Seoul Vacation, Part IV

My feet are the most cracked and rough they have ever been.  Thanks to Changwon Chica I know that I am not alone in this experience!

Okay, so the trip was long ago now and I should have finished this posting.  The school schedule has changed so that we work from 8:30am through 7pm.  It’s not a crazy schedule under normal circumstances but being thrust into it after 3 months of leisurely, alarm clock-free living isn’t the easiest thing.  So, here’s the last part of the post where I actually discuss some of the places I visited in Seoul (which I’m learning to pronounce with two syllables).

Those photos in Part II of the city from high up were taken from Namsan Tower.  As I heard, it used to be the second tallest tower in Asia.  The four Canadian women I was with continually referenced the CN Tower in Toronto.  Incidentally, they made me want to visit CN until Tina mentioned that it costs $40 to go to the top!  Who knows?  Maybe you come down knowing the meaning of life.  The coolest thing about the tower other than seeing the vast city (and the fact that there was A Twosome Place inside the tower!) were the signs painted on the windows circling the tower.  The signs indicated the distances to various cities.  As you can see from the photo, I took it facing in the direction of North Korea…a short 193km away!

We hit a pretty nice club, M2, in Hongdae.  It was standard dance music, expensive drinks and a giant floor.  The highlight, though, was when the live band came onstage and played along with the DJ.  There was a singer and he was GOOD!  There was a saxophonist and he was FUCKING GREAT!  And they carried the place and everyone (even myself after throwing back a few) was dancing it up.

Many of the Part II photos come from the War Memorial Museum near Itaewon, where the U.S. military base happens to be located.  There was so much information and so many artifacts; a person could spend days in there.  It was fascinating, though…so many weapons, so many classes of soldiers, and so much devastation over so many years in so many wars.  Some of those weapons were still pretty scary even inside a display case.  Even better were the military planes and vehicles rooted outside of the museum.  Planes, large and small, tanks and artillery were there with doors open so you could climb in a get a feel for them.  I was impressed by the engineering of those vehicles — I understand now how one could level a city with a few of those babies.

When I had a little time to myself, I strolled through Jongno for some shopping, cafe and the bar.  I impressed a couple of limited English-speaking Korean ladies by playing them tracks on my iPod on which I sing.  I may also have lied about one song, saying I was the singer when I most definitely was not.  They said that Saturday night was not a busy night for the bar, which I’m still trying to wrap my head around but, in truth, there were only a couple of patrons given the throngs of people roaming the streets upstairs at that time.  Unfortunately, they weren’t interested in taking me dancing with them once it was time to split the bar.  Oh well, always have fun trying!

And that’s that!  I enjoyed myself in the fantastic city and I’ll be heading back before long!