First day in Seoul

My first destination in Seoul, after I had had breakfast, showered and napped, was the Dongdaemun Sichang, a sprawling market that I only managed to cover bits of. I wandered through the shoe section and the fabric market before going into a tiny hole in the wall Korean restaurant that didn't have a hint of English in it. Fortunately, there were pictures dotted around the walls and through a combination of pointing and hand signals, I managed to get a delicious bowl of bibimbap.

The fabric market had colourful bolts of all kinds of cloth. However, I didn't see any tailors like they have at the fabric market in Shanghai where I got a tailored three piece suit for a steal. They did have the most gorgeous (and extremely expensive) curtains , though.

My next stop was the Geongbokgong, the main palace and governmental heart of the old walled city. There was a row of colourfully-dressed palace guards outside the palace, holding fake swords or whatever they're called and trying to look serious. That must be the worst job in the world - having to stand still for hours staring into space. What a waste of time.


The palace is huge and constructed mainly of wood. The ground was mostly packed dirt, which I didn't really like. Perhaps back in the days it was filled with ranks of soldiers and guards, but today, it seems like a lot of empty, wasted space that could have been covered with lush green grass or something.
At the corner of every bridge and stairway, there is a different mythical creature that's supposed to protect the palace and its inhabitants. This one looks like a constipated lion crossed with a snake.

The ceilings of the palace are ornate and intricately painted. It was the aspect I most enjoyed about the palace.

Towards the back of the palace where the residential areas (as opposed to the govermental areas) are, there are lovely gardens running along the walls. I'm not sure if these flowers bloom all year round, or if it's particular to Spring, but they were gorgeous and made the palace look less formal and more of a home.
There was a spring-fed lake in the middle of the palace grounds. The pagoda in the middle looked like such a peaceful place to lounge around and read a book or embroider or whatever it was they did back in those days. Unfortunately, no one lives here anymore. Or maybe it's a good thing, because quite honestly, it didn't look like a very comfortable place to stay. Too heavy on the minimalist and zen and not enough of the creature comforts for my taste.

After the palace, and a quick stop in the National Folk Museum next door to the palace, I was too tired to do anymore, so I went back to the hotel. I was contemplating visiting the gym or the pool but was too lazy to do either (surprise, surprise :P). I fell asleep at 8pm that night. Jet lag sucks.

An afternoon in Insadong

My teammates and I spent the afternoon in Insadong yesterday. It's a charming part of town, where the streets are lined with art galleries, the occasional bookshops, tourist-kitsch shops, and little antique stores. It was a great place to wander, where we could duck into stores to avoid the on-and-off drizzle.

The main street is wide and filled with tourists but the side streets are charming and lined with little teahouses that smell like kimchi. In fact, the subway smells like kimchi too. Well actually, I think it smells like rotting cabbage, but my colleagues pretend not to see (or smell, as the case may be) the difference. I could spend hours wandering around here, venturing into small alleyways to find the singing businessmen that my guidebook tells me exist here. Unfortunately, we only stuck to the main street, although that in itself had plenty to hold our attention.

One of the street stalls was selling these little owls. I thought they were adorable, but I wonder what one would do with them. I think I'm too practical to simply use them as decoration - they would just sit around catching dust.

Another guy hadn't even set a blanket or an umbrella out for his wares. There were simply these little stone bowls filled with flowers. I loved the simplicity of it, though. Other shops had beautiful (but extremely expensive) Goryeo celadon for sale and a puzzling amount of wooden chopsticks, considering that the country usually uses metal ones. There were also beautifully lacquered boxes inlaid with mother of pearl, painted fans, and intricate bookmarks that I fell in love with.

Towards the end of the street, we stopped in a train-themed tea shop, complete with the telephone poles that line the sides of tracks and train seats. The only thing I didn't like about the place (and this is true of many Korean restaurants) was that people were allowed to smoke in the restaurant.

