Sunday 29 October 2023

Seoul to Los Angeles to Tucson

Well, look at this: today is Sunday and this blog will catch me up and be the last before getting home. So while I wait to be picked up by my driver to the airport, I will return to yesterday.

Saturday 28 October:  Seoul

I don't plan to do much today since I have to stuff all my dirty clothes and all my paraphernalia into two small suitcases and one smaller carry-on. I will be wearing all the clean clothes that remain--I guess I planned it just right.

So I will get the last drops from my transit pass this morning. I have learned to use the system quite well, and have ridden on five of the nine lines. A good subway map for planning and counting stations until my destination or transfer point is all I need. Station announcements are made in Korean and English and appear in both languages on digital screens easily seen. The screens also indicate on which side of the train the doors will open. Most stations of this very deeply-tunneled system have elevators and escalators, but as I have mentioned before, there are very long walks to reach them.

My first stop is another outdoor shopping street that pretty much offers the same fancy goods as the others I have visited, but does have some quirky emblems. 

Since it is a beautiful day again--no rain at all since arriving in Asia--and the morning haze is lifting, I take a taxi to the cable car that carries people to the top of the hill in Namsan Park, which is also the base for going up to the highest point in Seoul, Seoul Tower.

Once I purchase a ticket I discover there is a long line and a wait of about an hour. Wouldn't be too bad except that the wait winds up three flights of stairs to the boarding station. Then after the cable car reaches its end there is another very long flight of stairs to reach the base of the tower. However, there are plenty of good views from this height so I will forgo a visit to the top of the tower.

While the view from up here looks bright and shiny, the impression is somewhat deceiving. The newest structures, which I have shown in previous blogs, are uniquely designed and interesting, but most of the urban architecture is plain and without much visual interest. And on street level, the city is a mix of bright new construction and decaying low-rise markets and apartments, which are not very pleasant to walk through.

I spend the rest of the day finishing my packing and getting ready for my trip home tomorrow. So there will be one more blog once I get home to Tucson, detailing my adventures on the final phase of this month-long journey.

Instead of waiting on another long line to take the cable car back down and then another taxi to the hotel, I catch a bus that takes me very close to my destination.

Saturday 28 October:  Seoul toTucson

My pre-arranged car and driver are waiting for me at the appointed place at 10:30am. My flight to Los Angeles leaves at 2:35pm, so even though the airport is about an hour's drive, I should have plenty of time. I am heading to a different and larger airport, Incheon International, rather than the one I arrived at, Gimpo International. So I'm hoping there won't be the immigration delays I suffered last week. 

There is a lot of traffic in the city, but once we reach the highway, my driver enjoys pushing his vehicle to its limits--sometimes driving 120k/h in zones where the speed limit is 80k/h.

We reach the airport--like the one in Osaka built on an artificial island--in about an hour. Along the way, I remind the driver that I need the terminal for Korean Airlines. But when we arrive he drops me at Terminal 1, which is for every other airline, but not for Korean. When I enter the building a helpful employee tells me I must take a 20-minute shuttle to the other terminal. That news is bad enough, but when I get to the shuttle, I find that I have to drag my luggage up three steep steps just to get on the bus. Fortunately other folks waiting to g4et on the bus help me with everything getting on--and getting off at Terminal 2.

After that diversion, things go much more smoothly. Check-in at Korean Airlines is very easy and the agent makes sure my bags will go directly to Tucson from Los Angeles, although I will go through customs at LAX. The plane is a double-decker Airbus 380 and carries a big load of passengers. I am flying in "Privileged Class"--the airline term for  Business Class--and have not only a separate jetway from other passengers and a full lie-down seat, but special fast lanes through security and immigration (another quick biometric face and passport reading).

The 11-hour flight goes as quickly as possible, with lots of good food (dinner and breakfast), and a four-hour nap. Travel is very smooth and we land on-time at 9:45am Los Angeles time. It is still Sunday, meaning we land five hours earlier than when we took off from Seoul (I will never understand that). I have a four-hour layover until my flight to Tucson, but I arrive on time just after 4pm, where Will is waiting at the airport.

