Yesterday, when we went to the Unification Village we were given a free sample of rice wine, known as Makgeolli, a traditional alcoholic drink with a milky, off-white appearance and a slightly sweet, tangy, and bitter taste. Pete hated it, I liked it, but it was very strange tasting. We didn’t buy any, but I was tempted.
Today, we decided to go to the South of Seoul, over the river,far more affluent. We walked through Namsan Mountainside.
We never saw the comfort women memorial, even though we walked 35 metres. The comfort women were women subjected to sexual slavery during Japanese occupation. There has been some argument between Japan and Korea about it.
It was so green and lush on the mountainside, the constant sound of cicadas, deafening and otherworldly.
We passed the air coolers Pete had seen in Busan, and we had quite a bit of fun with them! It really fluffed my hair up!
We went to the Starfield Library in Gangnam. With bookshelves towering over 13 metres, spread across a far distance. It was amazing! We had a relaxing stop with cake and soaked up the chilled vibes.
We went for a bit of a shop, enjoying the air conditioning. As ever, my phone pinged with weather warnings.
We were passed by a very busy robot!
Outside the mall, we found the Gangnam hands dedicated to the Korean singer, Psy, who wrote “Gangnam Style”. I still have an earworm of the song in my head still! The idea of the song was to parody the flamboyance, narcissism, and ostentatious wealth he felt had become prevalent in the newly rich country – epitomized by the youth who hung around the ultra-rich district of Gangnam, known locally as the Beverly Hills of Seoul. It had billions of downloads and put Korean music on the map, apparently. Don’t know but I thought he was from the Philippines, so that went over my head.
Pete got very giddy!
It really was very ultra rich. The shops were all high-end, felt quite out of place.
Yet again, we saw fruit with eye-watering prices!
When we get home, I am going to go wild eating every fruit and vegetable you can name!
The mall almost seemed like the Trafford Centre.
We were next to the Lotte World Tower, the 6th tallest building in the world, 555 metres tall, with 124 floors. We went up it, because it isn’t just about going to the top, there is always some kind of dramatic light show.
Not to scale!
So, up and up we went. Then, after the lift, there were several escalators, to the very top. Ears popping!
There were artificial flower displays on the last few flowers. There is so much posing to get the ultimate perfect snap. There is a lot of pressure on Korean women to project the right image. It’s to do with branding. I decided to try my best posing, didn’t really work well.
Looking at the bustling city below whilst someone played House of the Rising Sun on the ‘busking piano’ was surreal.
When we passed the Grand piano, I threw caution to the wind and a tinkle of the ivories. It is very lucky that my rendition of the Funeral March doesn’t seem to be known here. I do worry about myself sometimes. As I got up to leave, the man who was playing earlier leapt back on and played House of the Rising Sun again, with added flourishes.
The art gallery was on the 7th floor. We were in some sort of groundhog day, pressing 7th floor but arriving higher or lower, but never the 7th floor. At one point, we thought it wasn’t working as it just stopped. Luckily, it started again, but again, not to the 7th floor. After much going up and down, down and up, etc, we were told it was closed for refurbishment. But we had spoken to several people who worked there, who didn’t tell us.
We did see art though, in other areas of the plaza.
We travelled to Hongdae in the late afternoon, the vibrant and artistic university district. We were wild! We went to a laid-back cafe, playing laid-back jazz. We played a few games of backgammon, 2 – 1 to me!!! I was a bit ruthless at times, prompting Pete to say I was quite competitive.
I love backgammon, and I love this travelling set Annie got us!
We saw some interesting dance moves as we walked around.
We also passed a few ear piercing places. Pete decided to have one of his old healed up ones re-pierced. I can’t believe how quick it was, or how painless it seemed.
Homeward bound and a cold beer, perfect!
Random Acts of Travelling 