These shoes weren't made for walking

Left the guesthouse this morning at 10:20 to meet Keren at 11:00 for the cherry blossom festival.  The doorman excitedly showed me that he recovered my missing room key from the last guest., phew.  No more worries there.  After taking the green line to the orange line, I turned up at Dongguk University exit.  Keren and I waited for her expat friends to arrive, but at 11:30, we decided to move along.  We followed the colorful lanterns toward the campus and we made our way to the staircase leading to Namsan Park and Seoul Tower ("san" means mountain). The path wound its way up and eventually down to a very nice walking trail. 

About 2000 meters into our walk, Keren's friend Michelle called.  She had just arrived at Hongguk and wanted to meet up with us.  We slowed down a bit for Michelle to catch up and sat for a few on a bench and continued people watching.  There were lots of people out enjoying a nice stroll up the mountain.  I did not come prepared to hike, but I couldn't complain because there were plenty of Korean girls with their 2.5 inch heels and ruffled skirts walking the walk.  The ajumas were out in all their glory with their gargantuan visors, face masks and brightly colored mismatched clothes.  The people watching opportunities were endless.  We were amazed by the large number of blind people walking with their walking sticks all alone on the path.  There were textured strips of tile running down the path to guide them.

Eventually, Michelle arrived and we continued on our way up the mountain.  I just googled to find that we walked 2.5 miles and then up 812 steps to Seoul Tower.  We walked around the tower area, ate lunch and checked out the "locks of love".  Young couples hang their locks of love before throwing the key away in the hope for eternal love.  I went to Seoul Tower at night back in September, but had not visited in the day.  There was a performance scheduled but we decided to pass and take the cable car down the mountain.  We never did see the Cherry Blossom Festival which we heard about, but we did see cherry blossoms, so I guess that was the important part.

We took the bus to the subway and headed over to Itaewon.  As soon as you step out of the subway at Itaewon, you suddenly see white people.  This area is common for foreigners and a lot of the shop owners speak English.  You see a lot of military people and teachers here.  I noticed a Virginia Tech jersey hanging outside a shop and had to take a pic.  

After walking for a few hours there, we hopped on the subway to Sindorim subway stop which is across the river.  The stop just before Sindorim, is Yeongdeungpo which is the neighborhood where I was found.  We went to E-Mart and walked around the various shops.  We went to the food court and had some beef fried rice which came with a cold soup.  When I say cold, I mean it had crushed ice in it, basically a cucumber/onion slushy.  We headed back to the subway and I got home a little after 8.  So basically, we literally walked for 9 hours today!  My poor pinky toes have blisters because I was wearing flats. 


I have made a few observations over the past few days and some were reiterated from my previous trips here.  
1.  A lot of men clear their throats as if to hawk up a loogie.  It is disgusting and you hear it everywhere.
2.  Men carry their girlfriend's handbags for them.  How nice.  
3.  A lot of men carry man bags or Murses (man-purses).  I really think you have to living in the city.  You can only stuff so much in your pockets, I think it is necessary.  I saw a couple Prada ones that were especially nice!
4.  I don't like that you aren't supposed to flush toilet paper and there is an open trash can next to the toilets for used toilet tissue. Ick!
5.  The elderly in Korea are really active.  They are out on the subway and in the streets.  A lot of them are doing strenuous manual labor like working a pick axe and digging out trenches.
6.  The ajumas must get dressed in the dark or intentionally mismatch clothes as a rebellion or something.
7.  Korean girls primp their faces constantly and are always looking at their reflection wherever they can to touch up their makeup.
8.  Passing gas in public in close range of others is acceptable, even if it is audible. 
9.  Sneakers are a huge fashion statement. The brighter the better and they nearly never match what the person is wearing.
10.  Korean kids are so cute!
11.  The Korean subway is so extensive, but why in the world does it close at 10pm when so many people are out much later?
12.  Why are there no trash cans anywhere??
13.  The fascination with having a bleached white face is really quite scary.
14.  Most Koreans have attached ear lobes.
15.  A lot of Koreans DO wear watches.  I notice them all the time now that Mr. Lee mentioned they don't. 

That's all for now. Goodnight!