Seoul, South KoreaSaturday, April 3, 2010
Although it was in a different season that Joseph and Mary had trouble finding a room at the inn, it seems that early April is the season when finding a room in Seoul is a challenge. Before leaving UB, Frank contacted countless guesthouses and hotels in Seoul trying to find us a room. His preference had been for a traditional guesthouse in the Insadong neighborhood, but in the end, he was willing to take almost anything. Finally he found a guesthouse with an opening and all seemed well. We arrived just past dusk in a narrow twisting lane. It seemed a very picturesque place, despite the late hour. We settled into the gorgeous room—and then the owner explained that the workers would be coming back at 7am to finish the courtyard. Still, as A gets up by then anyhow, we figured, no problem.
Paper walls are a feature of traditional guesthouses, but even walls of more durable materials would probably not have protected us from the afternoon stone-cutting session that took place right around nap-time. It was sad to leave such a truly gorgeous place, but the noise was so bad that the owner refused to charge us as we packed up and hastily fled to a nearby hotel—which Frank found after another exhaustive search, this one on foot.
The new place is boring, but blissfully quiet. Good job, Papa!
