So the plan was to go to Muuido island for a day of hiking and beaching. That didn't happen. The plan was for everyone to meet up at 10 am. That didn't happen either. The plan was for 4 women to have a good time together. That DID happen! LOL.
So here's how it went down. I got to the subway station where we were supposed to meet at a little after 10 am. It had taken me a little over 2 hours to get there. I had not had my coffee yet. I was also the first one. (queue dramatic music) Thank God for the mart in the station where I bought and downed 2 iced coffees. Also thank God for my Kindle - while waiting for people to show, it's always good to have something to read. The next to come in was T. When she got there, we went to the information booth to get maps and talk to the people who deal with poor, confused souls such as ourselves. The lady in the information booth informed us that in order to get to Muuido island, we'd need to get back on the subway, take it to station a, then transfer to another line to take us to station b, get a bus from there and get off at the end. It would take an additional 2 hours and we still didn't have the other 2 in our party. We decided that our future would not involve another 2 hours of traveling, and also that we needed some kind of brunch.
Cute little signpost out in front of the bathrooms.
The subway station with a cute train out front.
We decided to eat at a Paris Baguette across from the station. I was hungry. This was an interesting kind of pizza - the cheese was a little sweet and there were onions, though you couldn't taste them. The bread was also a little sweet. All in all a good experience, but not something I think I'll end up craving.
So P found us at the Paris Baguette and we shared the news about Muuido with her. Right across the street from the subway station was Chinatown. I don't know why, but I'm fascinated by Chinatown in Korea. It makes sense, I mean, the port that we were at is probably where a lot of goods come to and from China... it just blew my tiny mind a bit. So we discussed and decided that staying in Incheon and exploring Chinatown, then going to Wolmido island where there was a theme park and a pier.
We went for a bit of a walk to find a decent bathroom (always a gamble here in Korea, as there are a lot of public bathrooms, not so many in restaurants and convenience stores). We found one at the community center (and ended up coming back there for all those needs - when you find a good bathroom in Korea, you stick with it). The community center had a fun dragon guarding it.
Scary dragon...
He's going to eat me!!!
I thought this was fun - the gears actually did move, by the way. It was next to a place called 27 cheesecakes. Also, there was a museum for women... which I kinda want to go back to and check out, because of curiosity.
I'm not sure what was so special about Mexican chicken... and neither did T, though we were both intrigued.
So then E showed up. At this point, I want to say it was somewhere around noon. We decided to go to a jjajangmyun museum. Jjajangmyun is a Chinese/Korean dish made with noodles and black bean sauce. The museum would tell us the history of the dish... or so we thought.
Small sign...
BIG sign. I like how the dude is coming out of the wall.
The inside of the museum, it was only 2 floors, and beautiful.
What you are seeing here is the only kind of English in the place. All of the narratives were written in Korean and Chinese. The only English announced the type of hall we were about to enter.
So colorful.
You can kind of see the writing on the side. Otherwise, we inferred what we could from the figures that we saw.
These guys look like they would be enjoying a typical Korean dinner. There's always a lot of shared side dishes in Korea. And one of those dishes is ALWAYS kimchi.
Of course, some of the wax works were pretty creepy. T would not sit in the chair because we both had this image of the woman turning her head and asking if she was hungry. Creepy!!!
The history of the delivery boxes. Apparently there's a bunch of shelves inside and something to keep things from sliding around. Somehow the food gets where it's going without spilling... I blame physics for a lot of that.
There was a video of how they make the noodles. I tried to get some good shots of it, but it didn't totally work out. They literally hand-cut the noodles!!
And look how pretty that is!
Some of the other stuff that goes into the jjajangmyun.
And how it's made in restaurants. These guys were less creepy... probably because they were obviously fake.
More stuff that goes into the food.
I thought the guy making it looked really happy.
Had to get a pic with this guy... he looks so happy. LOL.
So after reading about the food, we all decided we wanted food. We walked around Chinatown for a while until we saw a likely-looking place with about a 10 min wait for food.
I love the buildings.
They were making DUMPLINGS! So yes, we had to order them. I thought of my good friend Long who took me to the dumpling place in Dallas. These were SO GOOD too! So my friend, should you ever find yourself in Incheon, I got you for the food. LOL.
Look at it! It was a soup dumpling which meant that I got 2 good spoonfuls of juice before biting into the meaty goodness. Now I know I just learned all about jjajangmyun but I wasn't really in the mood for noodles, so I got some spicy garlic chicken.
Behold, my chicken! It was nicely spicy, cleared out the sinuses rather well, and yes, I did share. You can see the radishes, sauce, etc in the background. T also did ask for kimchi, which was enjoyed by all.
