Seoul, Soul and more Soul

Well, I don't hate Seoul any more. As a matter of fact I think if I had to spend another year in Korea, Seoul would be a good place to spend it. We spent most of our time in Etaiwan, which is a district (Dong in Korean) that is supported mainly by the US military presence, where you will find "hooker hill" and a Mosque within a few feet of each other, and a place where you can buy middle eastern groceries YAY!!!

We got in Saturday evening, and the first order of business was finding a place to sleep. We checked out a place that seemed clean enough, but was very much like the Iranian caravanserais, and the room didn't even have a window. I "X"ed that place though it was only 30,000 won. We went to another place called the Seoul In (Original name eh?) and the rooms were much better- still no window, but a full on A/C and it was only 45. SO I said "Let's take it", and we did, dumped our things, and went out to discover.

Among some of the incongruous things I saw in Etaiwan, were a couple of Ecuadorians selling handicrafts on the sidewalk, a lot of non Koreans and really up to date fashions. The Korean population was definitely outnumbered by the foreigners, and it was not only surprising, but a bit refreshing. No one stared at us, we just blended in!

We went to "Spy", a very chic little club for a pre-dinner cocktail, and enjoyed a rum and coke in the "Red Rum- oops Room" covered with velvet walls, and snazzy decor- very "Wallpaper". I know now not to go for the 151 proof Rum on an empty stomach!!!
We considered many dinner options, Thai, Indian, and a real N.Am. style pub, but settled on a French restaurant which served us the best meal I have ever enjoyed in my entire life! As Chris likes to say "There were real live French there so you know it was a good establishment". Yes, no dead French in sight, and the food- oh the food! I had a beef tenderloin with Béarnaise sauce, and Chris had a cream soup with Saffron and seafood Paella. Yum yum YUUUUUUUMMMMMM! No room for desert! though I am certain it would have been heavenly.

We then hit the Salsa club. I was so pumped I could barely stand it. I had a bad feeling though as we went up the steps, I couldn't hear any music! We walked into an absolutely empty club, and to my horror they were playing Bachatta! We asked the bartender when the place got going, and we were told that the "US army boys" were given a curfew of 9pm, so there would be no action tonight. Nothing- NADA! Deeply disappointed, we went on to find another club, when we both realized our evening had been perfect already, so why ruin it by carting ourselves half way around Seoul to get more exhausted, and not find a good Latin club? Plus, every step was more difficult due to the heat, and humidity, and more painful, due to my red heels, PLUS we had an air conditioned room awaiting us. So like a couple of old coots, we called it a night and went back to our hotel.