What a beautiful day!

Seoul Day-9

May 21, 2013

The weather was pretty mice today. It was really bright and sunny. Therefore, although it was not even noon yet, it was already pretty warm and stuffy in the templestay. We pretty much had a free day today before we had to gather at 6 p.m. instead of 11.45 a.m.. However, despite the good weather, I spent most of my time in the templestay except for lunch. 

Before I started..

Rice balls making in progress

There were six of us and we walked towards Samcheong-dong and chose a restaurant which served tonkatsu as one of its main speciality. I ordered fish roe rice balls whereas the others ordered tonkatsu and fried rice. It was so interesting and sort of interactive I would say. It felt like I was doing some sort of hands-on-activity. It came with in a big bowl and I have to make the rice balls by myself. Since I never really made one, I was pretty excited. Not to mention, it was delicious too.

Final product.. =]

Cheonggyecheon during the day

Around 6pm, we had gathered and made our way to Cheonggyecheon. Then, we walked along Cheonggyecheon while chatting among each other. Unlike at night, Cheonggyecheon had a different vibe during the day. In comparison to the romantic atmosphere and awkwardness to be alone at Cheonggyecheon at night, it felt pretty normal during the day. Another difference that I noticed was although there wasn’t as many as young couples that spent their time together at night, there were considerably a lot of middle-age couples hanging out along the river. Most of them were just sitting or walking leisurely while sharing stories.

Bindae ttok

We walked for quite some time before we went to Gyeongdong Market. The market was really, really crowded and it offered it a lot of things. I knew that there are many types of kimchi, but I never knew there are a lot of them. I’m pretty sure I saw at least more than 10 types of kimchi were being sold there. But what attracted my attention the most was a rather big paw that was being displayed as one of the dishes. However, as I was almost left behind by our group, I didn't have the opportunity to snap a picture of it. While we were there, we stopped at one of the restaurants to try “bindae ttok” and some other Korean dishes like “haemul pajeon”. It was pretty good but I don’t really like it since it was really oily. It felt like as if I was applying a layer of lip gloss almost every time I put it into my mouth.

Interior of Doota mall

When we felt like we could eat no more, we left the restaurant and went to Dongdaemun Market. On our way, we made a little detour to see Dongdaemun, one of the Eight Gates of Seoul to snap pictures. However, when we arrived at Dongdaemun Market, I was slightly disappointed. I was expecting to see something like Namdaemun market or like the one we have in Malaysia called “pasar malam” or “pasar minggu.” Instead, we were presented with a big shopping mall where one could buy future designers’ goods. Most of the clothes were really pretty and cute and I think it would suit younger generation’s taste well.

Merchandise that has
just arrived

In the end, some of us left and went to the adjacent building. Unlike Doota, there were a lot more cheaper things although most of the shops were closed. Besides, I’m not sure how to put it, but it seems to me that the stores would most probably attracted “ahjummas” rather than young adults. Not only after almost 2 hours of wandering that we knew that there were other shopping sites were nearby. This time, it totally fits my imagination. People were streaming in and out from everywhere and there were a lot of bags of cloth waiting on the pavement. Apparently, most of the stores would receive stocks of goods at night from all different places and these were the bags that was laying at the sidewalks. 

The first time I've seen someone bargaining
through phone cal

Bargaining skills is definitely useful while shopping on these kind of places. Along the streets, there were a lot of people selling fake branded items and although it was not as expensive as the real thing, it was not super duper cheap either. Usually, the sellers would have sort of price floor for the things they are selling and but they would tell higher price to the customers. Customers who are not used to these system would probably just pay the price but if they try to bargain, they would definitely get a lower price.  Honestly, I was kind of happy with myself tonight as I managed to bargain a bag for Kali in one of the underground stores. It wasn’t a really a big accomplishment and I’m pretty sure that everyone would actually be capable of getting a better deal if only they could speak the language. In fact, the shopkeeper himself said that he would the price because I could speak Korean. But still, I was happy and a small matter at it was, it made my day. =]