T got the jjajangmyun. Here's what it looks like before it's all mixed up. She allowed all of us to try it, and it was quite good. A bit bland for me, but we've officially established that I'm the one of us who likes it spicy!
So after lunch we walked around a bit more, had coffees for dessert (we were all pretty darn tired). I mean, I'm glad we all came together eventually, I just think that next time we shouldn't plan on anything ending in am.
Great pic of T with her beverage... and her mask. I think it was just humid where we were, but Seoul tends to be more polluted.
Me, accidental photo actually. I don't think the headband is a really good look for me, if I'm being honest.
P and E - E assured me that there was no vodka in that electric blue drink. I still say every blue drink I've ever seen had vodka in it, they could have snuck some in!
Anyway, after this we decided to head to the island. We walked by these stairs, which T tells me lead to a park. She said the park wasn't much and frankly, I don't think any of us fancied climbing those stairs for a sub-par park!
So we decided to head to Wolmido island. We got the bus and it really wasn't far. Basically we got off the bus when we saw the pier and the water. The first stop was a kids water area and it also had a little (fake) river where you could soak your feet. No fishies to eat the dead skin, tho. LOL.
Then we went on to the water. They had this interesting sculpture, which I'm guessing is a homage to the fight to be free/independent from China. I mean, most of Korean history has to do with being taken over by either China or Japan, so I figure it's a good guess.
Again, not sure if the headband is a good look.
That little old lady was fishing for crabs! The old man was bringing her bucket up. You can see it there, it had a bunch of little crabs in it!
You can kind of see them - they must have sold them to the seafood places around there.
A view of that area from further down the way. We sat and talked for quite some time while watching the local wildlife. By that I mean pigeons and rats, both of which freaked out E, which was entertaining to watch, not gonna lie. I am glad that none of us got pooed on by a pigeon, but I really don't think the rats were interested in us at all.
Fun sign... though I don't know why they only made partial N's.
Then there was a water show with music.
I liked that there was a bridge, though we didn't cross it. Lots of families with kids. Guess it makes sense, there being a theme park there and all, I was just glad that I don't teach any of these kids!
I liked this guy, too. Apparently Incheon is the musical place to be. There was a Korean polka band (I know, right) and there's a rock fest here in Aug (which after reviewing, I probably won't go to. I love music, but seems like getting the card to make purchases during the event is going to be a pain that I just don't want to deal with).
This was the ride that T was telling us about. It spins and moves up and down and the guy who is controlling it literally tries to make people fall off. He also makes fun of the riders. It was really fun to watch, which is probably why there were about 6 benches for people to sit on!
Oooo, scary! I had to get a pic of it - who wants to go to a haunted house?
What I'll always think of as the boardwalk. We were getting ready to head back home at this point.
I do love Korea's flowers.
My last artsy-fartsy photo of the day. The humidity and pollution and clouds meant that it wasn't a really sunny day, but it wasn't not sunny, either.
The good thing about going back was that we were able to get just one train that took us all the way back to Seoul Station - no transfers, no weird 'from line 1 to line 1' nonsense, just get on and go. T seemed like she tried to nap, as did P. E and I sat and talked pretty much the whole way back. I like our conversations because they tend to be deep. We talk about things like religion, navigating horrible dating experiences, remaining hopeful, figuring out what (if any) info we want or need to give people who occupy the periphery of our lives... just so much more than 'what's up?' So we chatted all the way back to Seoul station.
At the station, E and T decided to continue to Itaewon because E wanted Vatos (I created a monster) and to go to the bookstore. As much as it killed me, I opted to head home. I was friggin' BEAT! So home I came, and I went to the store for a couple things that I knew I could find at the store close to home. When I came home the 2nd time, I knew it was for the evening. I have to tell you, the thing that I wanted most of all at the end of the day was... ICE WATER! Drinking water isn't a huge thing here and it's NEVER iced at the restaurants. I put the ice in my fake Yeti, water from the tap, and it was the best thing I ever tasted!! I had my ice water, my a/c, my shower, and finally my bed. I gotta tell you, I slept SO GOOD last night!
So on a personal note, I'm planning on sticking to something of a schedule for the next month or so. I mean, it's 2 weeks till break and then we have immersion which will mean an earlier work day, so it'll be a good idea to get up at a certain time every day. Maybe that will help with my sleeping issue. Here's to experimenting! LOL. Hope all of you had a good weekend, looking forward to next weekend when I'll PLAY in the MUD! Hehe. MUAH! :*
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