Well, there
was no bride waiting for me at Incheon airport, just some bloke with a taxi. He
was a very nice chap however, and he whisked me off to a hotel which became
home for the next two weeks.
During those
two weeks the pressure was on – I had to find a flat in that time.
That sounds simple
enough but the catch is that my company had to pay about
£10,000 ‘key money’ (deposit) up
front for the year so there is no moving once
you’re in. I received an email from one
‘Wonho Kwak’ and almost deleted it as
spam. Luckily, I looked closely before doing so.
I’m glad I did - he was the estate
agent assigned to help me to find somewhere
to live.
I found my
flat on the first day of looking … a bright and airy new flat in a quiet
area.
I’ve never known
a place to be so quiet at night. It also has an amazing view
of the local hill from the
roof (assuming
you don’t mind looking at the neighbour’s washing). It came
completely empty. Most flats are let unfurnished here so I had to go looking
for a bed and
well, absolutely everything. Spending a day in IKEA is a joy I can barely
describe.
It’s in a very hilly area called Itaewon. The hills here would make a Cornish
village
proud. To avoid the worst of it, most roads have been built snaking
around the
side of the hills
but some just go straight up, making the map of the
area look like a plate of spaghetti.
Just getting to and from home every day is
getting me very fit.
view from
the centre of
Seoul looking north.
I decided to head for the one in the background and have been there
three times
so far. The views
over the city are amazing.
From this
mountain you can look across at a 200m rock face that is very popular with climbers. If
you look closely at the ‘bird’s beak’ feature you’ll see a climber having a particularly
exciting time.
I also headed to another mountain
It has a huge rock perched on the top which is just begging to be climbed.
I can get to all of this in about an hour from my flat. I’m getting to like Seoul.
*****
I’d like to
take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Chuseok. This is the Korean
Thanksgiving
and I’m particularly thankful for a 4-day weekend. During this
time, families get
together and give each other gifts.
And what is
the gift of choice at this time?
Spam.
Spam?
Yes, spam.
You can buy
gift sets everywhere and a small fortune is spent on them every
year.
It’s not the
only gift of course. There are other gift sets with tuna, salmon and
various sweets, but
spam seems to be popular. Apparently, it was introduced
here by the Americans
during the Korean war and caught on.
*****
I have been issued with an Alien Registration Card. I know many of you have
thought that I am for years, but now it’s official.
*****
All things
considered, my move to Seoul has gone smoothly and I’m enjoying life
here. I’ll be back with
another blog soon.
