My stopover in Seoul was more to relax and hang out than a travel destination. Continuously traveling has taken its toll and I needed a break. Justin and Kate are teaching English to elementary and middle school students for the next year, so with the help of their apartment and cable modem internet connection?I simply chilled out. They live in Itaewon, the ?foreign district? within Seoul, which is next to the U.S. military base.
Kim Chee, Beam Bim Bop, Mandu, Soju, Rice Wine?you name the Korean food or beverage and I?ve probably been introduced to it. I like Mandu the most as Kim Chee and many other Korean dishes are too spicy for my buds. Mandu is a dumpling with a meat or vegetable filling that can be prepared in different ways and sizes. I?ve had several cravings for Mandu in hot soup since. Soju and Rice Wine are a totally different category as they are the preferred alcoholic beverages of most Koreans. Soju is like cheap vodka in both taste and price. $1 USD for a 750ml bottle! One of my two experiences with Soju didn?t turn out so happy J.
I needed a visa for Vietnam and Seoul was the place to get it. A normal 1 month tourist visa for Vietnam at the San Francisco consulate costs $65 USD but if you get it at a Vietnam embassy abroad (like Seoul) the price is often dramatically reduced, (rich Americans!) in this case down to $31 USD. Street numbers and names in Seoul are totally messed up. 32 can be after 84 and who knows what that means in Korean characters. The embassy was a little difficult to find but once I found it, my visa was issued in 4 days (actually it was issued in 15 minutes but embassy?s have a bad habit trying to extract rush service fees).