Korea Trip Report Part Two

On Tuesday we woke up and I played with the babies for awhile.

Then it was time to shower and get dressed before heading out to get our permanent base passes for the trip.  That was relatively painless and then we filled up water bottles for the house and then drop off our temporary passes back at the base.
After that we hung around the house for a bit before taking the twins out for a trip to the Namdaemun Market.   This would be the first time Jim and Liz would go out while wearing both boys in wraps on their persons instead of in a stroller.

We walked to the Subway station and were delighted to find a Dunkin Donuts in the subway station!  We debated on getting a coffee but after being told the market had very little in the way of bathrooms, we decided it would be safer to get one on the way back to the house instead. After lots of escalators and a transfer we made it to a massive outside market.  It was like a giant flea market with some small shops mixed in the middle.
We walked around for a while and it was proved to me that Korean people go absolutely batshit over babies.  Especially white babies…especially, especially white twin babies.  They just walk up to you and start touching the child and telling you what you are doing wrong.  It was quite unnerving and semi-cute at the same time.

After finding a place to change our money into Won, we got some dumplings from a street vendor and stopped at a couple of benches for a quick bite.  The dumplings were pretty delicious, and after the lovely lunch, we walked around a bit more.  I made my first Korean purchase, getting a couple of grocery bags that fold up into a small square.  Liz recommended them and I have to say they have already come in handy in our trip.

After more walking around we eventually headed back to the house stopping at the Dunkin Donuts in the subway from some much needed caffeine.

Even with that, soon after arriving home, exhaustion over took me.  Liz requested Thai food and that sounded good to me, so the boys headed out and Liz and I sat with the babies, dozing off here and there until they got back.
I quickly dug into my yellow curry and then headed up to bed.

***

Wednesday morning Rob got up and he and his brother headed into a nearby town to check out a music store.  Rob had been invited to perform in a jam session with some of his work connections so the plan was to buy a guitar while here and then let Jim have it after we leave.
I lolled around in bed for a bit, playing around on my phone before descending downstairs to play with the babies.  That was pretty much all I did all morning other than showering and a load of laundry.
When the boys got back we decided we would all head out to Itaewon, a nearby town to see the different shops.  I was beginning to realize that shopping was a big part of Korean culture.  Liz had to get some stuff done so she would head out a little later and meet us.  We walked around for quite a while seeing all the different Americanized shops and eateries, as well as more traditional ones.

On our way back we ran into Liz and she and I sent the boys back home with the babies while we walked around a bit more.
When we got back home, the boys had already decided dinner was going to be burgers on the grill.  Jim got called into work so Rob manned the BBQ and I have to say the burgers turned out delish!  I ate a burger and then Rob and I cuddled up on the couch and watched a hilarious short film on Netflix called Kung Fury before heading up to bed and passing out.  Jet leg is real!

***

Thursday morning’s adventure was the Noryangjin fish market.   We took several different subway trains before getting to this large market where they sold…you guessed it, fish!  It wasn’t as stinky as I imagined it, but it wasn’t something would go out of my way to do again.  I’m glad I did it because it is a part of the culture here and we got to see quite a few neat things.

We ended up getting salmon, marinated cod and scallops the size of a fist for dirt cheap and then headed back home.  On the way we stopped at a waffle stand and got some snacks.  I got a sweet potato waffle and Jim got a hot dog waffle.  Both were quite good and it launched Jim’s dream of opening his own waffle stand for drunk frat boys at one AM in a college town.  😉

Once we got back home, the boys headed out with the twins to the Korean War Memorial while Liz and I caught a nap.  By the time I woke up, Rob was home and already BBQing up the fish.   Not being much a fish person, I opted for a leftover burger from the night before.
Before we knew it, it was time for Midnight Shopping.  We headed out with Liz and some neighbors of theirs into town to walk around the streets where all of these little tiny tents had popped up selling all kinds of different things.  We didn’t end up buying much other than a few pairs of socks, but it was a really good experience just to walk around and see all the different kinds of things and people.

We  accidentally bumped into one of the places Rob wanted to eat at that night, so we were able to cross it off our list early.  Isaac Toast.  I guess it is pretty big in Seoul and Rob was very excited to try one of their sandwiches.  It was pretty tasty.

We got home around midnight and hit the sack because even with the nap, jetleg was still a thing.

***

Friday we deemed to just be a sort of kick around the house day.  We chilled out in the morning, not doing much of anything.  Organizing pictures, playing with babies, that sort of thing.

Rob and I thought about taking a trip into Itaewan for souvenirs, but instead we opted to take the boys out with Jim to the Electronic Market, to visit his favorite DVD guy.  Boy am I glad we did!  For 70 bucks American we bought over 30 DVD’s.  It was awesome.

Back home we were too tired to do much else so we ordered Korean Fried Chicken to be delivered and headed to bed early because Saturday was a big day.  The DMZ tour!