I have at last reached writing about the final destination
of our ‘Asian Invasion.” Ironic upon
reflection that the name of the trip I chose was in fact what Asia did to me. Coincidentally the name still applies, it is
just that it was Asia that did the invading on me. On all my senses. My values.
My priorities. My concept of what
normal is… So much it left me weak at the knees by the time we landed in South
Korea’s capitol, Seoul.
Since I so frequently describe how fatiguing this voyage was,
I will not go into how little of the enthusiasm I had for traveling remained by
the time Korea rolled around. It goes
without saying my energy and interest was running on reserves by that point,
but you can’t just do nothing in a city like Seoul. Especially for me being obsessed with its food. Not to mention I know three words of the
language – 100% more than the last three countries. So nevertheless, though experiencing lethargy
I had never endured prior, I was still thrilled to be in a country I have
wanted to see since I was a child!
Having just come from the skylines of Tokyo and Hong Kong,
the view of Seoul seem overly monochromatic in comparison. It is unfortunate they chose to hold
apartment buildings to codes generating potentially the plainest buildings in
Asia, but the country surrounding is quite mountainous and beautiful. The street view of the city offers a much-appreciated
dose of color to the cookie cutter buildings.
There is art on most every wall and alley of the younger parts of the
city. The older areas sheltered more
traditional values including traditional food markets where the same families
have been selling their time-honored commodities for generations.
Following suit to every city so far we
visited, Seoul too lined its streets with colorful markets and food vendors
every direction we turned. This stuff
may get old for some, but not me. It
snapped me out of my exhausted mindset and in its place put me into a curious
and hungry one. And what a place to try
new foods…
It can be said without a doubt that Koreans love meat. Probably more than Americans do. Certainly a much larger variety than most
cultures at least. Street carts braised
meat so bizarre appearing even I had reservations about sampling them. However the aroma of peppers and garlic
infusing with these mystery proteins would make even the most devout of vegans
second-guess their values momentarily. Not
to worry, there were plenty of vegetarian friendly foods as well.
Anywhere you can get food undoubtedly has a
form of noodles in a spicy broth.
Without needing to say they will also give you kimchi – a spiced,
pickled and fermented vegetable dish.
It’s often compared to coleslaw or salad back home, but taking into
account the frequency of it being eaten, it’s more accurately like bread in the
states. You’re hard pressed to find a
meal that will be served without it. And
I couldn’t have been happier.
We even
made it to a kimchi exhibit in a museum by the palace. Very interesting to see the process and learn
the history of the food.… oh right the palace, that was cool too.
But by this point I got my fill of old
architecture, palaces and temples.
However, they did have some very beautiful ones.
One of our days we visited a
nearby national park. The trails were
great. There was a large mountain right
in the middle of the park and many points of interest throughout it.
Near the top was a Buddhist monastery that
was one of the most ornate structures I have ever seen.
What struck us as odd
were the thousands of hikers on the trails of the park. Not the usual environment of a hike. Usually people go to escape from people, and
there were easily the most people we saw in one place in Korea here at this
park.
Traffic jams at every funneled
point of the trail. Shoulder to shoulder
groups of middle aged couples outfitted with matching visors and hiking
polls. It proved frustrating, but the
park itself was gorgeous.
Recognizing the difference in our
cultures, Korean people came across as rude.
I’m not bent out of shape about it, but the number of times I watched
ladies push us out of their way was remarkably different to home where we move
for each other. Katherine did manage to
find a group of people who were very friendly.
A needed breath of kindness that
makes me retract my blanket description of Koreans as rude. The social norm was simply hard to
understand. Great respect is paid to you
as a customer. We were welcomed over a
microphone each time we entered the grocery store. Conversely, no one would as little as move to
a side of the path as we both approached.
Overall the vibe didn’t feel hostile just more like I was a naïve
American tourist. Not far off.
We took a lift another day up a mountain in Seoul’s
equivalent to Central Park. It had a free
viewpoint of the city. At the top people
bring notes and love letters they write on padlocks and lock to the fences and
structures for others to read.
All in all, Seoul proved to be as distinct and self-defining
as Tokyo, Bangkok and Hong Kong had been.
While there were many aspects I personally wouldn’t describe as my
favorite part of the trip, the whole experience of the city was a fantastic
one. I was impressed with the efficiency
of all the visited cities and Seoul was no exception. The city worked hard at maintaining public
services and areas like community gardens, city parks, play grounds and
exercise equipment.
That all aside, it is a foodie’s dream of a city. The food is exceptional. Restaurants are
everywhere. There are ‘bulgogi’ barbeque
eateries where you cook your own meat. There
are street vendors with pastries. Push carts
of fruit. Kimchi with every meal!
Seoul was a perfect grand finale to a trip
packed full of fantastic food, colorful temples, vibrant markets and an
excessive amount of walking. And as
great of a time each stop was, the trip also let me appreciate the value of
coming home.
