27/9/2002 SEOUL SOUL! Greetings from Seoul. The Asian Association for Sportt Management Congress was a big surprise! right fm beginning, every day was a surprise. u know nobody picked us up from the airport? ya, we waited 2 hrs & finally, called up the hotel, nobody made a reservation for us & we ended up taking an hr public bus to the Olympic Parktel hotel. WELCOME TO SEOUL! of coz, more surprises to come. on second day, they packed us off to Busan for this Scientific Congress which we didn't know we were attending. aha. then they left us there to return to Seoul on our own. Addy didn't want to make himself more confused and so, remained in Busan. I found my way to the Railway station with a Jap friend & took too-too-train for 4-half hrs back to Seoul. My cheapskate motel is ok lah..juz lock everything tight lor. but i suppose anyone can give a slight kick & the door will fall. i slept well in the motel after all & felt used to it aft one night. aha. it's ok coz location's best!! Yes, now i found out many nice places to go...i've planned my itinery & am very happy! i'm juz opp to this really happening shopping area which i only found out tis aftn. i ventured there for lunch & didnt expect it to be so happening as it looked boring fm the street. aha. was i wrong. anyway, last night aft i got outta internet shop, i cont shoppin in that Namdaemon street market. i was trying to buy a good & cheap leather jacket. in my 2nd shop, this guy was really nice & striked up conversation. it was the same one that really fit me & really good leather (cannot burn when u light a fire on it & very smooth). in the first shop, it cost s$325. in tis second shop, i asked for leather that cost ard s$100 (actually not that possible coz it's ex right). dun hv...so i walked out. then that guy called me back & offered me s$125 for that same long black italian leather jack. i tried it again & ok, bot it. i'm not leather expert lah but it's the best price i came across, even in china or aus, usu at least s$200. juz now i walked into giordano & their leather jac is also going for s$300+. i think i got a good deal lah. also bot a nice brown denim 'jeans' for s$57. the cutting is good on me, coz all my life i can never buy a pair of 'jeans' or pants that look nice on me, aha. so i bot it. looks fantastic wif the leather. anyway, aft my kfc lunch (yes, sick of kor food!) at the shopping area opp my motel, i followed my itinery plan i.e. Namsan National park & Seoul Tower & Namsan traditional korean village. it was juz to the right of my motel. it required a steep one-hr plus walk up to the peak. despite the 27deg ok weather, i was perspiring lor...and it wasn't breathtaking! aha, i asked this man to take photo for me. then i sat there to rest my legs while looking upon the bunches of 5-yr-olds running & screaming. it seems that the kids hv lots of excursions, coz i see them everywhere i go. but they r so cute. then i bot the tix to bring me up to Seoul Tower. well, i was disappointed the elevator only brought me up to one-third of the tower, which my Timex watch measured only 235m altitude. the peak is supposed to be 456m in altitude. sigh. 'up there', it wasnt fantastic too. aha. Tokyo Tower, i remembered, is 100x more breathtaking. well, i should hv been there at night. but then again, no way am i gonna climb 1 hr plus up the steep stairs in pitch darkness. i forgot there's a cablecar to bring us to the tower directly. but...i trust the car, not the cable. i'd rather walk. then i went to the tourist info counter, chatted a while & got them to help me change my Busan flight. done. went on to the Namsan Traditional Korean village which was 45 min walk away. i found it after a little bit of getting-lost here & there. reached there in 1 hr. well, it really wasn't fantastic. some koreans were filming there & the actor, who was decked in a beard & traditional costume, pointed to my oa! kley & gave his thumbs-up. aha. definitely, in this hot weather! aha. Tonight i'll check out in entirety this shopping area opp my motel. it's quite happening. Bought a pair of Polo socks for s$1+ coz last night i was desperately trying to dry my only pair of socks with the aircon. lesson learned. tomorrow i'll check out the ChangYonggung Palace up North fm my motel. There's supposed to be a series of shows there the whole day, incl those Changing-Guards thingy. aha. Then if i hv time in the day, will travel South to the War Memorial Museum. In evening, go to the famous shopping belt called Itae-Won. Sunday will be church-day. aha...the World's biggest church is here in Seoul and that's Yoida Full Gospel Church at Yoida. After service, I'll take a boat cruise (called the Hangang River Cruise, an hr) from Yoida to Ttuksom where there's supposed to be a Windsurfing area. I hope to windsurf a couple of hrs there. Monday will be more historical & educational stuff again...check out the Sodaemun Prison, Independence Park etc. Comparing Japan with Korea, i like japan many times more. the culture is richer & more happening. the people are more bold, entrepreunerial & charismatic. ya, i'll finally meet yasuko, my jap friend, at busan airport after a series of non-communication. i wont get a phone here after all. think there's no need. internet shops r everywhere. Finally, at the Korean Traditional Village phone booth, i managed to get my korean windsurfer friend on his handphone. i learnt from the girl at the Tourist Info booth that i need to add a 0 in front of all mobile no. cheh...no wonder. And i called my bf ker Wan & he was Shanghai airport, squeezing his way to check-in half an hr b4 the plane was flying off. ha, that's the typical China-adventure there...here's not as bad. I told him to spit to claim his territory & be more aggressive in jumping queue. hopefully he's in the plane now. aha.