I find it interesting that on this, my first weekend in Seoul, the amount of people mulling about actually bothered me! Never in Shanghai did I find the intense crowds overwhelming but this weekend for some reason, I found myself unprepared for the large numbers of people crowding everywhere.
Saturday – first visit to Itaewon and Myeongdong
Saturday we ventured out to Itaewon to attempt to get connected with the world again. We were told we were unable to purchase cell phones without our arc cards (alien registration) which led us to Itaewon. A co-worker told us of an alley in Itaewon where you only needed your passport to purchase a used pay as you go phone. Everything was straight forward, we located an alley and tried to find a shop where the shop keepers looked like they wouldn’t take horrible advantage of us and charge us an arm and a leg. We picked out our phones (mine was 30W with a 10W credit in minutes included in the price and a charger). Sure it’s a phone from 1985, but it’s a phone capable of texting and has some amazing K-pop ringtones, so I don’t really mind. I didn’t picture myself buying a phone from some guy in an alley, but after having travelled to Asia before I understand that sometimes this is just how these things work! I was surprised by the amount of foreigners in Itaewon; It could be any street in Toronto and every nationality seems to be represented here!
After Itaewon we ventured over to Myeongdong (also referred to as ‘Little Tokyo’). This is where the claustrophobia (that I don’t have!) began to take over. Venturing down these few blocks in this little corner of Seoul, I felt like I was in a mosh pit. There was literally no room to move as you were walking down the street. My feet and heels were getting stepped on constantly and if you wanted to stop moving while you were in the crowd to find something or go to a store, good luck! NEVER, do I remember this much ‘people congestion’ anywhere in China. I attempted to take a look through H&M but there were so many people in the store I found myself deciding to return outside to face the crowds again simply for fresh air. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy this part of town, I did… I think maybe I’ll head back one day after school on a weekday when, hopefully, the crowds will be a little thinner!
Sunday: Coex Mall and Aquarium
Today we had plans to go for a hike in the Northern End of Seoul, but when we woke up to pouring rain, those plans changed! We decided it would be better to stay inside so we planned to head over a few subways stops from our hotel and get acquainted with Coex mall. This mall is a bit of a maze and I found it difficult to navigate. It seems to go on forever, with endless stores and places to eat. We ate lunch at a little joint called ‘Mr Pizza’ where we had pizza with crust that was stuffed with sweet potato (it was delicious!). We waited in a line the length of three football fields to get into the aquarium which left me wondering, where are all these people coming from?! I’ve only been in Seoul just under a week, but again, even in China I didn’t see this many people queued, for anything, anywhere! The line went quickly and finally we were inside the aquarium, which turned out to be the hottest day of my life (because there were soo many people in such a small space!). The aquarium was ‘nice’ but not impressive compared to others I’ve visited. There were lots of varieties of fish and they had them everywhere! The displays were creative - have you ever seen a vending machine with fishies? There were beautiful reefs, sea turtles, sharks and even some manatees. Will I go back? Maybe, again, on a day when there are less people around!
As I sit here writing, Sunday night is here. I don’t fully understand why or how weekends go by so fast! Going to spend the night relaxing with my Pepsi Zero (they don’t have diet here – GAH!) and a box of almond ‘Pepero’ aka Korean POCKY!! Hopefully I’ll get to move into my apartment on Tuesday or Wednesday where I can return to the lovely world of INTERNET. I can’t even get on the wireless at Starbucks anymore without an AR card… it’s incredibly frustrating!
Cheers for now,
Sarah
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