Solo.

For about five years now, my two best friends and I have been planning on taking a trip outside the Philippines. Individually, we are relatively well travelled, so one would think that planning a trip would be a breeze. But in the last five years we've always found reasons for our trips not to push through, and our trip to Korea, booked flights and hotels notwithstanding, was no exception.

To cut the story short, I ended up going to Korea alone.

Finding myself without company for the trip, my itinerary was suddenly wide open. I could do pretty much whatever I wanted, and go pretty much where ever I pleased. So I started planning on my own, in the haphazard way that I usually do. A month before my flight, I read about the Seoul Jazz Festival which was scheduled just two days short of my arrival. Luckily, I was able to rebook my flight two days earlier at no extra cost, so that I can attend the festival.

Naturally, the Seoul Jazz Festival became the highlight of my trip as it featured Damien Rice. The other acts-- Paolo Nutini, Jamie Cullum, Erlend Oye (of Kings of Convenience), Eric Benet, and Sondre Lerche--were all good but Damien Rice was just... fucking amazing. Of course, it helped that the music festival was set in the Seoul Olympic Park, which features such a beautiful landscape. It also helped that the music festival, unlike those here in the Philippines, did not turn out to be a hipster convention. I was happy to note, too, that Koreans do not feel compelled to capture every second in a photograph, or every song in a video. Generally, everyone was just happy to be sitting on the grass, drinking beer, eating food and listening to good music, which is what music festivals should be about.

I paid KW195,000 for the two-day festival which some would say is rather expensive. But there were three different stages-- two outdoors and one indoor-- with good bands/singers playing simultaneously from 1 pm to 10 pm so I say it was value for money.  Besides, I'd have paid half the price just to see Damien Rice alone, considering the rather hefty amusement tax imposed on foreign acts here in the Philippines.

The other highlight of my trip would be my hike up the Baegundae Peak, which is the highest peak of Bukhansan Mountain. I read from various blogs that there are a lot of friendly mountain trails in Seoul. It seemed that Bukhansan National Park was the easiest to get to as I only needed to (subway + bus) so based on my limited research I decided to go there. I really was unprepared. I carried a jansport backpack with just one liter of water, one bottle of gatorade, one half-eaten cookie and one bag of chips.I looked like a college student on the way to school, seated next to a lot of men and women in full hiking gear, carrying legit backpacks and even walking poles.

The mountain was supposed to be easy to navigate. The park was also supposed to have english maps. Unfortunately for me, there were no maps available. But, and this is where my fortune turns, I met Ayumi, a Japanese mountain climbing enthusiast who spoke English well, and who was good with maps (even Korean ones). Along the way I learned that Ayumi learned to speak english after living in the Philippines for three months. I also learned that she wasn't kidding about being a mountain climbing enthusiast. She was incredibly fit. I was mostly incredibly tired.

All in all, the ascent and descent took about 5 hours excluding our rest at the peak. I think, anyone can climb that mountain, but at a much more leisurely pace. The mountain gear was not really necessary. In retrospect, I think the only thing I should have done but didn't do was to bring lunch because by the time I got back to the city, I was completely famished. I was so famished that when I got back to the city, I stepped into the first restaurant with an english menu that I saw, ordered 10 pieces of dumplings and cold buckwheat noodle soup and finished all of it in one go.

I spent the rest of the trip visiting the usual tourist spots in Seoul. I went to see the Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Changgyeonggung Palace and the secret garden. I stumbled upon the Cheongyeocheon stream while looking for the nearest metro station. I had enough time to see the more famous shopping districts--Namdaemun, Dondaemun, Insandong and Myeongdong--and enough energy to find the Naksan Public Art Project. I even went to Nami Island which I think was a tourist trap.

 All in all, I would say that Seoul is a beautiful city. Walking around, I made sure to always carry cans of beer (and water, yes) in my backpack , certain that I would stumble upon a beautiful park where I could kick back, drink and read.

And I noticed that Koreans loved their parks too. I suppose this would be the reason why they generally look fit. I also found their fashion sense fascinating. Some would say they are over the top, I'd say they are daring and original. It's like they took American fashion and twisted it on its head. I hear the food there is good too. Unfortunately, I did not get to try a lot as I was on my own and it felt like a sin to order a feast that I could not finish. Most of the time, I ended up eating street food for lunch or dinner, or a bowl of bibimbap. I did fall madly in love with their red bean pastries which I couldn't get enough of. I ate it everyday with their watered-down americano.

The Koreans were generally friendly but it's true what they say about how there aren't a lot of English speakers in Korea. This would be the primary reason for my getting lost half the time.

Seoul isn't an easy city to get lost in. The distances in between metro stations, unlike in Singapore or Paris, are appreciable.You'll notice, too, that the terrain to famous landmarks are usually uphill. On my first morning, I decided to walk instead of take the cable car to Namsan Park to see the Seoul N Tower. As it turned out, I had to climb up the Namsan Mountain to get to the tower. Somewhere at the top, I took the wrong turn and ended up going downhill to Namsangkol Hanok Village instead. But along the way, the view was just gorgeous. As I got higher I saw more of the city and as I went down I saw garden art littered along the way, and old couples holding hands on park benches. The way to Naksan Public Art Project is also uphill. I went there the day after my Baegundae climb so you can imagine the suffering my quads had to get through. It is unfamiliar to tourists and there are hardly any signs to get there so you'd have to attempt a conversation with a Korean or keep walking uphill until you stumble upon it. If you're not the adventurous type, or if you're tired and your feet are sore, keep to the more famous touristy spots where there are always English signages. But if you're like me, and you like to find out what Seoul is about on your own,  then go into alleyways, and take the wrong exits. Try to negotiate a conversation with a local who can't speak a word of English but is kind enough to converse with google translate, or join a  Korean palace tour. Eat food on the street, without asking what's in it.

