O Seoul-o Mio

Claire came to visit last weekend. She saved me from an almost complete disinterest I have of Seoul. It's a bit odd really; maybe it's because I didn't choose to come here, maybe because on the surface it's like any large city... but anyway, she passively forced me to get out to see some sights with her, and, not surprisingly, we had a great time.


We stopped a very nice man who spent a lot time trying to get a good picture of us (neither of us thinks we're photogenic... maybe he didn't either!). Anyway, it's a very ordinary backdrop, I know...! Oh well. It's the subject matter that matters. But just for posterity, this is just behind the Shinsegae department store in Namdaemun.




Seoul club and bar names are great, with names like "Giant Big Man Club", "Don't Tell Momma" (aparently a place where married women pick up younger guys), "Sexy Chicks", "Beer Angels"... The list goes on. And around our office, there are about 10 bars called 'sexy bars', but according to a co-worker, they're just normal bars. I don't believe it - just like Damien won't believe that I haven't already checked these out for myself!

The 7 Monkeys Coffee house looks like a nice place you'd find professionals, young couples and families... so what the hell is with this pen holder by the counter??





"Teenie Weenie"?? Taken out of context, you wouldn't have any idea it's a kid's clothing store!







"Matching Mole" - they even have 'diet salads'.








"Ambitious again! Guys, be ambitious!" If anyone has a good interpretation of this, I'd love to hear it.







There some protests going on in the area, which I gather is not uncommon. These riot police were all gone a minute after this was taken - we turned around and they were gone! Spooky...








I love this sign, which was on the inside of a revolving door. The picture in the middle with the guy banging his head whilst running full-pelt at the glass just cracks me up!





This is a boiling pot of silk-worm larvae. Aparently people love the stuff. I don't get it. I's an indescribable putrid stench; slightly herbal but at the same time with an undertone of feline faeces and urine. Blecch.



A street-side food stand - complete with live-octopus. You're supposed to put them in your mouth, live. The idea is that you have to chew these very quickly, otherwise it'll suffocate you by clinging to the inside of your throat. Mmmm.



Having a coffee and crowd watching in Myong-dong.





















The weekend after Claire was here, I went to check out Insa-dong, where there are galleries, antique shops, arts and craft stores and a pretty large bar and restaurant area near-by. There was an Andy Warhold exhibition in a very funky gallery area called Ssamize. The building is rectangular, with shops and galleries on the four sides, each side sloping gently upward to the next level. Part of the installation were umbrellas, with the inside painted with blue sky and clouds.

I'm heading back to Singapore this Thursday, then leaving for Delhi on Sunday, where I'll be for at least 3 weeks. I've got a feeling I'll be back in Seoul shortly after new year and potentially in India for an extended period too. This isn't going to be easy on Claire and I... We had a long chat last night about how ordinarily we both don't believe in long-distance relationships: we both want to get our careers in order, save some money... but we're going to try to make this work. Wherever I'll be, I think we'll be able to see each other maybe every 2 or 3 weeks. Boy, this is going to be tough...