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After showering in the weird sauna room, we packed our still damp cloths and headed to the Tsukiji Fish Market.
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Alas, it was closed for a holiday! :(((
We got in as far as the security guard would let us (I wanted some pictures), and then walked on a side street back to the station to the airport. I guess it's okay because it'll give me another reason to come back to Tokyo sometime. Fresh sashimi, I will eat you another day!
I was still pretty sore from Fuji, so the walk back to the subway station was pretty difficult. Once again, we got on a train that wasn't the one we planned to get on, but it ended up being the fastest train to Hanneda Airport. Niceee.
We were both pretty low on yen, but G found some coins in his backpack side pocket and it was just enough for us to use for the fare adjustment. Phew!
With our extra time, we bought some mochi to give to Ghyrn's friend Andy in Seoul, and Carrie, my labmate who is living in Hong Kong. Soon, we were on our next Asiana flight, and I was eating more food. I will really miss this on flights back home.
Fail of the day: I dropped my sleeping bag on some poor lady's head :( I had to detach it from my backpack so it would fit in the overhead compartment, and as warned, it shuffled around during the flight. She was nice about it, but I felt really bad!
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The public transportation is really cheap in Seoul (for non-taxed tourists, that is). It seriously costed like $1 or $2 to get from the airport to the center of Seoul, where we were staying. Compare this to the ~$30 we spent for a similar ride in Tokyo!
After riding the Airport Express (AR'EX) to Hongik University Station (what the locals call Hongdae), we walked to the 2nd Pencil Hostel and were greeted my some pretty cool artwork:
I found out that Cherry, the only staff member there at the time, was visiting from China, and I was able to bust out some bad Chinese. She was pretty friendly, and maybe we'll get better service now haha!
The rooms here are pretty sweet: There are two beds, a fridge/freezer, a stove, a washing machine, personal bathroom, and lcd TV. The best part? We're only paying like $30 a person/night! I think our trip will start to be a bit more relaxed from this point on :)
Not wanting to waste any time, we dropped off our stuff, started a load of laundry, and went to the center of Hongdae to begin fattening up.
Snack 1: Deokk Boki! (Hot sauce covered rice cakes)
Snack 2: Sorbet!
There are a lot of funny building names and signs here. I was expecting more of this in Japan, but I'm happy we found things to laugh at here, too!
What's the SexyBrown? Anybody!
After exploring our neighborhood, we went to Hapjeong and watched the sunset from under one of the bridges along the Han River. If you've seen The Host (a good Korean monster movie), this might look familiar:
Then we headed back to meet Andy, Ghyrn's friend, for dinner(s).
Dinner 1: Dumplings (mandoo):
Dinner 2: Guangjang street food (mung bean pancake + rice wine)
Dinner 3: Not really dinner, but we ate a lot that night! Insadong Pat Bing Su (shaved ice) and street sweets:
The performer guys were really funny. Watch this youtube video!
We headed back with Andy to Hongdae, stuffed and happy. He had to meet his mom back at his place, so we wandered around and stumbled on a group of really talented student performers. In Korea there is limited space to practice music, so people rent out rooms in building or perform on the street. It's really cool to see/hear music everywhere!
Another youtube video of them :D
We watched them for about an hour before the cops came and told them to start shutting down, headed back to the hostel, and then hung our clothes to dry on the rooftop.
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I'm just chilling in the room, planning out tomorrow. We're thinking of visiting the traditional palaces, heading to a couple of street markets, and maybe going clubbing tomorrow night. I think you will be very bored reading about this part of the trip, unless you like food ;)
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