Summer Break
The trip to Seoul and the Incheon concert went really well, despite the high travel costs, torrential rain and (later) blistering heat.
Sarah and I left Busan Wednesday night and arrived in Seoul a bit before midnight which left us just enough time to check into a hotel and have a few drinks with Katie before we both crashed for the night. Thursday we had planned on going to the DMZ but we opted out of that saying that it was too far away and too expensive ($60). Also, Katie made an excellent point: "It's just a line that you can't cross with people staring at you on the other side. I'll stare at you for free and you don't have to go anywhere..." So we braved the rain and went shopping instead, ultimately spending $120 on used books. We may have gone a bit overboard but books in English are gold here. We spent at the evening at Carne Station, which is quite possibly the best restaurant in Seoul. It's all you can eat, all you can drink (liquor, wine and beer) for only $22. We were the last people out of the restaurant and afterwards found a nori-bong where we sung till 2.
Friday Sarah and I left for Incheon a suburb outside of Seoul for the concert. It was an hour or so by subway and we managed to find the venue without too much trouble. It started raining as soon as we got in and we set up our tent and arrived just in time to miss the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, which was a big disappointment.
At this point it started pouring down rain, and this, when mixed with the dirt field the concert was being held in created a bog of mud that we wallowed in for the next three days. We headed back to the campsite to find our tent in a puddle and spent an hour finding a new spot and moving our things. That night though we saw Snow Patrol, Jason Mraz and The Strokes (who I had confused in my mind with The Stills). Snow Patrol and Jason Mraz were great and The Strokes were OK, though I would have rather they had been The Stills.... After the main shows we went to the DJ stage and I danced my ass off while Sarah looked on with what I'm sure was a mix of confusion and pity for my hapless dancing. Whatever. I had fun.
We returned to our tent to find that water had seeped through the floor (and ground mat) and soaked my sleeping bag. Despite the uncomfortable conditions, Sarah was asleep instantly leaving me awake to plan an early morning escape.
I was up at 7:30, packed and ready to move. One
night sleeping in a damp tent was enough for me. I woke up Sarah and we were in a hotel before 9. A love hotel actually, which are quite popular here and where you have to pay in 12 hour increments. The rooms themselves are nice and have complimentary condoms and free porn to go along with the circular bed. (Side note: Korean pornography is horribly non-explicit and in only remotely arousing). We spent the next two nights there and it was great not to sleep in a puddle.
Saturday evening we returned to the mud and saw The Black Eyed Peas which was entertaining but not really our thing. Also, they spent so much time mentioning Korea in their set that it eventually became annoying. After BEP's was Placebo who I had listened to before I left and thought was just OK. They KICKED ASS LIVE and after a second listen I'm sold. Do yourself a favor and download Meds, their new album.
Sunday was the day we were both looking forward to the most and the weather that day changed from cold,
wet and muddy to fucking hot. Franz Ferdinand was the headliner and we were twenty feet from the stage when they went on. And they were awesome! Definitely the best show we saw and worth the two hours of waiting near the front holding a spot near the stage. We spent most of the time there continuing a game we had been playing all weekend: counting the number of foolish Korean wearing high heeled shoes. IN ANKLE DEEP MUD. We counted 28 women on Sunday alone.
We headed back to Seoul on Monday, exhausted and near broke. We stuck around in the city long enough to check out DVD Burger, an awesome restaurant that rents DVDs and sells hamburgers the size of pizzas. Despite these luxuries, the heat in the city was too much so we called it and headed back to Busan two days early. We spent the last two days of vacation drinking and playing cards with our friends, BBQing, watching 24 and going to the beach. The whole week was great and exactly the break I needed.
Sarah and I left Busan Wednesday night and arrived in Seoul a bit before midnight which left us just enough time to check into a hotel and have a few drinks with Katie before we both crashed for the night. Thursday we had planned on going to the DMZ but we opted out of that saying that it was too far away and too expensive ($60). Also, Katie made an excellent point: "It's just a line that you can't cross with people staring at you on the other side. I'll stare at you for free and you don't have to go anywhere..." So we braved the rain and went shopping instead, ultimately spending $120 on used books. We may have gone a bit overboard but books in English are gold here. We spent at the evening at Carne Station, which is quite possibly the best restaurant in Seoul. It's all you can eat, all you can drink (liquor, wine and beer) for only $22. We were the last people out of the restaurant and afterwards found a nori-bong where we sung till 2.
Friday Sarah and I left for Incheon a suburb outside of Seoul for the concert. It was an hour or so by subway and we managed to find the venue without too much trouble. It started raining as soon as we got in and we set up our tent and arrived just in time to miss the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, which was a big disappointment.
At this point it started pouring down rain, and this, when mixed with the dirt field the concert was being held in created a bog of mud that we wallowed in for the next three days. We headed back to the campsite to find our tent in a puddle and spent an hour finding a new spot and moving our things. That night though we saw Snow Patrol, Jason Mraz and The Strokes (who I had confused in my mind with The Stills). Snow Patrol and Jason Mraz were great and The Strokes were OK, though I would have rather they had been The Stills.... After the main shows we went to the DJ stage and I danced my ass off while Sarah looked on with what I'm sure was a mix of confusion and pity for my hapless dancing. Whatever. I had fun.We returned to our tent to find that water had seeped through the floor (and ground mat) and soaked my sleeping bag. Despite the uncomfortable conditions, Sarah was asleep instantly leaving me awake to plan an early morning escape.
I was up at 7:30, packed and ready to move. One
night sleeping in a damp tent was enough for me. I woke up Sarah and we were in a hotel before 9. A love hotel actually, which are quite popular here and where you have to pay in 12 hour increments. The rooms themselves are nice and have complimentary condoms and free porn to go along with the circular bed. (Side note: Korean pornography is horribly non-explicit and in only remotely arousing). We spent the next two nights there and it was great not to sleep in a puddle.Saturday evening we returned to the mud and saw The Black Eyed Peas which was entertaining but not really our thing. Also, they spent so much time mentioning Korea in their set that it eventually became annoying. After BEP's was Placebo who I had listened to before I left and thought was just OK. They KICKED ASS LIVE and after a second listen I'm sold. Do yourself a favor and download Meds, their new album.
Sunday was the day we were both looking forward to the most and the weather that day changed from cold,
wet and muddy to fucking hot. Franz Ferdinand was the headliner and we were twenty feet from the stage when they went on. And they were awesome! Definitely the best show we saw and worth the two hours of waiting near the front holding a spot near the stage. We spent most of the time there continuing a game we had been playing all weekend: counting the number of foolish Korean wearing high heeled shoes. IN ANKLE DEEP MUD. We counted 28 women on Sunday alone.We headed back to Seoul on Monday, exhausted and near broke. We stuck around in the city long enough to check out DVD Burger, an awesome restaurant that rents DVDs and sells hamburgers the size of pizzas. Despite these luxuries, the heat in the city was too much so we called it and headed back to Busan two days early. We spent the last two days of vacation drinking and playing cards with our friends, BBQing, watching 24 and going to the beach. The whole week was great and exactly the break I needed.
1 comment:
seanboy,
no wonder I haven't seen you on skype. Sounds like quite an adventure you guys were on but some sweet live acts. I just went to a better than ezra concert, where sister hazel opened. Unknown to me and the random girl I took, Sister hazel is actually a pretty cool band.
Anyway, I'm in the city, found a place right across the river in queens, and move in on the 1st. school starts monday.
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