Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I've had so much to write about but just haven't taken the time. So my friend John had two friends visit from the States, Danielle, who is from Chicago and Brooke, who is from Washington D.C. It was a pretty eventful week, John was playing tour guide most of the time but I got to sit along for the ride. Danielle and Brooke said they had an amazing time, if any of you are thinking of visiting.
Fish Market: We visited a fish market for dinner on Friday night. It was late so all the vendors weren't out but it was still amazing to me. We got to pick out our own fish (red snapper, i think) and king crab for dinner. They killed the fish in front of us and sliced him up sashimi style, he was delicious. There is a bunch of restaurants below the market where you go to devour your meal. The restaurant also uses the rest of the fish to make a soup called meauntang, which translates to spicy soup. Which I was surprised to see how not spicy it was, but still yummy.
Seoul Racecourse: On Saturday we visited the race tracks, and man did I get hooked. There is an area that is solely dedicated to foreigners, which has big fluffy chairs and a great view of the track. It was interesting to learn about the betting system and the horse racing culture. Ultimately I only lost about 20, 000 won ($20) but I at one point I had a great opportunity to win a bunch of money. The excitement and sounds of the people and horses is well worth the little I lost, but hopefully I won't be returning too often.
Hongdae: After the race track we took the girls to Hongdae, which is one of my favorite night spots in Seoul. It is the area surrounding Hongik University so it has a very youthful and exciting vibe. We went to a kalbi restaurant for dinner, which I thought was pretty tasty. Afterwards we went to a hookah bar called "Bricks" which had a nice dark, intimate ambiance. It also had some very interestingly named drinks, such as the fuzzy nipple. We all had a pretty good time, but were beat when we got home at 5 am, which is early in Seoul standards.
Gwanaksan: We went for a hike up Gwanaksan on Sunday morning, after our night in Hongdae. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling my best but I rallied on, and I'm glad I did. Gwanaksan is a small mountain in Seoul with a beautiful Buddhist temple near the peak. I thought it was a pretty difficult hike, with the heat and humidity, but my friends were flying up it. At the temple it was amazing, so beautiful I felt no need to climb the last 0.6 km to the peak. At the bottom of the mountain we ate at a restaurant built along the river. We had some pajang, which is similar to a vegetable pancake and some makali, unfermented rice wine. Unfortunately John and I had to go back to work on Monday, but Danielle and Brooke did their own exploring around Seoul. All in all I think they had a great time, so if any of you are thinking about coming out I would be happy to show you around.
~Sunny
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