22 hours in Seoul

My time in Seoul was either the longest lay-over or the shortest trip in Korean history. I had booked an airport guest house before leaving Amsterdam, and was greeted by one of its representative shortly after landing around 11am. The guest house is literally 5 minutes from the airport, and is a fantastic place to stay! It is normally rented out to airport employees who live too far from the airport to commute. It was located on the penthouse, very spacious, clean, with a kitchenette and an ensuite bathroom. After a much-needed shower, I jumped into the airport/city shuttle. Struggling to stay awake for the hour-long trip, I finally get off in downtown Seoul. Starved, I looked around for a few minutes and found a family-run restaurant just off a main street. With my best Korean accent, I ordered a bibimbap, a fantastic mix of meat, rice, vegetables and an egg on top. I’ve had bibimbap in Montreal and Toronto in the past, and was highly impressed by how authentic they were, after having the “real thing”. I therefore highly recommend “The Korean House” on Queen Mary by Decarie in Montreal or the Korean BBQ place on Queen Street by Peter Street in Toronto.

I then jumped onto the Seoul Tour Bus, taking me around town to see the main attractions. It was a little disappointing, since all I could see was the gates to the palaces etc. I finally got off at the Seoul Tower, which was under renovations… It is, however, located on a hill about 500m high, offering impressive views of the city. I then boarded the next bus and headed to Italewon, the hip district in Seoul. I missed the stop, however, so I got off at the next one, which was at a hotel. I saw a couple hailing a cab and asked them where they were going, and whether we could share. Turns out they were from Montreal, but teaching English in Korea…. Small world, very small world….

I walked around Italewon for a while and had a fantastic rooftop Korean BBQ overlooking the neighbourhood. I then had a few pints with people from various nationalities at Gecko’s, an expat joint. I then headed back to Incheon for a restful night. I was extremely impressed with the friendliness and efficiency of the service throughout my stay in Korea, which was refreshing after suffering from African and Dutch service for a while… I would very much like to return to Korea for a longer stay. By the way, one of the main attractions is visiting the DMZ, or demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas. Too much to see, too little time!