Seoul and Karen

So on Saturday morning, I was up at stupid o'clock to catch the first train out of Mokpo to Seoul. It's the KTX high-speed train and it's a really nice ride (if you're not sitting behind 4 loud children, beside a man who smells - no reeks - of garlic and in front of someone who starts off the ride by chewing and smacking on his snack... sigh).

I got to Seoul and headed straight for What the Book, where I dropped a ton of money on everything from prizes for my top students to the Lonely Planet Middle East (Good news - it's very possible to see Turkey, Syria and Jordan in only a few weeks. Bad news - it's nigh on impossible to get a visa for Syria when you are not in your home country... sigh). Then, I headed to Starbucks to wait for Karen.

It was so great to see her again - we hadn't seen each other since April, when we both left Suncheon - and it was great to catch up. We went for lunch at an Indian buffet, then headed to a part of Seoul that I didn't even know existed, but is now my favourite place - around Sinchon and the University. We got funny photo booth pics taken, then wandered around a street that looks like I thought Harajuku would look like in Tokyo but didn't. Uhhh, to clarify - it's like crazy shops and freaky dressed people and even stores like American Apparel and Dr Martens. Yay.

After some Mexican food (and Haagen-Dazs ice cream, yum), we met up with Tony, Eric, Kim and Eric, who I'd met on numerous occasions in Suncheon/Gwangyang. We headed out to a few bars, including an 80s dance bar (where Eric and I burned up the dance floor), a Morocco-inspired nargeleh lounge type place and an underground place with live music.
It was all just great fun.

The next day, Karen and I went for coffee, then decided to use the few hours I had left in Seoul to go to this great store that she knew of around Myeong-dong. My flip-flops (that Nina had bought me in Bali) broke, and I ended up wandering around Seoul in thick plastic "bathroom sandals" that I'd, uh, stolen from the hotel. Anyway, the store in Myeong-dong was wicked awesome... full of Japanese pop-culture t-shirts. I picked up one with female Anime super heroes on the front and a panther on the back. There were tons of weird t-shirts, but I just couldn't afford to get any more. It's definitely a place to go back to. Yes, Bridget, the next time I go, I will get you something.

I was suppose to meet up with my friend Jongwon, so I said goodbye to Karen and Tony and went to meet up with him. After waiting for 45 minutes, I gave up and headed to the train station. As luck would have it, we were both there, but missed each other because I, apparently, can't read English and was waiting at the wrong spot.

I got back to Mokpo, feeling tired from too much food, drink, dancing and shopping in Seoul, but also refreshed from being "out of Korea" - Seoul is *not* Korea to me. And, while it is hard to know that another friend is leaving Korea, I know that Karen is starting on the next chapter of her life... one that will hopefully bring her lots of success. Karen is always going to be "the girl I went to India with", and I can only hope that technology will help us always be a part of each other's lives.

The Taj in the background:

Sitting on the Taj Mahal:In the Amber Fort in Jaipur:

On a camel in the desert outside of Pushkar:

Finding our way in the Tokyo subway:

Princess Tour!