This weekend, Jo and I traveled North to meet up with our American friends for a last hurrah since they are scheduled to leave Korea Wednesday to return to the USA.
We left Ulsan late Friday night on a five hour bus ride to Seoul and met up with Dave and Calvin at the bus terminal. Arriving at 3am left us only a few short hours to go for a drink before the bars closed...but like most good Weguks, we made the most of our time.
Saturday, when we finally got up, we spent the day walking around Seoul and enjoying the benefits of being in a metropolitan city ( thank you Starbucks). Late afternoon, the boys invited us to visit the American Base in Seoul. They had to pick up some supplies and it gave Jo and I a chance to do some grocery shopping (American style) on the base. I have to admit, it was a little of a culture shock being around so many foreigners and the lack of Korean writing on anything left me feeling a little disoriented. We went to the movie theatre on base (which was a bit of experience since they play the US national anthem before the movie complete with war scenes and images of young soldiers in the line of duty...hmmm... propaganda at its best). After the movie we caught the train north to Cheoncheong, where the boys live at Camp Page. Their base is much smaller then the one in Seoul, and due to guest restrictions, Jo and I had to leave by 1AM to go back to our hotel.
Interesting enough, our hotel only offered rooms where you are required to sleep on the floor. Very traditional Korean style..and surprisingly very comfortable.
Sunday Jo and I went shopping and to my delight actually found clothes that fit (being tall sucks when you are looking for clothes in Asia).
We met the boys for galbi and then cheesecake at a local cafe and then it was time for us to head back on our long journey home. The train to Seoul was packed and Jo and I had to stand most of the time, as there were no seats. However, we did meet a nice Ajeshi and his wife who plied us with Scotch and some Chinese alcohol (perhaps the strongest thing I have ever drank). As you might have guessed standing on the train became quite a challenge after a few shots. Seven hours on a train and then a bus got us home after 2am, but the trip was worth it. It was good to see the boys one last time and good to get away from Ulsan for the weekend. I posted some photos below for you to enjoy.
Will blog soon.
Ciao Colleen