My job manager, Peter in his Al Gore '08 T-shirt

There was a huge variety of teas in the shop. My cinnamon tea was really fragrant and had pine nuts floating in it, but was too sweet. The ginger tea was interesting, but again too sweet. The best tea we tried was the rose tea that Peter ordered. It was subtly flavoured and had beautiful roses floating in the pot.
By the time we came to the end of the street, it was 4pm and we were starving. My teammates were heartily sick of Korean food by then, so we snacked on hot dogs (the western variety, not actual dog) and McDonalds. McDs Korea has a Harry Potter theme going on, so the staff were dressed in robes and wizards' hats. I thought it was really cute. Interesting things to try on the Korean McDs menu: Bulgogi burger! :)

Lap of luxury

After 14 hours on a plane, which didn't feel as long as I thought it would (being in business class might have had something to do with it), I arrived in Seoul at 4.30 am. The cab driver fleeced us as we drove past the sleeping city on the way to the hotel, but the Park Hyatt was a very pleasant surprise. The lobby, for one, is on the top floor, with floor to ceiling windows on three sides showing gorgeous views of the city. The room, for another, is the most luxurious room I have ever had the pleasure of staying in.


The room is decorated along minimalist lines with wood and stone everywhere. Electronic panels control everything from the lighting to the air conditioning and the curtains. The flatscreen TV comes with a DVD player and all the channels I could want. There is a small round table that is perfect for eating at and working on. There's also a fully equipped mini bar and a panel hidden in the wall produces a high-speed kettle when pressed. The closet can be accessed from both the room and the bathroom, which I find really cool.

The bathroom is gorgeous, and bigger than my room in New York. A temperature controller assures that the rain shower is always at the same temperature when I turn it on. The water pressure is amazing, and there is a mirror right by the shower, presumably for me to ponder all the faults of my body as I shower. The bathtub is deep and wide, although I haven't actually tried it, and there is a TV screen in the wall.

The vanity is fully equipped with everything you could think of, including, luckily, hair ties, which I forgot in New York. Best of all, the toilet seat is warmed, and the toilet comes with a built in bidet, complete with front, back, and oscillating functions.

The service in the hotel is amazing too. The iron I requested was delivered within minutes, and I get complimentary bottles of water whenever I request them (the tap water is not safe for consumption here, unfortunately).

The gym, which I've actually been using quite often (shock and awe!) is on the 23rd floor, again with floor to ceiling glass panels, allowing me to look out at Seoul as it wakes up. There is an infinity pool on the top floor, and a sauna in the ladies' locker room which I've yet to try.

The only drawback about this hotel is that its a little far from downtown Seoul. However, it's one subway stop from work, which is incredibly convenient. Unfortunately, we're thinking of moving to a Starwoods hotel, both for the points and because it's significantly cheaper than this place. We went to check out the Westin Chosun in downtown Seoul yesterday. The hotel comes with a driving range, putting practice, hot tubs, and a killer espresso machine (not that I care about this last feature). Unfortunately, it's about 40 minutes away by subway, which is already packed on a Saturday afternoon so I don't want to imagine the conditions during rush hour. Anyway, I'll keep you guys updated.

Environmental Footprint

This project has shot my environmental footprint to hell. In the span of six weeks, I will have

• flown about 35 hours
• drunk countless liters of bottled water because we can’t drink the tap water in Korea and Taiwan (incidentally, the polycarbonate bottle that I got from Whole Foods leaks – highly disappointing)
• Stayed in a hotel for six weeks straight, changing hotels with a frequency of between every two days and two weeks (think of the ridiculous amount of towels they put in the room, which I’m doing my best to make sure they do NOT change every day; of that vast expanse of ridiculously comfortable Egyptian cotton they have to wash every time I change rooms; of all the water the high-pressure rain shower uses; of the electricity needed to keep my toilet seat warm (oh such a luxury))
• Eaten shark’s fin soup because it was served at a client lunch and I couldn’t politely turn it down

Taking public transport to work in Korea and carpooling whenever we take a cab is not enough to soothe my conscience, I’m afraid.