Hi Seoul Festival

The Hi Seoul festival is a yearly festival put on in Seoul to celebrate the international community, as well as Korea’s history. I decided to check it out last weekend. I went to the City Hall area where there was an international exhibit including booths from many countries around the world. There were about 80 I think. However, Canada, USA, and Italy were missing.

It was a pretty cool experience. There was so much culture around. I was surprised how many different nationalities were there.

Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and many many more.

In front of Seoul city hall, there is a big fountain what kids seem to love to play in. It was fun to watch them running around in the fountain. It reminded me of what it’s like to be a kid… but those days are long past.

After walking around for a bit, I decided to check out the “Changing of the Guards” ceremony that was happening at Deoksugung:

That is one bitchin’ stache.

My first birthday in Korea

So yesterday was my birthday. I’m now officially half way to 50. Scary stuff.

I woke up around 11 and lazed around for a bit. After that, I went to Seoul Forest Park by bike. It was a perfect day to just sit around and relax. Unfortunately, it was a national holiday here (Children’s Day), and everyone else in the city seemed to have the same idea as me. The place was completely packed. It was insane.

I rode the bike for about 15 minutes, and ended up at the park. I was feelin kinda frisky, so I picked up a few tall cans and sat in the sun, enjoying them. It was kind of strange… for the first time since I’ve been here, I could sit back and really observe the area. I just sat there, taking in all the sights and sounds… it was a strange feeling that I can’t really explain.

After writing a long email to my brother, I took off for the park again.

It was really nice to just sit in the grass. Of course, I was alone, which makes it kinda difficult to mingle with the locals. They tend to frown upon lonely foreigners. Oh well.

After that I toured around my part of the city until I found a place to eat. I was pretty hungry and kind of drunk, so I wasn’t really too picky. Dinner wasn’t anything special.

After that I came home. That’s all. Birthdays aren’t so exciting anymore. I guess I’m just getting older.

Goodbye, 24.