The Squatter

Please excuse the bluntness of this post but I wanted to share a big cultural difference between Americans and Koreans; the squatter.

Most every restroom I have been in has western style commodes. The first time I saw a squatter was in an outdoor stall while hiking, that made sense. The picture above was taken at the church where I attend bible study. This building was built in the 80's so imagine my surprise to open the door and find this. I have since learned when talking with friends that this style is common in Seoul, they are found at the subway stations and at the rest areas along the highways. They do flush and there is toilet paper but be sure you have done your squats in the gym to build up your leg muscles!  

Random Thoughts

So I take a lot more pictures than I actually post, so I thought I would just post some of the random shots with brief observations. Enjoy



First off, this is why I don't drive in Korea.  I would (a) miss my turn while trying to figure this sign out, (b) hit someone while figuring out how to correct my mistake and (c) get horribly lost in the process! I should note that there are 3 lanes of traffic plus the bus lane.












Is "Pizza School" a place where you go to learn to make pizza or a restaurant? We sat in traffic for a good 3 minutes looking at this sign and were unable to figure this one out.

I love this. You will see that the sign indicates these yummy looking pastries are "Peacan Monkey." When you think about this, "monkey bread" is a rather odd name so it would make sense that the translation would be lost.

Mushrooms are found in almost every Korean dish so obviously they are sold in grocery stores.  There are 12 different varieties of mushrooms on this row of all sizes. The store even had samples (cooked) and I tried one. Great flavor but I'll admit to being wary of what I was trying. I bought some sliced Oak mushrooms though for my homemade pizza. 

I had this lunch at the Shinsegae department store in Myeongdong. It is Mandoo and Riceball soup. The dumplings are filled with shredded beef and the colors are derived from spinach, jasmine and beets and there are small riceballs in the broth. It had a mild flavor and the dumplings were delicious when dipped in soy sauce.









On the bottom floor (11 stories in all) of the Shinsegae department store, there is a wonderful variety of food counters including this bakery. This baked bread concoction smells good and looks good but has beef (I think) baked in the middle with cheese. I haven't seen a lot of sandwich options here so I think this the equivalent. I did not try this. 

Bukhansan National Park, 북한산국립공원

Saturday we had the pleasure of getting out of Seoul and driving to Bukhansan National Park. This park is just north of Seoul and is the "Most Visited National Park per Unit Area" with 5 million visitors per year, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.  Thankfully park management has rest periods or sabbaticals for different trails and areas of the park so the ecosystem can recover from all the visitors. The park was busy and while the hike to the top was somewhat private, the hike down was fairly crowded. At one particularly steep point there was even a line of us.

We took the Bukhansanseong Trail to the Bogukmun or Castle Gate.  The trail is only 2.4 km but it is 2.4 km of stone steps uphill.  I really do not think I am this out of shape but again found myself stopping every 10 minutes just to catch my breath.

At the top there is a gate and a stone or fortress wall originally built in 1676.  The wall runs up the ridge line 2 miles. The view of the city at the top was breathtaking. I know that Seoul is a city of 12 million but seeing it from this vantage really gives you a sense of just how BIG this city really is.

I found that everyone on the trail was friendly, with several younger Koreans practicing their English on us. Most of the hikers we saw took their hiking very seriously with proper hiking boots, gear and hiking sticks. I even felt a little under dressed without the hiking stick.  But it was worth the drive and even with all the people there was just enough solitude to feel as though I had reconnected with nature.