In celebration of America's FREEDOM we got as close to Communism as we could. Ha just kidding. But we did spend the Fourth of July in Seoul, South Korea and LOVED it! Seoul was great and I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone!
I must admit that one of the reasons the trip went so well is that we had 2 wonderful tour guides to show us around. Just like Shana in Taiwan, we have 2 other friends teaching English in Seoul, Brittany (aka Brutn0r!) and Sara (who has many nicknames but my favorite is sherbst).
As you recall, the 4th was on a Thursday and our friends were still teaching when we arrived so we navigated the bus system (with tons of prior advice from Brittany) to her apartment to await them getting off work. It went quite smoothly and we were greeted by super cute notes!
It was intensely hot and humid outside and we were both quite tired so we spent the next few hours napping and cooling off instead of exploring. As Nick kept telling me, "We're here to see our friends. Plus, I'm on vacation. I want to relax!"
So the focus of our trip was less on sightseeing and more on just spending time with Brittany and Sara. After Sara got off work, we took a train over to her neighborhood (about 10 minutes away) to meet up for pre-dinner drinks. We went to this place called "Beer Call" which was like a self-serve bar. They had all the drinks in fridges along on wall and you could just go up and help yourself to whatever beer or bottled beverage you desired. You kept all your empties in a basket on the table and that was how they knew how much to charge you. It was neat!
Once Brittany got off work, we went to a place for dinner. I think it was a Korean fast food restaurant? Maybe? In any case, the food was delicious! We got bibimbop (?) which was egg and rice and kimchi and some other deliciousness, gyoza (aka potstickers aka chinese dumplings) and Korean sushi roles.
Bibimbop!
Then, since it was really hot out and we had just eaten hot food, we wanted something cold. Brittany and Sara told us about their latest obsession- bingsoo, which is shaved ice with any combination of condensed milk, ice cream, rice cake, and fruit. It sounded delicious so we went to get some right away.
Sara and Brittany and Bingsui!
It was then about 10 or 11 and they both had to work in the morning so we called it an evening. We were staying with Brittany so we said good night to Sara and took the train back to Brittany's.
The next morning after she left for work, we set out to explore: Gangnam!
(.gif from Tumblr)
Hooray Gangam!
It was again incredibly hot and humid outside. And it was still during business hours. So no one was on the street practicing their Gangnam style. Or drinking. Everyone on the streets were just working for the man, coming and going from different office skyscrapers to do business.
We tried to walk around and find where the cool stuff was but to no avail.
We had read that Gangnam had 2 electronic showrooms that were supposed to be neat. We tried to find those, too, but no one had heard of them (a bad sign). Eventually we stumbled upon the map pictured below that indicated a Samsung store which was supposed to be one of the companies with a showroom. And it was across the street from another electronics company. Could it be what we were looking for?! Had we found it?!
Well, if you consider a Best-Buy type store set up to be an electronics showroom then I guess we did find it. (Still not sure if it was actually the one we were looking for.)
Saw some pretty neat refrigerators and fancy washing machines. And we got free ice cream at the second store!
And actually, we saw this AMAZING 3D TV that when you wear one set of glasses you can see one screen (for example, player 1's screen during a video game) and then if you wear a different set of glasses you look at the exact same screen and see a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PICTURE!! (for example, player 2's screen). It was incredible!!!
But there were no robots. Or weird Japanese electronic cat ears.
We'd now been in Gangnam about 2 hours. AND IT WAS HOT. And we were tired. (If you are wondering, Nick worked overnight duty the day before we left and I had just returned to the JST time zone from the USA 2 days before we left so I was a bit jet lagged.) So we decided we would go back to Brittany's and nap and cool off and then explore this large department store near her apartment.
We only napped.
And then it was time to meet up for dinner.We got Korean Barbecue (Yakiniku in Japan). It was probably the most delicious yakiniku I have ever had! And in Korea, the meat tray comes with unlimited sides (yep, more Kimchi!) and the drinks are cheap. What a great combo!!
