July 2009
The last trip to Korea and China, I was given the great task of sharing with others the adventures that we encounter on our voyage. With the help of Tony and Jason, Kathy, Hyun, Jasmine, Dad, YK and I headed to the airport (after pedicures, of course) and had to deal with the international terminal during construction. The one thing to note was the TSA guy commenting that I look a lot more beautiful in person than in the photo in my passport. Then he asked my dad how the two of us were related. Dad joked that he said he was my husband, but in fact, he let the TSA guy know he was my father. Hyun, YK, Dad and I lounged and then “Christ Gallagher”, as my boarding pass called me, boarded the plane.
Our 12.5 hour flight was one of the easiest I have had in a while. One thing to note was a luxury that was often mocked back in the day, that is, airplane food. I don’t remember the last time I had a meal on an airplane that I didn’t have to pay for in cash. Beef steak or bimbimbap, a sandwich, chicken and rice or shrimp and pasta were brought to us as well as assorted beverages. I had the former of each of the options. Also, each of us had our own touch screen TV where we could choose the movies we wanted to watch. I saw “He’s Just Not That Into You”, “Bride Wars”, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”, “Taken”, and “New in Town” not necessarily in that order, as well as part of “Duplicity” and “Monsters vs. Aliens”.
When we arrived in Seoul, I realized that I should have checked the weather before I packed. My suitcase reflects a traveler in the Caribbean and not one that must now endure monsoon-esque torrential downpours. My flip-flops didn’t have a chance.
We currently are staying in the penthouse of some hotel. We have the 19th floor, AKA the top floor, to ourselves. This penthouse is like a condo, for it has four bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a living room, dining room, kitchen, and then a mystery room. This mystery room looks like the kind of place where you could entertain a ton of people if you scattered pillows throughout the room. The view from most of the rooms, well, every bedroom but mine, is spectacular! Since it is raining, I haven’t taken many pictures. They will come. Since we were adjusting to the major time difference, we soon went to bed.
Today is Saturday. Since I am such a good sleeper (and I took a muscle relaxer before I went to bed), I was the last one up. Kathy, Hyun, and Jasmine had already gone to the market for some things. Then a lady came into the condo to spray something into the bathrooms. Lastly, after a shower we were out the door for lunch.
YK lead us to a favorite Northern Korea buckwheat noodle place that Hyun and YK went to as children and Kathy remembered fondly when she lived in Seoul. On our trip, we quickly realized two things: 1. it was going to rain, and 2. we were locked out the hotel. As we started walking, it started to rain. Rain is an understatement. IT POURED. Soon we were standing in a doorway of a shop to avoid the rain. Finally, Hyun bought three umbrellas to help us, but after getting a little lost, and wandering through the fish market (we could smell it coming), we found the restaurant.
We each had the same dish, though three of us had the spicier version (Dad, YK, and I). After they cut up the noodles, Hyun recalled as a kid that he had a hard time eating these noodles because they are hard to chew and one can gag on them as they slip down your throat. There is no doubt that Hyun’s tale was a truthful one, for there were many times in the meal where I had to keep the noodles from meeting my esophagus too soon.
The walk back was a shorter and more direct journey, but there was a lot more rain. For a brief bit, Dad and YK got separated from the rest of us, but we decided to meet them at the hotel. As we got there, we saw the bathroom sprayer lady, who remembered us, unlocked the hotel door for us. Just as she was doing so, YK and Dad came back. They had stopped at a bakery and bought bread and “ice cakees” or milky popsicles. After changing out of our damp clothes, we ate some ice cakes and have been recovering from our damp adventure. I hope all is well, and I’ll do my best to keep you up to date on the voyage!
Small Wide World 