Day 4 - Adventures in Seoul

Sunday, three of us rode a series of two buses to Seoul to meet the fourth member of our group, who had gone home for the night.  By good luck, on the bus, one of our group met a young woman who was Korean, but had attended school in San Diego, California.  While she was waiting to meet her friend, she kindly led us on a tiny tour of Seoul.  Eventually, our little group wandered underground and through a street food vender alley, then we met her friend for lunch at this restaurant.

Our motley crew :

Interestingly, it was situated on the second floor, and we had an excellent view of the street below.  We caught sight of one unfortunate-looking girl who had a job of holding a sign outside of a glasses shop, somewhat like the guys who hold sandwich boards or giant arrows back in the States.  You know, the ones who stand on street corners, waving their advertisements?  I always thought that was a pretty awful job, standing in the hot sun all day, trying to convince people to come to your store (but a job nonetheless!).  She wore a purple cat mask, and we're still not agreed on why.

After the meal, we bid farewell to the friends and stopped by the somewhat famous Cat Cafe.  You purchase a drink, and you're allowed to sit and play with the cats for as long as you like.  The cats seemed overstimulated to me, though, and often refused to be touched.  I was impressed that no one got scratched, however.  None of the cats looked to be declawed, and they only patted your hand gently if they wanted you to stop petting.  No cat I knew was ever that docile....

You're required to remove your shoes and wear slippers inside.  There were cats everywhere!

We moved on to the shopping area around a train station.  Funny enough, we passed a dancing "cat" advertising the same Cat Cafe we had just left!  I suppose they were short on business that day or something, but good heavens, that suit must have been torture in the heat and humidity...

Scratch what I said earlier about the girl in the cat mask.  This looks like an even worse job.

Next, we spotted something amazing: a giant IPad in the street.  Of course, it was in Korean and we couldn't read it, but there was a Google Map available.  How incredibly helpful!

Wow, can you imagine one of these in NYC?  It'd be mobbed by tourists!  Wait...

Soon, however, we heard something even more amazing.  Someone was playing the drums and piano on the street to the tune of Coldplay's Yellow.  We stood in front of them to watch the magic, and as he began to sing, music swept across the sidewalk and stopped pedestrians in their tracks.

We got a front row spot to experience this pair's talent...

By the middle of the song, a crowd had formed.

What a way to earn a living!

In that moment, I felt like we were in a movie, an adventure one with minimal drama and a happy ending.  There was music, my friends and I were exploring the vibrant city of Seoul and the crowd seemed silent, in total awe of these incredible people.  Her drums were impeccable, his piano wandering through the rhythm in a familiar tune.  Although his voice wasn't quite like the Coldplay singer's, there was a strength that lent itself well to the song.  And as the music ended, the thunderous applause drowned out the surrounding traffic.  We quietly left to continue our journey, but I think those few minutes will remain with me for a long time.

For the remainder of the afternoon, we shopped and called our resident translator from a pay phone.  Luckily, our mistaken train stop wasn't too far off, and after a few dropped calls, we managed to meet up.  I'd like to note now that Seoul, day or night, is very crowded.  It's the largest city in South Korea, with about 60% of the South Korean population either residing in Seoul or in the surrounding area, and truly colorful.  The really amazing part is that I don't think I've heard a single car honk in Seoul.  Check out why I find this pretty special:

Considering the amount of street space, there's probably a car behind me...

After a little more walking through the crowded streets and dodging cars (people walk in the streets, parting like the Red Sea for the occasional brave driver), we stopped by a noodle place for dinner.  This fascinating contraption was in front of the restaurant:

Unfortunately, it's not visible in the picture, but the chopsticks rotated in a circle, supported by a hidden stick in the bowl.  I stared for a good 5 minutes before I figured it out.

In Korea, food is typically served with side dishes.  In this case:

Onions (left), kimchi (back) and pickled daikon (front).

After a little more wandering, it was time to board the bus again.  We had work tomorrow!

Postscript:  That's how busy we've been; I meant to post this on Monday!  Sunday night was out of the question, since most of us fell asleep on the bus and then knocked out as soon as we got back to our dorm rooms.