Next Stop, Home

Friday May 8, Day 10

I am out of bed before my alarm goes off, and already packed for home. I store my luggage with the hotel staff and wait for my friend in the lobby.

Side Note: We went to school together fifteen years ago, but have not seen each other in almost ten. She has been back in Seoul for awhile now and is from here originally.

I hop in a cab with her and we go to a restaurant close to where the cable cars load passengers.

My friend orders for both of us, and I am delighted to hear that we are having bibimbap, a meal I hadn’t yet sampled while in Korea. We caught up on life and joked about our days back in film school. She talked about her involvement with an animal welfare group that has its hands full fighting for rights of dogs bred for meat, the Nureongi breed. I am floored that this is happening in 2015. In the last 12 hours Seoul has opened my eyes up to a bigger picture of the world than I’ve had before and I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.

We walk down a path after finishing lunch leading to Hanok Village. This was totally unplanned, and I had not mentioned a thing to my friend, but this was the only place in Seoul that I felt disappointed I had missed. It is funny how the universe works those things out.

I get to enjoy it with a local who had also never been, a really nice moment to have. It is sad to say good bye, but I need to be back at the hotel by 2. We hug each other and promise to stay in better touch.

I make it back to the hotel at the same time as our group and we all leave for the station together. The airport check in goes smooth and I’m comfortably seated in my aisle seat heading to Vancouver.

Confused by the time change when we land, I am unable to answer my mom’s text when she asks when I will be home. The plane has already taken off from Vancouver when I finally get the math right. I’ll be home before 9 pm but it’ll I can’t reply until I land so I turn my phone off and pass out for the flight.

Coming home to Toronto always feels good; I miss my dog, my mom, and my life. There’s that feeling of accomplishment when I return, that’s another 2 checkmarks on my list of life.

Seoul Station

Thursday May 7 Day 9

Another early morning, breakfast is at 6:30 am. We then catch a shuttle to the station for our 8:30 am train. We are in the home stretch now and headed to our last destination, Seoul, South Korea.

We arrive around 11 am and walk through the station toward the nearest exit to our hotel. I notice that there are what look to be emergency kit centres throughout the station that contain things like face masks, flashlights, and other gear of that nature. Coupled with the email I received from the consulate, I deduce that this place might not be as safe as most that I’ve been. I spend much of the day wondering what would happen to a city like Toronto that is not this prepared. Also how big does a threat have to be for a city to implement publicly accessible emergency gear? Translate to: Am I in danger right now?

Bestie says what I am thinking, it sure smells like pee, as we walk up the stairs exiting closest to our hotel. The nicest hotel yet, it feels good to enjoy on the last night of the trip. Our room is equipped with emergency gear as well, there are instructions with pictures on the box. We’re only three floors up so I’ll just jump if any thing crazy goes down.

Today is another shopping day, so after dropping our bags off we head out to see what this town has to offer. At minimum I need a suitcase and the first hood we stop in has exactly what I’m looking for. A Paris themed hard top catches my eye, so Bestie haggles the price down low and we have a deal. With my only must-have off the list we are free to roam at leisure, well sort of.

I still have some gifts to get so we explore a few other neighborhoods before going to Gangnum to eat. Disappointed with the selection so far, we make our last stop at Seoul Station. This turns out to be a good idea and I finish off getting gifts for everyone left on my list, and also pick up a gadget for myself. It is called an energy bank and is smaller than my phone, holding enough juice to keep my devices fully charged for almost a workweek. Where has this been all my life.

Bestie’s flight is at 1 am, so we kill time until she has to leave for the airport. I walk with her through the train station as far as I can, and we say our good byes at the elevator. I am not sure at what time, but at some point Seoul Station turns certain hallways into homeless shelters and I pass one on my way back alone.

Seoul Station turns into a shelter

I smile to myself, that explains the piss smell, but I move a little faster up the stairs and out the exit. Walking down the street to the hotel I think how good of an idea it is to give those in need a place to stay for the night. I also wonder if it came to a vote what I would choose for my own city? Not knowing the answer makes me uncomfortable, it’s hard to imagine how you would feel about a situation until you see it with your own two eyes.