After dinner it was still hot and humid so we set out for more Bingsoo!! (We probably still would have gotten it even if it was not hot or humid out. It's just so tasty and we are from Minnesota, after all.) After the delicious bingsoo we embarked on the quest to find a Norebong aka Karaoke room. This should not have been difficult because they are everywhere but it was a Friday night and we were getting a late start on things. Eventually we did find one and sang to our hearts' content :)
Later, as we said good night to Sara, we walked past this here tree. Which has a medical IV hooked up and flowing in to it. And it was rainy season! I thought it was just about the funniest thing I ever did see!
We had big plans for the Day 3 so we got off to the right start by having a gigantic breakfast at Butterfingers. MMMhmmm! Yum. Yes, it was American style breakfast with pancakes and eggs, etc. but it wasn't a McDonald's breakfast sandwich! Plus, it was packed with Koreans. So yep. Totally counts.
Breakfast at Butterfingers
After breakfast, we set out to find the Trick Eye Museum that I had heard about from a friend. A squished subway ride and a very hot walk later and we found it.
As we were in line to by tickets, this lady wanted to take her picture with me. So naturally I said I needed one of her, too.
The premise of the Trick Eye Museum is interactive art. So you pose with what's painted on the wall and end up with neat pictures! It is essentially a museum of photo-ops!
There was another wing of the museum called the Ice Museum. It was only $5 more so we decided to check it out.
And boy were we glad we did! The whole wing was at 4*C so it was like walking in a fridge. Which on a hot day is all any one wants to do, am I right? It was SO nice and cold.
When we entered this part of the museum, they handed us a blanket to use. At first I was like "psh, I'm still sweaty, I won't even use it." But once I was in there for 2 minutes I was glad to have it!
More photo-ops.
"This is how we do it in MN!"
You can't tell but I am sitting on a toilet here...
The Ice House from above.
There was an ice slide, too!
"Weeee!"
Hi, Santa!
This was supposed to be a cute group photo with the Ice Museum sign behind us.
But this is what you get when you ask a stranger to take the photo and you don't check it right away haha
After we were nicely cooled off, we trekked (and by trek I mean took a subway) over to this area called "Incedon" which is basically a Korean Street market.
Per Brittany and Sara's suggestion, the snack to try was Twist Potato which was a potato, cut/peeled into a spiral, deep fried and sprinkled with salty seasonings. Pretty much a recipe for success. And yes, it was quite tasty.
We had to cut our Incedon exploring off short so we could get to the baseball game! (But ask us to tell you about the Korean propaganda we were given sometime...)
After the game we went back to Gangnam
so Brittany and Sara could properly show us around.We ended up finding what we decided was the Korean version of Applebees and hunkering down there for quite a while. It was air conditioned. And we didn't have to move.
That night, we all checked in to a cheap hotel in Gagnam. Which in Korea means a Love Hotel. So basically a cheap hotel room with swanky/tacky decorations, complete with condoms for your use.
The next morning, Day 4 and our last day in Seoul, we hoped on another train to N Seoul Tower. It was a clear and beautiful morning. This was perfect because the last 3 days had been cloudy. We were gonna get a great view from the top of the tower!
Too hot to hike it.
Taking the gondola up the mountain.
Love Lockets of N Seoul Tower.
I am not sure how or why this tradition got started but you bring a lock with (or buy one at the gift shop) and attach it (with your love wish) to the fence around the tower.
Yes, we had to partake in this sweet tradition! Nick even participated willingly!!
Finding a good spot.
If we ever come back, this is where to look for our lock.
These trees are also full of love locks.
Nick thought this Peruvian flutist was the funniest thing. Something about South Park...
For lunch, we tried a Korean 'pancake' plus more bibimbop- and don't forget the kimchi!!
Our last area to explore was Meyongdong- a huge neighborhood of shops and stores and things to buy. Alright!
We also found our own personal store!
All in all it was a very successful trip! I really hope we get the chance to come back again in the next 2 years!! And you, reader, should definitely go if you ever get the chance or if you are trying to decide where to take your next vacation!
It was really amazing to see how unique of a culture Korea has. It is even (and especially) distinctive from Japan. Some of the things we really liked about Seoul was that it was cheaper than Japan but still had an amazing public transportation system and the people were very helpful. They didn't quite have the same sense of servitude as we have found in Japan so it was a nice place to visit but I am still glad we are living in Japan.
