Seoul searching

We are back in Seoul.  We took the ferry back from Jeju to Incheon which is the port about an hour away from Seoul, and then went back to Songghil's to collect all the useless things we left there when we skipped off around the countryside with backpacks weighing about half an ounce.

After we did a 6 month major repack, turning out all sorts of nooks and crevices in our bags, and then weighed our packs and ourselves.  My pack is 19kg, according to the scales, and Andy's 17kg; but he has just posted a load of stuff home  - sleeping bag, walking boots etc, and he did offer to take some of mine, but he might post that home too!

We sallied off to central Seoul to an area called I'taewon, to sell the collection of books I have built up.  The area is near the US Army base, mosque and lots of embassies and is very cosmopolitan, with nary a Korean face to be seen on the main street, except hawkers.  I felt slightly uncomfortable in the colonial atmosphere there, the shops all seemed to exist to cater to/extract money from the ex-pat community. 

We found a bookshop and I sold the books for what seemed to me to be a fair price, until we got a way down the street.  Andy asked how much and did some mental arithmatic (never my strong suit) and pointed out that we had been paid just over 25 quid for 3 books, and someone had probably mistakenly added an extra zero to the price.  Oops!  It paid for a slap up lunch at a local restaurant though, so we consoled ourselved that at least some of the profit went straight back into the local community, rather than the American who owned the bookstore.

After wandering around the backstreets for a bit, past small market stalls and the mosque, we decided to go to Dongdaemun, which is apparently the largest outdoor market in Asia, although Korea seems to have a penchant for claiming 'largest thingy in Asia', without too much conviction.  Andy was on the trail of some new walking sandals, his own having been worn down to nubbins by 6 months on the road.  Although it was evening, some of the market was still open, and Andy spent some time inspecting a selection of goods in a variety of shops without quite finding the ideal footwear. 

We cut our losses and headed to one of the huge high rise shopping malls to experience a 'real' Korean dinner - i.e. how the masses eat on a Friday night.  On the way up to the 9th floor I discovered that there was an entire floor given over to accessories - mainly hair ornaments.  These are big business in Asia, with an astounding variety in shops and stalls all over the place, and browsing often slows me done going anywhere.  Honestly though, I am being really restrained, at least until I get to China, where I am hoping they will be even cheaper!  Still, I succumbed to a huge dragonfly clip with a waggly tail.  It's lovely.

After dinner we legged it along Cheonggyecheon stream to pick up our packs and meet up with our new host; a lovely French Canadian teacher living in Sincheon.  I am impressed that we now have the energy to go for a brisk walk for an hour or so at the end of the day, and according to Songghil's scales, I have lost 2 1/2 stone on the trip so far.  From what to what I am not saying, but believe me, there's plenty to go yet!

Once again I am overwhelmed by the kindness and trust of our HC host, who gives us a key and settles us in wih all the necessary info to operate her appartment, including the fridge were the maple syrup is!  Roll on breakfast!