Since arriving in Seoul, Friday morning, Dad has shown me some of the sights. I'm not a very good traveller so I've been walking around with a head full of cotton wool till now. Luckily, we are staying in downtown Seoul so I'm hoping to re-visit these places over the next two weeks.
My first impressions are of a modern city with friendly citizens. It seems quite cosmopolitan with voices and faces from around the globe but predominantly Asian. English isn't spoken universally though it hasn't really been a stumbling block. We have a city map with a dozen or so phrases to help us out and I imagine as with anywhere, people smile to see us trying.
Dad's apartment has all mod cons, however, we think the kitchen is merely for fixing your g&t in ! Having said that, Dad did cook a mean beef stew on Sunday which we finally finished up tonight ! It was almost Korean, in fact, being more of a broth! We had our evening cuppa, afterwards, with something sweet. Or so we thought ! They looked like oblong croissants with a sugar glaze on top that was kind of green and speckledy ? ! They smelled of garlic. I tried my best but I'm left staring at the remains and now badly craving something sweet ! ! !
Tonight's shopping expedition was to Lotte, a large swish department store with big price labels. In the basement foodhall, the fresh food departments were shouting their wares ! Most bizarre ! We paid £4.00 for a lettuce which I shall extract every fiber of till there's just the memory of it for a sandwich.
Dad came home tonight with tickets to see a show called 'Jump', on Thursday night and 'Grease' on Sunday. Hopefully to be followed by some Korean cuisine ! I think there will be lots to keep us busy until I leave.
Two items to remember each time we step outside; bottled water and an umbrella. The air is very clammy but I keep telling myself it's good for the skin ! Some people have those filter masks on but not always up around their mouths and noses. Maybe it's the heat?!
The flora and fauna are exotic looking but we hear bird scaring devices a lot which means not much in the way of wildlife yet. Tonight we spotted four tiny kittens lying in the ridges of a small building's roof tiles. Maybe they love the heat. No Pol, they're still there !
Dad is very well appointed. Well, you knew that !
church, which is Myeong-dong Cathedral, twenty minutes; downtown shopping centres and markets ten minutes; a cooling walk along a river, ten minutes;
an historical site, which is actualy National Treasure No. 43 (they love their numbers) and includes the delightfully named Coquetry Chamber (more of this another time)ten minutes and a temple just next door. No need for any form of transport so far.
I knew nothing before I came here. I was actually expecting rickshaws or something similar ! As in any city, the car is Lord, with a few scooters thrown in for the effect. To cross the roads you wait for the silent green man, no helpful beeping and you'd better be fleet of foot ! I haven't been mown down yet but I've felt the scooters swish around me !!
Strangely, when making a transaction, they ask for a signature, no pin numbers ! Dad wonders if credit card fraud isn't a biggy here?! Since being here I have heard sirens maybe four times and we're in downtown Seoul ! No accidents? No crime?
People make a slight bow from the waist in greeting and offer you're change as they did in South Africa, with open palm that is offered to you, not thrust at you ala well, you name it? !
I would recommend Seoul to anybody, from everything I have experienced so far. I'm looking forward to the next two weeks.
Now, if only I can get this blog to behave ? !
Mum/Mil/Hil xxx
No comments:
Post a Comment