Seoul-full day and night

retro! at the 7-Eleven along the Han river

Seoul is a high energy place. It's filled with all kinds of markets and food, and the people never seem to rest. Fortunately, there are some relaxing things to do in and around Seoul. When people work this hard, they need serious outlets for their relaxation. Take this 7-Eleven for example - it's not just a convenience store. Sure, they have all the stuff you'd expect from a 7-Eleven. They also sell freshly made fried chicken and beer. There are a bunch of tables outside, so you can sit by the river and enjoy some food and drink. And of course, they also have whack-a-dooduhji.

Han Gang at night

The Han River runs all through the middle of Seoul. Founded six hundred years ago, it was the main water source and an important mode of transportation. Now the river is used mostly for pleasure craft, and there are bridges that crisscross the river at every major intersection. It's beautiful at night - all of the bridges have different light arrangements.

dos tacos!

The city really comes alive at night. Since most people work all day and socialization is a major part of the culture - combined with small living spaces - everyone goes out at night. All ages and even the most conservative can enjoy what the city has to offer. It's something that's really struck me about Korean people - they really know how to have fun. Some say that Korea is both a heaven and hell - people work themselves to pieces, then party all night long.

grilling the meat

One of my favorite things to do here (sorry vegans) is get some grilled meat and soju. It's a simple pleasure you can find on every street, and every place has a slightly unique take on the food that goes with it. We ordered the Chadolbaegi (thin sliced beef brisket) which came with marinated onions and other side dishes.

Mr. Pizza has a thing for women

There are of course many other options for late night eating. Seoul is becoming more and more cosmopolitan every time I visit. Mr. Pizza has long been a staple of kids' diets. I haven't eaten here in years, mostly because the first experience left a nasty impression. I'd imagine there must be a decent pizza place around somewhere, but I haven't sought it. There's too much other food that's a sure bet on awesome.

flower tea

Tea is everywhere, but older sis always finds the best stuff. She's very health conscious about what she eats and all, so we typically get to try weird herb concoctions thanks to her. Most of them are a little gross, but hey it's good for you. This tea is actually quite nice.

the mud caves

Koreans love saunas. It's like they're a necessary part of bathing or relaxation. I can't count how many times the virtues of continuously sweating have been extolled to me. There are many places with saunas called chim chil bahngs which offer bathing areas and sweat lodges. Older sis and her husband insisted that we come here. The description wasn't very appealing: they burn wood in a mud cave which gets really hot, then you sit around and sweat in it. As you may have guessed, this is usually not my thing.

a burning fire in the cave

This place is really special (so they say) because they use this mountain wood and special mud to make these little huts. The place actually started as a charcoal factory, but they realized that the the furnaces they used for burning the wood stayed hot for so long that they could use them as a sauna afterward. I think they get more business out of the spa thing than the charcoal at this point, but they still sell it (in the gift shop too).

loading the wood

This guy loads up a cave full of wood in preparation for a burn. They have 6 or so caves that they heat in alternate orders. The most recently heated cave is the hottest, and so forth. They seem to stay hot for days after a burn due to the thick mortar and mud.

stacking the wood in the cave

In case you want to try this at home, you have to stack the wood up vertically. I didn't stick around long enough to see how they start this fire. The guy has to build a temporary wall in the entrance with just enough space to let some air in. Then they bust through it when the cave is ready for you to jump in and burn your face off. I literally had to run out of the hottest room because my eyes were burning, much to the chagrin of the other people that were tough enough to take it. I joked with older sis (she's a church lady) that it felt like hell. She retorted that the old joke is that when Koreans go to hell they ask the devil to turn up the heat. It's almost ironic the way Koreans use the word "shiwonhae" which means "how refreshing!". They use it to describe eating extremely spicy food on a blistering hot day, or in this case, hanging out in the oven.

ajuma train

Speaking of shiwonhae, these ladies were intermittently exclaiming this during their choo-choo massage. Ajumas (older women) love to travel together. The running joke is that when their husbands get cranky and useless in the bedroom, they get stronger and more sociable, leaving the hapless husbands to reminisce about the good old days when their wives waited around for them. Koreans describe these groups of ajumas as somewhat frightening - and I can see why. I've almost been knocked over several times when a group of these ladies are on their way through a crowd. Once I got into a very minor accident with bro's car (oops, sorry bro) at a rest stop. I was alone in the car at that point without my translator, but I already knew what was coming when mother-in-law stepped out of the car. A procession of beratement, followed by "I don't speak Korean, please wait a moment", followed by more beratement, repeated until she finally calmed down to enraged muttering. Her son-in-law came back from the restroom along with my Korean family, and the matter was settled calmly with a little cash for the scrape. I'm fairly confident the ajuma kept muttering in the car the whole drive home.

getting ready to hike!

Ajumas love to hike too - and so do I. Suk Ja and sis look like total ajumas with these visors (they all have to wear them).

hazy western Seoul

The hike was rewarding; the view of this part of Seoul is unique. This area is somewhat more recently developed, but still has a fair amount of smaller buildings nestled among the hulking apartments.

apartments from the mountain

Apartments pretty much dominate any skyline in Korea. They're not just built in the cities like this - they even have developments that are remarkably similar in smaller towns. There's a common format to the whole arrangement - they even have a public address system built into each apartment unit. Every morning, some announcer comes on the speaker and updates the residents on the goings on of the community. As an American, it's funny to compare this to an Orwellian propaganda delivery mechanism. Then I remember that Americans watch a lot of television.

anyong, anyong

These Korean street artists need to study their English a bit more before taking it to the stairs. 'Til next time, ya hoodlums...