Dear Family,
For those of you who made it through the 1st of the long e-mails (I will call that the swimming portion), here is part II (which I will call the biking event) as the race continues.
Korea was HOT! I use that description in many ways:
1. Satan's soup served in China came without the smog but included all of the heat and humidity. So much so that at one point the clouds opened up and dumped buckets on us for an hour.
2. The food at the 3 different Korean BBQ places which we tried for the 3 dinners while in Seoul were sizzling as they came off the grill and the locals like some spice to heat things up as well.
3. Seoul is awesome as were the people (except for the Liar Manager who was likely the Gouging Manager) and energy!
Upon arrival at the airport in Seoul, we were greeted by two lovely Westin Employees (Thank you Sharon as my importance at Starwood knows no earthly bound). I honestly didn't notice until we were walking that they rushed over and took my baggage cart leaving Diane and Keoni pushing theirs. The only woman with black hair in the airport who would object to this wonderful treatment of her husband is my beloved. Thankfully just as we both realized that I was walking without a care in the world, we came to the Westin desk at the airport.
They asked if I would like to check-in here to which I agreed. As part of this, they told me that my daily 2 drinks would cost 340,000 won. I figured that must be around $50 which is the average around the world but asked them to calculate in dollars. She seemed a bit uneasy and when she told me the price, her trepidation was for good measure: $340. I asked if that was for all 3 days and she said, "no, daily rate." WT*&%#@&????? That would come to $1,000 for 6 drinks in 3 days!!!! She just looked at me and I told her to have them delivered tomorrow morning and I'd take it up with the (Gouging) manager later. She also told me that my Platinum membership would only cover 2 free breakfasts and I'd have to pay for the others (since I would be seemingly drinking ground gold for breakfast, I was covered so that left Ikaika). This was another break from usual Starwood practice and (Gouging) manager was going after me again. Not to get off too far into my craziness but the most I've ever been charged is about $100 ($50 per drink) and that was in Iceland where they don't grow much and the free buffet for the rest of the fam is always a given. No worries, I'll take it up later with the staff at the hotel.
Our van drove us to our hotel which was north of the river so we wouldn't be dancing Gangnam Style (which is south of the river). Upon arrival, we walked over to the Concierge to find out where we could get a Keoni favorite, Korean BBQ. When I approached, she told me that they would make an exception regarding granting free meals for Ikaika but just on this trip. Had Julian Assange put my airport conversation on Wikileaks and how did she know who I was? I accepted and then she brought up the drinks. I shared with her that the most I had EVER paid was $100 per day (HINT) and I asked her to have the F&B Manager contact me when he/she was in.
My Dad noted my comment about daily McDonald's visits in Part I and responded positively as always. When I said Starbucks doesn't count, I actually do my best to not gobble down the calories in a Venti hot cocoa on a daily basis. The Gods, Karma and my Dad reading my quip caused our hotel to be literally surrounded by Starbucks stores. There were 2 right in front (directly across the street from each other) and others on all sides. If you don't believe me and have time to waste, type in Westin Choson on Google Earth and see for yourself. Apparently Korean people love caffeine as there were also Coffee Bean and Tea Leafs and other chains mixed in.
A great walk to our first night Korean BBQ which drew some ire from Keoni who apparently is used to grilling the food himself at these restaurants since a nice woman cooked our food at our table for us. Apparently he didn't notice his father walking without a care and luggage cart a few hours earlier and also by the way: WT*&%#@&???? Since when did Keoni cook anything????
Off to bed and at precisely 7 a.m., a knock at the door. My drinks were being delivered and the man said the (Gouging) manager had lowered the amount as a courtesy to $220 per day. I signed the bill and wrote a note with my mobile number on it asking for a call to discuss.
At 9 a.m. our guide Michelle met us in the lobby with our driver. We passed by the "Blue House" where the President resides and around the corner was a castle which was built by the original Choson Emperor who moved the capital south to Seoul.
Much of the castle and grounds had been destroyed over the years and the Japanese played a big part in spoiling consistent Korean ruling their own country. I won't waste your valuable time with the sorrow of Korean history when you are wondering about my drink saga. That said, the changing of the guard with costumes and music from 500 years ago was fun.
We toured a fun walk street / market and stopped for lunch. Keoni was enjoying another hot beef meal when he grimaced and said, "Ouch!" I asked him what was wrong and he said his braces were stabbing the inside of his cheek. As he tried to nosh through it, he said that it really hurt and then seemed to get mad at the one that the Gods dispatched 16 years ago to handle these issues, ME. While I'm sure this was quite painful, I didn't understand the transference and furthermore, he said there was no fix because his orthodontist was in LA. As we talked through the issue, I assured him that we weren't in England and they had dentists here ;-)
Michelle said they didn't really have orthodontists in Korea and that dentists handle these issues. About 20 minutes later, we were in very nice office building which housed this tech savvy dentist.
