36. South Korea

sink to wash hands at Narita food court

I still had money left on my Suica card and since there were no lounges in my airport terminal (I was flying Jeju Air), I grabbed some food at the food court. My meal was excellent as expected, but what I was really impressed with was the little handwashing sink in the middle of the food court tables so that people could properly clean their hands before eating, very Japanese.

Narita airport food court

Unfortunately we were delayed and hit quite a lot of turbulence. We got into Seoul late and after clearing customs, everyone was rushing to machines to buy bus tickets. My hotel had recommended the bus as the best way to get there from the airport so I did go in search of the ticket office, but first I wanted to get money from an ATM so I found one but my card did not work. I found another but my card did not work there either. Finally I found a machine that would take my card. I then stood in line at the convenience store to buy a transit card. After all that, I located the bus ticket office and stood in line there.

nice airport decorations when arriving

these cool wall pictures move and walk

at the end of a long line for bus tickets

By that time, it’s 11:20pm and there are long lines everywhere: for the bus tickets, for the convenience stores, etc. At almost midnight I get to the front of the line and buy a $17 bus ticket and she tells me to go right away. I find the right line and the bus shows up. The people in front of me give the porter their luggage and get on the bus. I give him my luggage but as he is putting it away, the bus driver tells him the bus is full. A bunch of people behind me with no luggage have gotten on the bus first. How can they sell more tickets than seats? They tell me to go back to the ticket office.

Bus ticket counter very busy

A bunch of us go back, wait in the long line again and get refunds. How am I supposed to get there now? My line has stopped running. It is still pandemonium at the airport with frantic people trying to figure out how to get anywhere, and still long lines at the bus ticket office and the convenience stores.

Uber with my new friends from India

I look at the Naver app and I can catch a 1am bus to a different destination and walk 15 minutes to my hotel once I get there so I go back in line and get that ticket. Then I ran into a group of 3 that I had talked to about getting a cab with. They were out of luck with the buses as well. The taxi drivers were offering to take us for $100 but we declined as we could get Uber for about $80. I got my bus ticket refunded (basically I skipped the line and handed her my ticket which she said she would do later…refunds happen a lot) while they tried to get an Uber, but for some reason theirs wasn’t working so I used mine. We got to their hotel at 1:15am and mine about 10 minutes later. All in all it cost me $19 for the shared ride plus another $9 to my hotel, much better than paying $80 on my own! It felt so good to finally get to my room after milling about and standing in lines at the airport for 2 hours!

Hotel in Seoul

subway map on top, next stop and current stop

The next morning I got up and took the subway to my face treatment place. Korea is much like a younger cousin of Japan. Some things are the same, others are different. They drive on right side of the road, not left. Their subway is similarly efficient in that there are signs guiding you to transfer to the next line and sequential numbers for each station on a line, which made it much easier to get around since I had “practiced” in Japan. I panicked for a bit when I saw #130 as door closed so I knew my stop was next but it wasn't the one I expected.

station number on doors

It turns out I looked at the "next stop" sign which was next to the current stop. They also have the yellow guide tiles for the blind as Japan does. They run which is rude in Japan. For example people rushed to the bus ticket machines at the airport, which should have been a sign to make that a priority.

helpful wall guidance in Subway for transfers

first laser treatment

I went to Amoa 84 to get laser treatment to have age spots removed. My aunt had gone there and it was only $800 for top notch treatment! Mine actually ended up being less at $600 after my tax rebate. Korea is well known for their face care. I met with my consultant who took closeup pictures of my face for discussion with me. We looked through my results and while I was secretly congratulating myself for being in the “normal” range for my age group in all categories (for example pore size) I got the impression that wasn’t good enough. She very diplomatically said “there is room for improvement.”

my facial

We discussed the treatments I had requested and how to take care of my face afterwards, which included wearing sunscreen as my face skin would be very sensitive. The care instructions included not being out in the heat, putting patches on my face for 3 days or 2 weeks depending, and wearing sunscreen. I asked how long I should wear sunscreen for since I usually don’t do anything for my face besides wash it when I shower in the morning. She looked at me apparently confused then said “well (pause) you should wear it always. (another pause) I wear sunscreen every day even when it rains.” Then she decided I needed more guidance and had me take a picture of some face serum to show the pharmacist so I could buy that and apply it to my face for the first few weeks.

about to do my facial

squeeze doll

She took me to my prep room. First they give you the first laser treatment and then a facial, which was very nice. Then the main laser treatment: they warned me I would smell burning. They also gave me a pillow doll to hold which confused me at first but later realized it was to squeeze for the pain. There were sharp sparks like tiny firecrackers. Did they hurt? Yes! However they were over so quick by the time my brain registered the pain it was gone. Then came tiny flashes like lightning or electric shocks which hurt much less. After that I felt a heat wand that occasionally shot tiny tongues of heat which didn't hurt at all. Next were small freezing bursts of air but only a handful of those. After a couple more electric flashes we were done. Now my face was starting to hurt from the burning a bit and they took me back to the facial room and asked if I wanted 10 minutes of a cooling gel. Yes please. After that they stuck some sticky patches on my face, put some cream on the rest of my face and I was done. I had lots of splotchy red marks all over but it was only a little painful more uncomfortable than anything else and only in a couple spots.

