it’s not possible to be bored in Seoul
Seoul is an enormous city ~ statistics suggest it is the 8th largest city in the world, with a population of about 11 million (compared to US cities: NYC 8 million, LA 4 million, Chicago 3 million, Minneapolis/StP 700,000 …) You get the idea ~ it’s HUGE. It is so vast in size that is takes a while to get to grips with it, I’ve studied the map and I think it is pretty accessible via subway if you have some idea where you are going.
My “tried-and-true” method of exploring any new city is the “hop-on, hop-off” approach ~ take some sort of public transit (subway, train, bus, taxi, cable car, tuktuk … whatever is available) and just ride around. Maps are helpful (but not always available) when you are looking for a particular destination, but sometimes it’s just more fun to “happen upon” something when you pop out of the depths of the subway terminal or catch sight of something from the bus window. To be completely honest, the results of my approach to exploration range from the absolute delight (Bangkok, NYC) to complete disaster (St Petersburg). Anyway ~ let’s go Seoul!
There are lots of “tourist” places to visit ~ palaces, parks, temples and shrines, and other National treasures ~ but that will just have to happen on another day. The Seoul subway is clean and efficient ~ all the signs and announcements are in Korean, English, and Chinese; the entire system is color-coded by line; and every station has a number identification ~ so you can’t possibly get lost. Right? Well … I don’t know exactly where the I have been, but I have been ALL over Seoul on the subway. I’ve decided that the Seoul subway is an excellent mode of transportation, but not the best way to see the city. Maybe next time I will start with a City Tour package, see the highlights, and go from there.
It was near the end of the day and I was still a bit desperate to find other Westerners ~ Itaewon was my final destination. Itaewon is the “international district”, the place where many foreigners congregate. Due to the proximity to the U.S. military base, it is the most “Americanized” district in Korea, with large numbers of American servicemen mingling about with the highest concentration of non-Koreans and Koreans in the evenings and on the weekends. English is spoken here (obviously) and there are many western-style venues to eat, drink, and be merry. Without going into any details, I enjoyed an evening with folks of a common tongue, singing songs and consuming copious amounts of imported beverages ~ and I made it back to my hotel in Baegun, at a fairly respectable hour, safe and sound.
Wow ~ I feel like I did so much, but I did so little … the sights, the sounds, the smells ~ it’s just overwhelming and almost impossible to describe. I have stories to tell, of course … more later.
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Nancy