Last weekend I took my first trip to Seoul, S. Korea's capital city. I took the KTX train from Gumi to Seoul Station. Their are 3 types of trains that can get you from Gumi to Seoul. I don't know their Korean names but one is called the slow train by foreigner's, it stops at every stop between Seoul and Gumi, this train takes 3/12 to 4 hours and costs $15 each way. Then their is the regular train it only stops at major stations between Seoul and Gumi, it takes 3 hours and costs around $21 each way. The fastest train and most expensive, about $28 each way is the KTX train. It takes about 2 hours and 10 minutes if you can catch it in Gumi, it only stops in Gumi 2 times each day. The option I used was to take the regular train to Daejon and transfer to the KTX to Seoul that is the most common KTX option as you can do it at anytime of the day, this way takes about 2 1/2 hours and costs like $1 less. The KTX is the fastest because it makes the least stops and because it is a newer train and can travel at much faster speeds than the regular trains.
Once I arrived in Seoul I met a friend and she took me around the city. I got to go to a authentic Korean lunch at her family's house. I also went to the electronics market which is the largest in the world. Then we went to Gecko's which is one of the most famous foreigner bars in Seoul. It's in Itaewon, which is near the military base and where you will see the most foreigners in Seoul, its also where the most foreigners live in Seoul both military and civilian. I parted ways with my friend here and met up with some of my fellow teachers from gumi. It was the Saturday before
Canada day so all the Canuck's were looking to go drinking. We got 3 hotel rooms in the art district and then we cabbed it back to the Rocky Mountain Bar in Itaewon, this is another foreigner bar. It's located next to Hooker Hill which is pretty much what it sounds like but it is also the main street in Itaewon for bars and clubs. After a couple of hours we went to the UN Bar which is very close to the Rocky Mountain and Gecko's. We ended the night here and went back to our hotel at around 6 a.m. There is no official closing time for bars in Korea and I am finding out that leaving a bar when the sun is up is common.
We stayed at a really nice hotel and the weird thing is that you don't need a credit card to get a room in Korea. So I took full advantage of their trustfulness and stole two really nice 500 thread count pillow cases and a plush towel. What can I say nice linens are impossible to find in Korea. We checked out of our hotel around 2pm and went to Ali Baba's a middle eastern restaurant in Itaewon. We then went to the main shopping area in Seoul, I don't know its name but every designer shop I have ever heard of was here and hundreds I have never heard of. We then went to the electronics market again which is not near the other shopping area. We bought an espresso machine which was very tough to find in Korea and I bought a rice cooker for $35 which is a very good deal they sell for $60 in Gumi. We then went to an Italian restaurant which wasn't to bad and then took the regular train back to Gumi, we got in around 1am and then I scootered back to my place which is about a 10 minute ride from the train station.
The 4th was 2 days later I had to work 12 hours on the 4th because we had our textbook workshop in the morning before class. After work me and some fellow American's went to the Waegook Cook Bar and drank heavily, we then went to a local school playground and did what Americans do best, blow shit up! We bought fireworks at the Dollar Store and yes they are real fireworks not the grocery store crap from the U.S. We bought Roman Candles, big bottle rockets, spinners, sparklers, the ones that shoot colored fire out of them in the air, black cat's, etc. You can buy these everywhere its heaven!! We then got politely asked to leave by a maintenance guy who was very happy that we were picking up the trash and putting it in a bag, hey were inconsiderate Americans but were not litterers! But seriously we were being cheered on by a few Koreans, they were happy to see the show. We then went back to the Waegook drank some more and went home, not to bad of a 4th celebration for being half way around the world.
