I ended up at Namsan Tower, the highest point in Seoul, by accident yesterday. I actually went to see Namdaemun (South Gate) Market, having read that it was a seething mass of commerce and humanity, but the merchandise depressed me and I decided I wasn't in the mood to fight the seether that day.

I walked up to Namsan (South Mountain) Park and wandered around, looking at the little groups of older men sitting on the ground, playing Korean cards. One little group seemed to be headed by a woman, a rather unusual sight, and I wondered if she came there everyday to head up the gambling.

Befuddled by the paths, I walked into a building and discovered it was the Namsan library. So I asked for a map of the park.

"Map? Of the park?"
"Yes, a map of the park. That shows the paths and stuff."
"Try the fourth floor."

[on the fourth floor]
"Map?"
"Yes, of the park. Like, for tourists? That shows the paths? So I can walk around?"
"Like this?" [shows me a Mapquest type map on the computer]
"Yeah, but more detailed."
"Like this?" [pulls out an atlas of Seoul]
"Um, sure, yeah."

I stared at the atlas for a while, orienting myself the best I could, then thanked the librarian and walked out. I was about to give up but noticed a bus stop sign (often they have maps on them), and realized I was very close to the Botanical Garden. So I trekked up a little further, and saw an entrance for cars and an staircase, which I figured was the pedestrian entrance.

I climbed. At one point, the stairs split into two directions, and I, I took the one headed straight up the mountain, because I wondered where it would lead me.

To the top of the mountain is where it led me, in my very inappropriate $7 Payless shoes, sweatin' all the way.

Since I was there, I bought a ticket to the observatory level of Namsan Tower, which was actually really lovely. It wasn't too hazy or smoggy, so I was able to see fairly clearly, and it was fun, as usual, to try to pick out the places I knew from the pictures of the views provided. A lot of landmarks are corporate buildings and hotels. I suppose that's the case in the States too.

When I hit the southeast view of Yongsan and Itaewon, it dawned on me that the U.S. army base wasn't labeled on the photo of that view. I guess that makes sense, security-wise and pride-wise. Interestingly, I didn't think that the base was all THAT big. I mean, it's big, don't get me wrong, and worth millions of dollars in real estate, but it wasn't the HUGE area I thought it was. But it does stand out.

Looking at the areas surrounding the base, the buildings look like they've been haphazardly slapped down in any which way, a result of the multitude of small, curving streets that most people live on. Crammed together, there's a kind of admirable disorder to them, as well as a sense of packed-togetherness. There are no trees among these buildings, at least none large enough to leap out at you through a telescope.

The base looks different from the surrounding neighborhoods. Huge, dark green leafy trees hide most of the houses. The neat lines of the parking lots bemused me -- except for the richer high rises, there are no parking lots like American parking lots in Seoul. You park underground or parallel to the curb. And a building sign that read "Eighth Army United States" for some reason threw me for a loop. Panning left from the War Memorial Museum, you end up looking right at that sign.

I kept staring at the base through the telescope until I got motion sickness and had to stop. Then I walked around the tower again, thinking. The last time I'd been in a tower like this was two years ago. Fourth of July, Seattle. John and I went up while my aunt and uncle and brother and sister-in-law waited for us on the ground. We had arrived on the night of the Fourth, and saw fireworks from above as we flew in -- beat them apples.

Now I was in another tower, looking down on another city, with no one but myself. [Insert 10 minutes of reminiscing, sad thoughts, realizations and resolutions.] Wherever you are, John, whatever you're doing, God bless.