Falling in Love Again

Like any episode of love at first sight, it happened when I was least expecting it. I stepped off the plane and fell in love with Seoul. Maybe the love will burn out in a hot ball of flames but I don't care.  I'm only here for five days so I'm having a little holiday romance with the city itself.

It has coffee in spades, fabled Asian stationery shops dot the landscapes, there's walking and mountains that juxtapose the trendy bars and dessert cafes and, and, and. Every corner turns up something new: food, Korean BBQ, deep fried delights, check, check. Shopping: makeup street, Gangnam district, shoes(!), check, check, check. Culture: Royal Palace on one corner, old village on the next. Yes.

Again, there's a notable difference in levels of polite from China. Its neighbour, a short 1.5 hour flight from Shanghai, is a world away. People have been friendly and helpful. Yesterday's taxi driver apologized profusely for the traffic jam and as a peace offering for something deeply out of his control, offered us a stick of gum.

This is the Asia of my imagination.