Published by Swiss James on 28 May 2007 at 11:55 am
After Seoul
The flight from Shanghai to Seoul is about 1 hour 45 mins and cost me 3,300 RMB (217 quid). Co-incidentally these are also the length of time I spent sober, and the amount of cash I spent on booze during my two day trip.
Photo originally by Rachel-Lynn. Hope she doesn’t mind!
For my money, the best part of Seoul is Hongdae- the area around an artsy university in the North-West of the city. I stayed in a ‘love hotel’ called Bobo’s which cost about 50 quid per night. For that price you get a good sized room with a bath and shower, a car park with a big curtain over it (so no-one can see your registration plate from the street), and the ability to get to your room through the back stairs so that you and your illicit partner can be discreet. A bit more interesting than the average Hilton anyway.
As soon as I arrived on the Friday night I met up with the gang of friends I used to spend most of my time with in Korea. We went to a kalbi (BBQd beef ribs) restaurant where you can sit outside and see the world go by. The drinking was already well underway by the time we got to the restaurant thanks to a newly introduced 6.9% beer (Cass Red- “Taste The Passion”), and by the time we’d eaten and drank plenty of shots of Oh Ship Sae Ju (two traditional kinds of booze mixed together- tastes a bit like ginseng), we were having contests to see who could sing the intro to “Livin’ On A Prayer” with the most feeling.
On the way between the restaurant and the next bar, we came across a “Road Bar”- basically the back of a truck stacked up with spirits, serving very (very) cheap cocktails. After a couple of hours enjoying the bargains, we went to a place called TinPan Alley where there was dancing on tables.
My memory after this is patchy at best- I remember trying not to speak to anyone because my speech was even more slurred and indistinct than normal, wandering around in circles after losing my friends, am pretty sure I was sick (although where, I have no idea) and woke up face down, star-shaped on my bed with an empty microwave hamburger wrapper stuck to my cheek.
Good times! Bet you are still kimchi burping. See you Friday.
Hahaha, knew I should have headed for Hongdae and waited for the Englishman doing the one-legged walk. Sorry to miss you. Next time! (Who’s got the photo of James face down in the technicolour?)
PS did you make it back to Shanghai with your right ear? Looks like that lady could have been going for a nibble there.
Liam- I only ate 3 meals the whole time I was there. Too hung-over / drunk the rest of the time. The shame!
Sorry Champers- I didn’t have a phone when I was there which played havoc with my ability to meet people, luckily I managed to pretty much bump into 80% of the people I wanted to meet, unfortunately you were in the 20% where serendipity didn’t work.
And you’re right, the ear is gone now. I didn’t feel it until the morning.
I thought you said “hooker hill” was your favourite place in Seoul?
No that was me Craig, you are getting confused in your old age!!
Did you eat the chicken burger?! Heidi was worried about you .. .she thought maybe she saw you chucking it out the taxi window.
I did wander up hooker hill on my way to “Friends” bar, they had posters of you outside a lot of the bars Wiggy. Something about a reward?
RL- I ate a bite or two when I got back to my apartment in Shanghai, but even refused the meal on the plane!