Seoul: Days 5 to 7

Three days ago, I moved to a different hostel. It's a place on the other side of the Hongik University subway station. I took the opportunity to walk in the Gyeongui Line Forest Park. It's a very skinny park that used to be a railroad. When I arrived at the new hostel I couldn't check in because the owner and his friends were jamming to some music in the common area. After waiting over two hours, I was able to check in at 4 PM. For dinner, I went to the Hongdae Street area and had a bulgogi bibimbap. On my way back to the hostel, there was a street performance of song and dance that I stopped to look at. 

The next day, I took the train to Dongdaemun Design Plaza. The Plaza was designed by one of my favorite architects, Zaha Hadid. The building looks so organic and cool. I didn't explore the inside of the design museum and only walked around the building and the park. From there, I walk to the nearby Gwangjang Market, where I had some Korean dumplings. Surprisingly, the market also sells a lot of fabric for making clothes. I sauntered along the Cheong-gye-cheon riverwalk from the market to City Hall station. There was a Korean martial arts performance right in front of the Seoul City Hall. It seemed to me the performance was a mix of martial arts and K-Pop dancing. So far, I've seen at least three public performances in Seoul.

Yesterday it rained the whole day so I stayed inside the hostel, except going out to eat. I had a combo plate of Korean dumplings for lunch and a wasabi ramen that I just had to try for dinner. The day ended with karaoke at the hostel. It was fun to watch some travelers sing. I had the worst night of sleep, though. There was a mosquito in my capsule bed that I wasn't able to kill. In fact, for the previous two nights, I had to kill a mosquito every night before having a good night's sleep. Last night, the mosquito evaded my slaps and it was 2 AM already. I used a bug repellent wipe on my face and hands before having a decent sleep.

I also received an email from Google Fi that my international data roaming will end in 30 days because I've been out of United States for too long. I use Google Fi's Flex Plan so that I can use my phone internationally, but I didn't know it had a time limit. On top of the loneliness I've been experiencing, I might just come back from my Asia travels. I'll make that decision when I reach my next country, Taiwan.

Today, I'll be taking the train to from Seoul to Busan, Korea's second largest city.

Gyeongui Line Forest Park

Spotted this sculpture on the street

Hostel owner and his friends are jamming at the hostel.

Bulgogi bibimbap

Street performance

Dongdaemun Design Plaza

Another view of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza

Walkways in Dongdaemun Design Plaza

Dongdaemun Design Plaza with statue

Korean dumplings at the Gwangjang Market

Gwangjang Market

Fabric in Gwangjang Market

Cheong-gye-cheon riverwalk on the eastern end

White heron at Cheong-gye-cheon

Martial arts performance

Another interesting sculpture on the street

An assortment of Korean dumplings

Karaoke at the hostel