I get back to the room unharmed. Tomorrow is our last day of the trip and I am meeting up with an old friend at 10:30 am. Relieved that I get to sleep in just a little, the alarm is set for 8 am and I’m asleep before midnight.

Not What I Signed Up For

Wednesday May 6 Day 8

Our chariot awaits us out front of the hotel and we all load up after breakfast. There’s a Bollywood feel to the chosen décor, I can’t help but snap a picture.

Pretty Girl & That Guy enjoying our Bollywood bus

We are road tripping to Gyeongju for some sight seeing. Still grumpy from yesterday and not sure what sort of treatment to expect from the locals today, I let my guard down completely when we learn from our guide that a large percentage of the Korean population is Atheist. This wins them back some points lost last night during my Busan experience.

The landscape is beautiful and reminds me of Switzerland in a way. Except that the fields we are passing are rice crops, a sight quite foreign to me

I ate at the first stop, so am not hungry when we stop for lunch. We can’t check in to the hotel yet but it is right next door, so I roam the area to see what is around.

I’ve been gone for a while now, so I start heading back after finding Tylenol for Bestie across the road. I bump into her on my way back to the bus so we meet up with the rest of our group and set out for more sights. Not surprising, the next place on our itinerary is up a mountain. The Korean’s do this different than Japan and there are not shops along the way, but it is nice to enjoy the fresh air. There are lanterns lining the trail, and larger displays at a few points where the land was flat.

At the end of the path sits one of the most majestic statues I have ever seen. We are at Seokguram Grotto, a small cave on Mt. Tohamsan that holds a breathtaking stone statue of Buddha. I wish I had a picture, but none were allowed so I pick up a magnet instead.

The souvenir shop is fantastic and I get a little monk statue I can’t stop touching and a gift for my mom. I also find a cool gift for a friend, but our instructor advises me to hold off until Seoul where I will find it for a much better price. I get the items I think I won’t find somewhere else and make my way back down the lantern trail.

Next stop is Bulguksa Temple and it’s back up the mountain we go. The Temples are always impressive, but I liked the look of these fellows.

The sun begins to set, a perfect last chance for pictures before going to check in to the hotel. I welcome the opportunity to freshen up, this has been a really long day. We are having a traditional dinner as a group tonight. I have been assured that it will be fully cooked before I have to consume it. We arrive at the restaurant famished, so it is befitting that they teach us the right way to eat Bulgogi which is with your hands. This is the kind of tradition I could indulge in again. The food is delicious and hits the spot.

Sleepy from dinner, I’m looking forward to returning to the hotel and getting a decent night sleep. Our tour guide has a different plan and we are now en route to some pond. A few of us groan; the real disappointment being that we had intended to go shoot guns at a range by the hotel before heading in for the night. That wasn’t happening now.

Wearing silk pants with high heels I am not amused with the impromptu walk in the park. I didn’t sign up for this so less than 100 meters in I turn and head back to the gift shop.

That was a good call because I find these really cool paper dolls there and pick up a few for some co workers back home. This find has made the “Moon Pond” a worthwhile excursion, and I still make it to bed with enough time to sleep. Up and at it early tomorrow to catch a train, the alarm is set for 4:30 am and I am already packed to go.

A Room With A View

Tuesday May 5 Day 7

It’s a travel day. Everything is going as expected, but not to plan. Perfect! We can’t all fit on the shuttle bus – awesome! We are late to catch the train – great! We manage to make it to Narita airport on time so it’s been an all right morning, until I am forced to check the sword. Who knew that bringing a toy sword on board a plane wasn’t going to fly? Not I that’s for sure. Relieved I don’t have to toss it all together, it gets bagged, tagged, and thrown on top of the suitcases. See you in Busan nephew’s Samurai sword. Problem averted and it’s smooth sailing through security. Bestie and I browse the airport shops and then look for a spot to get comfortable.

