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Debbie
Ward has spent more than 15 years
as a journalist, several as Features
Editor of Travel Trade Gazette.
She now works freelance.
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| A café
that's simply top dog
Metro
I'm just a few streets away from the Seoul cafe I'm
headed for but feel hopelessly lost and stop to ask a businessman
the way. It's only once I've passed him my internet
print-out that I remember the address sits below a picture of
a waiter scooping a turd off the floor.
Though the man giving me directions seems a little surprised,
those of us looking for Cafe Bau House are unlikely to be
put off by such bio-hazards because, in a country famed for
eating man's best friend, it specialises in serving
dogs, not on plates but as guests.
Some of Korea's new breed of dog-lovers bring their
own pets but many, like me, come to Bau House to hang out
with the 20-odd resident canines. Dogs are everywhere; running
around, hurdling chairs and sitting on tables. Seconds after
I arrive a Dalmatian and Labrador become locked in a play
fight round my ankles as an Alsatian begs for one of the café's
healthy doggy snacks being proffered by a teenager. Hung on
the walls are dog-of-the-week photos, four-legged fancy dress
outfits and ominous rows of toilet rolls.
The smell is, of course, rank, though the staff do their
best. As I watch two toddlers peering into a kennel I become
aware of a large dog squatting at my feet. Barely has the
air's gag count raised a notch than the resident turd-tackler
is on the dump with plastic bag, loo roll and disinfectant
spray. Nearby there's a dog with a nappy on, leading
me to wonder what kind of chronic bowel activity has caused
it to be singled out.
Seated amid the chaos with a suddenly unappealing milkshake,
I feed plain popcorn to the Dalmatian that joins me. When
the café's one disdainful cat emerges from behind
the giant air-con unit and rubs her chin over the straw of
my drink I decide it's time to go.
While Bau House must be the weirdest, Seoul is known for
its quirky tea shops. The next day in artsy Insa-dong district
I sip cough mixture-tasting dew tea in a café with
water features set under the glass tabletops.
Insa-dong, popular with tourists and locals alike, is a kind
of Korean Covent Garden. It's good for antiques and
art galleries but the shops and stalls sell everything from
tat to temple food. I watch a jewellery-making session at
a communal table in the mall and a sweet maker using a carpentry
plane to shave strips off a blob of toffee the size of a seal
pup.
Seoul's off-beat vibe makes it a fun place to simply
hang out for a few days, but its official attractions are
its ancient temples, palaces and fortresses.
I take a tour of Changdeokgung Palace where there's
an ornate 'secret' garden and the eaves of the
15th century buildings are decorated with dragon shaped gargoyles.
As tradition dictates, giant water jars are placed at strategic
points so any fire spirits intent on destroying the palace
will be scared off by their own reflections.
My visit to Seoul coincides with the UNESCO-listed Confucian
ceremony of Jongmyo Daeje which takes place annually at the
beginning of May. For over 500-years the ghosts of the royal
dead have been honoured by this ritual that's both solemn
and spectacular.
Hundreds of brightly robed descendants of the former kings
and queens whose spirits are believed to reside in the Jongmyo
Shrine, line its courtyard to perform sequences of bows and
slow line-dances to the sound of chanting, bells and drum
beats. A headset commentary explains the action as ceremony
officials symbolically burn animal blood mixed with millet,
pour wine down a hole to the spirit chamber then offer up
a feast set on golden tableware.
My guide, Min says she honours her own ancestors with ceremonial
meals at home. I ask what happens to the food. "We believe
they eat it," she says, though admits it only physically
disappears when the family tuck in afterwards. "The
spirits don't exactly have teeth," she explains.
When the Jongmyo ceremony ends, the mortal participants relax
and mill about the courtyard checking their voicemail and
having their pictures taken with tourists. The spirits have
departed the feast but unlike the guests at Bau House, they've
left no trace behind.
Bare essentials
In Seoul, South Korea's capital, ancient palaces co-exist with
skyscrapers, backed by mountain views. It's a good gateway to
Korea's heritage attractions, national parks and beaches, or
stopover en route to Australia.
Language = Korean
Currency £1 = 2,088 South Korean Won (KRW)
Eat me: Kimchi, the ubiquitous national dish
of pickled cabbage with chilli is surprisingly palatable, especially
accompanying a tabletop barbecue.
Wear me: 1980s maternity fashions were surely
inspired by Korea's vivid, billowing traditional dress, Hanbok.
It's offered for photo-op try-ons in tourist areas.
Try me: Stay a night in a traditional Hanok
home in Seoul's heritage-rich Bukchon district or join monks
on a Temple Stay programme.
Getting there
Debbie flew to Seoul with Korean Air (0800 413 000; www.koreanair.com).
Returns from London Heathrow currently start from £581.
She stayed at Fraser Place serviced apartments (00 82 2 7299
374; http://seoul-central.fraserhospitality.com).
One bedroom Super Deluxe apartments currently start from £80
a night.
Korea Tourism Organisation: 020 7321 2535 www.visitkorea.or.kr
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