April 30, 2009
Seoul, Korea
Sunny with Azaleas in Full Bloom
Day One
After a tough work related week in the US and finding myself just too tired and discouraged to get work done in Japan, I was very ready for my Golden Week vacation in Korea. My BFF Eunice has been constantly asking me to visit Korea since she moved there from Tokyo. We met in Tokyo as we were two of the three workingwomen in our building. Since Delta Skymiles had a great deal where I could get business class tickets to Korea for 15000 miles, I went ahead and made plans. I’ve been to Korea on business but never did any sightseeing or experience the real culture. So am very excited to finally take the time to study the history, culture and experience the country.
My flight left Haneda at 1pm and was pretty uneventful except that I was the only passenger on the 2nd floor of biz class (the plane was a 747) so ended up chatting with the flight attendant the whole time. Basically, she wanted advice on shopping in Japan and was constantly pouring red ginseng tea for me as she was worried about my health as I was just in the US a week ago which led to many bathroom trips. You see, the swine flu is now at level 5, so is big news these days. I thought I would have to go thru a thermal scanner when I arrive in Korea but she said its only being used for passengers arriving in the US and Mexico as that is where it originated. She actually got me worked up over it so I started getting worried that Japan might close its borders as they are paranoid of germs and I will not be able to get back into the country to Skipper and Yuki! But there was nothing I could do now as I was already flying over to Korea. At around 300pm we landed in Seoul and after breezing through customs, I decided not to worry about the swine flu and enjoy my vacation.
Eunice was so generous that she had her driver pick me up so getting to her gorgeous apartment looking over the Han river was a breeze. Since I had to get my train tickets for my Korea adventure, after dropping off my luggage at her place, her driver took me took her office. Her office is in the center of Seoul and as she is a senior exec of the holding company, she gets to ride the “special” elevator and has an office overlooking the city and the beautiful mountains that surround the city. Her secretary helped me out with train and bus arrangements which were NOT easy as the Lonely Planet guide had written as it was also a big holiday weekend for Korea so many of the trains were sold out! Anyhow, after tweaking the itinerary a bit, all open issues were closed and I had a completed itinerary.
View of Han river from Eunice's apartment
View of US Military Base from Eunice's apartment. Its located on prime property in Seoul. Its HUGE! They have their own hospital, school, shopping center, etc. They, however, are moving to outside Seoul. The Korean government will convert it to the largest city park in the world. (Currently, Central Park is the largest)
We then went to dinner to catch up on what’s been happening since we last met in February where Eunice visited me and we had an onsen weekend in Nikko. Originally, we were going to Insadong for a traditional Korean dinner but after I commented how beautiful the mountains were, she decided to take me to a modern restaurant that is her favorite in the mountains. The restaurant is called Café Motte in PyeoungChungdong which is a very beautiful neighborhood filled with art galleries and cafés. Eunice said its known as the Beverly Hills of Seoul. We shared a pasta and “nutritional rice” which is a modern take on bibimbap. It was the best bibimbap that I’ve ever had. When we finished our glass of wine, it was time to go so we headed back to her apartment but on the way picked up Camilla her daughter who is taking nite SAT prep courses.
The neighborhood was so artsy. Although the homes were close together, they were grand. Check out the house with the tiered azalea garden. Azaleas were in full bloom in Seoul!
The beautiful terrace of the restaurant
Local artwork was in display at the restaurant
A gorgeous salad was our starter. The dressing was flavored with yuzu so was very refreshing. The vegetables were fresh.
Nutritious Rice: Basically, its a bibimbap but with seafood and organice vegetables
Seafood LInguini: A house specialty
Camilla is the most mature and confident 15 year old that I know. We caught up on each other lives during the drive back to the apartment but as I was so exhausted from lack of sleep, we agreed to catch up some more over dinner when I get back to Seoul after my travels around Korea.
I turned in around 10pm and had the best deep and peaceful sleep in over a week.