There is a fairly regular stream of nonsense and sarcasm that leaves my mouth, so it takes a skilled and astute individual to be able to recognize when I’m kidding and when I’m not. So when I suggest to Bestie that we wait for boarding in the massage chairs, she practically races me to them. I wasn’t kidding and she knew it. There was just enough time to work out the kinks of Japan before getting on our flight. Next stop South Korea.

Cue the fish smell. Might I remind you that I’m on an airplane (you should be yelling that last part). This is not a nightmare, my eyes are open and I’m actually watching the stewards’ pass out trays of this stuff. With one now in front of me, I’m still in disbelief. I felt certain that the smell had to be coming from a lone pescetarian’s special meal. Nope, it’s everybody’s’. I promptly hand my tray back to the first attendant I can and spend the next few minutes stressing about smelling like fish when we land. I resolve to sleep it off.

My phone starts to vibrate as soon as we touch down; it’s an email from the consulate. No big deal, just some emergency information and contacts to carry with me during my stay in South Korea. For the record, I have never been emailed by the consulate while travelling. Dorothy, we are not in Kansas anymore. This place is going to require more street smarts and we haven’t even left the airport yet. I’m happy that Bestie is well travelled and won’t be scared to explore regardless of how dicey it gets.

View from our room in Busan

We freshen up at the hotel and ditch a tour of the city with our group. Instead we take off on our own to check out the largest shopping complex in the world. Joined by Pretty Lady and her roommate, we walk together to the subway. The streets are not as clean and the people less friendly than in Tokyo. Not even on the subway yet, we have a small altercation. I’m not sure who pissed off the karma gods but this day continues to get worse.

At the mall our luck doesn’t change, Pretty Lady is declined when she asks to try on a dress and the reason given is that the dress is too small. Insert impregnated pause here. Ferocious at this point we head back to the hotel to call it a night, but not without incident.

The subway we ride back on is fairly empty, so the four of us sit on bench seats at the end of the car. Note that all the seats around us are unoccupied. A young guy in a baseball cap presents his iPad to Pretty Lady and she reads it out loud for the rest of us. “These seats are reserved, please abide by the laws of Korea”. We get up immediately and stand. At the next stop a local woman around my age sits in the exact same spot. What does Pretty Lady do? She pokes Baseball Cap on the shoulder and gestures about the woman now seated there. He sheepishly creeps over and explains to the woman in Korean, she tells him her ankle is sore and he tries to communicate this to us, but we are mad and escalating. At the next stop 2 more woman join Ankle Lady on the bench, and Baseball Cap slithers to the other side of the car to avoid having to take further action.

Not feeling this place at all, I bail on dinner plans and go back to the hotel room to wait for tomorrow to come. Bestie and Pretty Lady have their own adventure with Korean BBQ and then bring the after party back to our room. The dancing goes until dawn and I am unsure what time I actually fell asleep. With the alarm set for its usual time, tomorrow will be a better day.

Life Lag

I just jolted awake and checked my phone, it is Monday May 11 at 2:06 am and I’m wide-awake. People, jet lag is real. I have literally slept through the entire weekend and have to be up in 3 hours to start my work week, but complaining I am not. I guess I owe a bit of backstory, not just for the jet lag thing but also for the blog lag thing.

Ok, so it was October 17^th (2013 for those who need a refresh) and I had just finished Assignment 1 right? (in the “is that correct” way) Right! (in the entirely sarcastic way). That teacher handed back the assignment to any student who did not have it working exactly to spec which fast became my least concern when my best friend delivered the news that a very close childhood friend had been killed, and I use the word killed with purpose. I would say that time stopped in that moment, but four funerals, two near death experiences, and a lot of exams and assignments later, I can assure you that the past 19 months have passed. I have actually been on a bit of a life sprint it seems, accomplishing personal goals and attaining growth in areas I never thought I’d reach. The “Home sweet home” feeling I got on return from my most recent trip to Asia has placed me back in the present moment, and I’ve missed it.

I’ll spend the next couple of weeks reminiscing on my adventures in Japan and South Korea, and if I stay motivated may just work backwards all the way to October 22, 2013, but we’ll see.