Back to Seoul

We had a pleasant bus ride back to Seoul. The bus drivers here a obsessed with seatbelts. The driver walks back into the bus after every stop to be sure we are buckled up. I wondered what he knew about accident statistics. The bus dropped us off in Gwanghwamoon. That's where the Peace Corps office used to be. I didn't recognize anything except the US Embassy and the Koreana Hotel. The Koreana used to be the newest building in the area. Now it looks shabby.There are high rises everywhere with video projections on them like in Times Square. In the middle of the road is a long park with fountains and statutes--no more sleazy Yogwans (inns) or tabangs (tearooms).

The hotel is nice and most importantly it has a washing machine in the room. Clean clothes again! We lounged by the pool this afternoon.

View from Seoul Tower with the locks of love

Note the sign on the top of the building offering massages

We went to the Seoul Tower to get a view of the city. The thing to do here is to bring a padlock with a note and attach it to the fence.  That way you and your love will be forever locked together..Sorry, David, I didn't have a lock with me.

Next we went to Itaewon.  Itaewon is next to the army base and we used to go to the bars there. It's now the "international" section of Seoul. There are tons of shops and they sell extra large clothes, but in the back alleys it hasn't changed much. There are massage parlors and gentlemen's (ha) clubs and lots of bars. During the day it seemed very tame, but I don't think I would take John here at night. It would be a different kind of educational experience.

We also went to a huge bookstore. Apparently that is where everyone in Seoul hangs out on Sundays. It was packed with people. Unlike American kids, Koreans still read books. John's Kindle broke so we had to buy some books to read.

Time for bed. Tomorrow we meet the Ambassador, and John gets to wear a suit.