Seoul survivor

As it has been a while since my last posts, I have many things to talk about. As that would result in a massive post longer than you have time to read, I am forced to edit down the most salacious details into nonexistence and include only the most boring incidents in my report. Indeed, clinical and dispassionate it shall be in its conveyance.

On the weekend of the 10th and the 11th, I undertook a lovely journey with Andrew to the bustling metropolis of Seoul. I had been to New York, LA, Istanbul, and Cairo, but I did not know what to expect from the 2nd largest metropolis of the world: Seoul. Ah, the thriving megacity of over 25 million people! Not the largest city in Asia, but considering Tokyo… Well, eventually I’ll just have to make it there too now won’t I? Andrew had done this many times before, as had most of my coworkers, but I had not and that needed to be rectified. So invigorated, we designed to leave Saturday morning on the bus to Seoul to see as much as possible before hitting the night life and taking the first bus back to Cheongju on Sunday morning. A day of sightseeing and a night of carousal?! What ever could come from that?

Hey, what could happen?!

Yeah, that’s Andrew looking like the New Yorker he is. Silly guy doesn’t know what’s goin on half the time. The other half of the time he tells you the wrong thing! Hah! But he was my traveling buddy so I had to entertain his craziness and he had to put up with mine. Unfortunately, as often happens to plans made by the best intentions, we kind of got a late start on Saturday (1:45 PM bus is never too late, right?), which quickly eliminated many of the items on our list of things to do. Considering the 1:45 departure time, the 3:45 arrival time in Seoul, and the sun setting at 5:30, there truly wasn’t much time at all for such visitations to the War Museum, wander the downtown, see the big stores, and so forth. Instead, we suffered the abbreviated version.

Upon arriving in Seoul, we decided to use the remaining day light to see the ’88 Olympic Park. Conveniently, there was a subway stop at the bus station. Inconveniently, we needed to change lines twice before making it to the Olympic Park. I’m really glad that Andrew was with me to help me navigate the subway since I had almost no idea what was going on. There was a steady flow of people wending their ways between automated ticket booths and automated turnstiles, clutching their cellphones and bags with almost nary a glaze lifted upwards to determine their paths. I’m sure a study of this humanity’s ebb and flow would have revealed the necessary steps for travel along the subway, but it was so much easier to simply have Andrew push me up to the automated ticket booth and show me what to do. Whereas many subways I’ve used before required you to either buy a paper ticket to get through the turnstile or buy a chargeable card (Charlie Card, for instance), in Seoul you can use your bank card. Amazing! You can simply charge your bank card (using your bank card?) to then use your bank card to use the Seoul Subway. It’s your pass! You don’t even have to take it out of your wallet as you go through the turnstile, just touch your wallet to the designated area and it’ll scan it in and you can walk through! The wonders of modern technology…

I still don’t think I know how to use this correctly…

After that quick admission, we proceeded down the steps to our train hoppings. As we walked down I noticed the picture you see on your right. I assumed it was a gutter for carrying water swiftly down the stairs, but was unsure. Bewildered by that little gutter, I was quickly disabused of my sordid visions about lines of men peeing against the stairs by a couple carrying bicycles down the stairs ahead of us. (If you couldn’t piece that together, the “gutter” is actually a little pathway for people to carry bicycles up and down the stairs of the subway, look at you learning!) Indeed, it makes more sense from a sanitary perspective to have people use a bathroom for urinating and that pathway for bicycles. How I didn’t see it before perplexes me…

Op op! Freezer styles!

Aside from that little speed bump, we saw the ubiquitous Psy hawking his wares. If you are unaware of Psy, go ask someone about Gangnam Style and watch their response (I encourage you to start guffawing at their dance moves). This lovely display I captured in digital image is Psy (the one dancing/eating in all the frames) selling Samsung’s new refrigerator/freezer combination unit. I’m just happy I can understand this advertising considering everything I heard about “Asian marketing” making no sense with loud noises and insane animations. Still, lesson to learn: this man is everywhere. Don’t believe me? Go to any Korean website and see who is on the front page in at least five different places…

Well, I’ve stalled long enough before showing you more pictures, so here is the lovely Olympic Park:

The grand esplinade!

I guess this isn’t racist?

At least the bells were fully interactive, though the hammers were not…

Don’t know what this display was along the side of the esplinade…

This was some kind of large “U”/ scimitar/??? at the end of the esplinade in the middle of the stadiums. Only thing really worth a picture, really.

A Happy Box! What happens inside?

The aquatic center.

That’s it! We had an hour to wander, no more, but we got to see a little of the park. Not much to describe: no one was there and nothing was really happening.

After the park we headed into Itaewon (the “foreigner” district) for a bite to eat and begin bar hopping. Andrew and I got some tasty burgers and some dinner entertainment from the group of ten military men and women at the next table over. By entertainment, I mean that they were loud and disparaging towards Korea while showing their general ignorance on many things. Now I understood why there is a curfew for American military personnel…

After dinner, we entered a Canadian bar to begin our hopping. A quick beer and off to the Hongdae (big bar area)! At the Hongdae we met such intelligent signs as:

You see? It’s Feiday! and it’s only female. Shucks, I wanted to meet Tequila…

Japanese Style Icing…? Something must have been lost in translation…

Also, we had a brief rendezvous with culture here in the street. There was a small tent set up with posters from the Cannes film festival I think. Very interesting things, but I could not get great pictures. This is the only one I could get:

International culture!

Enough with the culture, lets get back to the festivities! Two small last games to play. 1) Guess which of the following drinks is mine?

Which drink is mine?

For all of you who know me, yes indeed I did have an “Orgazm” in public. 2) Have you ever seen a gin and tonic under black light? We went to a club where I got to see such a spectacle.

Jordan told us about a glowing beer at Bonnaroo and now I show you Glowing G&T…

Pretty awesome! Dancing, drinking, and camaraderie to pass the evening, ending with a subway trip back to the bus station at 5 AM for some Burger King for breakfast. True, a Bulgogi burger may not be the best choice of a breakfast food (it’s not mine either), but it was the only thing cheap/open at 5:45 AM. Then we boarded the bus at 6:45 and closed the weekend chapter on Seoul. Ah, I must revise the previous statement. I received a phone call from my parents who were partying it up in The Grove at Ole Miss with the Harris and Swartz families for the Vandy-Ole Miss football game. So it was lovely to talk to them before passing out on the bus ride home. Whew. Quite a big trip, hm? First trip to Seoul? Done! Who’s in for the next one?