One of the tricky things about living in Korea is going to be finding stuff to do on the weekends. Not that there isn't stuff to do, mind you. It's just that it takes a bit of time to ride the subway into town. Which, admittedly, is what ipods are for, but I digress. I also don't want to spend TOO long in Seoul, or have too much to drink, as I'd rather not have to navigate the subway system under the influence. Give it some time and I'm sure I'll figure it out, eventually.
What it really boils down to is that I'm not on my home turf anymore, so it's not like I can read about something in the RFT, know the act that's going to play, the joint they're playing at, and even sometimes the bartenders working there and/or the regulars who're bound to be at the show. In St. Louis, I'm spoiled. But, given time, I'll learn!
In any case, I at least had stuff to do yesterday! Namely, I met up with Amanda and some friends of hers to go on a hike up Gwanaksan Mountain. It's a pretty big mountain towards the south of Seoul- and apparently a rather popular destination.
Hiking is big in Korea, and I have to say Koreans are a bit...thorough in their preparation. You can spot the hikers on the subway really easily; they're the ones decked from head to toe in North Face brand gore-tex (complete with matching hat!) and carrying a big backpack with collapsable fiberglass walking sticks strapped on. I wanted to get a picture of some of the high tech hikers, but I kinda felt awkward asking for said picture. Ah well!
In comparison, I dressed like this.
I brought a knife, a nalgene, good socks, better boots, and a bandanna. Minimalist approach. Then again, I watched a lot of Survivorman before I left the States.
The hike itself was fun! Hard, but fun. (A reminder for me that I need to get into better shape)The first leg was just trudging up some rough hewn stairs along the slope of the mountain- kind of steep, but really the worst part.
Another interesting thing along the trail was the occasional helipad or bunker-trench. One of the few reminders I've found so far that there was a war here some 60 years ago. Crazy stuff. Here's to hoping they'll never be put to that use again, right?
This, of course, didn't stop Amanda and I from posing. Amanda wanted to climb into every trench she could. Hijinks ensued.
So we plodded on, and the trail leveled out...until we saw...this.
The little white speck towards the right of the picture? That's a hiker who's ahead of us. We were going to have to climb that. A bit intimiding, I admit. I had some second thoughts, but a little cajoling from one of Amanda's friends got us underway! It wasn't a completely sheer climb, but pretty rough in parts. Thankfully, I got to say "oh yeah, I used to be a rock climbing instructor," and clambered up as needed. At at the top of the first peak, there was a flag. Naturally.
Further down the trail, we came to a second helipad clearing- where an old dude was set up selling bottled water, makkoli (Korean rice beer), and boiled silkworm larvae. Huh. We got a free sample by merit of being Americans, and I think he found it funny that we were trying them. I ate one. It was...interesting. Kind of a vegetable-ish texture. Tasted like whatever seasoning he threw in the pot. Not exactly something I'd go out of my way to get, I fear.
The makkoli, however, was pretty tasty. Sweet, but refreshing. And in our little booze-and-bugs-break, one of my cousin's Korean friends told us that a lot of old Koreans use their hiking clubs as a sort of meat-market; they climb up to the top of the mountain, bringing booze with them in their backpacks, have a couple drinks, and then hook up. Not a bad system, I have to say.
We hiked back down the mountain, coming out near a different subway stop. One of my cousin's friends wanted to go to the fish market to some other expat's going away party, but I declined to go. The fact that I was a bit sweaty and muddy and generally disheveled sort of put me out of the mood for socializing. Though now that I think of it, I imagine there would've also been the smell of fish everywhere to offset my personal aroma.
So instead, I hung out with my cousin and some friends of hers! Had a brief breather at her apartment (which, naturally, is better furnished than mine), at which point I got to scroll through the wonders of Korean television. See, I still don't have a TV in my apartment, and the folks at my hagwon are dragging their feet on that. So this was my first real, remote-in-hand experience.
Korean TV could warrant a post of its own, I'm sure. I scrolled through the channels- there's Discover Channel, some sort of American action-movie channel (showing Mission Impossible 3), and Cartoon Network (dubbed into Korean, but Tom & Jerry's slapstick is a universal language), and...then odd Korean stuff. There was some sort of Chinese historical drama which looked kinda neat, some show about old ladies singing Kareoke, and, of course, a televised Starcraft match.
For the record, Starcraft is pretty damn boring to watch.
We wound up hitting up a galbi resturant by my cousin's place. Tasty food, cheap beer- not a bad combination. She and her friends were gonna hit up Itaewon, but I declined- both due to fatigue and smelliness. I'm sure I'll have my crazy nights soon enough. Give it time!
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