The last days and nights of preparation in Toronto were very hectic, during which Mommy and Papa got precious little sleep: packing boxes, doing runs to the two storage lockers, buying some last minute things for the trip, putting our Honda on jack stands in Ed's garage, getting our finances organized at home and on the trip, visiting family, doctor's visits, etc., etc. (a lot of fun as far as I'm concerned...). We also had a large farewell party in our building for all our friends and family.
Then came the big day of our departure, August 5. Aunty Joanna drove us to the airport and our first destination was San Francisco, where Papa's climbing friend David picked us up. We spent the next 23 hours with his family in Berkeley. I had a lot of fun playing with his 3 girls in the backyard and with all their wonderful toys (we even played dress-up). After a Mexican meal we played some more in a play ground.
The next day David brought us back to the airport where we boarded our flight to Seoul. It lasted 12 hours but was really no problem at all: they had movies, video games, we ate, slept, read, etc. so the time flew by. We arrived in Seoul at 7pm local time and after Papa got some money from an ATM, we took the airport bus to our guesthouse in the centre of town. With the help of some friendly Koreans we managed to find it in some narrow back alley. We got a tiny room and fell asleep right away.
And then we were awake at 3 am! (I was also hungry so I ate my small stash of Canadian Cheerios). Nothing else to do, Mommy and Papa checked their e-mail on the guesthouse computer and we went out to see if we could get breakfast. We ended up in a small local restaurant and got served a typical morning meal: pork soup, kimchi (their special fermented cabbage), rice and some other condiments: not bad when you're hungry, but I was still glad to have some Cheerios left... We also found a new place to stay. Papa found our first guesthouse on the Internet and by the pictures it looked great. But it ended up to be a place for young, single backpackers who just need a dorm bed (not very tidy and super small).
Our new hotel (Jongnowon Motel) is located in the Tagpol quarter and has tidy rooms with private bath for approx. US$30/night, including coffee, tea, free internet, etc. This is very moderate for Seoul. That first day in Seoul was spent getting ourselves oriented, relaxing and experiencing some more with the local food. Next door lives a little boy of my age and I manage to play with him a bit, even though I don't understand what he says.
We did some sightseeing on the second day. The Changdeokgung Palace complex of the 15th century is an impressive collection of Korean temples and palace buildings. We took a tour but the guide was very hard to understand given her peculiar English accent. It was great to walk around the grounds and to imagine how the king and queen lived with their relatives and servants. There was even a small scale changing of the guards ceremony. Walking through the botanical gardens gave us some protection from the hot sun. The afternoon was spent in Namdaemun market, the largest in Korea with thousands of stalls and shops selling just about everything (like Honest Ed's in Toronto but 100 times larger).
The food we get so far is OK. Mostly rice with various vegetables and/or meat. My favourite is Bibim bap, a tasty mixed rice dish. Kimchi is served with every meal and we usually drink water. For breakfast we managed to find a bakery for fresh bread. There's even a "Paris Croissant" snack bar with good food too. Last night we went to a restaurant where they only serve Bulgoki, thin slices of beef barbequed on your table: delicious! My parents had a bottle of Soju, Korea's most popular rice wine. As usual we sit on the ground at low tables.
Yesterday was spent with Mr. Kim, a friend of Gilsoo, our Korean friend in Toronto. He took us to the Korean Folk Village outside Seoul. It took quite some time on the subway, which is very modern and easy to use. We were at a large open air museum of traditional farm houses, with people showing ancient handicrafts (a bit like Pioneer Village in Toronto). It was very well done, not kitsch at all. At a "market place" we had a lunch of traditional dishes and some rice wine. Unfortunately it rained the whole afternoon so we were kind of "rained out".
Today, Sunday, we are leaving Seoul by train to go to Andong, somewhere in the centre of Korea, where we can witness some more authentic Korean culture. I'll tell you more about that in our next journal entry.