It's been a great trip and I have lots more photos to share. So I will be posting some additional blogs during the next week or so.

Thanks for keeping up.

Sailing from Seattle

HAL's ms Westerdam Sails to Juneau

Docking at Juneau

The Market in Kushiro, Japan

Riding the Shinkansen from Yokohama to Kyoto

Temple Gate in Kyoto

Akiko and Me in Osaka (First Visit)

Night Lights of Osaka (Second Visit)

Seoul Skyline

Saturday 28 October 2023

Seoul

It's still Saturday (evening) and I have finished packing for the trip home tomorrow. My pre-ordered car will pick me up at the hotel at 10:30am for the 30-45 minute ride to Incheon International Airport--not the same one at which I arrived. My flight to Los Angeles leaves at 3:30pm, so I should have plenty of time at the airport.

Since my chores are done and there is absolutely nothing for me on Korean tv--only one English language station from Australia that shows mostly sports and nature programming--I'll try out another blog before hitting the bed.

Friday 27 October

I don't know much about K-Pop, Korean youth culture, but I decide to see what it's all about. This youth culture is mostly located in the Gangnam section of the city. Besides being known for K-Pop, Gangnam is also the newest high-end neighborhood, with expensive housing, innovative architecture, and Seoul's trendiest places. It is also the location of an important Buddhist temple.

This visit takes me across the river that divides the city for the first time. The subway line from my hotel rises from underground to cross a bridge (along with auto traffic), and then goes underground again.

I stop for a visit to Bongeun-sa Buddhist temple, plunked right in the midst of the all the ritzy corporate and mercantile excesses.

Temple Main Gate

One of Four Statues of Kings Within the Main Gate

Main Temple Building (left) and Wooden Window Screen (right)

The Temple Stupas Stand Up Against the High-Rise Blasphemy

Across the street from the temple, COEX is a massive conference and shopping center. Next to COEX stands a building of innovative artistic design by Daniel Libeskind.

Retail stores in Gangnam also exhibit innovative design features:

The more K-Pop friendly territory in Gangman is centered on K-Star Street, another shopping Mecca specializing in what the trendiest youths seem to want. One branch of Hyundai Department Store is ready for Christmas.

Right near my hotel is Seoullo 7017, an overpass turned pedestrian walkway and garden. I ride the long escalator up (and then down) to capture some photos of the neighborhood around Seoul Railway Station.

And so ends Friday.

Saturday 28 October 2023

Seoul

Koreans love shopping. Given the fact that every building has an underground shopping center, that there is a major market every few blocks, and that pop-up shops are everywhere (including the passages in subway stations), it seems shopping is pretty much all they do. Oh, except for drinking coffee and eating pastries. There are at least four or five coffee shops on every block; you can't walk 10 minutes without reaching another Starbuck's.

Thursday 26 October

Today I visit the Dongdaemun area, another location for major shopping, but also the location of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Park (2007-14), designed by the late "star" architect, Zaha Hadid. Shaped more like a flying saucer than a building, the aluminum-clad structure is too large to fit into a single photograph.

The building houses a number of cultural institutions and design studies. For two weeks it hosts "Seoul Design 2023," an exhibit of newly-designed, sustainable products.

All that culture makes me hungry again, so I wander around the side streets of Dongdaemun with restaurants lined up side by side. I go in for a large Italian lunch:  Chicken Caesar Salad and Pasta Pomodoro:

After all that food there is nothing else to do but visit more shopping streets (special note: I do not buy anything; I do not need anything--although the crafts are quite lovely). You will also note that I have said nothing about native Korean food. I don't have anything to say because the dish I was willing to try, Korean barbecue, is usually served to at least two persons. Although you probably think I can eat for two, the restaurants don't see it that way.

So, with some difficulty, I find my way to the Insa-dong shopping street; highly recommended by my guide book, but mostly shops selling women's cosmetics (big business here). Time to head back to the hotel.

And so ends another day.