Weather/Getting around Seoul

When I left NY 2 days ago, it was in the 30s and cold/snowy. When I arrived in Seoul yesterday, it was 20s and snowing.. so the good news is that I feel right at home - the bad news is that this weather is making it difficult to really enjoy walking around because it's just so cold.. but just two more days of the frigid weather, and the rest of the trip should have temperatures north of 70, starting in Phuket.

With the exception of rides to and from the airport, I'm solely getting around Seoul by foot and subway.. and thankfully, it's really easy to get around (importance of Google Maps/GPS can't be understated).

First off.. almost all major (and many minor) establishments have things written in English under the Korean characters, and I can't say enough about how helpful that's been.. we're very lucky to have our culture be so prevalent all throughout the world.

Second, their subway stops are just massive, and so much nicer/safer than ours. There's no such thing as falling onto the tracks here since (similar to the AirTrain to JFK) you're just looking at a glass wall until a couple of doors slide open ONLY when a train has pulled in. This added safety applies to busy streets too - instead of crossing the street, you walk underground and come back up on the other side.

Speaking of underground... Seoul does it right in that department, in both street crossings and subway stations. It reminded me of Kiev, where there's seemingly as much commerce underground as there is above ground. Take the Dunkin I passed by the subway for example.. look at those crazy donuts! There was also a sign for something called Bunsik - and while it looked appetizing, I opted to not get my buns sick - almost too easy. Also, there's a full signal for cell phones down there, which is really handy for figuring out where you're going.

Tomorrow my goal is to get up early and visit the Seoul Tower. Tonight, I'll go as far as Tinder will take me.