Seoul Brother No. 1

Well, here I am in Seoul! It's already been an eye-opening experience. First off, the city is much more Westernized than I expected. Certainly Seoul is a huge international city, but its ascent into the digital stratosphere (largest broadband penetration in the world) seems to have come with the consumerist tendencies of the West: gigantic shopping malls, SUVs, digital phones for everyone over the age of five, high gas prices, etc. Yesterday afternoon (Saturday) included visits to two huge shopping centers, which were jam-packed with people buying everything from clothes and toys to Starbucks coffee and green tea ice cream. Sure, there are visual reminders of the Asian culture: civic buildings shaped like old palaces, traditional colorful Korean fabrics in the shops, and the smell of kimchi everywhere. (Like, EVERYWHERE.) Speaking of, the food here is really cheap and REALLY good.

As for the negative, the traffic here is bad. Horrible. Worst I've ever seen. It took me two hours to get to my hotel from the airport in Friday afternoon rush hour traffic. I've since heard a statistic that there are 15 MILLION cars in this city. It makes any jaunt across the Han river a huge pain in the ass. There are so many cars, you can't even cross most of the big avenues at street level -- you must go underground or find another way. That all being said, the subways are super clean. In fact, all public areas of the city are spotless. They employ people to wipe down the handrails in the train station!

Some other quirks include: heated toilet seats, awesome video arcades, and a chain of French juice bars called "Le Crapeau" (Hee, hee!). Also, barber shop poles indicate where you can get a trim...and some trim! (Shave and a haircut with a happy ending.)

My hotel is dope. There is a bathroom shower room (not a stall, a ROOM) with a "rain" device installed in the ceiling. Also a high-pressure wand, which I turned on by accident this morning and nearly flooded the closet. Everything is my room is controlled by touch panels on the wall: lights, curtains, etc. One wall is floor-to-ceiling glass, with an impeccable view. Turner knows how to spoil us rotten, that's for damn sure.

I've already taken some nice pictures but I'm doing some more touring today. Hopefully I will be able to upload them soon. I'm feeling lazy and jet lagged. More soon!