I've got Seoul, but I'm not a Soldier

You know how when people meet and then they all go their separate ways, the group always says, "ohhh, we'll keep in touch, we'll definitely get together", but lets be honest it never really happens. Well that's not the case with the people from my training group and I. We've been really good about keeping in touch via email, making plans, and sticking to them. So a few weeks ago we planned a trip to Seoul.

I got to the train station and bought a KTX ticket. It costs a little bit more than a regular train or bus ticket because it takes less than an hour to get to Seoul. I found the platform and even asked an employee if I was at the right place. He reassured me that I was so I got on the train. About 20 minutes into the ride, we stopped. I thought it was weird we were already stopping because the KTX was supposed to be really fast. Well, I finally realized that I had somehow gotten on the slow train. So I paid for a KTX ticket, but was on the slow train, without a seat.

After standing on the train for an extra hour, I finally met everyone in Itaweon. There's an army base in Itaweon so it's a huge tourist trap. There's great shopping, good food, and lots of "western" things. I didn't even feel like I was in Korea walking around because there were so many foreigners. We stopped at an international grocery store and an English bookstore. I bought The Devil Wears Prada (classic haha) and Citizen Girl, a book by the authors of The Nanny Diaries. I want to go back and pick up the Twilight series! For lunch, we opted against Korean food and I stuffed my face with the best chicken shwarma sandwich I've ever had.

Around 5 p.m. we headed to Seoul Tower. It's known for it's gorgeous, panoramic views of the city. We had to walk up a huge hill and then took a cable car up to the tower. We went right around sunset, so the timing was perfect. (I've been trying to post pictures, but it hasn't been working) On one of the observation decks there were "locks of love". Couples bring a lock and lock it onto the railing, throw the key away and attach a love note to it. There was also a random teddy bear museum and a few restaurants at the top of tower. Seoul Tower is something everyone who visits Korea should see.

Next, we had a Korean BBQ and noribang (karaoke).
Top 5 songs of the night:
-Barbie Girl
-Poker Face
-Summer Nights
-P.I.M.P.
-I Kissed a Girl

In the morning S showed me around Mok-dong and we went back to Myeong-dong for some shopping. The Hyundai Department Store is in Mok-dong and it had the most amazing office supply store and CHEESE store. Cheese is very rare in Korea so it was a relief to see names like feta, smoked gouda, and brie readily available at my fingertips. And there were samples which made it even better.

Good times with good people, and I took the KTX back to Daejeon for the first time!