Seolnal Vacation: Getting there

Date: 2/2/2011

For the Lunar New Year Holiday (Called Seolnal in Korean), my friends Sarah, Scott, and Katrina and I did an Adventure Korean trip to Phoenix Park Ski Resort.  We were going to spend 4 days at Phoenix Park, one of the most famous ski resorts in Korea and on Friday go to an Ice Festival.  I was super excited because I have never skied before and it was on my list of things to do in Korea.

But first, we had to get to the pick up spot.  So, Sarah and I headed up the day before (it was a 7 am pick-up so we stay the night at a hostel).  We figured that by leaving a day early, and in the middle of the day, we wouldn't be caught in the horrible traffic--or at least not as much.  Because Seolnal is No 1 or 2 of Most Important Holidays in Korea, everyone goes home to visit family.  Which makes the roads a giant nightmare.  A three hour trip home can turn into twelve--not joking.

We meet at noon and get on a bus with only 3 other people.  We take this as a good sign that the roads won't be too crowded.  We let Scott know we'll be in Seoul in a couple hours.  Scott had just gotten back from Japan--where he proposed to his girlfriend!  So we were excited to have dinner and catch up with him after his week long trip.

The first 2 hours were great.  We were cruising along, only barely hitting rough patched.  We were pretty excited, only 30 minutes to go.

And then...we got to Seoul.   We got in line for the exit ramp: seen below.

And we see the traffic: 

 We sat in the line for the exit ramp for over 30 minutes.  We moved maybe 10 feet in this time frame.  One of the passengers on the bus went up and talked to the bus driver and he was let off.  I'm thinking he actually had a real need, but then (30 minutes later, when we are traveling down the ramp at a snail pace) we see other people getting off buses.    Lucky sods.  They probably made it to the bus terminal faster than we did.

 We inch along the street.  This is the street that the central bus terminal is located at...it just is down the road basically.  It is maybe 3 blocks.  It took us over an hour to make it down this road.

I have never really seen officers directing traffic before (except maybe at a football game), but they were out in full force in front of the bus terminal.  Here are 7 men all responsible for directing traffic:

 WE MADE IT!

We actually didn't even get to the parking lot.  The bus driver said something in Korean and everyone (all two other people on the bus besides Sarah and I) starting packing up and getting off the bus.  So Sarah and I rushed off, pulled our bags out from under the bus, and headed off the to terminal.  But we were off the bus, which was a good thing because we were starting to get a little stir-crazy!

We meet Scott up in Itaewon--wanting to get some Western food.  We head to Geckos--which is an English pub.  We all order Fish and Chips, and Sarah and I split a Quesidilla.  Yes, we were hungry!  We didn't have lunch before getting on the bus and then it was late so, we were really hungry!

 This past Thursday was Sarah's birthday so we decided, after we got our food, that we wanted some drinks.  So I pop up and go up to the bar, looking for our waiter.  But I can't find him, so I slide up next to this Korean guy, smile and say, "hello!"  He looks over at me and gets this huge smile.  I tell him I want to order some drinks and he asks where my table is.  Then another waiter comes up and starts talking to us.  And I repeat, so they end up just walking me back to my table.  Sarah, Scott, and I  are suddenly attended to by 3 different 20-something Korean males, very keen on taking our drinks.

We spend the rest of the meal have excellent service by Wansu (or Jack Sparrow--his English name) and Danny.  Danny is 27 and Wansu is 20 and they clearly are having fun.  They basically circle our table, until we just engage them in coversation--and, in return, we get a Korean Language lesson for free.  

After learning that we are all English teachers, Wansu is quick to teach us "CHA-rae-ju-te CHA-ray-ra."  The accents are necessary.  Basically it is when one little boy is not behaving correctly, you tell him this and he will shape up.  I think the English approximation is "When I am nice to you, you be good boy for me!"  Or something like that.

It was a most entertaining meal.

We pick our luggage up from the lockers we stored them in and encounter some great EngRish.

 We make it to the Hostel and check in.  The manager, David, was very excited when we showed up because I think it had been a very slow day.

I am not feeling great at this point--a head ache and a small fever, I think, so I ask if I can get some water.  They show me to the kitchen and I notice the microwave.

I quickly take out my camera and take a photo of it:

Ah, Koreans...I love you.

When I come back down after talking to everyone in the room, I am randomly invited to a birthday party in the kitchen area.  It was a Korean girls birthday and I think her friend/boyfriend was working the night shift so they had a cake and wine.  But they had this huge cake and with only five of them, couldn't finish it.  So I find myself eating a Paris Bagette cake with chopsticks, playing some Guessing Games.

It is very hard for Westerns and Koreans to guess each other's ages.  I always guess wrong.  I seriously can't tell.  IT was this girl's 30th birthday (Korean), and I guessed 26.  But they thought I was 27.  Then Katrina and Sarah came down and we play another round of guessing.  No one gets anyone else's birthdays right.

Then we play, "How long have you been in Korea" guess game.  We totally school the night manager--who was kinda a jerk.  Katrina's been in Korea for 8.5 years.  He starts out guessing, "2 years?" Nope. "3?"  No.  "What?  Seriously?  Why?  5?"  Shake head. "What?  You really must have a lot of debt from school! 6?"  Nope.  "Are you married to a Korean?  7?"  No.  "What? How long?"  8.5 years.  And No, she doesn't have a lot of debt and she isn't married to a Korean.  There are more reasons than just men and money to stay in Korea--thank you very much!

We have a 7 AM pick up time, so we get ready for bed.  Which means I've been to Hongdae yet again without actually going to the clubs--which is what the area is famous for.  Guess another time, then! But I had 4 days of skiing to look forward!