Daejeon and Seoul weekend

Daejeon and Seoul weekend
Saturday morning I took the KTX up to Daejeon to meet up with some friends before heading to Seoul to see “Nanta.” I arrived in Daejeon a little early, so I decided to walk about downtown. It was really cold and windy, which made it even worse. I was surprised to see I still about 7,000W left on my Daejeon bus card. I always find it interesting that no one ever gives me a flier, only Koreans. In busy areas of town, people stand in the street or sidewalk and hand out advertisements for restaurants or what not. I rarely get one. I can’t read it because it’s in Korean. I had lunch at New York Hot Dog and Coffee. Unusual name I know, but the dog was tasty. I wanted to stay inside and out of the weather, so I went in a coffee shop. I had a large blueberry smoothie. That is the first for me. I’ve had peach and mango, but never blueberry. It was strong and pungent. I used the Internet as they had wi-fi. So I used my ipod touch to check some stuff. I saw some foreigners in there, I suppose they congregate in those types of places.

I decided to head back to the train station. I was on time, but the other folks I was to meet came just minutes before the train left. Kristine came straight from work. While I was waiting at the track, two foreigners came up to me and asked me “you’re a teacher right?” How’d you guess? One girl asked me if there is good shopping near the bases in Daegu. Shopping, um not that I know of. Apparently she did not want to hear this. Shortly, the entourage arrived and we boarded the train. We had “family seating,” which means two seats face two seats with a fold up table in the middle. It is cheaper but you have to buy ahead of time as they fill fast. Kristine, Donald, and Kimmie had some food from Lotteria. I started reading a new book “Time For the Stars.” It is interesting, it features telepathic twins. It kind of reminds of Star Trek with Counselor Troy. We read and shuffled cards just pass the time. I taught them to play Rummy. The train takes only an hour or so from Daejeon to Seoul. We went to the subway station and I had to add more money on my T Money card. This is the bus/subway card that Seoul uses.

First, we were going towards the hotel that the rest of the group was staying at. So, we took the subway close enough for them to take a taxi to the hotel. Gia and I were going to meet them at the theater. So, we got back on the subway and got off at the stop closest to the theater. For the next thirty minutes or so we asked several people directions and walked all around, but to no avail. Finally, we ask a policeman. Lo and behold he knew where to go. It was completely the opposite direction. We were supposed to get out at exit 6, not exit 5 which we took. I wrote down directions from exit 6. It said go straight for 50 meters and turn left at the Teenie Weenie store. We walked down this really crowded street full of street vendors and people walking about. We thought we’d get there before the other folks, but were we wrong. We met them at the door and we hurried inside to get our seats. We got there just a few minutes before it started. The show was a mix of banging sticks on the tables and juggling and a little cooking for good measure. They called me up on stage. So, I go up and they give me a bowl of soup. It was a cream corn soup. It was super creamy. They put on this little hat, like a birthday hat. After the show we met two guys at the subway station then went to eat. We had golbi at a restaurant. It was quite tasty, succulent. We had the traditional Korean side dishes with kimchi, noodles, soup, mashed potatoes, and what not.

After dinner we went for coffee at a place down the street. Coffee houses here can be three stories high. We chatted awhile enjoying being out of the cold. The rest of the people had a place to stay, either a hotel or with a friend. So, the folks were nice enough to help me look for a motel to stay at. We found a guest house in a back alley. It was really nice inside and for 40,000W it was a good deal. A guest house is a building that has several bedrooms run by someone that lives there. The lady made breakfast for us in the morning. It was a little odd in that all the people who stayed ate breakfast together around the table. We exchanged names and where we lived. We had toast. It consists of shredded cabbage, sauce, and toasted bread. It was a little too spicy for me. The lady kept saying it is tomato sauce, ketchup, but I don’t buy it. I said no it has peppers. I left the guest house after she zipped my coat all the way up. She reminded me to wash my hands because influenza is in Korea. I walked towards the subway and followed the wall map to Itaewon. We were meeting some people there for lunch Sunday. I started walking about, but it was too cold and windy. I took some pictures, but finally settled on Starbucks. I got a apple cranberry muffin and a hot chocolate. After reading a bit, I walked down the street and found some little shops that sold souvenirs. I got some postcards and other random oddities. I received a text to meet with the group at the subway in a few minutes, so I started walking that way. We went on some side streets and went in an Irish pub. I had Shepherd’s Pie which is tasty, but I don’t think mozzarella is traditional.