This had to be one of my best New Year's ever! I had so much fun. Well, I'll start from the beginning. It guess it all started when..............
The day was Monday when I called Jacob, a guy who I just met who also teaches here in Gwangju. It just so happens that he also graduated from UWEC! What a coincidence, hey?! Well, I was just seeing if he was planning on going out to the foreign bars on New Year's Eve but instead I was invited to join him and two other girl friends on their adventure to Seoul. I responded accordingly by saying "Heck yes I do!".
So we took the KTX train to Seoul, which only took 3 hours vs the 4 hour bus ride. It was actually very comfy! It's arranged like a plane, but of course thinner. There are only two seats on each side and it even has a food and beverage cart that goes up and down the isle. Once we got to Seoul we took the subway to our Hotel, which was right downtown. We were directly across from city hall. The hotel was wicked expensive. It was $300 a night for a one bed suit. Did you hear that? One bed for 3 girls and 1 boy! We all decided after we're lit-up we wouldn't care where we sleep, which turned out to be totally true.
We started the night out by having dinner. The place we went had a $100 buffet. I passed on that and instead had chicken curry, rice, and water for $23. It wasn't even that tastey! But the restaurant was beautiful. It had a sort of modern deco feel to it with very warm wood tones. After dinner we hit the local mart and bought some of Korea's finest soju. One bottle is about 20 cents American, I think. Anyways, 2 bottles is enough to get you really licked. We went to one of the girl's sister's house. She's an army wife. We had a nice family party until 5 or so of the young lieutenants showed up. We drank, took shots, and sang karaoke!
Afterwards, I left with the boys while the girls and Jacob went to enjoy the lights and fireworks. I hit up the bars. It was so much fun. I didn't pay for a drink the whole night and I didn't even pay for the subway or taxis either. Gosh, those guys are so nice. Anyways, we ended up staying out until 5:30 in the morning so we didn't have to worry much about sleeping. Jacob left at 5am to go back so I was left alone to make my way home. I had some trouble on the subway, it was hard finding the stop I needed to go to and I was given a faulty ticket. I actually had to leap over the turn styles and got yelled at. Then when I went to the train station they only had one ticket left for Gwangju that day and it was first class. So I had to fork over extra cash just to get home. I was really lucky because if I wouldn't have gotten that ticket I would have been stuck in Seoul with no place to stay.
Once back in Gwangju I had to wait 30 minutes for a taxi because there were so many people there. I happened to get in one where you risk your life. We ran more than 3 red lights, almost got hit by a bus, almost hit 3 other cars, and nearly ran over a person! I was hanging on for my dear, sweet life! I also got sick afterwards! Man, I'm really not as young as I used to be. I spent all of Friday, Saturday, and even Sunday sleeping trying to recover! I'm sad aren't I? But, it was totally worth it. I recommend Seoul for New Year's any time!
Well, until next time.
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