Wombat king

It had to be done. I had to get to Korea before I left Japan. What possibly excuse could I have to not go? It was just a hop-skip-and-a-jump over the puddle known as the Sea of Japan (depending on who you ask) to get Seoul. Cheap to get there, cheap to stay.

As I am a professional procrastinator, it came right down to the wire - one month before leaving Japan to return to the States, I got my tickets and headed off for a 5-day weekend in Seoul.

Not much in the way of plans for this trip - some sightseeing, hanging out, catching up with Andy and meeting his girlfriend, eating some good food, soaking it all up really.

Soaking was about right. I managed to land in Seoul in the height of rainy season, which meant that a moment without wet clothes and puddles was the exception and not the rule for those 5 days.

I checked in to the hostel downtown, that wasn't too far from the big temples of the city, and managed to conjure up a small posse for the trip. Dave and Andrea became my partners in crime as we puddle-jumped, sight-saw, and explored the wonders of Korean street food.

Dave is a little-league baseball coach from Australia who was on his way back from coaching an international series in the Netherlands and decided to build in a stop-over in Seoul. I've met a lot of Aussies, most of whom are a lot of fun, and many of whom are also real wankers, but Dave was luckily the not-a-wanker fun sort. An all-round good guy with a quick sense of humor and a dream of opening his own wombat farm in the Land Down Under someday, he made for a great pal to wile away the long rains and explore the city with.

When I go back to Oz, I'm gonna find me that wombat farm.