Part 74 - Culture Shock in Seoul

Lots of Korean flegs

Nope. Me neither. 

Note to self. Don't get another flight at 2am. And if you do, don't get it with Vietjet Air. There is a good reason why it was so cheap. I made the mistake of boarding the plane a good hour before take-off. And they play the same bloody song on a loop until take-off. And just in case the song wasn't seared into your brain, they play it again on a loop as soon as you land. I'm not surprised everybody ignored the seatbelts sign and leapt out their seats on landing - they were just desperate to get away from the bloody song.

UPDATE: Ems was getting a Vietjet flight and identified the song for me. Here it is in all its glory. It's actually it's not that bad (if you only hear it once), but try listening to it on repeat 30 times. Also, not much bloody point in playing "Hello Vietnam" just as you're leaving the country. 

It was only a four hour flight, so you were never going to get a proper night's sleep. But even half a night's sleep was impossible, as they felt the need to wake us up with various announcements - mostly incomprehensible except the one informing us that importing fruit and vegetables into South Korea was prohibited. A bit bloody late telling us now. What am I supposed to do? Chuck them out the window?

So it was a tired and crotchety Richie who landed in South Korea and had to try and his hostel without a SIM card OR Google Maps (fun fact, you can't download maps for offline use or get walking directions on Google Maps in South Korea because reasons). I eventually found the Star Hostel, only to be told I was in the WRONG Star Hostel. Silly me. 

Nearly as bad as Boquete in Panama which THREE hostels with the same name 

After a much needed nap, a chat with a very affable hotel staff member called Ham (not 100% sure that's his name, but he was so polite he would never have corrected me once I got it wrong), and the successful purchase of a SIM card from a chap whose only English was the word YES (which wouldn't have been a problem if my first question hadn't been "Do you speak English?), I went out for dinner at the first place I could find that had even a modicum of English in their menu. Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared for it being one of the BBQ places, so again, I didn't really have an idea what was going on - or how I was supposed to cut meat with metal chopsticks? (they eventually brought me a pair of scissors. Knives apparently not a thing in Korea.). I only discovered on leaving Seoul that these restaurants have a wee drawer under the table with such wonders as alternative cutlery and napkins! (Full disclosure: The delightful Rhea from my G Adventures tour imparted this nugget of wisdom! Far too bloody late to be much use but thank you anyway!).

Weird and wonderful food and equipment kept arriving

It wasn't just the language. EVERYTHING seems different. From the alphabet and language, to cash machines, to going out for dinner, to buying tickets on the metro. I've still no idea what half the shops were selling. Everything works well, although nothing works quite how you'd expect. 

A Korean cash machine. 50% larger and at least 100% more confusing than regular ATMs

Next morning, with the weather a very pleasant 20C, I explored the local area and learned to appreciate just how nice South Korea is. I don't understand how somewhere with no litter bins can be so clean and tidy. Everyone is very polite and accommodating. And I also discovered a man-made stream (the Cheonggyecheon Stream) that cuts through the centre of the city and is ideal for running (and avoiding crossing lots of streets). 

Sadly, I didn't spot anyone falling in 

It also attracts quite a lot of herons and big fish ...

In the hostel, I became friends with a charming and hilarious Estonian lassie (of course with impeccable English, spoken with a London accent.) although sadly, despite her being a professional singer, we never got a chance to visit a Noraebang, a Korean karaoke bar (although considering the police turned up the last time I did karaoke, this is probably a blessing in disguise). 

Annaliisa from Estonia!

Her Estonian aunt also turned up on the second day, so we all enjoyed a traditional Korean meal of whatever was placed in front of us. 

No idea what half this stuff is

Not everything was delicious. I tried this soybean "ice cream" and it was disgusting, yet I was forced to cart it about until I could find a suitable place to dispose of it (a fire would have been best). 

 

Just because you can doesn't mean that you should

As much as I liked Seoul, however, it certainly wasn't perfect. Coming up to the Mayday weekend, nearly every hotel was booked out, but I managed to book and pay for a reasonable hotel at £120 for three nights. However, when I turned up, out of nowhere, they demanded an extra 120,000 Won (around £71) because "it's the weekend". Nowhere on the hotels.com website / emails was this mentioned, and I guess they were just trying to bilk extra money out of weary tourists who didn't speak the language. 

Personally, I'd rather have spent the next three days sleeping in a ditch than hand over another penny, or indeed stay and store my possessions in a place so untrustworthy. Unsurprisingly, they refused my request for a refund, and hotels.con just sided with them automatically.. The whole thing's still ongoing, but in the meantime, I would urge any considering staying at the LA View Hotel in Seoul to go literally anywhere else. And not to use hotels.con either. Bunch of arseholes. 

Robbing bastards

(Actually, I've just noticed that if I didn't want to pay the extra, I would have to check out and check back in each day. What the hell would my room be used for in those nine hours? Actually, I don't really want to know). 

Thankfully, I managed to find a decent hotel for the next night (which for some reason had a seat like an ENTER key, as well as a computer hooked up to the telly to let me create my own impromptu nightclub). 

For my final two nights in Seoul, I found what might possibly be the smallest rentable room on AirBnB. However, beggars cannot be choosers, and it was surprisingly quiet considering how many people were crammed into such a small space. Although given the lack of aircon, I'm not sure I'd have been singing its praises in the summer when temperatures can hit 40C. 

Good job I didn't bring a cat and develop a sudden urge to swing it

Overall however, Seoul is a lovely, clean, and safe city to wander around. Here's a few other sights from wandering around the city ... 

View over Seoul

Theeeeeeeeese City walls

Sadly, this rickety old rooftop pub was closed

Anyway, apologies for this word salad. I'm sitting on a train and didn't expect to write so much. Next couple of posts will be about the cultural highlights of Seoul, and my trip to the DMZ.