I walk to the office most days, which is generally more pleasant than driving and certainly better for my health. Of course it was raining when I walked home tonight and my umbrella was safely in my hall closet. Oh well, I needed a shower anyway.

So, come on, let’s go for a walk…..

I exit the apartment walk past the elevator and go down two flights of stairs….

…into the basement parking garage. That’s my lonely car in the corner…..

Then out of the garage and onto my street…..

and past my neighborhood market. Picked up some small items there on a couple of occasions…

…then it is up this hill which is steeper than it appears….

….then I climb these stairs. There are sixty steps but some mornings it feels like more…

…but at the top I turn around and am rewarded with a nice vista of the Seoul skyline…

…but work beckons, so I walk on past the Turkish restaurant which I haven’t tried…

….and walk past this Mosque (which is responsible for my wake up calls on weekends when the call the faithful to prayer. Its just background noise to me though….

…turning right onto this road….

….and then I turn right again onto the bar drag. This street has a lot of raunchy bars with expensive “drinky girls” who try to tempt you into their lair with scantily clad bodies. But none of them are up this early in the morning so I have no temptations to deal with. Which by the way I do not succumb to in the dark of night either…..

…anyway, after a couple of blocks I turn left down this alley. In the evening it is packed with food vendors, but somehow seeing unrefridgerated food exposed to the elements does not whet my appetite….

…after crossing a major intersection (and dodging city buses and taxis) I continue down this alley….

…then I climb these stairs….

…and encounter a vendor setting up for breakfast. By the way, this is right in front of my home away from home, Sweet Caroline’s….

….and the main drag through Itaewon. It is nice and quiet in the morning. By afternoon it is so packed with street vendors and tourists it is difficult to walk….plus you have to fend off the guys wanting to sell you a custom made suit. Just as irratating as the drinky girls but not nearly as good looking….

…then I stroll past Mickey D’s (and no I have not had any desire to eat a quarter pounder or whatever they call them here. Too much good food to spend time and money in there)

Ah, the Itaewon arch….gateway to sleaze and decadence. That’s not fair, it is not really so bad, you just have to know which places to avoid and I have been quite successful at that….

They have this display of kimchi pots in the median. Man, to Koreans kimchi is the staff of life. They eat it with every meal (they literally reek of it). But hey, most of them are in good shape so maybe they are on to something. I don’t love kimchi, but it is quite tasty as a side dish….

…waiting for the light to change so I can cross this monster intersection in rush hour traffic….

I have seen no graffiti in this city, but somehow this mural strikes me as worse. I don’t know why, it just gives me the willies….

….walking on I pass the subway line I have ridden all of one time….

…I encounter a glimpse of spring’s promised arrival….

…almost there now. That bridge connects Main Post from South Post. My entry gate is at the base of the bridge. Sorry, I was a bit uncomfortable taking a picture of the Korean police who provide security at the gate. There are usually 20 or so of them and they carry these BIG sticks. Also, I don’t think we are supposed to take photos on post, so the last mile of my walk you will just have to imagine. Sorry ’bout that….

Objective achieved. Here I am safely at my desk ready for another day of doing the government’s work. All told, it is just over 30 minutes door to door.

Now, don’t you feel better for the exercise? Let’s go grab a beer…..