City life

Since Thursday, I have been staying in the Traveller's A hostel. It is not the Ritz. My room reminds me a little of the prison cells I saw at Saedaemun prison the other day; built by the Japanese to detain, torture and murder rebellious Koreans during the last Japanese occupation. The only difference here is the presence of fully-decorated Christmas trees dotted around the place (possibly to lull guests into a false sense of homely security before Japanese warriors leap out of hidden cupboards in the night with sharp sticks).

Over the past few days I have been to visit the Seoul Museum of Art (small but interesting), a night market at Dongdaemun Stadium (bustling and exciting) and the top of the Bukhansan National Park mountain range (fresh air and great views). I have seen a half dead cockroach outside my room, a baby lizard which sat happily on my hand, a menacing and most probably deadly spider (I chose not to pick him up!), a few Quercus hybrids, and a chipmunk (yay!). Bird life in the city doesn't get much more exciting that pigeons and sparrows. However, tomorrow I am leaving the city to spend a few days on the island of Jeju which should hopefully prove more forthcoming. I am absolutely determined to use my binoculars somewhere!

For those who are interested, I have not eaten any dog yet and nor do I intend to. Contrary to popular belief it is very hard to come by (as is chicken rather bizarrely) and thought of as a rather gruesome to most. We wondered if perhaps it was only eaten in rural areas on special occasions, traditions and what not. There are plenty of vets, pet shops and images of dogs as loving family pets around so up to now my impression is that it is the Vietnamese that are more open about their dog-eating habits than the Koreans. The moral of the story is don't believe all your stereotypes.

Can't get my photos on the site at this hostel but Ryan has some good photos on his website that you can see here.