Seoul, soju, stuff on sticks and snow

A short but sweet first RTW3 blog from stop 1 in South Korea.

A blend of palaces, snowflakes, street food, heroic generals, sub zero temperatures and the Hyundai department store eased us into travel again. Seoul is superb.

It is organised; mass transit system extraordinaire, public toilets spotlessly everywhere, polished streets, huge underground shopping complexes, digitally impressive museums and foods according to the seasons.

It is stunning: icy palaces, secret gardens, mountains, trees, cobbled old towns, hidden food alleys, orange winter sunsets, streams replacing highways, architectural wonders, design museums, changing of the guards and food displays.

It is delicious: small crab snacks in the market, food hall Hyundai heaven, hotdogchipbatterdeepfriedonstick (treat that as visual onomatopoeia), whole chicken ginseng ‘samgyetang’ soup, cinnamon pancakes, chilli rice cake stew, oh yes and kimchi.

It is tipsy: drinking is the go, beer, soju, always with food, usually with the boys after work, later is better, beer hofs are up steep stairs, bags of hula hoop crisps are consumed in their millions and there are official hangover dishes to get you through the day.

It is unexpected: giant beer bottles and pandas, 4D battle experience with sea spray, hello kitty cafe, car department stores, school uniform doona coats, cartoon trains that pop on their lights on screen when moving to your station, hidden beer and chicken hofs, cute puffa fish restaurant logos.