Arriving in Seoul a peacefulness pervades everything, the people and the city. The transport infrastructures allow for two very different contexts to reside. The huge motor-ways efficiently carry the majority of the cars, which leaves areas in the urban fabric with a very pedestrian feel. This peacefulness transcends down to the citizens most basic need. A drink. I am immediately struck by the availability of great tasting free water, everywhere from restaurants, airports, streets, corridors to kitchens. It is never far away, the enjoyment of this simple gesture is of course amplified as I've just arrived from the desert, but even in London I struggle to find good clean, chilled water anywhere, especially not for free. It's fine to walk in off the street and just help yourself to the water thats available. It draws to my attention a situation in Bolivia, in 1999, when President Hugo Banzer placed Bolivia under martial law with the government setting out a $200 million contract selling Cochabamba's public water system to foreign investors. Rates increased by 35% sparking country wide protests, this put Cochabamba on the front-line in the battle against a globalization of water resources. It should be a human right to have access to good drinking water all the time.
Waste, pollution and other societal inflicted issues continue to affect the possibility of such an achievement. As the strains on our environment increase, the issue of enough freshwater will become the next Oil issue, a sacred resource that governments and nations will be willing to go to war for.
The images below show some of the drinking paraphernalia discovered around Seoul. All support an easy thirst quenching experience.
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