Location: Seoul, South Korea

I woke up blearily, packed up all my stuff in the dark and blustered out of the hostel. I had no real idea how long it would take me to get to the airport but I’m always a ‘show up way too early’ kind of person for flights (thanks for that trait Dad). Turns out it was a good thing I left early cause the $1 train ride took an hour and a half by the time it was all said and done!

I AM HEADING TO SOUTH KOREA!

Ahhhhh cue excitement!

I think I anticipated feeling more confident in South Korea than I was when I first arrived in Taiwan- but it was a whole different ballgame. People were pushy and touchy in a way that made Taiwan look like a dream for personal space. One woman pushed me, actually pushed me, towards the customs agent in the airport, when I was already moving forward. Personal space just doesn’t exist and nobody has any patience. Another thing is that no maps on my phone work here… all of them are scrambled up and won’t even appear at all. Funny enough when I tried to look up my hostel location in google maps before I left Taiwan, it just wouldn’t let me. Korea is like a big black hole in the map world, unless you’re actually here and using their specific apps (which I am now using).

That aside I was actually more confident as I recognized the train system right away and was able to make sense of it enough to get to the neighbourhood im staying in: Hongdae. Hongdae is right near the Hongik university, which I guess makes it an absolute madhouse on the weekends. I came out of the subway station and was immediately bombarded with smells and sounds and people, but beelined it for my hostel just a block away. I laughed out loud when I saw there is a Tiger Sugar Milk Tea on the bottom floor of the building my hostel is in… guess I’ll be getting a lot more Boba! I trekked up the 4 flights of stairs to the hostel and was greeted by a guy who sounded German, but when I asked where he was from he said ‘nowhere, and everywhere’ in a completely different accent that seemed American? So I asked him what his name was and he said ‘Carlisle, but also Carleton.’ Alright.. Carl it is? I asked him if I could check in and he said ‘oh I don’t work here.’

Okay cool.

I asked if he knew where the lady who owned the hostel was and he goes ‘is anybody really here though?’

DUDE. I am hot and hungry and exhausted just stop.

I swear to god this guy was dead sober too. My final question for him was ‘how long have you been here?’ And he goes:

‘Time. is. relative.’ Punctuating each word with a clap.

Allllright and that’s enough for me. I just turned around without a word and went upstairs, and eventually found the woman to check me in. It’s one of those hostels where you really don’t want to look too closely at the corners… but even avoiding looking closely it’s still hard to miss how insanely shitty (excuse the French) it is. It has such an amazing rating on the booking site I use (which has never steered me wrong before!) but for example the one single bathroom for like 40 people doesn’t latch. There’s just an outhouse hook on it that leaves a gap so people in line can basically see you showering. On top of that there’s no pipe from the sink to the floor – so when you spit your toothpaste out make sure your feet aren’t under the sink cause you’ll just spit on your feet. (There’s a hole in the ground below the sink…). The sheets are almost non existent (so threadbare I may actually go purchase a cheap set for myself (I was told I may want it for the next few places I’m heading anyway). This hostel a far cry from my comfy cubby in Taipei!

I was starving so I went out walking and almost immediately was pounced upon by some local girls asking if they could have my picture, and then if I would come to dinner with them because bringing me would quote “make them so cool” but only if they taught me Korean manners on the train. Nooo thanks! Moving on!

There were food stalls all down the middle of the street, merchants shouting and selling what seemed to be Korean barbecue chicken on a stick (can confirm it was super tasty). There were countless beauty and fashion shops spilling their wares out on to the street, everything on some kind of sale or another. It’s a good thing I don’t have any room in my bag because the amount of stuff I wanted was astronomical. Every kind of fashion you can imagine is available on this street. I might have to get something interesting and small!

Police cars prowled slowly between the crowds, but instead of sirens they made super loud barking sounds- like an aggressive dog. No I’m not joking. It was effective! I moved quickly! Over top of it all there was a chanting coming from a group of protesters marching up and down the road, in support Hong Kong’s current mass protests (ultimately the reason I decided not to go there right now).

I wandered far enough to find a plug-in converter for sale (as I hadn’t thought of that before I left), and some more versions of the bbq chicken, before deciding to head back towards the hostel. I didn’t want to venture too far with a dying phone and no real idea of the workings of this city on a Saturday night. I passed by many karaoke singing acts along the way, as well as a number of KPOP dance circles that were actually impressive and entertaining to watch!

I finally settled on the balcony of tea shop overlooking the street and ordered a piece of cake and peppermint tea to go alongside blog writing. Louis Armstrong is playing over the speaker, barely audible above the chatter of people and karaoke, but it is still relaxing. Maybe it’s just the contrast to street level.

Despite all the weird things that happened today I am really excited for tomorrow. I found a shop that has morning ‘happy hour’ coffee (just super cheap lattes) and a balcony so I’m gonna go there and research what I really want to do while I’m here!

Sav