From Seoul by rlrpaton

The Spanish poet Antonio Machado said, “Traveler, there is no road. The road is made as you walk.” For anyone who’s ever left the comforts of their culture and stepped off a plane into a new land, the poet’s words ring true. Suddenly, all the concrete things like street signs, rules of the road, and restaurant menus, as well as the not so concrete things like cultural customs, become like a puzzle you must fit together – and slowly, only after a lot of bravery, openness, and patience, does the puzzle begin to take shape.

RealTraveler rlrpaton, an adventurer from Georgia, recently discovered all of this in Seoul, as he happened upon many “…humorous non/mis communication episodes.” For example:

“Asking two different cabbies to take me to Anguk station and having them refuse. It’s still not clear to me why they said no. In any case, it was a bit humiliating to jump into a cab on a busy corner, and get thrown out several seconds later.

Having a waitress mistakenly think I wanted three more kiwiade drinks, when in fact I wanted one more.

Asking for (and receiving) a banana from a coffee shop that didn’t sell them. I later realized the fruit was meant for smoothies.” (more…)

In the midst of the misadventure, rlrpaton happened upon some wonderful adventures as well, discovering many fantastic sites Seoul has to offer travelers. He toured the Changdeokgung Palace and the Secret Garden, visited the Jogyesa Temple (pictured above,) learned about the Korean War at the War Memorial, saw the beautiful south gate to the city, Sunglyemun, and witnessed several female squash matches.

He also experienced the delectable joys of Korean cuisine:

“One night, a former colleague (and Seoul native) took me out to a traditional meal. We sat on floor mats and he ordered. Seconds later the waitress came out with about 25 bowls, and we dug in with our chopsticks. One bowl had beef, one (or more?) had kimchi, and the rest contained…I have no idea. It was all sensational.” (more…)

If you’re interested in creating your own road on an adventure in Seoul, check out these helpful links:

Seoul Travel Guide
Seoul Travel Map
Seoul Travel Blogs