My Travel Adventures

Our last day in Seoul started with a scenic view. We rode up the hill to the Bugak Palgakjeong, an octagonal pavilion to the north of the historical centre of Seoul. The weather was either cloudy or smoggy; either way, we could not see a whole lot that day, and distant Gangnam rose faintly behind thin milky curtains.

We undertook our return to Seoul by car, planning to get back at around six o’clock. The route inevitably traversed South Korea’s scenic Sobaek mountain range, which is pierced through and through by a vast collection of tunnels.

Our first day in Seoul was a hectic sprint through the most important sights of the city. Our guide – who went by the name Mr J – first took us to the museum of the Blue House, the residence of the South Korean president. Despite the fact that the grounds have been used for over a millennium, our guide (just like a close-by Chinese guide whom I happened to overhear) started the story at Japanese aggression, setting the tone for pretty much every subsequent stop. What became the president’s residence used to be the residence of the Japanese Governor General during the period of Japanese occupation between 1910-1945.

The reason we travelled everywhere by taxi yesterday was that the air conditioning in the family car stopped working and had to be taken to the mechanic. It eventually turned out this was a symptom of the entire cooling system being broken, but in any case, it was up and running today. Once again, Kelly’s uncle came to my aid, and after I exchanged goodbyes with a good part of Kelly’s family, he drove me to the airport, with Kelly and Yiding riding along to see me off.