Here We Go Again

14/15112023

Its been a while, I am reviving the blog once again to keep my loved ones, and other interested in my life abreast with our goings on abroad.

We have come back to Seoul.
Long time readers will remember Laura and I came to Seoul on a couple-night stopover on our way to China, and realized it deserved more attention. So here we are, admittedly COVID delayed our travelling, but it has been like 7 years since we were last here.

So this post is being written retroactively, but it covers the travel day, so there wasnt much going on anyways.

we flew on Delta, the food was korean-esque airline food, so really not that much to write about. I did learn that on most international flights one can just saunter back to the service area and ask for more beer, and they give it to you? so thats cool.

We left Seattle at 1020 local, and arrived in Seoul at 1600 local the next day, we rented a little 4G hotspot for this trip so we have internet, which gives us plenty of flexibility compared to previous international trips, and given the rest of the day (and now today) with full blown phone connectivity, I dont think I will go back to sniping wifi out of hotel lobbies and subway stations to plan my day.

Laura and I also argued a bit about how to use an ATM for pulling some Won (with 10,000 KRW = 7.75USD right now), but ultimately got our cash.

We took the slow train to Seoul proper, which was really just a subway that stopped at normal stops through from ICN into city center, it took about 50 minutes, and cost about 4.50USD per person, which is pretty close to what Seattle's public transit costs in time and money, except no one on the Korean metro I didnt see anyone nodding out, and no one smelled as though they had soiled themselves, so it was a more pleasant ride here than at home.

Our hotel is in the Insadong neighborhood, which while walking around to find the spot, we learned is a littly artsy, bar restaurant area. After dumping our stuff at the hotel we went into a narrow poorly marked alley for dinner, ( https://www.google.co.kr/maps/place/Namdosikgaek/data=!4m7!3m6!1s0x357ca3b397df762d:0x102ad06588e4b8ee!8m2!3d37.5742358!4d126.9839719!15sCgtSZXN0YXVyYW50c1oNIgtyZXN0YXVyYW50c5IBEWtvcmVhbl9yZXN0YXVyYW504AEA!16s%2Fg%2F11h3l3fs06?hl=en&entry=ttu )

We got a Beef Jiggae and "kimchi omelette" which was less omelette, and more quiche. Both were pretty good.

After dinner we went to a Rocky (as in the boxer) themed bar that was blasting american pop-rock circa 2007 music, we went here hoping for some kind of local or craft beer, but wound up drinking a Cass anyways.

After dinner and drinks we went home and went to sleep.

Tomorrow (which is today as I write this) we are going to the Demilitarized Zone so there will be more to write in here, and more eaten to write about.

Didn't see Santa....

Ok, let's see if I remember how to do this.

08052019

Day 0

Easy flight out of Seattle. We never had a night time. With flying out at 1550 local to Seattle, and arriving at 0600 local to Reykjavik, and traveling around the North Pole we never saw the sin actually set.

We were sitting on the wrong side of the plane, so we didn't get any pictures, but it was pretty neat.

While it seems like we should be travelling East to get to Iceland, we just kind of continuously flew North.

I'll post later today when we complete the day with what we did.

Better Living Through Science

22/231016

So laura and I began our adventure through East Asia. We packed enough socks and underwear to last us about 14 days, which will be plenty because we are traveling for like 65 days.

Pictured above: me doing final checks and packing, and Sicily "helping" at 0745 departure day.

Anyways we left O'Hare at like 1240 local Saturday, flew for 13 hours, and arrived at Tokyo Narita at 1600 local on Sunday.

Firstly let me tell you the future is now. This plane, instead of having the shutter blinds like every other of the hundreds of planes I've been on, had done kind of electronic/chemical opacifying film.

It was bananas, you could adjust it by varying opaquenesses, and it could be controlled centrally. That is cool, because then when it is night time (or should be nighttime cause you are flying faster than the day is pissing) there isn't some asshole sitting next to you letting the blazing-thin-atmosphere-filtered sun into the otherwise pleasantly dim cabin. The captain or head steward/was can make it dark for everyone. It was kind of bluish which is why these pictures look extra blue.

( For you to learn, nano tech is great
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_glass )

Those are some mountains in Alaska/whatever Canadian territory is right there ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada ). They were beautiful, I've flown over the Continental US Rockies and they were cool, these seemed so much larger and remote.

When we finally got to Narita, I immediately noted their dedication to safety, being a former safety officer the US Army, I certainly appreciated it.

Just look at these professionals, the chock block went in immediately, on both sides of the wheels, everyone had a hard hat on, and not just a Reflective Hi-vis belt, or a sash, a whole vest apparatus.

First order of business, get localv monies. Too easy, I've pulled cash out of every country once been to, lil Wisconsin educators credit union hasn't failed me yet. It did, the ATM wouldn't take that or our capital one cards, all of which called and cleared for overseas use. Laura has a card that worked, but forgot the exchange rate, she pulled out 1000 yen, a little less that 10USD.

That won't even pay for our train into the city. Luckily we find a 7-11ATM that my educators card worked in I pulled out larger sums of money and away we went.

Anyways, narita is well outside the city so we had to take a train in. We got our tickets for the express train, the ticket guy said "not the first train" Roger I got it, cool not the first train.

So we got on the first train. The train ticket guy informed, us 20 miles from the city and 10 miles from the airport, we were on the wrong train but said if we give him more money is all good. Basically he charged us the difference in the price from the express, to the super awesome train we were on.

It came out to 25ishUSD each, but it did get us there in like 30 min instead of 85.


The train dumped us off very near the hotel. Not as near as we had originally thought, but close ebough. I say that because there is a hotel from the same company with 2/3rds the same name as ours that we walked into, and they sent us on our way to the right one.

We get to our hotel, and due to some fuckup on hotel.com part the hotel is showing the reservation as cancelled.

We tried to call hotels.com, didn't work. The hotel fortunately still had space and could take us. But we would have to pay because they never got money from hotels.com despite our having paid hotels.com in full.

The hotel was going to charge us ¥27800 which is roughly $275 which is $40 less than what we paid hotels.com for the space. We paid it, and hotels.com refunded the fee, we were already primed with our credit card company ready to dispute the charges if hotels.com was gunna get ugly about it. It never came to that.


We got our room, played on our phones a little and hit the streets for ramen, because laura be lovin the ramen.

Webwent to and ichiran place around the corner. These places are great, they have ramen and that's it on the menu. You can make it more spicy or garlic or oily or extra time noodles or an egg or what have you, but you chose this on a card, then go inside and pay a vending machine, then hand the ticket to a person, as you sit in a single person booth, with blinders. Kinda like those study desks in college I heard about but never uses because I never went to the library, ever. I digress, they give youbyour food and drop a little shade so you see no one or nothing but the ramen in front of you. Then you eat.

Now we are home, laura is asleep. And im deliriously tired, and writing this on ny phone.

It's a little narrativey and less substantive that usual, but I'll do better soon I promise.

Also welcome back, read my old posts to date yourself till I can express some of ny initial impressions of Japan and Tokyo and the Wine park area.

First Post, not entirely sure how this works

So, after co-op ended, I packed my shit, and went back to Milwaukee for a week, packed more, and headed back to Boston for 48 hours before the whole group experience. Touched down in Boston, and my infamous once-every-four-to-six-weeks-flu-like symptoms kicked in. Luckily its hot, and I feversweated it all out.


On much more official business, I am well into the Holbrookes book, should have it done before touchdown in Belgrade, I just need to find a copy of it in Boston that doesn't belong to a library.


Overall excited to be heading out