Ok first and foremost, Minz has asked me to tell everyone that you can comment on every entry. All you do is click on the "Leave Comment" link and choose the "Name" option. That way you can create your own name and leave a comment. Oh one thing though, you'll have to type in the letters in the picture to be able to leave a comment. Sorry Shai and Taj, for being so 'social', here's the next entry, i think you'll like it! :D
"It is with great regret that i must... ", so starts my next letter. But more on that later. So its been a while since i've written here, its because of Chuseok (pronounced Chu-so, yes Indians will find that hilarious). Chuseok is the Korean Thanks-giving day, the day they bow down to ancestors and offer them rice and saki and visit their graves. This holiday is one of the biggest in Korea, usually lasting for 5 days, however this year it fell on a weekend so it was only 3 days long. So what did i do for the 3day long weekend? I went to Seoul!!
Seoul, the home of 23million people, 3 million MORE than all of Australia. Considering that Australia has around 7.6 million square km's and Seoul Metro has only 605.25 square km's.. u do the math! This place is HUGE!! and SOO many people!! and SO much to do!! and Starbucks, KFC, Maccas, and Shopping Malls!!! Ok so i'll start at the start shall i?
So we left Hongcheon on Saturday around 4pm. I was on one of my walks, and Jay called and said lets go for a drive. I came down from the mountain and we were off to take pics of mountains etc etc..
And then out of nowhere Jay says, Sharad, lets go to Seoul! Ok i said, but i dont have any clothes or anything.. thats ok man, we'll stay over one night and comeback tomorrow! So we were off to Seoul, by this time it was around 6pm and we got hungry.. so we stopped over at this nice place and had a meal..
http://photos-h.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-snc1/v319/239/74/771232844/n771232844_1457207_6963.jpg
http://photos-h.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-snc1/v319/239/74/771232844/n771232844_1457207_6963.jpg
We ended up going to Incheon which is where the international airport is to visit one of Jay's friends. I wasnt feeling too good from the meal we had (yes in that picture above, you can see raw crab as the main dish), so i stayed at a motel for the night while they went and had some drinks. Next morning i woke up at around 9am, had some coffee watched some TV and then decided i'll go explore this place too. What i found was Wolmi-do, which is an island! People were coming here with their families for the Chuseok break..
Back home we go to a fair and we see things like dagwood dogs, fairy floss, candy, chips, hot dogs, etc etc. Here they have dried squid as a snack, and fried sweet potato sticks, and huge donut type things on a stick..
As i was waiting for Jay to come over i went to have some coffee at this place, was hazelnut and black.. interesting!
Then is was off for some lunch, and shat else to have on an island but Seafood! Even after the raw crab i wasn't feeling too well, but they assured me that this would be cooked and delicious..
I must say, it was quite good! Very spicy and i kinda did stay away from the wierd looking seafood stuffs.. This was the pier we were on:
As it stands, i'm really bad at taking pictures of the Moon. But from a moving car i'm just plain terrible!
Ok and after that point i stopped taking photos. We went to this place called Itaewon next to check it out. Its where the major US army base is, i couldnt believe how many foreigners there were! So many Americans walking the streets or sitting at a Starbuck chatting away, so many Nigerians also talking in their little groups all over the place. Oh and there were Indians there too! I found that fact amazing until i saw 2 Indian Restaurants! We had already eaten at this places called Buddha's Belly - a Thai place. After we walked around the place we went to somewhere else (i forgot the name) to another friend of Jays. He owns a 24hr PC Cafe, so we went and spent a bit of time there until his wife came and took over for the nightshift. Then we all went out to a Japanese pub and had this stuff called Makkoli which is a soft beer type thing made from rice. Then we went to another place because this guy (Kim Hum Um) wanted to show me everything! On the way to this place we stopped over at this noodle place. Well it wasnt really a place, rather like a stall on the road. You know, like in the city at 4am there are all these Kebab stalls, well the thing in Korea is hot and spicy noodles. I must say, it was one of the best noodles that i've ever eaten! So after this other place where we had beer we went to a night club. Now this is interesting.. We got into the night club and went into a private room (like a singing room) inside the club itself. And the way the waiters make their money is by bringing in girls from the dance floor into the room for the men. Obviously our room was filled with guys over 40 (and me) so every girl that came in took one look, had a drink (mainly out of manners) and then left about 5mins later.. I found it hilarious and when i asked they said something along the line of: "this way you dont have to introduce yourself, the intro is already made for you". I guess thats a logical way of thinking of it. Oh bytheway in the room they had a fruit platter and seafood platter and whisky and beer galore! Another way they make money is by opening all the bottles in front of you so you have to buy them!
