20K and a Year Away

We made it to the Soju museum and there were, indeed, shots at the end but we did not partake. After our 4-mile walk in the sun and our tour of the museum, giving 46% alcohol to the 13-year-old seemed like a bad idea. We got to see quite a bit of the other side of the city. It was an interesting walk through the commercial area to a very industrial area. It is a good thing they had one of the brown tourist attraction directional signs or we would not have known we were in the right neighborhood. We did see a lot of things to do another day and saw a lot of plastic food representations of local dishes to try. I am not even sure if we tried any of them…

We went to the Hahoe Village – another UNESCO heritage site. The whole village is included. It is really neat to see the thatched and tiled roofs. Our tour guide told us the thatch is for commoners and the tile is for higher-ranking individuals. The best thing about this village, I thought, is that people live there and carry on their modern lives in the same houses and structures that have been there for generations. There are modern conveniences visible everywhere, like satellite dishes and wires for internet and power, but it still looks pretty cool. We saw the mask dance while we were there. Several things happened at the mask dance… First, we were fake peed on by a cow-costumed dance duo, three times. Second, the butcher-mask-clad dancer killed the peeing cow, cut off its testicles, and then offered them to us with a big, “Hello!.” And, finally, Matilda was hit up for a donation by the widow-mask-clad dancer because, as a widow, she had no one to take care of her. He thanked her for the donation after the show – all of the dancers are men.

We also went on a little excursion to Confucian Land. This is an entire complex dedicated to teaching people Confucian life and beliefs. We took a bus to get there, it is way out of town in an area that was built for tourists with a zoo and an arboretum, and after we got off the bus, we found out it was closed. I think Confucious said to check the schedule before you go anywhere… but I could be mistaken. We wandered around the area – because everything was closed, not just Confucian Land – to see what else was there. We did a little hike up a hill and looked around. Some women were taking advantage of the benches to have a little nap in the outdoors. We were just going to wait for the bus to go by again, but it was not going by for a loooong time! Matilda suggested we go to the cafe – which was the only thing open – and get a coffee while we wait. What she was really saying was, Mom, you need a coffee and a sit-down. We got drink treats and tried to decipher the bus schedule. When we finished our drinks, we wandered out to the stop and still had no clue when it was coming, so I used my Uber app and got a taxi. The guy was there in 9 minutes and had us home in less than 10 minutes. Man, why didn’t we do that earlier?!?

For our last day there, Matilda’s co-teachers took us out for bulgogi dinner. It was delicious. Well, most of it was. I was not fond of the honey-mustard cold noodles and don’t think I will get the cold noodle soup again. It wasn’t bad, just not something I think I would want again. It is, according to the teachers, one of the most popular dishes in South Korea.

For our last day, Axel and I hugged Matilda goodbye and took the KTX train back to Seoul. We did our first night’s adventure in reverse, and, thanks to the KTX, faster. We stayed at a hotel near the airport since we had to be there three hours before our flight at noon. The subway station to the airport was right across the street from our hotel, which made it a super simple process the next day. We slept in as long as we could then grabbed our stuff and started the process to go home. We had our negative Covid tests uploaded on our airline app and all our paperwork filled out. We were able to drop our luggage and, after a stamp for our names being different on our boarding passes and passports, we were through security and immigration and off to sit for two and a half hours at our gate. We left Incheon, South Korea at 12;30pm and arrived in Portland, Oregon at 10:30am the same day. We are officially back from the future.

I have already set a flight watch for prices to go back. The tricky part is figuring out when I will be able to do that after I start this new job. I am sure I can swing it! HA! Matilda has already sent a link to 100 things you must see in South Korea… I think I am going to need more time off!