We whizz by Pyongtaek on the expressway – no, scratch that. We crawl past Pyongtaek in one massive traffic jam 50km out of Seoul. To think we joined the expressway finally after getting frustrated with the endless stops and starts on the smaller roads as we near the grand metropolis and now find ourselves moving even slower.
We’re aiming for the Seoul Grand Park/Racecourse area for our first night, a place we decided upon by sticking a pin in the map – far enough from the centre it may offer some free parking; in our ancient guide book it says that this area is around Seoul, not in the city at all, but its metro station is only a handful of stops from the embassies we need to call on. Well, 50 klicks out it looks like the centre already.
In the tailback, we slowly pass gardens and car parks white with snow. This is our first frozen water of the journey so far; a credit to the wonderful climate in Busan and a portentous omen of things to come…
Busy organising things for our exhibition next week. We have been staying in a room at the Agit Indie Art Space with all the computers, hard drives and cameras out. Ryu, the boss at Agit, (in collaboration with Kay2 and Sixcoin) has been more than helpful – from sorting out parking permits for the trucks; extending Dunia’s visa (Portuguese get a month less than other Europeans); to printing out 150cm panoramic photos; taking us out around town and generally being the kind of host you can only dream about.