Hongdae is a really cool area of Seoul that I hadn't been to before. I actually don't know why I didn't take pictures while I was there-- maybe next time! Hongdae has tons of street vendors (street food =YUM!) and a plentitude of bars. The first bar we went to was a western bar, and for the first time in the three months I've been here, I was surrounded by westerners I didn't know. It was a really weird feeling, and honestly I didn't care for it. It was actually a little uncomfortable, and I realized that in some (many) ways my not understanding Korean has put in a larger of a bubble than I even realized. When people are speaking Korean around me, I can't understand, even if they are saying crude things. I guess sometimes ignorance is bliss.
Next we went to small, laid back bar, before heading to dance for a little while. We had a late night (or early morning?), but luckily we didn't have anything in particular on the agenda for the next morning. .
We started the next day with some brunch, then after a minor delay due to some ummm....technical difficulties? (yes, there is a story there that only the three of us girls will ever know) we finally headed out to do some shopping. When my friends asked what I wanted to do when I came to Seoul, I said that I needed to do some shopping. It's been getting cold and my supply of warm clothes is pretty limited due to the whole two suitcase fiasco I had to deal with when packing in August.
Luckily, Seoul is AWESOME for shopping. It's actually probably a really good thing I don't live in the city because I would, without doubt, be broke. There were OODLES of sweaters, shoes, bags, whatever you want...and for CHEAP! I bought 3 sweaters, all for $10 each. I'm sure they're not the highest quality, but they actually feel pretty nice, and for $10 I don't care if it doesn't last forever, just as long as it keeps me warm this winter. You can actually buy clothes, shoes, makeup, and other general accessories in lots of the subway and bus stations across Korea.. It's pretty genius.
After shopping for a while, we met up with our other friend and then we headed to the lantern festival.
The lantern festival was really awesome, although totally packed with people. The lanterns went all the way down the steam, and were quite beautiful if I do say so myself.
 |
| Christmas? |
After we saw all there was to see at the Lantern Festival, we got some food, I grabbed a chai latte from Starbucks (ahhh, my old friend, Starbucks!), then we went back to Suwon, where one of our friends lives.
Once we got there we met up with yet another person, and went to a few bars. I don't think we even drank anything until 12:30, so I knew it was going to be a late night. We stayed at bars until maybe 4, then naturally we headed to noraebang until 6 AM. We grabbed some street food (really delicious, but probably disgustingly unhealthy chicken), then made our way back to the train station. We couldn't get a train until 7:30 AM, so our wait in the train station was pretty painful and included a short cat nap for all three of us. We finally got back to my friend's place in Seoul around 8 AM, at which point we all collapsed from exhaustion.
We slept well into the afternoon, at which point I realized I really should get back because Monday was coming too quickly. I finally got on a bus around 6, and made it back to Jeomchon by 8.
As per usual, the weekend flew by way too quickly, but I had a great time. Here are my major takeaways from this weekend:
1) There are A LOT of people in Seoul. I obviously knew about Korea's crazy population density, but wow, it's pretty intense. There are people everywhere, and after adjusting to small-town life, it's pretty overwhelming whenever I step into a city.
2) I still have quite a bit to see in Seoul. Seoul really is huge, and I've barely seen any of it yet. Good thing I still have plenty of time to explore more!
3) It's probably a good thing I don't live in a city. Like I said, there's so much to buy everywhere. Not to mention the street food, bars, and other general activities to enjoy. I think it's safe to say I would be dirt poor if I lived in a city, never mind the fact that I could never keep up with that kind of nightlife every weekend.
4) I'm pretty lucky to have some great friends after only three months of being here. When I did Nutcracker last year I met a guy who shortly after moved to Korea to teach. We kept in touch, and meeting his friends has introduced me to some pretty great people. It's crazy how things work out, but I'm really thankful for all of the great people I've met thus far.
No comments:
Post a Comment