Be a Tourist

Sorry I’ve been MIA. I’ve been sick and kindy is kicking my butt, plus I recently moved so I’ve been cleaning in any spare time I manage to get.

For now, enjoy some video clips I took around 6pm headed into Seoul. They were filmed from the front seat of the second deck of a double decker bus, and in the second video you can see us approaching Gwanghwamun Gate (광화문), beyond which lies the main palace of Seoul, Gyeongbukgung (경복궁). In the final video, we are approaching Sungnyemun (숭례문), also known as Namdaemun (남대문).

I am forever fascinated by the clash and harmony of centuries old buildings beside 20 story buildings decked out in digital signboards. I wasn’t the only one struck by the beauty that night–the older gentleman beside me was also taking pictures as we traveled, marveling at the beauty all around us.

I consider myself a perpetual tourist in this life, something I’ve come to terms with despite struggling most of my life with the notion of “fitting in.” There is nothing wrong with being a tourist, even at 5, 10, 20 years living in the same city, for being a tourist allows us eyes to appreciate both the astounding and the mundane, the ordinary and the extraordinary.

After all, as human beings, we are all tourists, bound to return to that which we once knew as home, however you believe it manifests.

Be a tourist. Admire the manholes. Gaze upon the sunsets and skyscrapers and street vendors. Take the pictures.

Be a tourist.