I arrived at the airport around 5:15. My first flight to Chicago left at 7:23, so two hours was plenty of time to make the domestic flight. I approached the United counter with my excitement growing with each step. There was no line, so I headed to begin the self check-in. The woman behind the counter approached me and asked where I was headed. She then informed me that United had no more flights on the 30th out of Minneapolis. I panicked and told her that my flight left at 7:23. She looked up my itinerary and told me my flight to Chicago left at 5:10 instead of 7:23 and that I should have received an updated itinerary in November. I received no such update, so I internally began freaking out. I quickly calculated in my head how fast I could drive to Chicago and realized that I would never make it in time for my 1:00 am departure to Seoul. The Gods were with me and they found a spot on a Delta flight leaving for Chicago at 7:10. I would make my flight!
I arrived at O'Hare and checked in with Asiana Air. I attempted to finagle my way into First or Business class, but opted to save my $3000 and took my coach seat instead. I had a window seat in the very last row. Instead of this being a bad thing, I ended up having tons of room to stand and stretch in the space behind the seats. I slept immediately after take-off and awoke to dinner being served. I was informed that I would be having beefsteak. Horrendous pictures of a nasty "meat" patty popped into my head. Instead, I enjoyed a small steak cooked medium. It was delicious, but I only stayed awake long enough to swallow my last bite. Aside from the short time I was awake to eat, I slept for the first 7 hours of the flight. The last 6.5 hours was spent watching movies and CSI:Miami. Before I could become truly sick of the plane, we began our descent to Incheon.
I deplaned and wandered trying to figure out how to get to my hostel. I checked my email and found that the hostel gave very specific directions from the airport. I purchased my bus ticket and was on my way. I got off at the right stop and exited into a very busy city. It was 8:15 am and I had completely lost the day of January 31st. My jet lag wasn't terrible, and I was excited to meet Steph and begin the day's adventures. The directions from the bus stop to the hostel did not make sense, so I wandered for a bit. I was nervous and slightly panicked as I moved from building to building trying to make out shops and find the hostel.
The Hongdae Guesthouse is located in a hi-rise buildings resembling a giant office building. I wasn't sure how or where the rooms would be housed in the building. I took the elevator up and found the reception area. The white board informed me that Mary was resting and would be back at 9. At this point, I wanted to dump my bag in my room and be off exploring. I stood in the hallway deciding what to do. A gentleman came to the door and let me in. I sat on the couch waiting for Mary to check me in. She was clearly not a morning person, so I played with the adorable puppies. After a bit, another hosteler came in and we enjoyed coffee and conversation. Mary didn't want me going to the room, because I could have awoken the others in the room. Steph arrived just as Mary gave me permission to drop my stuff off. We exited the building and were off exploring Hongdae. The neighborhood is fun, young and filled with bars and restaurants. We saw some sweet street art and headed to the metro.
The metro in Seoul is accessible and clean. We took the metro to Steph and Nick's neighborhood, Bulwang, and wandered through an outdoor market. I took in the sights of fish and grains being sold. For lunch, Steph took me for bulgogi. It is a type of Korean BBQ. Each table had a little grill where you grilled the meat. I added garlic, onions, and kimchee to my creation. To eat the grilled yumminess, I took a piece of lettuce with rice and added the grilled contents to the top. In theory, you would form a lettuce wrap. In reality, I shoved my attempt at a lettuce wrap into my mouth and tried not to drop the contents all over the table. Bulgogi is not the food for a first date...it was messy and absolutely amazing.
After lunch, we headed to Gyeongbuk Palace. Steph and I had the place almost entirely to ourselves and spent a couple hours wandering and taking in the beautiful sites. The temples were painted with vibrant blues, greens, and reds. I felt completely at peace and loved seeing the grounds. There was a frozen pond with a small pagoda on an island in the middle. The area was serene.
Next up was Insadong and a yummy kiwi smoothie in a quiet tea house. The area is very traditional and was never bombed during the Korean war. Because of this, the houses and buildings are very traditional. We sat in the tea shop planning the next couple of days. Before meeting Nick for dinner, Steph and I headed towards the statue of King Sejong, who invented the Korean alphabet. There was a little park area with greeters encouraging visitors to try on Hanboks, the traditional Korean dress. We tried on the costumes and quickly realized that we were the only ones over the age of 11 in the area trying them on. We embraced the situation and loved it. Further up the mall area was an ice skating rink and the hip place to be if you were in high school in Seoul. Teenage angst was in the air and couples were seen holding hands as they skated around. It was great!
