N'Seoul Tower -- I think Seoul kicks Incheon's ass

Sunday September 14, 2009

Today, I went to N’Seoul Tower (just Seoul Tower from now on) with Anne, Ryan and one of Anne’s teacher friends Sally and her Native Teacher Liz (a Korean-Australian who speaks no Korean). Most of us met at Bupyeong Station at 11, and we caught the train into Seoul. We stayed on Line 1 all the way into Seoul, and got off at Jonggok Station or something like that (I’ll look at that later). We spent some time in one of the big book stores in Seoul (YB), and then explored the area a bit. I know that where we were is not really the main center of Seoul, but it feels like Seoul may be just one sprawling city, with no clear downtown. Either way, the area was pretty cool, and not too crowded when we got there around 12 or so.

We then walked to an area/road called Insadong. Anne described it as being a “traditional Korean street”, and it basically just turned out to be a pedestrian walking mall/tourist hangout spot. It was fun to go to once, but I don’t think I’d go back again. We did get to see a festival/parade going on in the streets, and it reminded me of the closing ceremonies we had in
Jeonju with EPIK.

We then hop back on the subway, transfer a few times, catch Bus No. 2 and rode it up to Mt. Namsan to see Seoul Tower. Seoul Tower is definitely NOT in the center of Seoul…it’s removed from all the hustle and bustle, and is actually located on the top of a small mountain. It was my first experience dealing with buses in Seoul, and they are perhaps more jerky than the ones in Bangkok (although much newer). Maybe it was because I was standing and not sitting, but I felt a few times that I was about to topple over and make a fool out of myself.
We make it up to Seoul Tower, and it too is a very big tourist attraction. There were lots of what I suppose to be Koreans, but I also saw more Westerners than I’d seen in a long time! We just walked around the premises, taking in the massive views of Seoul, and taking lots of pictures (thanks to Sally’s persistence, hah). Sally was absolutely hilarious—every like 2 minutes, she would whisper in my ear (with a smile), “it’s time for a photo, do you want your photo taken?”. It was almost as if she was trying to be sneaky about it, but it just came off very flirty, hah. I have a few more stories about her later…

One cool thing about Seoul Tower: married couples come here to place a lock on one of the many fences and throw the key to their lock over the edge of the mountain, symbolizing ever-lasting love. It was really cool to see the thousands of locks everywhere, and it put a huge smile on my face. It’s stupid, but I love that kind of stuff (reminded me of the pole at the top of Mt. Kinabalu in Borneo where you can leave something personal forever).

We don’t actually go up the Seoul Tower which kind of bummed me out a bit, but I guess you have to pay to go up and I don’t think they wanted to do that. I just kept my mouth shut! Gives me something to do with mom when she comes, hah.
We then walk down the mountain (remember, we took a bus UP) because Sally insists that we get really good views doing so, and we really did. And we were walking DOWN the mountain, so it wasn’t that hard at all. Sally takes us to an open-air market really close to an area called Meyongdong. The market had every type of imitation name brand imaginable. Reminded me of the JJ market a little bit (though much smaller). In fact, it was just like any other major Asian city I’ve been to—they all sell rip-offs for incredibly cheap prices.

We then work our way over to Meyongdong, which is famous for its shopping and is a very popular hangout spot for university students. It was like a Franklin St on steroids, and I’ll definitely go back to that area with some of my friends in Incheon. We don’t buy anything other than ice-cream from the street, but just taking in the whole vibrant atmosphere and chaos was so much fun! We ended up eating in some Korean restaurant on the second floor of a building, order some spicy chicken dish that was really hard to eat with chopsticks hah, and I have my first BEER with my colleagues! It was soooo nice to actually have a drink with them for once, for two reasons. One, I’ve heard a lot of the other Native Teachers have gone out with their coteachers to drink before (while I hadn’t), and two, my colleagues are always telling me how they DON’T drink and how they are so Christian! So I felt like it was a minor triumph for me! Now I just have to get ready for norebang (karaoke) on Friday night with them (I’m hoping booze will be involved with that too, hah).

After dinner in Meyongdong, we decided to call it a night and head back to Incheon. We get back around 7:30 or so, and that was it. It was a very good, and I’m so happy that Anne invited me to join her and her friends.

Okay, a few funny things about Sally (Anne’s teacher friend). She came off as very flirty, and she ALWAYS whispered things in my ear, with a smile. I just think that’s how she is though, because she said some of the most ridiculous stuff. For example, on the subway back to Incheon, she asked me why do blacks have “white” palms but black arms, hahahaha. She of course whispered that in my ear though, and then proceeded to laugh after asking me, as if she knew it was a funny/ridiculous question. Also, she told me that when she first met me a few days ago, she was very excited because I had some facial hair (I hadn’t shaved for about a week…) and that she really likes that on guys (she told me her “ideal guy” is someone with lots of hair). I decided that I should shave for Sunday so I’d look nice, but apparently Sally was wanting to see me with the facial hair, hah. I also got a haircut on Saturday, so that really threw her for a loop. At first, she said she was “disappointment” (haha), but then she corrected herself and said she liked the way I looked. And then, when we were at dinner, she once again whispered in my ear, “I need a beer, you want a beer?”. I of course said yes, and luckily Anne and Ryan joined in on the fun as well. Overall, Sally just seemed a bit more fun, outgoing, and just plain more out-there than the teachers at my school. I wouldn’t mind hanging out with here more, as I found myself laughing a lot more than I already I do at her questions and comments.