The dentist played on both sides of his bands (instead of rubber bands which could be taken out easily if they were consistently put in, the orthodontist had but in undetachable bands) to see where it was rubbing against his cheek. There was a communication barrier even with the translator plus Keoni wasn't in pain at that time so the dentist declared Keoni cured. Keoni wasn't pleased and again seemed to aim his anger at God's appointed butler. If he wasn't in pain now and couldn't adequately show the dentist, we should go but if it reappears, we will find another dentist anywhere along the trip. He is my priority and with his eye rolls, I'm his idiot Dad... I took out my credit card and figured after my drink episode, this was going to get me lots of points on my card. When she showed me the charge of $27, I said that this didn't make sense. She told me that they have national healthcare and this is covered. Wow, thank you and your move Gouging Manager...
After the dentist episode, we walked an indoor'ish market where people where selling lots of different food and other wares. We then went to an old shrine which emperors used to honor their dead ancestors. Apparently they honor their elders which was duly pointed out to the heir to my throne.
Upon arrival back at the hotel, we went to the concierge and asked her about us trying another Korean BBQ. She gave us the name and directions and made reservations. As she was doing this, I asked her if gouging manager was around since I didn't get the requested call. About 5 minutes later, two distinguished looking gentlemen appeared with one being there to translate (although he was the one who delivered my drinks early that morning). They asked me to step into a frosted glass surrounded office right in the middle of the lobby.
I know it isn't easy accommodating me so I did my best to be a reasonable person (I imitated my Dad of today - not that he was unreasonable but the situations seemed awkward - unlike this one) and let them know how much I appreciated their making my drinks for me each day (and hopefully after this meeting they would remain free of poop and pee). As we chatted, they said the price of fruit and veggies were very high in Korea. In fact, they don't serve fresh squeezed orange juice as Americans usually request because the cost is $19 per glass. I shared that I insist they make a profit and was just looking for something fair. They asked what number I had in mind to which I shared my most ever paid in Iceland $100 story (hint: please just beat that or match it). The gouging manager literally laughed out loud which surprised me so I asked, what number he thought would be fair. He said $150 per day simply covered his costs and labor and while surprised, I simply agreed. As you can imagine, this stayed in my head as the cost just didn't add up. Oh well, off to dinner...
Dinner was great as we had more BBQ although yet again, Chef Keoni was insulted that they cooked for us. I reminded him that college was a couple of years away and there was ample time to cook for us ahead.
Our hotel was just around the corner from a wonderful night market. Diane and Keoni headed off to the hotel while Keoni and I went on a search for gelato (yes, Keoni wanted Italian ice cream in Seoul). By the way, the band on his braces didn't really bother him and his doting father had a pocket full of won ready to spend on the Italian favorite. How lucky was this 16 year old who should be getting ideas of shrines for his direct male ancestor... The first stand we came to in this energetic outdoor market (along small streets) was a fresh juice stand. They had oranges and lemons in boxes which they squeezed in front of you and put into a juice pouch. I wanted to see this $19 OJ. That is when gouging manager (my laughing at me buddy) became Liar manager as the price was.........$4. Had a reasonable man been next to me at that moment, he might have said, don't worry about it as: 1. you'll never miss the money and 2. it brings negative energy to a wonderful family vacation. Sadly my father didn't board the flight to Seoul with us so I was pissed and my role model became Judge Smails from Caddyshack and I demand satisfaction! In the meantime, while walking with Keoni, off an alley which was off of another tiny alley off of the small road, I spotted a restaurant which had an Italian look to me. Keoni wasn't convinced until we went in and found they served ice cream (as Italian as we were going to get). Get the incense candles out for dear old dad! We then bought some minion socks to surprise Ikaika along with a shirt for Keoni as we headed back to the hotel (I compartmentalized the anger)...
The next day, we were met in the lobby at 8 a.m. to hook up with a tour bus group to visit the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) separating North Korea from South Korea since 1953. Currently parked at the border of these two countries are approximately 1,000,000 troops. While I feel that this shows the insanity of mankind as many millions of dollars are wasted each day keeping Koreans from Koreans. That said, I'm biased and feel that capitalism is the only true system for humans to be in line with their own interests. In my opinion, the 63 years has proven that out as South Koreans have a vibrant economy and are free to pursue their happiness anywhere they please. Meanwhile up north, the people are basically imprisoned within their own country while the government decides what is best for them. I don't have an answer given that Mr. Kim's grandfather attacked the South Koreans in 1950 and we toured tunnels discovered rather recently dug by the North Koreans presumably to help in an attack.
