An unexpected stay in Seoul

I don't know why I had such difficult time applying for my visa to Vietnam, but I did. For over a month I had to make multiple amendments in their online system and each time I hoped to appease the visa gods. I studied the "how to" guides and input all that was required, but they'd come back with changes that I would try to fix, even though the information was correct to begin with. Right before our flight, they finally granted it, but under the name of Emily Elizabeth Emily Schlink. (By this time, we had already outsourced Mark's and the kid's applications to a travel agency to do the work, something I would highly recommend.) I called the visa hotline operator and without hesitation he told me I'd be denied entry for sure. Applying and paying again was my only option, and it would take four days, provided I shelled out a hundred bucks for the travel agency to handle it. I had a very unattractive self-loathing pity party, cried a bit, but then got to work making new plans for at least a four day layover in Seoul, while the rest of my family would continue to Vietnam.

Luckily, Margo had a friend who had been posted there, a classmate whom she'd said goodbye to this past summer. During our 7 hour layover, we took a train into the city for them to reunite. By coincidence, their apartment was across the street from my chosen hotel, not far from Seoul Central Station. This meant we'd have a more convenient time navigating a foreign city containing 9.7 million people, 14,000km of city roads, and a 10km spaghetti maze of underground walkways built to manage the city's wind. Korea sits in a Siberian high pressure system that results in cold, wet, wind in the winter, and hot, sloppy, gusts in the summer. The ambiance and throngs of people was a lot to take in, but the organization, timliness, and efficiency of the city was impressive. Uzbeks could take a few lessons from the Koreans.

We finessed navigation by trialing Google Fi, dropping pin locations, calling our friends, yelling over the roar of the train station trying to find them. We were seemingly in the same spot only they were upstairs and we were downstairs. (Wifi is everywhere in Seoul, but we wanted to see if Fi was worthwhile. It is.) Once we surfaced from the underground, found them, walked at a slant through the soul-cutting wind, and into their apartment on the 28th floor, the girls spent their time holed up in the bedroom giggling, and the rest of us ate a feast of homemade food to celebrate the occasion.

Their time was much too short and it made my heart hurt to make the girls say goodbye again. Mark and the kids got on the airport train and we went back through the underground concrete labyrinth to the city. Before parting ways, our friends plied me with tips on visiting Seoul: everything can be paid for electronically except for bus fare. Naver is better than Google Maps. If I don't like the coffee shop I'm in, there are at least a hundred more on the same street and many of them are themed: dog and cat cafe, 2D cafe, art cafe, bike cafe, even a poop cafe. If I could dream it, Seoul probably would have it. Shopping is a serious sport here. I spent a lot of time feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stores.

The most popular thing to do in South Korea is to visit the Demilitarized Zone, reachable only by organized tour. I thought it might be cool to wave at North Korea, like I had done with Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, but on the only day I could have gone, I managed to sleep in until noon by accident and ignored two alarms. I can't remember the last time my body needed a reset like that. I spent my time doing things the kids probably would not have enjoyed. I toured the World Cup Stadium and Museum, the Kimchi Museum, the Templestay Korean Buddhist Center, and I went to several breweries and cafes. I put myself through my own personal hell of walking for miles, a nod to Mark's famous family death marches. The weather was so, so, so, so, cold, and I got tired of wearing 17 layers of clothes, but it would be a disservice to not experience the famous "Seoul, My Soul" megacity. Donning my speed skating balaclava and royal blue 1980s neck gator, out I went.

Seoul filled view from my friend's apartment

ordering up taiyaki, a fish shaped pastry filled with red bean paste

they LOVE Christmas here.

They also love Park Ji-sung. I love him too. 
He played for Manchester United for 7 seasons. 

Photos at the World Cup Stadium  metro station.

Kimchikan Museum
kimchi is considered a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage

Templestay Buddhist Center

Drinking VERY nice things at Seoul Brewery 

Dogs at the dog cafe.

Swipe the credit card, pick your birth year animal, 
crack the red ball open with a mallet
and read a parable or some advice.

HBAF Almond Store.
Savory, sweet, spiced, seaweed,
no almond left unflavored. 

So much facial care to shake a stick at.

Boiled pond snails - olgaengiguk 

Sharing a snack of tteokbokki,
thick rice pasta noodles in spicy red sauce.

 

Korean blood sausage - soondae.