Second weekend

Last night Charlie and I went to the foreigner bar to get out drank on.  We managed to tell the taxi the right neighborhood (amazingly enough) and when we got dropped off we were like "Well, shit, I don't know where the hell it is.  Everything looks the same."  So we wandered up and down the streets until finally we found a mini-mart that looked familiar and low and behold there was NOW Bar.  As soon as we walked in we were greeted by people we met last weekend and quickly made some new friends as well.  I lost my voice yesterday so I didn't do a whole lot of talking but we played some darts, met some U.S. army soliders and did some shots with them, and then I played pool with my Korean buddy and some Russian guys.  It is funny how pool or darts are so universal and language barriers don't really exist.  I can nod in appreciation of a good shot or laugh at a bad scratch just as if I was in the U.S.  I think Charlie and I are in agreement that NOW Bar is sort of our default hangout because we have made good friends there, the beer is cold, and it is a really great environment.  They even play American sports on the TV so I got to see some of the Cavs/Wizards game which was nice.

That brings us to today.  Charlie and I wanted to go into Seoul and Anna (one of the Korean teachers) suggested that we check out a certain neighborhood and told us which Subway line to take.  Ok, easy enough right?  Oh no.  We buy our tickets, go through the turnstile, and then sort of stand there blankly.  There are signs with numbers pointing every direction and nothing is in English.  Now we know we want subway line #1 so we follow the signs with "1" on them.  That leads to an empty platform.  OK, start over.  We go back, finally just follow the crowd, and end up on a crowded platform.  Next obstacle: which direction do we need to go?  Our conclusion was that we'd get on the first train and if we realized it was going away from Seoul we'd get off and figure it out from there.  Imagine our surprise when we got on the train, checked out the detailed map, and realized we were on the right train and headed to Seoul!  We felt such a sense of accomplishment that we figured it out without making any mistakes.  This weekend was really a best case scenario: we find NOW Bar on our own and we manage to get to and from Seoul without getting lost or sidetracked.

We arrive in Seoul in the neighborhood of Jongnu and sort of wander around a bit.  Had fried chicken for lunch and checked out some of the local open air markets.  It was just a giant complex of shops, booths, food stands, and people selling random junk on the sidewalk.  Quite the experience.  So we wander and wander and run into one of those "You Are Here" type maps and notice there is a "Royal Palace" just a few blocks north.  We figure, why the hell not?  So we walk up there and find this beautiful, 8 foot high, Asian-looking stone wall surrounding what appears to be a park.  We walk up and down trying to find an entrance and just when we think about giving up we find an entrance.  Wow, what a cool place.  It was a giant palace complex built during the 1500-1600's and it was just visually stunning.  I will upload some pictures below this but they just can't do this place justice.  It was just acres and acres of paths, gardens, and kick-ass buildings preserved in their original condition.  This is where the King and Queen used to live and it sure looked fit for royalty.  I cannot wait to go back in summer when everything is in full bloom and see it in all its glory.

We then successfully navigated the subway back to Suwon, got some Turkish food at my new favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and now we're just hanging out and taking it easy for the rest of the night.  Next Saturday we're going to check out another Seoul neighborhood and I can only hope it is as fun and exciting of an adventure as we had today.  Everything just worked out perfectly and our wandering keeps leading us to awesome places and experiences.

Pictures from Changgyeonggung Palace

Take it easy, but take it.