Seoul - Baaaaah

R E S P E C T

Today it's cool, 13°C, light rain with no end.

In the meantime, I've been chatting with Akira from Kyoto and got a surprising lesson in respect in Asia.
In South Korea, respect is mainly about age. Some people use it gladly and shamelessly to judge the rebellious elders here.

In Japan, it doesn't necessarily revolve around age. Showing respect is more widespread there than anywhere else I've seen. It's a constant struggle to maintain your own face and the face of the other person. Even when it comes to accepting or declining offers. One rule of thumb that I've learned during my youth, regardless of the country:

- Politely decline the first offer
- Reluctantly but politely accept the second offer

It has served me well so far. And then Akira came along. The overnight stay with Akira includes a shuttle service. I thought it was an optional, friendly offer. So in my response on Airbnb, I politely and respectfully declined, as I don't want to be a burden. I wrote to him that nothing would delight me more than the honor of accepting his shuttle service, except exploring the beautiful country on foot.
The simple, automatically translated response was exactly one sentence:

'You will have plenty of opportunities to walk after check-in.'

😯 Somehow, while reading it, I got slight 'The Godfather' vibes. As if he thought while reading my message: 'I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.' And those thoughts were invisibly attached to the message, unfolding when reading it. Of course, I need a suitable response to that:

'Thank you, Akira. I would be happy to. Please let me know if 13:00 o'clock is a suitable time for you.
My best wishes, Thomas'

First time decline, second time gratefully accept. I'll stick with that in Germany. But in Japan, I'll do it all in one step in the future. Gratefully accept the first time. 😁

The Germans and their problems

After this free Master Miyagi lesson, I hit the road. Since I want to explore the area, I only ride half of the way and get off at the river. Under the bridge, as is common here, there are outdoor fitness stations. On the river, these fitness facilities, mainly visited by the older generation, are located every few hundred meters. On a vacant area, I see a man in his 40s practicing his K-Pop dance moves.

I walk along the river and listen to the weekly podcast '9 Minutes Netto'. For me, this is basically the only source I use to follow the excesses of German politics even here. In this case, it's about the self-determination law, among other things. Want to go to the women's sauna as a male? Forget the psychological assessments, now a visit to the office is enough. I just shake my head here. The German problems are so far away and insignificant here.
Then he reports on book corrections. Nowadays, publishers start to replace 'fat' with 'enormous' in children's book classics. But 'enormous bread' as a band somehow sounds shitty too.
I wonder when 'enormous' will be negatively connotated.
The human brain is the most effective and energy-efficient problem-solving machine of all time, climbing up the hierarchy of needs. If people don't have real problems, they just make some up. 🙄

Enough of that, a stop at the water is needed now.

Off to the new accommodation 🏠

On the way to the guesthouse, there's a lot to see again. I notice that it's too much, I start to get tired. Here I see another help head that attracts attention with its light. Coupled with the CCTV, that should be deterrent enough.

Then I see something that I had only seen on the internet before, and back then I thought it was good. So far, I've only seen something similar on a smaller scale. Stations with small power banks for rent. This is a common sight in Japan.
But now I see something similar with batteries for mopeds. Faster refueling than gasoline, nice.

Eventually, I reach my new accommodation. I am greeted super friendly and nice, so far everything fits. I ask him where I can take a PCR test. He immediately sends me an address via WhatsApp, along with the price and further information. I still have to work my way through the Korean. Well, I can do that tomorrow.

After working a bit in the café, I decide to visit the 'Hospital' today. I can take the PCR test 72 hours before departure, which is about the right time now. But I have to subtract the 24-hour laboratory time. I decide to do it now rather than later, when something might go wrong. When I arrive at the address, I find myself in front of a high-rise building. Nothing unusual. I had looked at the pictures beforehand, but still, as I stand in the lobby from the elevator, I try to figure out which floor it could be. It's not like you enter an entrance and the reception is waiting for you. No, those are German standards. Here, life is organized on floors. I get into the elevator and choose the number 3. The elevator door opens and reveals a locked, barred gate. Well, I had explored my options beforehand, number 5 is my second choice. There I have more luck. I ask for a PCR test. The receptionist shows me with her arms an X. 'Today finish.' She lets me know that the tests were only until 16:00. Well, good thing I was already there today to find out early.

Thanks, Nature 🐑

I continue walking, working. I've been to Starbucks several times, how about a café with sheep? The place is called 'Thanks Nature Cafe'. I would probably have never come across it without the internet, because it's quite hidden.

I go down the stairs and am directly greeted by a 'Baaaaah'. And by the pervasive smell of sheep coupled with an even stronger scent of waffles. It's nice here and not too crowded. That changes relatively quickly, a lot of tourists come and go here. I work for a while, but eventually the constantly recurring smell of waffles becomes too much. It constantly alternates with the smell of cheap perfume.
So I leave the café, sit briefly with the sheep, and finally stroke Bebe through his wool. Oooooooooh my God, it's so fluffy! I consider taking Bebe with me to make my bed in the accommodation even fluffier. My gremlin screams yes briefly, but I'm already back on the street. 😅