Seoul. Arrival.

After a 13 hour flight from Toronto, CA, I was a little tired, but mostly nervous as I had no idea what to expect of S. Korea.

I didn't even know the address of the hotel I was staying at. This worried me a bit while going through customs, because it asks for an address of a place you are staying in county. So I am frantically texting my buddy to get me the address. Unbeknownced to me, he had canceled his cell phone plan and was relying on wifi. So I didn't reach him in time. Turns out, the customs agent didn't care. He just stamped my passport and I was through. :)

My buddy, Zach, arrived via bus and we took the train into Seoul. ICN is pretty far outside the city so the ride took quite a while. What struck me almost immediately was how efficient everything seemed to be. Customs was a breeze, trains ran on time, the hotel staff provided excellent service.

On the walk from Seoul station to the hotel I noticed a lack of garbage cans. People seemed to have developed their own system though, garbage was stacked every hundred, or so, meters... As if someone was going to come by with a truck to pick it up later. The piles of trash contributed to the distinct smell and feel of downtown Seoul.

The trepidation that I had felt before actually leaving was gone. All the new sights and sounds were intoxicating.

Well, not as much as beer I had with dinner at Crafworks Brewery in Namsan.