The only way Joanna would fall asleep on the bus and in the plane was if I sang to her. Thank God I remembered most of the words. If I tried to improvise lyrics, Joanna would know and start to cry. I estimate that I sang for at least five hours to Joanna -- If You're Happy; Wheels on the Bus; ABC (the long version I use for class); One Little Finger; Itsy Bitsy Spider; Hickory Dickory Dock; Patty-cake; and on and on and over and over. It worked every time.
• • •
Highlights and lowlights of the trip:• First, I don't recommend traveling with a 17-month-old who's a bit on the "active" side, especially with a bush league airline like Vietjet Air. Our plane was cramped and the flight attendants were dismissive and surly. No food, no drinks, nothing for a 51/2-hour flight. Unless you paid.
• It was a typical tour -- go go go. But our travel-mates were fantastic. They pampered and put up with a whining, crying Joanna. They chatted with me in their best English. All of them were very good people.
• It was cold the entire time in Seoul -- 10 to 32 degrees fahrenheit (-12 to 0 C). A highlight for me and Joanna, but a lowlight for airsick and bus-sick Phuong. However, Phuong took dramamine and bundled up. She adapted and liked Korea.
• We flew a red-eye to Seoul, then ate kimchi, and cabbage and pork soup, saw snow at a ski resort and froze our butts off at Nami Island, a nice but touristy place with sculptures and carvings and lots of ice.
• We forgot the stroller, so we carried Joanna a lot. I did much of the bull work. You should check out my "guns" now. We were exhausted and never really recovered. But Phuong made kimchi one day, we went to a ginseng lab, seaweed lab, pine extract lab, ate more kimchi and pork soup, went shopping, ate more kimchi, did some more shopping, ate some udon noodles with a side of kimchi, and had a mediocre dinner at a Korean country restaurant -- chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions, rice noodles.
• Grilled fish was the best meal we had. Salty, spicy, and plentiful.
• The highlight of the trip for me was reconnecting with an old friend, Jon Knibloe (Phuong calls him Jon K), who taught with me in Peru. Jon has been teaching in Korea for the past six years and really enjoys it. He came to our hotel, met Phuong, and watched Joanna sleep for a little bit. Then we went out and drank beer and solved most of the world's problems as we reminisced about Peru and shared observations about teaching in Asia. A wonderful time.
• The last night, Phuong and I chose not to go to a show we already saw in Thailand. We took a taxi, but the driver had no idea how to get to our hotel -- and he had GPS. Must be an Asian thing because we have the same trouble sometimes in Vietnam. Anyway, we were dropped off God-knows-where, but a fantastic Korean policeman got out of his car and walked us to our hotel.
• In addition to kimchi, there are coffee shops everywhere. I did see a couple of massage parlors but only one motorbike because it's too cold.
• Nobody talked about the North or the Great Leader. Even with new threats, it's old news in Seoul.
• Milk is very difficult to get. They have soy milk, but I wanted the cow variety for Joanna. After walking forever and not finding milk, I bought soy milk and jokingly asked a young Korean girl behind the counter: "Do so many people kill themselves here because they can't get cow milk?" I know, my mouth works before my brain. But the girl laughed her head off. I told you I liked Korea and Koreans.
• Since Joanna didn't super enjoy the traveling parts of the trip, it was difficult for us to enjoy it completely. But our fellow travelers were so understanding. Me? I'm a happy traveler and I was thrilled to get out of Bien Hoa. I loved Seoul and the cold. Even Phuong noticed that I wasn't negative about anything -- probably a first in the White Monkey's existence.
• • •
Seoul is pretty hip and very modern, the scenery is wonderful, the weather can be cold, but it has a temperate climate, which I like, and the people seem to love their rules and regulations. The locals are nice enough, though, and there was no staring. Seoul is an international city with big city prices. But we enjoyed it. Phuong, Joanna and I give it three thumbs up.
• • •
My former employer VMG played a crucial role in my daughter Joanna
getting her resident's card in Vietnam. Without this card, Joanna could
not leave the country. God bless Phuong for her hard work arranging everything, God bless VMG for their help, and, as always, God bless the United States of
America.
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