Sightseeing with Mr Lee

So last week, Mr Lee and I had made plans to hang out this weekend and do some more sightseeing.  We had talked about maybe going to Namdaemun Market or Dongdaemun Market so that he could show me all the different Korean foods, and so I could get "some very cheap prices on quality products".  Our day began by meeting at the bus stop where we had first met each other.  Mr Lee comes striding up, "Oh Juliet, Juliet!" (Haven't been able to correct that one)  "We are so, so lucky today!  The sun is on our side! haha! Things are looking up!" I ask Mr Lee what the plan is for our day.  He replies, "Oh! Don't worry about the plan!  You just follow me! haha!  I have a schedule for our day!  We will see sooo many many things! You just follow me!"

And then he pulls out a 2007 day planner.  Referencing the day planner and an outdated subway map (it doesn't have the new Bundang line that goes out to us) Mr Lee explains what we are going to do.  "Here is Jukjeon, you know Jukjeon right? We go there, then we transfer ourselves to the orange subway train, here.  Then we take it one, two, three, four, five,.....eighteen stops to here, and we get off the subway train.  That is where we go to Seoul Tower, you know Seoul Tower? We go there to look into North Korea! haha!  Good day for that!  We can see into North Korea today!"

So we head out!  Using public transportation with Mr Lee is hilarious, because he has a running commentary going on the whole time.  "Ok.  Next stop is our stop.  When the train stops, then we stand up.  Not too soon!  Oh! Ok! Go, go!  (Long pause before he takes the step over the gap, back onto solid ground) Ok, ok.  We need orange line here, orange line.   Ok! Over here! Follow me!  Eh! Take it easy, take it easy! Lots of stairs here! Take it easy!  Haha! That's for old people! (pointing at an elevator) I'm old you know, but I don't need to use that! haha! This is my first time on orange train, you know? Never rode the orange train before!  I ask that lady if there are many people on the train.  She doesn't know. Crazy lady!  Ah!  Here it is!  Oh, looks ok, looks nice, clean.  Lots of seats!  Sit down! Sit down!  I think I like the orange train."  Since this is his first time riding the orange line, Mr Lee references his subway map at each stop "to make sure this train doesn't skip any".  We successfully make it to our stop and find a bus that will take us up the hill to Seoul Tower.  On our way up to the tower, Mr Lee tells me how he's been here before.  "Maybe forty, fifty years ago, you know, back when I was bachelor! haha!  I come up to this tower to see ALL of Seoul!  Very nice back then!  And now, I'm back to look again!" When we get to the top, it's breathtaking.  Panoramic views of the whole city, huge skyscrapers as far as you can see.  I ask Mr Lee what he thinks, if it's changed a lot since the last time he was here "Oh, I dunno.  I think there are more tall buildings now, a bit".  Probably so.

Looking out over Seoul

Seoul Tower

Each of the windows in the observatory is labelled with city and country names that are in that direction.  Mr Lee runs up to the North Korea window, pointing excitedly.  "There it is! There it is! Quick, stand here, I take your picture with North Korea!"

Posing with North Korea

Mr Lee staring down North Korea

Now, for someone who hasn't been up here in more then forty years, you'd think he may want to take his time looking around.  Not so. Mr Lee is not one for lingering.  While I'm busy looking out all the windows, taking photos, Mr Lee wanders off.  When I find him again, he's in the gift shop.  He presents me with a pen "For you! For our memories! Let's go eat some lunch!"

Mr Lee asks me "You like noodle?"  I say yes, and he's suspicious of my answer.  "How come you like noodle?  When you have noodle before?  We see if you like noodle, I dunno.  I take you to BEST noodle shop in all of Seoul city, there we see if you like noodle. How you know you like noodle?"  So we head off towards the restaurant, which is about a 15 minute walk.  On the way, Mr Lee starts telling me about the neighborhood we're going to, "Myeongdong!  You know Broadway, New York City?  Myeongdong is like that, very famous!  Lots of people!  Lots of foreign people!  Good for you!  Boys- teenagers, twenty-agers, in the nice clothes!  Good for you!"

On the way to the restaurant, we take a few detours.  He shows me the entrance to Namdaemun Market ("Too busy! No time for that today!  Ok!  Maybe I show you one street!  Don't get lost!"), the Korean mint ("That is Official Korean Bank Headquarters!  Old, old building!  All the money in Korea comes out of that building!"), and an office building ("12, 13, 15 years, I work here!  Eleventh floor, you know eleventh floor?  That's where I work!  Very  nice place, I love my job there.  Emergency coordinator, you know what I mean?  During peace time, very very easy job.  Only hard work when we have problems.")  We finally make it to the restaurant, and find that there's a line out the door and down the sidewalk.  This place must be really good!  They only serve two things at this restaurant:  Noodle soup, or noodle soup with a side of dumplings. We sit down, and immediately there are two huge bowls of noodle soup in front of us, along with some really spicy kimchi.  I watch other people take the kimchi, rinse it off in their soup, and then eat it, so I start to do that. "Oh! You better be careful! This is very very hot!   Better be careful with that!"  Mr Lee is right, it is very hot, and very delicious!  We finish lunch, and Mr Lee is sooo happy that I like noodles!  "You tell me you like noodle, and I don't believe you!  How you know you like noodle?  But I see, you like noodle! You eat ALL the kimchi!  You do better then me with the kimchi!  How come you like hot food?  Before, I was worried all the time, what will you eat?  But now, I see you like noodle, I don't have to worry anymore! hahah! We can go to the market next week and eat all the food!"

After lunch, Mr Lee has planned that we are going "to look at an old building".  It turns out that we're heading toward Deoksu Palace.  As we approach, we see a crowd gathered in front of the palace gate, and a ceremony just beginning.  Mr Lee grabs my hand and starts running, actually running! "Oh oh!  It's our lucky day!  Look at this, look at this!  Here they come!  Quick stand over there! (pushing me through the crowd so I can be in front)  I take your picture!  Turn around, here they come!  Blue! Yellow! Red!  Here comes the blue dragon!"  

Here they come!

And the yellow!

And the red!

Stand over there!  The yellow are coming back!

Ok! Now both of us!

Posing with the royal guard

After the ceremony, Mr Lee and I head back to our neck of the woods.  We have dinner at the food court again, this time trying a fried dumpling thing. YUM!  What a fun day we had!  Next week, we're going to eat all the food at the market, or something.  Who knows what he'll plan!