Seoul, I Wasn't Impressed

I just got back from Seoul and I had mixed feeling about it. I always thought I wanted to be in a big city, but I'm happy with my placement in Inje.

I went to Seoul after work on Saturday at 4:30 with two of my South Africans teachers who teach with me because, sadly, one of them is leaving to go home in one week from tomorrow. She taught in a city on the southern coast last year, so she was meeting two of her friends from her old school in Seoul to say good-bye. We had plans to stay in a hotel (with one single bed and one double bed) but when we got there to check-in, the people at the front desk said, "oh, no. You can't have two girls and one boy. One girl and one boy, but not three." I guess they don't allow co-ed hotel rooms? We were so confused. And pissed off. We were going to split the 60.000 won room by three so it would be about $20 each. We were flustered, so we just dropped off ours bags and went to meet the South African's friends from the southern coast. We would figure it out later. Or just sneak in, one of the two.



We went out to a Mexican restaurant and then to a couple Irish pubs. The one guy was from Austin and the girl was from Ireland. They were fun and had good attitudes. We were in this part of Seoul called Itaewon. it's well-known for its markets and its foreign population. I have never been to New York, but Itaewon made me think of what New York would be like: full of people and American English everywhere. I have never heard so much American English since I left the US. I wish I could have taken more pictures of the streets and the markets, but my camera was acting funny, so I couldn't take any pictures. I guess I will just have to go back there.



Although this is going to sound very lame, I just want to go back to Seoul to see the tourist-y things. It costs waaaay to much money to spend a night there and eat there and use the transportation there. I have a mental list of cites to see there and I figure if I go into Seoul one day each month, I will be able to spend one full day there and be able to see everything that I want to see. So that's not so bad.

After having a few beers at two Irish pubs, we took a taxi back to our area of Seoul where the hotel was. No surprise, the same people were working at the front desk, so I couldn't sneak in. Lame. We went to some neighboring hotels and everyone frowned at us when they saw three of us asking for a single room.

At one, we found one for 50.000 won so that was the cheapest. We told her we would be right back and we wanted to check out some other prices. When we couldn't find anything and went back to that one, she said that room that was just available had just been filled. What a rip-off! We think they just don't like foreigners. we were not happy and it was 12:30 or something and we were tired from the work day and he bus ride, so we just wanted to go to bed. Finally, we just settled for a single 60.000 won room. We still split both rooms three-way, but we were not pleased. We aren't too happy with Seoul.



I think day trips to Seoul will be more suitable. There are still so many things to see and so many other cities I want to explore. Not to mention my winter break trip to Thailand. That is coming up in 25 days. Very excited!

Also, next weekend is someone's birthday party in my town, then we are renting a cabin for the Christmas weekend and hanging out, so there are many things look forward to all the way through the new year.

Thanks for reading...