Less sand, but still plenty of tanks

Yes, I’ve been gone a while. And I’ve switched countries a few times since.

I’m currently living in a nicely appointed hotel suite while I get permanent quarters here in South Korea.

It’s what is known as a “love hotel,” a common enough thing in Pacific Asia. They’re where folks sneak off to when they don’t want anyone to know. They’re also a lot nicer than the bare bones businessmen hotels, and westerners often prefer them.

So, here I am with a pink fluorescent light hanging over my dresser, and one of those Craftmatic adjustable beds that dominated daytime TV ads in the 1980s. I always wondered where they went. The lit-up, body-contoured Jacuzzi is a nice touch too.

It’s been six weeks since I left Okinawa, so I won’t try to recap it all here. Here are a few random observations:

• If you’re driving in the countryside – defined as anywhere outside Seoul – stopping at a red light is considered offensive.
• Seoul is comparable to Tokyo, but grittier and about half the price.
• A visit to the Demilitarized Zone further proved my theory about the military, originally formulated in Iraq: the closer you are to actual hostility being a reality, the less the servicemembers are concerned about bureaucratic nonsense. Not getting shot is what matters.
• If offered a choice between a simple rice roll and a piece of pig’s head, choose the pig’s head. The “safe” choice is the one that will give you food poisoning.
• I always had the feeling in mainland Japan that I was inadvertently breaking a social custom that made me a heathen foreigner. Somehow, walking and drinking water at the same time means seppuku to avenge one’s ancestors. I don’t get that feeling here. Next to soccer, baseball, the national sport seems to be loogie-hocking. They take their sidewalk spitting very seriously.
• Keep a phrase book handy so you can translate the words under plates of tasty looking food. That way, you won’t be surprised to find out that “booldak” means “fire chicken.”

I’ll try to update this thing a little more in the future. Let's shoot for once a week.
Here are a few stories of interest:

Camp Bonifas soldiers find fellowship at a tense border

Army considers action against slashed Seoul American senior