South Korea Trip, August 5

Good morning Gangnam!  I can see a small amount of blue skies, which is a first for the morning.  It will be slightly hotter today, topping out at 33°C (91°F).  I will have to stay hydrated when I go outside.

Today's Agenda

Today will be an easy day.  I need to do a few chores: wash clothes, pay a couple of bills back home, and sew a button back onto a shirt.  Oh don't worry, I won't spend the whole day inside.  Here are my plans:

• Eat at Angel-in-Us down the street.
• Come back home and do chores.
• (Tentative) Visit Namsan Tower and eat at n.GRILL.*
• (Alternate) Eat fried chicken at 잔비워 (inspiration).*

* I invited a friend to join me at Namsan Tower tonight.  I'll decide after she responds whether I'm going to n.GRILL or 잔비워 for supper.

Today's Experiences

Today was eventful and exhausting.  I am actually writing this tomorrow because I am not up to blogging tonight.  (I'll change the tense as if I'm writing this today.)  Oh, the day was fun!  I am just worn out.

Angel-in-Us

I had a craving for American pancakes and coffee to start the day.  Korean pancakes are different, and I will have those at some point, but today I wanted something sweet with a lot of carbs.  Angel-in-Us came up in my search.

I enjoyed a nice scenic walk to the restaurant.  Because it was still relatively cool in the morning, it wasn't insane to walk the distance.

After my walk to Angel-in-Us, I asked the girl at the counter (in Korean) if she speaks English.  The answer was "아니요" ("aniyo"), which means "no".  I don't know why I asked this, because it doesn't matter with regards to whether I can order or not.  It's a silly question that I don't think I will ask again.

I ordered an Americano and a pancake topped with icecream.  It hit the spot. 😋

Gyeongbokgung Palace

I wasn't planning to go to Geyongbokgung Palace today.  I finished my chores and decided to relax until supper time.  My body is tired and wants rest, but my mind is too eager to explore, so my rest didn't last for very long.  I decided to go to Gyeongbokgung Palace.

I am impressed not only by the size of the palace but also by the details in the constructions.  It is also amazing that every single little detail has a symbolic meaning.

Before exploring the outside and taking the above pictures, I went to the on-site museum.  I feel like I gained a deeper understanding of the culture.  When I went outside, I appreciated the palace buildings even more.

Korea is a society of tradition and ancient culture.  The most famous royal artists were not those who could express themselves but rather those who could paint in the customary way and knew the established symbolism of various items.

Korea did start to adopt western ideals in the late 1800s, and they continue to bring in outside ideas today, but there is still something foundationally Korean about everything new.  Take this westernized Korean furniture as an example.

I want to know more about this culture and society.  It seems like something worth learning about.

잔비워 Chicken

I think that "잔비워" translates to "Bottom's Up".  This is a place where one goes to drink, I guess.  Hyelin of EXID recommends the fried chicken.  I went to the restaurant and ordered fried chicken and beer.

I am not used to metric measurements, so I ordered too much beer for myself.

Black Taxi

I did not want to take the bus back to my apartment and then climb a massive hill to get to the entrance.  I was worn out and buzzed.  I decided to accomplish another of my activity goals: hailing a black taxi.

A black taxi is an expensive luxury car driven by a perfect driver with at least ten years of experience.  The taxi is not marked as a taxi, and it does not zip through traffic like a regular taxi does.  If you hail a black taxi, your ride will be smooth, easy, and luxurious.  And expensive.

EXID's Hani gave a measure of her success in an interview by stating that she is able to take a black taxi if she wants to.  EXID is the theme of my trip, so I wanted to take a black taxi just like she does.  And so I did!

It was much more expensive than the bus.  The bus ride was 1,200원 (about $1); the black taxi was 30,000원 (about $30).  That is a big difference.

Was it worth it?  I think so -- at least in this situation.  I think that it's better to take the cheaper bus and subway lines usually, but the black taxi is good for those who just want an easy trip.