He's at the HUGE base, Yongsan Army Garrison.

Been there, as I think any member of the military who ever went anywhere near Seoul back in the day. After your mention of Itaewon, I suspected. There was a pretty live scene up the hill from the base even back then. I recall it was a real dilemma for some of the guys, especially the married ones. I really felt bad for the guys who took strong moral positions against it, then got dear Johned by their wives before their tour ended - presumably because her morals were not as strong (Oh wait, that's a different thread).

Charles, if you want to avoid the crazy club scene, I remember touring an historic palace and a monastery in Seoul. Many of the monks at the buddhist monastery were from America, and it was pretty interesting. I am sure things are different there now, but the USO is where the tours started (in buses - not taxis). I also traveled to Taegu and a place called Meo Sam with some Korean Marines who spoke pretty good English. There was a strong coffee house culture everywhere in Korea (and Japan) before there were Starbucks everywhere. I wonder if those themed coffee places still exist. Enjoy the tour. I hope you get a little exposure to the culture there, because that is what makes seeing other counties fun IMO. Good Luck.

You can add me to the "I love Korea" list as well. I spent many hours in those themed coffee houses, toured historic palaces, and saw the "other side" of Korea that wasn't limited to the bars and blanket shops right outside the base gates. If you go to a foreign place and limit yourself to the "American" parts, you might as well stay in the U.S.

If you have time for the USO tours or to go through what they call the MWR (Morale, welfare and recreation) by all means, take some of the tours. A better way to do it is to talk to one of the locals you're working with and ask them to show you the "real" side of their country, away from the mi-gooks (Americans) and military life. They'll show you something cool, guaranteed.

If you do go to the "nightlife" once again, don't go to the "GI" part of town, go to one of those HUGE crazy disco places where there are literally thousands of drunk Koreans dancing. I guarantee you you'll have a blast, and you won't be the worst dancer!

How are the driving lessons going? Here is a picture of my wife... Fortunately that is NOT our Cadillac Escalade.

This was about 30 feet down from my office. This happened earlier this week. My wife now has a new found fear of driving...again!

Click to view attachment

Does that mean she is back to 10 mph again?

Now she is just afraid to get on the road period, at least for a few days. Some 70+ year old woman was driving this SUV. About 30 feet to to the left and I would have been wearing her front grill. When she hit, there was quite a sound, and the whole building shook. My wife ran outside to see what happened. She came back in and told me I had to see this. The lady in the car didn't know how it happened! My wife asked her if she was OK, and all she could say was "my husband is going to kill me" to which my receptionist replied YES, but are you OK now? The first deputy that arrived looked, and calmly said "Oh, another one" which leads me to believe this is a common occurrence here in Florida.

Reminds me of Geneva Convention rules, "I just shot you, are you OK? Let me bandage you up before I take you to the EPW camp."



Ah... the blue hairs.

My parents have a home in Florida, and from what I hear, you are spot on. It is a pretty common thing. I just can't decide if it is the average age of drivers there, lack of reflexes, the tendency to drive VERY defensively (read slow), or a combination of those.

and the dragon hill has bedbugs!

Driving very slow doesn't cause people to drive through walls. The other reasons listed may have something to do with it though.



WTFO?

Isn't the Dragon Hill like 5 stars?

If you wanna stay in a nice place, head down to Burger King, hang a right, and there's a little motel there called the "Acorn." It's probably not even 1 star, but it's a good deal for the money. $23/night or something like that. A/C, cable, fridge... and no bed bugs! Plus, you're in the heart of Itaewon so you can stumble home after a nice evening of "taking in the culture" and enjoying the local customs.

True, but driving really slow in fast traffic will cause other drivers to have problems

i had 4 or 5 rooms across the hall from mine that had the doors sealed on the outside with tape. i asked the front desk what that was all about, got the expected "i don't know anything"
later on while out in the smoking area, i told this to a woman out there and she knows some hotel staff, so she asked and that was the reason for the doors being taped over.

Grey area thread, please leave in RU forum as per moving guide.

Thanks.

The Russia Forum is a grey area!

until ya'll get your wives to wash your whites in hot water and bleach.

Yeah right, like my wife would ever do my laundry.