Seoul: A Magnificent Return

I came back to Seoul today.  I caught what the refer to as the "KTX" train, which is supposed to be some super speed demon, but the reality is that South Korea is a tiny country and the train doesn't have to go very fast because it really isn't that far.   Overall the journey took 3 hours, most of which I spent watching some Venture Brothers episodes I had downloaded.  I think the lady beside me was not feeling it, based on her facial expressions.  I don't think they have adult cartoons over here that aren't pornographic, so maybe that is why.

I checked into the Banana Backpackers Hostel near Insadong.  The hostel was pretty cool: large, artsy, young, and hip.  It kind of reminded me of the Green Tortoise hostel in SF.  The location wasn't quite as good as Bebop House, though (it was full and I'll move over there in a few days).
Another random moment of coincidental hilarity occured at this hostel.  I ran into Pieter from Belgium, whom I had met in Sokcho, who was also going to be taking the ferry to China around the same time as me.  "Ok, guess I don't have to email you, since your right here".  Pieter was going to take the ferry the very next day, to Qingdao.   I had planned to take the ferry to Tianjin (in about a week).  But we thought we might be able to meet eachother up in Beijing.  It's actually quite a small world when you are constrained to backpacker hostels.  I've had at least 5 surprise run-ins at this point.