In which we figure out how to use the subway

Thanks to the jet lag we woke up at about 6am to the sounds of our temporary roommates moving out of the hostel. By 8am we were no longer able to feign the ability to sleep any longer and ventured out to find some breakfast; we went to a pretty cheap ABP-style pastry chain called Paris Baguette and then walked around our immediate area for a bit. The metro station is right by the hostel and there appear to be a number of decent-looking restaurants within a three-minute walk, but beyond that there isn't too much. But once again, the Chungjeongno metro stop is rigt there so we can easily access more interesting parts of the city. Around 11 we acquired a new roommate, Crystal, who is visiting from Malaysia. She has been in Korea for three weeks already and this will be her last in the country--she also speaks English quite fluently. Soon after we met Crystal, Stacey came to pick up Chris and me -- our first stop was in the district of Hongdae, near Hongik University campus. This area is home to an artsy college crowd and features many murals decorating the back alleyways as well as a very high density of coffee shops. I decided to share the mural that I found the most amusing:

We ate lunch at a hole-in-the-wall japanese ramen place that apparently serves the best ramen that Stacey has ever had; it was quite delicious with a very thick and flavorful pork broth.




Walking around some more we stopped at one of the coffee bars- from the loft setting and the somewhat unusual decor (an assortment of random old albeit comfy armchairs) the place would be right at home in Cambridge's hipster scene. After obtaining a rechargeable metro card we took the T to Anguk station, a more traditional-style area of the city with lots of touristy shops: highlights included a troupe of drummers and watching the preparation of a candy made from dried honey stretched into hair-thin fibers.

Walking further brought us to Cheonggyecheon, an artificial river that runs through the center of the city -- there are even small fish!

Following the river for a ways took us to Myeongdong, another area filled with shops, restaurants, and street performers. We will be here for so long and it is only the second day so I haven't gone so far as to make any souvenir purchases yet; it's rather difficult to think of the trip in terms of such a long scope; but I expect that I will purchase a bag or suitcase so that I can bring back plenty of swag. By this point we were quite tired so we took the T back to Chungjeongno station, had some korean fried chicken and beer for dinner, and headed back to the hostel for the night.

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Amusing Photo of the day!



Now where's the chick fil a?