Seoul Tower

We went over to Seoul Tower, a landmark on Sannam which is one of the largest mountains in the city center the day before Valentine's  Took the tram up the side of the hill which is a must unless of course you want to really work the calves and thighs.

Air quality was not the best in terms of visibility, but the scenery was still striking in terms of expanse. In the photo to the belo, after the first set of low lying hills, you might just be able to make out a larger, haze ridden line of taller mountains.

Those mountains are some 30 km to the northeast, and beyond that there is still the city of Seoul. New York just doesn't compare, and Los Angeles, despite it's sprawl, seems almost parochial in comparison while Honolulu, our home, seems nothing more than a large town.

Now, if you ever make the trip to the tower (and we plan to do it  right the next time around) be sure to take a padlock with you.  Uniquely Korean, taking a perfectly good padlock (with or without a plastic heart or equally durable substrate that you can personalize) and chaining it to the observation

guard fence at the top of the observatory on Seoul Tower is a must! It's like spelling out your name with coral on lava rock (Big Island of Hawaii) or carving your name on the leaf of an Autograph Tree (most Pacific islands).  And the best part is if you return, in say ten years or so, your lock will still be there: we were told that some of the locks had been there since the late eighties!

A nice way to secure a memory in the Heart of Asia.