Thursday, August 19, 2010

Deeper Shade of Seoul


After slaughtering a couple of pigs I went back to the guest house, took a long shower, and packed my few belongings. It was the day that I had been sweating for the last week—the day I had to leave the island of Bantayan. Over three weeks my pisos had dwindled down to just enough to cover travel expenses, airport terminal fees, and a meal. Just before 8am I took a tricycle (usually a motorcycle, in this case a bicycle, with a sidecar) to the ferry terminal. Then I took a two plus hour ferry ride to Hagnaya where I caught a 50 piso (about a dollar) bus back to Cebu City. Over four hours later and after reading the rest of No Country for Old Men I arrived in Cebu City and took a cab to the airport. On the way to the airport the taxi driver took me through a McDonald’s drive-thru, where I devoured a Quarter-pounder combo. Compared to what I’d been eating, this was one of the best meals I’d had in a week.

Not wanting to risk getting stuck in the country I went to the airport with 4 hours to kill. One of the expats on the island gave me a copy of James Patterson’s London Bridges and I burned through that while waiting to check in. At 9:30 I boarded to fly to Manila, where I would be flying out from the following morning at 6:20. The plane had a mechanical difficulty and was delayed nearly an hour and I arrived at Manila after midnight. I had landed at the domestic terminal and needed to get to the international and had to wait over an hour for the courtesy shuttle. It was past two when I arrived at the international terminal and was relieved when I checked in nearly two hours later. I had made it from the island and was cleared, through, and on my way back to Korea with ten pisos to spare! Flying the very comfortable and amenable Cathay Pacific, there was a stopover in Hong Kong, a quick plane switch and the home stretch back to Korea. When the plane landed I finally arrived at the round-about point of this post—I was SO happy to be back in Seoul!!

Thirty hours after leaving the island I got off the plane and was welcomed to one of the best international (maybe THE best) airports in the world—Seoul Incheon. It took less than half an hour to clear immigration, customs, and pick up my bag and I was back to civilization. I bought a bottle of water for 500 won—the same amount that I would pay in Suwon, at the subway station, at a baseball game, or anywhere. It wasn’t jacked up because it was sold in an airport. When I walked outside I didn’t have 50 people come up to me and say: “Sir, taxi?”, “Taxi, my friend?”, “Sir, Where are you going?” and what not. There were rows of air-conditioned buses that would take me anywhere in the city and I took one to my neighborhood. The bus was clean and comfortable, the driver friendly, and the roads were wide open, well-paved, and orderly. A little time in the crazy, chaotic and filthy city called Manila gave me a new found appreciation of just how together Seoul really is.

While I may get aggravated at the day to day annoyances of Korean society I can’t deny their work ethic and the amazing infrastructure they’ve built up in a short time. Seoul is a modern city, with a sophisticated and efficient mass transit that would rival any city. Its wide-spread system of buses, trains, and taxis is convenient (unlike most cities), safe (unlike many cities), and cheap (unlike Tokyo). Coming from Manila it is refreshing in that Korea has uniform standards for everything. Every taxi you take here is going to cost you the same and the drivers are not in the practice of trying to pull a fast one when someone new to the city gets in their cab. Food prices are pretty much the same everywhere and prices are clearly posted. I have never been ripped off in Korea (not by a stranger, at least) and have never at any point felt that someone was trying to take me for all they could because I’m a foreigner (cough, Manila). As far as security goes, Seoul is one of the safest, most convenient cities in the world. Coming from a place where I felt I had to constantly guard my wallet it was most refreshing coming back to a place where I could relax and let my guard down with absolutely no worries whatsoever of being robbed or scammed. Here I can walk down the street without a stranger pushing a box of Viagra in my face, asking me if I want to buy some (that happened in Manila in the middle of the day—no thanks, stranger… no Viagra for me today).

For nearly four years I’ve lived in Korea and there have been many different cities I’ve been to. Never, at any time day or night, in any place, in any city was there a time where I felt unsafe or hassled to buy something I didn’t want. Korea is barely on the radar as far as tourism goes, and the economy does not rely on it whatsoever. By contrast, the economies of Cambodia, Thailand, and Philippines are heavily reliant on tourism and it can be a hassle being in the touristy areas of these countries to varying degrees (Indonesia was no exception either). When I traveled to these countries I felt (in certain areas) that I was constantly a target. People assume that just because I’m white and American that I’m rich, which is far, far, far from the truth. Korea has an economic stability that is the envy of many or most southeast Asian countries and no one here seems too impressed with my financial status. I heard many times in Philippines how they wanted to go to Korea because that’s where the money is. I had heard that in other countries as well.

One thing that I think a person should accomplish on vacation is the ability to see their own position from a different perspective and either appreciate their situation or change it. Being so happy to get back to a civilized, safe, and lucrative country I certainly gained an appreciation for my situation and am happy to be back. The batteries are fully recharged and I’m excited to embrace my life in Seoul and a new semester teaching. In a closing remark, I don’t want to give the impression that the Philippines was a negative experience—far, far, far from it! Manila was, but that was a tiny part of an otherwise great trip which I will give details of in a short time. In the meantime, it’s great to be back!!

And don’t worry, I’ll explain the first sentence of this post in due time. Stay tuned.