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Seoulong, and thanks for all the fish.
I am not a fan of planning.
We all know this. I like to ride by the seat of my pants and prefer a mild panic than a totally cool calm life. Now, that's not to say I like drama. It's a fine line between anxious excitement and annoying drama. My trip to Seoul was not dramatic - for me at least. Some lesser beings might have been troubled by flying out with less than a weeks notice, especially considering that we left Wednesday CST at 7am, arrived in Seoul on Thursday at 5pm, gave a presentation to 50 people who did not speak a word of english, attended a Korean Wedding (sorry, no pictures of that), left Seoul at 8pm Saturday, and finally, after all that, returned at 11pm on Saturday.
That is my lifestyle. I do not recommend it. Now, it's off to Chicago on Thursday, and Vegas next week. Yea. I'm glutton for punishment. But, I wouldn't have it any other way.
Here's my 96 hours in somewhat chronological order.
001 :: On a jet airplane
The trusty Samsonite and Jack Spade; my favorite travel companions.
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002 :: Rough start, or end to a day
As this was a business trip it began, ended, and began at Kinkos. And, as per usual, they fucked up and mixed up a few pages. C'est la vie. One note, when you're going to fly 14 hrs to a foreign country: Don't sleep the night before. It'll help you ease into that steady hangover of delirium that is international dateline jet lag. Like a fat girl on a vespa, it creeps up on you slowly then mows you down.
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003 :: Night rider
This is about how I felt at 5.25 too: Flying a bit off kilter. Blurry. Distressed.
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004 :: Rockies Flight
It's an amazing statement about the world that the rockies look exactly like the mountains which cross Japan. Awesome.
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005 :: Toto?
Dorothy, we're not in kansas anymore.
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006 :: Architectural beauty
Well, in retrospect, while our Korean friends might not understand fully my pontifications about highly strategic design, they do a pretty wonderful job at understanding architecture. Their products, well, not so much.
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007 :: That guy
This is the chap who greets you when you get a bus ticket. Don't fuck with him. He will mess your shit up. We saw this first hand. "In Korea, ticket owns you!"
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008 :: Safe and sound
We stayed at the posh Grand Intercontinental Hotel. But, I'd take a W any day.
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009 :: Tyler Durden?
This reminds me of that scene in Fight Club where Tyler is at his desk talking about how in the future 'the corporations' will own everything. It's odd to see Hyundai plastered on everything. Macy's, Korean style.
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010 :: Bike Punk
It's amazing how much you do not fear this guy at all.
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011 :: Art
The financial district is ripe with art, sculptures and the aforementioned affinity for architecture. We only had a limited time to look around, but it was really very beautiful.
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012 :: The posse rides
Traffic in Seoul. Just like traffic here.
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013 :: NYC
Seoul feels a lot like manhattan: Comfortable, but foreign at the same time. And, just like NYC, no one speaks english either. ;)
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014 :: WTF?
Yes. This is a Lambo. Yes. They painted the rims black. And, Yes. It is slammed, tuned, and bright fucking yellow. I love a culture that views a Lambo and a Civic as both legitimate 'tuner' cars. How fantastic is that? In general, Seoul is a city of vast wealth, so while this first struck us as odd, it's strangely similar to all the porsches, vettes, and hummer's in Austin. Luckily for the Koreans, they just dispelled that myth about asian penis. Those americans though, well...
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015 :: WTF x 2?
I really have no idea. I'm going to go with 'cultural reference', Alex. See, now this is a good example of the struggle Koreans have with product design and architecture. If we pick this apart, there are about 4 really strong elements that work on their own right. However, Koreans are like fat kid at a buffet. They want it all on their plate at once. And, who is to blame them? Bacon tastes good on top of cantaloupe or tomato. Just look at their cars: They look like a Acura coming at you, and a BMW passing you by. One thing at a time guys...
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016 :: 70's space references
One of the truly beautiful buildings in Seoul Trade Tower. Now, don't get me wrong, 90% of all the architecture in Seoul - from a western perspective - is spectacular. This is no exception. The above watch tower thing, however, is. Besides, space is cool no matter what the context.
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017 :: More Trade, Less Talk
Revel in it. Yes, it is hazy in Seoul, incase you were wondering. It's about 65-70 this time of yea, and humid.
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018 :: Cropping in
This building is fucking tall. Hence, fitting it in a full frame, even with my little cam which has a pretty wide lens was just about impossible.
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019 :: God save the Queen
This is a shot from the 15th floor of our client's office building. This should give you some idea of the density that is Seoul. If you took the 5 boroughs and kept lego'ing them together for about 50 miles you'd have Seoul.
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020 :: Night time any time
While its beautiful in the day, it's also quite splendid at night. I do suggest visiting Seoul. You won't be disappointed.
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021 :: More trade, less light
Unfortunately this is blurry, but the building is great, even at night.
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022 :: See?
The fucking Koreans get what 'experience' is all about. Catch up 'merica.
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023 :: Oh yes.
I'm happy to state that I did not have any Starbucks while there. However, it does give you a certain idea of how really westernized Seoul is.
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024 :: Unce Unce Unce
It turns out that these guys are actually pretty famous entertainers for kids. Remember that thing about Korean cars? David Copperfield meets the Matrix...right.
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025 :: Parting shot
And so ended 96 hours of traveling to and from Korea. I can't say i recommend an activity like this for the faint of heart. It's not fun. I did learn a few things though: Korea = good. United = bad. Asiana = good.
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