After the night club they decided that they were too drunk to go anywhere else but bed (this was only decided after a guy tried to releave himself on a parked police car.. with the police still inside). So off we went to a 24hr Sauna. Now these things are big in Korea.. You walk into a sauna and they give you a key. First you go and take your shoes off. Then we went up a couple of levels to the mens locker room. We got here and eveyone was naked or passed out on the floor. So i took a 'pillow' thing and found my self a corner of the locker room to sleep on too. Woke up two hours later (8am) to the sounds of all these naked men laughing and joking. I went through these doors and saw about 5 baths full of different types of water at different temperatures. Then went though another door to see 3 Sauna's at different temps and one cool sauna at 14degrees. Now i love the cold so i went in there for a while..
Then after the others woke up and brushed their teeth, we left. We went back to the PC Cafe and by this time it was around 11am and we were starving. So at this cafe they have noodles, and his wife made us some noodles. We ate that and then decided we'll stay in the coolness of his shop to watch some movies. So i watched a few good ones that i haven't seen before like the Dark Knight (-yes i know). The quality of these movies are great! I dont know where they download them from but they rock! So in between movies i'd go for a walk to explore the place. I was looking for a Starbucks but couldn't find one. Then around 6pm we got hungry again and decided we'll all go out to a restaurant. This time Kim Hum Um's family would be with us, and where else should we go but to a seafood place! They had soo many different types of seafood there! The main 'dish' was an arrangement of different types of Raw fish. I was fine with not eating it though cos there was soo many other things to eat there!
So all in all, i can honestly say that I've eaten more Seafood in that weekend than i have in 6 months in Australia. And so we left that night at 9pm and had to drop the other friend off in Incheon. Since we only had 2hours sleep the night before we decided to sleep there the night and make the journey back to Hongcheon in the morning (some two hours away). And that was the story of my first time in Seoul! And now i'm going back next weekend! :D
Hmmm, where was i? Oh yes "..resign my position at your Hagwon". Yep so last night i took Jay out for a couple of quiet beers. We talked for a while and then i broke it to him that i'm thinking of leaving. He didnt take it too badly though. He told me how much it'd affect his business, and that the other teacher (Thomas) is also thinking of leaving. By the end of it, i felt so bad about leaving him in that predicament. I offered to do everything i can to find another person for him by the time i leave. I gave him one months notice, as it says in the contract. I'm thinking about teaching at a public school next..
Well thats all for now, i think i'll try to keep this updated a lot more to save on these long entries!
3 comments:
What?! You quit??! How?! Why?! You havent found a new job yet though?? How will u know you you'll get a job?
That's awesome though, seoul looks like such an awesome place! I think where you're at is really great, but if it's people and cultures you wanna meet then you'd better expand! And i dont think there'll ever be time for you to stop in Seoul! Where you're at now, there's only so much you can do - and u'll go crazy with the lack of talking! And being a teacher instead of just a tutor will be heaps better! But make sure you get a job!
When's your dinner/drinks thing with the foreigners? Is is tonight (Friday night)? Let us know how that goes!
Okbye!
You quit!.. Well I suppose it is your decision. Just make sure you get another position lined up before the month is up! I guess a school would be better coz it will keep you busier although that means no time for exploring except weekends. How far is Seoul from where you are? Are you going to be looking for a position in a school there or do you plan to move elsewhere?
Yep, i dont think it should be too much of a problem finding a public school job. The only hassle would be moving everything from this town to whereever i go next. I've been assured that i'll stay in the Gangwon province though. So thats a good thing!
Choork, i we dont have a set night. But whenever someones up for a drink they just send out a mass text message. Usually Friday nights are a definate. I know i'll be able to get swept away on the Big City current if i go to Seoul; and the year will pass very quickly. But i cant live there, there's just too many pple!
Twist, i'm looking for a place still in the country. Seoul is an hours bus ride away.. so not too far from anything i need..
Post a Comment