much more. Plus it was free, so maybe I'll go back to see more of what I had to rush through at the end. And to play on the tanks more.

I foresee many more trips to Seoul in my future. Not just for the shopping, sight-seeing, museums and bars, but also for the all-important Costco - where one can find often-missed things like ground beef, tortillas, oatmeal, and cheese. And Bombay Sapphire.

We sang Madonna, Elvis, Coolio and Spice Girls in our private karaoke room while the TV showed images of beaches, parking lots, raccoons, goats eating, dogs chasing cows, koalas, and waterfalls. Not one, but two tambourines were provided. Video will not be shared.