Home away from home

Usually, when you travel overseas, especially on packaged tours, you get put up in hotels or similar lodgings meant for tourists. This means that the sights and sounds of the place will be tailored for the tourist. It always doesn't feel like home.

Last week, I put up in a hotel that is on the west side of Seoul City, nearer to the airport side than the centre of the city. It is a 'remote' side of the city for the tourist, but I enjoyed it more because I get to see more of the way Koreans go about their life - to work, to the supermarket, working in their workshops, etc. In a sense, it felt very much like home, away from any glitzy and glamour of the city. Instead, the landscape around the hotel is dotted with local restaurants - mostly small ones, metalworkshops, mom-and-pop shops, car workshops and the like. It feels safe too, not unlike a neighbourhood in Singapore. That's why I took a couple of photos of this vicinity, to remind myself how familiar the place looks.

There is something to be said for putting up in hotels away from the buzz. Anyway, the subway system in Seoul is quite comprehensive, so I can just hop onto a subway train and arrive at virtually any part of the city. A typical fare of up to 15 stops or thereabouts is about W1000 - about S$1.80 - which is not too expensive. Taxis operate by meters but I am told it is more expensive, unless you share the cab fare with someone else.

A mom-and-pop shop just across the hotel

A yet-to-open Workshop in the morning

A neighbourhood restaurant

Road leading to the Yongpyeong subway station near the hotel