I was trying to push through my jet lag, but it began catching up to me as Steph and I traveled to meet Nick. We went to Itaewon for Thai food, which is the neighborhood full of foreigners and has a spot nicknamed Hooker Hill. We avoided Hooker Hill, but checked out some of the shops around the area. It was great to see Nick again and tell him all about out adventurous day around Seoul. We ate at Nick and Stephanie's favorite Thai restaurant and I enjoyed the curry dish that Nick suggested. During dinner, I totally began feeling the time difference. By the end of the meal, I wasn't speaking in comprehensive sentences. Steph and Nick realized I needed to get back to my hostel and to sleep.
We took the metro to the Hongik stop and I said goodnight quickly. Once in my hostel room, I realized my bed was without covers, so I journeyed down to Mary. She was "making a party" and wanted me to join. I was dead on my feet, so I tried as politely as I could to turn her down. I escaped to the room and barely made it into pajamas before falling asleep. I slept well and was awake at 6:15 am. Nothing like an early start to my day.
Instead of waking the others in the room, I traveled downstairs to the Dunkin' Donuts for some coffee and to journal a bit. I met Steph at 9 to begin day 2 of Seoul Adventures. We traveled via the metro to Bukhansan and the location of our trek for the day. Steph and I decided to take a day and hike, so that I could enjoy a very Korean pastime. We got on the bus and spotted fellow hikers. The Koreans were decked out to enjoy a hike. I had my fleece and hiking boots, but these people had the packs, shoes, pants, walking sticks, and countless other accessories. I felt totally underdressed and insufficient. We opted to get off the bus when the group of hikers did and followed them. Steph didn't recognize the entrance, but we carpe diemed and continued to follow. The hike was very reminiscent of Wisconsin for a while. Then began the intense ascent. At some points, we were literally crawling up rocks and trying to find a path. It was beyond beautiful, quiet, and perfect. The higher we climbed, the more beautiful it became. We lost our group eventually, but found a gate and overlook instead. There was a sign pointing different directions giving suggestions for where to hike. We could see a temple in the distance, but were unsure how to get there. We headed towards the summit and looked down to see a giant statue in the midst of the temple.
The statue made the decision for us and we were determined to make it down to the temple area. We headed back to the sign and attempted to figure out how to get down. A path lay before us, so we took it. The beginning was steep but manageable. We thought it would get easier, but it was not meant to be easy. At one point, Steph and I were on our butts sliding down a gravel hill towards what we thought was the path. I am so lucky to be here with Stephanie and her joyful attitude. We could laugh at our situation and enjoy the absolute adventure of the hike. But determination paid off and the woods cleared to the giant statue. We had survived our slide down the hill and the reward was so amazing. The temple grounds were quiet and so so peaceful. It felt as if we were trespassing, and I kept waiting for someone to come out and tell us to leave. We walked up a few stairs to check out the rest of the area. We came upon what we thought may have been a food area and a woman emerged. She invited us in and we entered a plain room with tables on the ground. A group of women fed us and were so gracious. We were not allowed to pay for lunch, and it was delicious. Steph told me it was very traditional and once again so yummy. After lunch, we walked into one of the buildings and found an absolutely stunning alter with 3 golden statues.
We journeyed around and were deciding whether to attempt the journey back up the path of death or find another path. At this time in the day, we were running out of daylight. We were unsure of how long another path would take us, so we asked a passing hiker. He looked at the path we had taken and vehemently shook his head no. Instead, we followed his group back down and found the path much easier. We exited the park and caught a bus back to Steph's apartment. Now, we're waiting for Nick to finish work and will be going out to dinner shortly. The hike was so amazing and peaceful. Today being in nature was a complete reminder of how beautiful life is and how lucky we are to live on this beautiful planet. I was in awe of the majestic surroundings. I am so blessed with amazing friends and experiences. I'm loving Seoul. Tomorrow, we head to the DMZ. I hope a trip to a North Korean prison isn't included. :)
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