Some of Jeanne and Dianna's relatives live near Seoul, so we hitched a ride on the KTX (Korea's Train) and spent a memorable weekend in Korea's largest city. From the minute we arrived (or thought we arrived) in Seoul, it became apparent that this trip was going to be packed full of stories. As our train arrived at the station, I casually awoke from my slumber and began gathering our bags, then Jeanne, Dianna, and I casually began walking toward the exit. About 3 seconds before we reached the door, it closed. Before we knew it, we were heading down the tracks. It quickly sunk in that we had missed our stop. Meanwhile Jesi, Brandon, Jeanne's mom, and Jeanne's uncle (who we affectionately named "Uncle Bob") frantically attempted to stop the train by yelling at it and waving their arms. Wouldn't you know it, turns out trains don't just stop when you tell them to. So, Jeanne, Dianna, and I continued down the tracks for another 30 minutes or so until we reached the next train station. Keep in mind we have no idea where we are, and even though Jeanne and Dianna are part-Korean, neither of them speak the language. And, my Korean-speaking skills are limited to say the least, as they usually involve charades-like hand movements, facial expressions, and body gestures. We manage to figure out how to cross to the other side of the tracks without paying for an entirely new train ride (really, we just jumped over the turnstiles when nobody was looking). We then hopped on a different train and after another 30 minutes or so, we were reunited with the rest of our travel crew. Uncle Bob was gesturing as though we almost gave him a heart-attack. Throughout the weekend, he would make this gesture several other times as we pulled a number of ignorant tourist stunts. We went out for a nice meal together and then we decided to go out for the night in Seoul, while Jeanne's mom and Uncle Bob rested at his home on the outskirts of the giant city. At 2:30 in the morning we found the bar district in downtown Seoul. Shortly thereafter, we found ourselves in an underground dance club, complete with a neon lazer-light show, techno-music, and a VIP section. I'm proud to say that with some teamwork and creativity I managed to spend 15 minutes in the VIP section as the gang distracted the guard as I sneaked past. Unfortunately, nobody else successfully followed so I was forced to chow down on fruit, granola bars, and crackers all alone... that is until the guard realized I was there. He not so politely ushered me out but thankfully allowed me to stay in the bar with my friends. At roughly 6:30am we were growing tired so we snagged a cab and asked him to take us to the nearest motel. After about 30 minutes of zig-zagging all over the area, we realized all the motels were full. No vacancy. Plan B: Stay in a Jimjubang (Korean bathhouse) for the night. Exhausted and confused we finally stumbled upon a large Jimbubang. Things were looking up as it was now 7:30am or so and we were dog-tired. Apparently, every Korean within a 10 block radius had the same idea as the sleeping area of the bathhouse was packed with approximately 200 snoring Korean men and women. Luckily, Jeanne spotted a small section of "cubbie-holes" which were about 3 feet wide, 3 feet tall, and 6 feet deep. You guessed it, there was only one available so all 5 of us crammed into it and zonked out for the night. Welcome to Seoul.