You see, the "road less travelled" is a creed for a reason. As in life, the more arduous roads are often the most rewarding.

Dream Sequence

There was an inexplicably surreal, almost dreamlike quality to Santorini that hung over me the entire time I was there. I felt lighter...more optimistic. Maybe it was the vivid colors under the bright Santorini sun, or watching a dramatic sunset cast a lovely orange glow on the whitewashed buildings and blue domes, while I sat on the ruins of an old norse castle. Maybe it was the maze of alleys and the doorways to the sea and sky and the buildings cramped on the mountainside like an audience jostling to get a view of the sunset. Maybe it was the art, or the wine, or the food and how people just sat around to enjoy them. It could be the rocky mountain ridges, the dangerously narrow highways, and the occasional traffic of donkeys. Or it could be just the feeling of absolute freedom that you get from seeing the mountain, the sea and the sky, and the most glorious sunset you have seen, with people you work with everyday.

Yes, I know, just posting photos of Santorini is lazy writing. But you know how it is with dreams... you usually only remember a lingering sensation of something remarkable that happened, but forget the hazy details.

Ruins

Any kid who grew up reading about Greek mythology romanticizes Greece. In my mind,  Greece's ancient ruins stand proudly over an old, quaint, European cityscape.In my mind, Greece should be nothing short of majestic. So as our airport bus rolled out of the airport, as we drove into a city of graffiti-covered walls,  run down, decrepit buildings and shut down establishments, you can imagine my disbelief.

Even in Athens, signs of the financial crisis were apparent. Restaurants served "crisis meals," the equivalent of McDonald's value meals. A few steps from our hotel was Avyssinias Square, which at the time was crowded, teeming with tourists and locals.  Nearby were even more old, rundown, graffiti-covered buildings housing restaurants and other merchant stores selling fake Nikes and second-hand clothes.

Athens, it turned out, was not like any other European city. Sure, it had its cobble stone streets and antique street lamps. It had more than its fair share of stone churches, cafes and pubs. But unlike other European cities, Athens had no pretenses. It reflects its nation's real state, the crisis that it is now in. It lives and breaths with its people. It suffered, and suffers still, with them.

Our first agenda was to have lunch in an authentic Greek restaurant. For this we went to Thanasis Souvlaki. We were not disappointed by the food, the portions and prices. I ordered a huge serving of chicken souvlaki which came with pita and fries. I paid a total of 15 euros but this already included a 500 ml bottle of Fix beer, and shared side orders of greek salad, zaganaki, moussaka and tsatsiki. This meal set the bar for all my meals in Greece, although I later discovered souvlakis as cheap as 2.5 euros. The grilled meat--souvlakis and kebabs, were good and I stuffed myself full with them. But I can't say I was impressed by it as it's not hard to grill meat, and we have grilled meat on Sundays at home. For me, the highlight of Greek cuisine was not their meat but their salads, more particularly, their tomatoes and feta cheese. Their tomatoes were as fresh as it could come--sweet and juicy and plump. Their serving of feta cheese was always, always, always generous. After Greece, all other salads were just disappointing. 

After lunch, we spent our first afternoon in Athens just walking around the city. We caught glimpses of the Acropolis and Parthenon overlooking the city--a gentle reminder of Greece's indelible place in history. On the way to Avyssinias square, we came across small Greek Orthodox churches and street performers, and locals peddling all sorts of wares--from fake ray bans to leather wallets and sandals to necklaces fashioned from thin wires to olive wood.The square, which leads up to Monastiriki Flea Market was alive with the chatter of vendors negotiating with haggling tourists. It was neither quaint nor charming. It was like the markets in Singapore and Hongkong--crowded, noisy and slightly dangerous.

The following morning, I decided to join a few of my officemates for a short morning run. It was a brisk morning and even with the steep uphill terrain, I barely built-up a sweat.. As we ran up and down the narrow streets of Athens I finally came to appreciate the strange but beautiful juxtaposition of graffitied walls, ancient ruins and cobblestone streets, under the glow of antique street lamps and the moonlight.This, I realized, was Athens' distinct charm. It was like a toast to freedom, something which Greece is deeply rooted in.

Our run ended on Areopagus, a hill that overlooks the city, and stands just below the Acropolis. We decided to watch the sunrise from there, which was a mistake because the sun rose behind the Acropolis. Still, from there, we witnessed the light creeping into Athens. If you see the sun slowly cast its beautiful orange glow over the magnificent, rolling landscape of white-washed buildings of Athens, how it paints the light blue sky with the faintest hues of pink, you will understand why belief in gods and goddesses is particularly compelling in this city.

On the same afternoon, after a hop-on, hop-off tour of Athens, we returned to the same spot to watch the sunset. This time, we actually saw it. It was heartbreaking seeing such a beautiful sunset. Not for its rarity but for its fleetingness. It was one of those moments you just want to hold on to, to stay in.To revel in.

 I suppose this is the general feeling you will hold in Athens, after you get past the apparent effects of the crisis. Every time you come across an ancient structure or its ruins, you will feel a profound respect for what these ruins have withstood and what they now stand for.I remember how, walking into Acropolis, I made sure to get away from the crowd, and walk around it on my own pace. On some occasions, I asked people to take my photo, but mostly, I preferred to be alone in my reverence. The whole time, I kept thinking how much the modern civilized world owed this city. Athens is where the first known democracy was founded. If you know me at all, you would know that the respect for and preservation of democratic spaces is something that I am deeply passionate about.Thus, walking among the ancient pillars that witnessed the birth of the notion of democracy was especially poignant for me.