Just back from a wonderful, last-minute trip to Seoul, South Korea. It’s located right across the ocean from Qingdao- a quick 50 minute flight. We dedicated quite a bit of time searching for a hotel with an outdoor swimming pool, which is a rarity in China, since getting sun/ darkening the skin is something that’s avoided like SARS. In fact, all of the high-end skin care lines contain “skin whitener” in their products- I am steering clear of such ointments, unsure what type of chemicals are used to accomplish the Michael Jackson look. However, I realized that my hotel pool search was in vain because we landed in the midst of a torrential downpour, only to learn that it was monsoon season. Perfect.
Antsy to get out and explore despite the weather, we hailed a cab and immediately started playing our favorite game- a version of “Where’s Waldo”- where we point out anyone that looks like they might speak English. The game was far too easy in South Korea- it was teeming with Ex Pats and some of the cab drivers even spoke English. We soon learned that there is a large US military presence here due to hostile relations with North Korea, so we hit the Korean War Museum to get a little history under our belts. After the museum (which we highly recommend visiting), we decided to get a little taste of the local flavor…….by venturing to the ritzy/ trendy part of Seoul for some Italian food. Yes, I know that we should be indulging in kimchi and Korean BBQ, but we eat a lot of Korean food in Qingdao due to the high Korean population and had no appetite for it.
Early the next morning we took off for a tour of the North Korean border and the DMZ (Demilitarization Zone), which is the main reason we decided to visit Seoul. It was about an hour drive from the hotel and well worth the trip. We saw the board room where all talks between North and South Korea are 
held- complete with a line drawn down the middle to separate the countries. This is the most militarized border in the world to date- with fairly recent instances of conflict. In fact, we were warned several times not to raise our hands or make any loud sounds or gestures to as to not cause any friction with the North Korean soldiers who were staring at us from across the 38th parallel…..hidden in the surrounding landscape….observing our every move. The atmosphere was very tense, to say the least.
held- complete with a line drawn down the middle to separate the countries. This is the most militarized border in the world to date- with fairly recent instances of conflict. In fact, we were warned several times not to raise our hands or make any loud sounds or gestures to as to not cause any friction with the North Korean soldiers who were staring at us from across the 38th parallel…..hidden in the surrounding landscape….observing our every move. The atmosphere was very tense, to say the least. When the tour ended, we walked around the Itaewon area (the main military/ Ex Pat area) for a bit of window shopping…..and then the rain really set in. Desperate for some shelter we scanned the nearby restaurants on the maps and lo and behold- spotted a bar called Nashville! It was definitely a dive, but they had country music and beer so we settled in…… During the particularly long rainstorm we were hiding from, we met a rather strange mix of characters- a washed out Buddhist Zen Master from California, a young Korean student with a penchant for Jagermeister, a Mexican-American living in Seoul, a businessman from Boston who leads the golf ball division for Titlelist…..The conversation was colorful to say the least……..and I thought I was literally going to have to drag Harrison out of the place after a particularly heated debated between him and the Zen Master concerning the level of US’s aid to the North Koreans and a handful of other political issues. The happy-go-lucky Korean student smiled throughout the clash, barely understanding much, periodically announcing different movie stars that he thought we resembled. I was flattered when he said Cameron Diaz (even though the only trait we share is blonde hair), and when he got to Harrison he paused and then said “Home Alone 3.” I smiled and reminded him that the actor he was referring to was named Macaulay Culkin. The Korean shook his head and explained “No, no, no…..the dad!” I just about died- we included a picture for your reference. 
Now, what to do for dinner…….When my parents dropped me off at Vanderbilt for my freshmen year, my dad’s final words of wisdom have always stuck with me……poignant and true: “Never eat Mexican food above the Red River.” Well Pops, desperate times in Asia caused me to temporarily abandon my wits…..leading me to a little Seoul restaurant called Panchos. Needless to say, father knows best. But the stale chips and quesadillas were still preferable to yet another Chinese food meal.
The following day we hit some antique markets and tried our hand at bargaining- scoring a lovely pair of Korean vases. Overall, a successful trip! Bryan is back in town for meetings this week!
Tonight we have dinner at SaiSai’s house- complete with a dumpling-making lesson.
Now, what to do for dinner…….When my parents dropped me off at Vanderbilt for my freshmen year, my dad’s final words of wisdom have always stuck with me……poignant and true: “Never eat Mexican food above the Red River.” Well Pops, desperate times in Asia caused me to temporarily abandon my wits…..leading me to a little Seoul restaurant called Panchos. Needless to say, father knows best. But the stale chips and quesadillas were still preferable to yet another Chinese food meal.The following day we hit some antique markets and tried our hand at bargaining- scoring a lovely pair of Korean vases. Overall, a successful trip! Bryan is back in town for meetings this week!
Tonight we have dinner at SaiSai’s house- complete with a dumpling-making lesson.
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