Seoul, Day One

It wasn’t much of a vacation but it was deserved and welcomed. I was starting to get sick of kids. I found myself beginning to dread certain classes as though I were still a student. Before Intensives I saw each student somewhere around every other day; I now see most of them every day. Sorry kids, I need a break. I need some space, ya know? I mean, you are all sweet children but I can only take so many cute and adorable moments before I crack.

Angry Girl, I am looking at you. I really appreciate you taking a kid friendly game of Guess That Picture and turning it into a death threat that could have made the news back home. Thank you for laughing as you drew a bottle of soju to go along with the fat man hanging from the gallows. Why couldn’t you draw a chair or a pencil like everyone else?

So, after the weekend of my first ever shabu-shabu and screen golf experiences I headed to Seoul, all alone and on a mission.

Two months earlier, for some truly stupid reason I thought I had some sort of new Xbox power supply that didn’t need a step-down transformer. I plugged the thing into an adaptor and into the wall. Turns out, I do need a transformer after all. I also need a new power supply. Enter Yongsan Electronics Market.

Yongsan is sort of a dream come true and a living nightmare all at once, but I’ll get to that. It is allegedly the largest market of the kind in Asia (quoting Wikipedia / Lonely Planet on that one so don’t quote ME) Suffice it to say that from somebody I do not know’s blog I heard of a guy there who would repair Xbox power supplies that morons like me had gone and fried. The blog was fairly recent so I assumed it would be a cinch to find the guy; probably had a big sign even.

I figured “hey, man. You are on vacation so why not make a few days out of it?” So I did. I left my apartment early Monday afternoon and didn’t plan on returning until Wednesday with a working power supply.

The plan was to take a bus to whatever bus terminal it was in Seoul that I said “nay” to when the cashier asked me. I would then take the subway to Youngsan and find a cheap little Love Hotel to use as a base. I would then find some amazing western food, have a drink, sleep and then deal with the Market on Tuesday.

I talked with a high school girl on the bus. She asked me: “If I go to America, will my face be ugly?” She spent most of the hour and a half trip reading bits of the Lonely Planet guide to Cheongju back to me. I spent most of the hour and a half trip trying not to sweat on her.

I have to say I did pretty well for a while trying to get around Seoul. I had a minute of panic trying to figure out where to transfer subways but I got it all sorted out and was soon stepping out into Yongsan station and straight into the market.

Sometimes, travel is just about trying to get the hell out of a place. I tried like hell to get out of the market but every exit seemed to take me via covered bridge to another section full of appliances, games, and computer parts. I ended up following a sunken alley through convenience stores and shanty grocers and then finally into the open air.

The market is massive and stretches along the roads outside of the main building. In any other area the stores would be selling Kimbap, soju, and cigarettes: in Yongsan they sell tripods, cell phones, and computers to which they might not have selling rights. It was as sketchy as people hawking high-powered graphics cards can get.

The heat proved to be the theme of my vacation. At times, for example between the hours of 7am and 6:50 am it was unbearable. I walked up and down Yongsan with a bag full of clothes and my laptop and my camera bag. I did so for two hours, until I thought that soon I would have to burn my clothes and figured that apparently not too many people are looking for a cheap hotel in Youngsan.

After downing my third bottle of water I pulled out my Lonely Planet and found a neighborhood more apt to give me results in my hotel search: the sun was fading, my feet hurt and I was out of water.

Anguk. A ride on one subway and then another took me to Anguk. When I came to the surface twilight had ceased and night was on me. I was starting to get worried that maybe my vacation wouldn’t be nearly as relaxing as I was hoping. I started to wonder if I’d be spending the night on a bench with a bag of clothes and over a thousand bucks worth of camera junk.

Enter the Tomgi Hotel. I saw its neon through the trees next to the metro stairs and decided that I would be staying at this place regardless of its cost. I walked through a hopping market street, past a soju tent and a dozen of so street food stalls. I passed into smoke and the sound of the night as bars spilled into the road. Alcohol flows readily in Seoul, even on a Monday night.

Tomgi is a love motel but it has class. I paid 60,000W for the night and took the elevator to the dark 8th floor. Soft pop music piped into the hallway as I stuck the keycard in its slot. Ten minutes later I managed to discover that the lights only worked if the card was put into another slot. Things look different in the light. I had been expecting a motel room with cigarette burns on the floor or things growing in the bathroom. I was ready for all sorts of bad things. What I got was shocked.

To start I had a giant, firm queen that sat next to a window that looked down upon the night and her people going this way and that. In front of the bed was a GIANT flat screen TV, a water dispenser, a PC, and a fridge full of Gatorade. In the bathroom was a 2 or 3 person whirlpool that worked, a full-body shower, and a toilet with a heated rim and a bidet.

I remember thinking that it wasn’t such a bad deal after as I sat in the foaming tub with a can of Cass while watching My Name is Earl on the TV.

 

This photo is the fire escape.  Seriously.

What did I eat today?  Kimchi and egg ramen (not good).  Vegetarian curry and rice made by me (pretty freaking awesome).