January 1st, 2006
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New Year’s on foot
Since it was New Year’s and a Sunday, I figured that not too many shopping establishments would be open, so I started out by visiting one of the famous five palaces of Seoul. It was large and mostly empty, similar to Japanese historical sights but adorned with more red and green paint. If I was a child I’d probably find it incredibly boring, and I’m still trying to work through how large the palace grounds were, for being so devoid of anything interesting to look at inside it. No flowers, no gardens, no benches, no furniture. Asian royalty’s spartan nature is a far cry from the decadence of the west, and I find it difficult to really imagine what people did all day. Spoken like a true twenty-first century materialist, I know. I suppose some other stupid kid will think the same thing about me in five hundred years.
One of the reasons I had chosen Windroad was because on the website it said that they offered bicycle rental on the premises, which was a big plus for me as I like to cover as much ground as possible when wandering. However, upon inquiring to about it, there was some confused parlayance between the volunteers and I was told that one of the staffers lost it. This kind of befuddled response was indicative of the place. Things were pretty much ad hoc and disorganized, with virtually no order or authority, but that may be a general trait of ten dollar a night hostels. In any case, it was my legs that would have to take me around the heart of the city.
After the first palace, I walked to one of the markets downtown. As I expected, most of the stores were closed, shuttered ramshackle buildings under dripping soiled canvases. There were a good number of food stalls open, however, so I picked one at random that was serving the Korean version of okonomiyaki (Japanese pancakes). It was potato and soybean sprout based, and although I only asked for one, I got about four, which as time went by became increasingly difficult to get choke down. It was one of those occasions where it just got less and less appetizing the colder it got and the more I noticed bugs crawling all over the dingy restaurant. I tried to take my mind off of it by watching a singing competition on the overhead TV, the highlight of which was an incredibly energetic little four year old girl blurting out some Korean favorite. After she was done, she ran circles around the feeble host as he talked to her mother. As interesting as it was, I set a hard and fast rule that I would leave when the cockroach made it all the way across the wall to my table, no matter how strongly I hoped not to offend the old woman running the restaurant.
I’m a big fan of Lotte cookies, hamburgers, and in particular, gum, so I was looking forward to visit the Lotte department store in central Seoul. Unfortunately, it was closed for New Year’s day, so instead I managed to visit two more palaces and learn about the great wisdom of King Sejong before the sun set.
After walking all the way back to the hostel (eight hours of walking x 3-4 miles an hour = 24-32 miles), I got a shower and watched a little TV on the couch before heading out for dinner and some night photography with my newly acquired Velvia. After about an hour of this, I came back to the hostel to chat it up with the other patrons, and ended up going to see the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with Tim and the hostel’s owner, Mr. Park. I tried really hard not to be irritated by the questionable choices in special effects and weak CG lighting. I think the best part was hearing good ‘ol Mr. Park just chuckling away and slapping his knee throughout the whole movie.