right after surgery in the rain looking for food

7-11 in Seoul

After finding a pharmacist and buying my required items, I found a 7-11 to get some snacks and hot pepper paste for a friend. I was getting hungry so I looked up good lunch places. I tried lunch at a fancy Korean BBQ place but they said the set meal is not enough for 1 person and I should order 2. At 39,000 won, two would be $54 for lunch! I left there and went to the cheaper hot pot place. I crossed the street. It had a green 6 so I ran for it. It got down to 0 and I was only 2/3 way across. There is no flashing red or intermediate color. At 0 the other direction turns green. I saw the bus start to roll forward and thought how screwed I am sitting in the middle of the lanes but he stopped and the other lanes let me pass. Another stupid tourist learns how the traffic lights work.

fancy restaurant that required 2 orders

food court

I had trouble finding the hot pot restaurant, I needed to ask two people directions, the concierge at Intercontinental and the info desk at the mall where it's located. I finally found it, sat down and tried to order but while the menu specifically said you must order 1 set per person, there is also apparently a minimum of 2 sets per table, so as a single person I had to order 2 sets just for me. I left there also. The food court was right there and I ordered a yummy looking steak rice bowl and found a spot to sit at their counter which was quite full. Then I looked at myself in the mirror. I had blood dripping down my lip and a pus area partially exposed. I looked like the night of the living dead. No wonder the restaurants tried to get me to leave, probably making up rules about ordering extra portions!

I finally got lunch at the food court

looking like the night of living dead

I stayed in the rest of the day as I wanted to give my face time to heal without running around everywhere. As I blogged I watched a variety of TV shows on one of the handful of English language channels. I watched Gold Rush (about guys digging with giant machines trying to find and extract gold), Homestead Rescue (about a hopeless couple failing to homestead and an expert couple coming in to help them figure things out and build/move things around), and Dirty Jobs (about the show host trying different jobs where he gets dirty). The next day I heard a noise by the window. It must be raining hard. Nope. It was hail! I tried to take pictures of it but I took too long to frame the shot and it melted. I got some but there was much more than in the pictures.

Myung Dong Street

I headed off for Meongdong shopping street for street food and some shopping. It rained off and on and hailed again once while I was out. The wind came up for a bit as well and flipped my umbrella inside out a few times. Crazy weather!

Korea has the best facial sunscreen

I bought Korean sunscreen at Olive Young, a skincare store. The sunscreen here is much better than ours and not greasy, which explains why people wear it all the time. I got a chicken skewer and dumplings from a couple who had a food cart for $3.50 each. As I ate, they asked where I was from. When I said California and gave my standard disclaimer that I do NOT like Trump, they agreed. The wife said that during the election, “Everyday we pray for Harris (to win). I don't understand (how Trump won)“ and she made a mad face.

my street food part 1

There were food carts all around the street and cross streets. I also tried egg bread, which is like cornbread with an egg baked in for only $1.40. Next was a pastry square with a fish stamped in it but thankfully it was not fish and not savory. It was crispy, delicious, and flaky like filo bread with custard inside though there were other sweet filling options. I also got tempura shrimp for $3.50 and bulgogi for $7. Sadly, I didn't get to try the cheese sausage corn dog which strangers said was good, but I could not eat another bite. Even the bulgogi I had to get to go for later.

nice Korean couple that also hates Trump and has great street food

Egg bread

delicious pastry

it was so windy my umbrella kept flipping

more street food

Myung Dong Street

SF Giants games on TV in Korea

I stayed in at night and packed. I watched sf Giants game and it's time delayed so they cut out all the boring parts like warmups, pitching changes, time between pitches. Yesterday we beat the Yankees but today we lost. The reason they show so much is that a Korean player JH Lee plays for the Giants.

JH Lee from Korea hits a home run!

He definitely got more air time but he played great hitting a home run in the win yesterday! Despite having bought quite a bit from the pharmacy, 7-11, Olive Young, and Daiso, I still didn't have enough to come remotely close to filling my duffel bag. So I just packed my suitcase and the Disney store shoulder bag. The Disney bag is all light stuff so I'll carry it on along with my backpack. I checked with the concierge and she gave me a sheet with the bus timetable for the airport tomorrow. It picks up right across the street. I'm betting that at 7am they aren't crowded as I don't have the energy to buy a ticket online. They come every 12 minutes so I the first ones full I'll buy a ticket for the next one.

my face after 2 days

lounge buffet

The next morning my face looks even better. I catch the bus with no issues and it is indeed the best way to and from the airport IF you can get a seat on the bus and it’s not midnight. I go to my favorite lounge and get some good food and drinks. They have the coolest beer tap. The beer glasses are strange with these round plugged holes in the bottom.

odd beer bottle

Then you put the beer on a beer filler and it fills up with cool led lights! (see video)

The flight home is uneventful and I catch the bart and bus home to see Cosmo, who meows at me for a full minute before he lets me pet him. Then he proceeds to meow off and on for a half hour just to let me know that I should not leave him again. He’s going to be pissed when I go to Africa in 9 days.

lounge dessert