Back 2 Korea

There are three words that I used a couple of times in Songsaengnim: A Korea Diary that in all likelihood will be repeated in the sequel, Gyeosunim.

Jet lag sucks.

I should have heeded my advice when I was in Ottawa, making the final preparations before heading out to Seoul, South Korea. I had planned to stay awake all night before my flight departed.

I had worked a full day at the office, came home, had a light dinner (if you can call a fruit shake from Booster Juice "dinner"), and invited my folks to come over to watch a couple of episodes of Season 2 of The Crown. After they left, I was planning to read, watch some more TV, and sort some photos before it was time to get showered and dressed, and wake DW so that she could drive me to the airport.

My reasoning, as I have done many years on overseas flights, was to arrive at the airport exhausted so that I would sleep on the plane. For me, sleeping during the day is the best way to get the jump on jet lag. It's not a fool-proof solution, but it helps.

But DW insisted that I get a few hours of sleep. It was better to force yourself to stay awake until it was bedtime at your destination, she reasoned, and fall asleep when it was dark.

So, by 10:30, last Thursday, I was in bed, trying to fall asleep (which was a challenge because I usually don't fall asleep until about midnight). According to my smart watch, which monitors my sleep activity, I achieved about three hours of proper sleep before my alarm got me out of bed, at 3:30.

On my flight from Ottawa to Vancouver, I managed to get at least a full hour of sleep and was feeling pretty good. My connection was only about an hour, before I boarded my next plane, so there was only enough time to get across the terminal (my domestic and international flights were on opposite ends of the terminal), charge my phone, and check my social-media accounts and e-mail before I got into my seat.

I was pretty lucky on the flight from Vancouver to Seoul (Incheon International Airport): only one person, a teenager, was in the aisle seat of our row. I was at the window, which meant we had a vacant seat between us. As soon as we reached our cruising altitude, he put his seat back, closed his eyes, and slept. I was able to shift so that I was on a diagonal and could stretch my legs out to the next seat. I was not wanting for leg room.

On the 10-and-a-half-hour flight, I watched a movie, ate, slept, ate, watched a movie, slept, ate, and slept. Every so often, I'd get up and walk laps in the cabin, to stretch my legs. In that time, I know that about three hours of sleep was relatively solid, though interrupted. I think that had I not slept at home nor on the first flight, I would have slept longer and wouldn't have awoken short of a crash.

The train from the airport is fast and smooth, though it stopped at every station, and though it had WiFi my phone had difficulty connecting. It took an hour, sitting and people watching, to get to Seoul Station.

Seoul Station is much bigger than I remember, with a lot more glass and steel. It wasn't until I walked for some distance, following the compass that's on my phone, that I found the exit I want and was greeted by the old, bricks-and-mortar station. That's when I fully got my bearings.

It paid to study Google Maps for the location of my hotel, in relation to Sungnyemun (Namdaemun Gate). I knew how to get to the gate from the station through my 20-year memory. But I was amazed at how easy it was to find my hotel from the gate.

(In truth, the hotel is less than five minutes, on foot, from the gate.)

The ENA Suite Hotel Namdaemun is modern (it's only a couple of years old), clean, and conveniently located in downtown Seoul. It's near Namdaemun Market, City Hall, and Deoksugung Palace.

After checking in, I desperately needed a shower, shave, and fresh clothes. But as soon as I was presentable, I hit a wall and only wanted to put my head down.

This was a dangerous prospect. The last time I flew to Korea and hit a wall, I slept for nearly 12 hours. With less than 48 hours scheduled in this city, I couldn't afford the time to do that. But I set a timer, at full volume, for one hour and tried my luck.

The timer went off at 7:00 and woke me up, but I wanted more rest, so I set it again for 30 minutes. Shortly after it went off, DW contacted my through Facebook video chat. For her, it wasn't even 7 on Saturday morning and she was just waking, herself.

We chatted for a bit, and then she carried her smart phone to each of our daughter's rooms, where the sound of me waking them had a positive effect. We all chatted a while longer, and it seemed to rejuvenate me: before the call, I was considering staying in the hotel and sleeping through the night. Instead, I grabbed my camera gear and headed out.

I headed to Sungnyemun and set my tripod of various corners, capturing long exposures of the traffic as it circled the gate. I then headed north, up Sejong-daero, the main street that leads from the gate to the imperial palace of Gyeongbokgung. I stopped along the way to capture City Hall, which has a large sign, similar to the ones in Ottawa and Toronto, which reads "I Seoul U."

I have no idea what the message means. It's in English but the words are meaningless. I Seoul U?

I continued about halfway up the street, when I came to Cheonggyecheon, an uncovered canal that was recently discovered and restored. I walked about a half-kilometre or so and then headed back to Sejong-daero.

In the middle of Sejong-daero, from Cheonggyecheon to the road before the palace is a wide plaza, upon which the statue of General Yi and King Sejong hold prominence (Yi is credited with having a powerful navy that defeated attacks from Japan; Sejong is famous for creating the Korean language). I photographed both statues and walked partway up to the palace, but by then it was approaching 11 pm and my fatigue was returning. It would take about a half an hour to walk directly to my hotel.

I stayed up until about 12:30, editing some of my photos before I called it a night. My first day back in Korea was at an end. I didn't do everything I wanted, but it was a good start.

Day 2 resumes tomorrow.