One day, North Korea will fall and Korea will be reunited again just like Germany. Our tour guide said that he agreed there would be a united Korea but not for some time and not until there was a lot of planning. I shared that history doesn't typically work like that and it would almost certainly happen suddenly (although perhaps not for a while since China doesn't want the US military at its border and enjoys the current buffer zone).
The day had an impact on me and I remember when Ping (our guide in Xian) said the North Koreans are brainwashed like she and her generation were. She said that in school they were taught that there was mass starvation in the US and Taiwan and while they had hardships, they were lucky. In 1979, she and her cohorts were stunned to find that they had been lied to and life in the west was far better than that in China. I was sad for the people of the North and took some time to thank my blessings for being born an American.
Upon returning to the hotel, we asked the concierge about the #1 Korean BBQ place recommended by Jamie's team member James and about visiting a charity which Diane and I support called the Baby Box. The Baby Box ride would take 1 1/2 hours and the restaurant would take an hour from there. The concierge was excellent and made all the arrangements including confirming with the charity (who knew we were donors and in Korea) and reservations for dinner. The traffic in Seoul is incredible as we didn't travel far but just didn't move very fast.
We found out about the Baby Box from an American Born Korean and his wife who are good friends of Diane's and mine. In Korea, abortion is illegal and being an unwed mother brings shame to the woman so there was a problem with infanticide. A Korean minister (Pastor Lee) set up a box with blankets and set it outside his church so that women could just leave the baby without killing it. To date almost 1,000 babies have been dropped into the box which now has sensors to alert the team inside of the new arrival.
For a while the Korean government gave money to the church and then changed course as it brought shame to the country. To boot, the government makes adopting by non-Korean foreigners very difficult (Diane and I were rejected about 10 years ago). The Baby Box literally saves the lives of children born primarily to unwed mothers and also married women who had affairs and then gave birth at home or in public toilets (don't ask me how the pregnancies were kept secret) since hospitals are not allowed anonymous births. In addition, children with birth defects are left here as well.
Pastor Lee has adopted many of these children and has also worked with the women (they try to catch them and council them before they run off into the night) to not only get as much info about the baby as possible but to see if they can assist them in mothering their own child (with financial help and education if that is the barrier).
We were invited in by the ladies who are overseeing 5 children at this facility (there are 2). 1 is a little girl born with no eyes (in the photo with Diane and Ikaika) along with a little boy in a body cast (from the chest down) who was a twin born with a serious chromosome issue. The healthy twin was kept by the family and they dropped off this little guy who Pastor Lee is in the process of adopting. After I held him a while and put him down, he cried for me to hold him some more which I happily obliged. The four of us were moved by the work that these folks do and were thankful that these 5 kids were alive.
Diane turned into the talented Occupational Therapist she is and played with the little girl and later shared with me that she needed stimulation and therapy. She and I need to do more...
We will be attending the gala in Koreatown again this October and if you are interested in joining and meeting Pastor Lee, please let me know. If you do, be prepared to be one of the few non-Korean faces...
We then were off to Keoni's new favorite Korean BBQ where we enjoyed some traditional Korean booze. Great place and a wonderful evening!
The next day as we were set to leave the hotel, I checked out and asked the person at the front desk to leave a small note for the General Manager (who was out of town for the week on vacation). She inquired and I told her that I had an issue with one of the staff and wanted to discuss with the GM.
Minutes later as we were about to get into our van for the ride to the airport, I was approached by the duty manager and asked if I would speak with him. Upon explaining the situation, I told him that I was offended that I was lied to. When I said $19 for a glass of orange juice, he winced.
He said that he could not adjust the price of the food and beverage but wanted to pay the cost of the van rides (total $290) which were on my bill. This would take the drinks down to $160 (or $53 per day). I agreed and said that I appreciated the gesture and would leave it up to him regarding passing the message to the GM. Except for Liar/Gouging Manager, EVERYONE on our trip to Seoul was top notch and the Westin is excellent so I decided to leave it in this gentleman's hands and let it go...
Off to Tokyo where upon landing, I balked at the almost $600 cost of a van ride to the hotel (4 of us with 4 bags of luggage and carry-on) and will be looking for "The Friendly Limo Bus" which drops off at the hotels around Tokyo. I'm sure you aren't surprised and what could go wrong with this?u
Ps. While I'm sure there are typos/grammar errors which will be embarrassing, please know that I'm writing these on the fly while also answering e-mails and vacationing ADD style with a bossy (at least Keoni waited until he was 16 to think I was a moron) 3 year old. Please forgive these mistakes ;-)
Kyle
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