Day 105: Electronic Candy

Henry and I were up bright and early this morning at 7am so that we could head out and do some touristy things before I had to go to work in the afternoon. We woke up and were disappointed to see that it was still raining cats and dogs outside. I had planned on taking Henry up Namsan to Seoul Tower to get a great introductory view of the city, but there was no point taking him up to the Tower if all we were gonna see were clouds and grey! Besides the rain, the humidity was DISGUSTINGLY high today! It was somewhere in the mid-to-upper 90-percentile range and it made for sweaty, wet times - even without the torrential downpours! Not a good day to be outside! Time for Plan B.

We decided to go and check out Yongsan Electronics Market instead. YEM is the largest electronics market in all of Asia, consisting of over 5000 stores spread throughout 12 or so buildings. YEM sells absolutely everything that's electric - from computers to washing machines to blenders to stereos to TV's to microwaves to telephones to MP3 players to electric badets (wow - I didn't know they existed!) Basically, if you can plug it in, it can be bought here at YEM. It was my first time here and it was mind-boggling, all the selection! Henry practically has an obsession with anything electronic and is always into the latest gadgets and toys and high-tech shit that 'just came out.' I knew he was going to LOVE YEM - and man he went nuts! He was like a kid in an electronic candy store - pure heaven for a self-professed gizmo guru like himself!
He wanted to buy a new laptop (he broke his current one on the way to the airport to come to Asia) and there were hundreds and hundreds for him to choose from. Crazy!

I had to head off to work so I left him behind and took the train to work. It was a really mellow day at work and before I knew it I was back on the subway to Itaewon to meet Henry for dinner. When I got back to the motel he was grinning from ear to ear - there on the bed was a bright, shiny brand spanking new Japanese laptop - a fancy-schmancy SOTEC that Henry bought for less than half than what he would have paid for it back in Canada. "I love Korea!!!" he exclaimed...I knew that taking him to Yongsan Electonics Market would be all that it would take! Ha ha!

We caught a cab over to the Jonggak area and Henry was in awe over all the streets full of neon, covering storefronts from street to rooftop. We went and had a delicious dinner of dakkalbi (sorta like a grilled spicy chicken stirfry dish) and then headed back to the streets. We were gonna go and see a movie but all the ones we wanted to see hadn't opened yet in Korea (I'm *DYING* to see The Day After Tomorrow!) Luckily for us the rains had stopped so we just walked around taking in all the sights. We did some shopping and then headed back to motel in Itaewon.

We got all cleaned up and then headed out for a night out on the town in Itaewon. We went and had some drinks at a lounge on 'the hill' and ran into my friend Gavin and his roomie Ryan who I hadn't seen in months. We all sat and chilled and chatted, and then later Henry and I headed out to some nearby clubs. It was a fun night but kinda disappointing in the clubs - they were less-than half empty! Apparently there was some big clubbing event going on in another part of Seoul and that's where everybody was. Ahh well - it was still good times! We headed home around 2am or so but on the way back to the motel stopped at one of the many street stalls for a late-night snack. Henry was ENTHRALLED with these little mini roadside restaurants and he ordered a plethora of Korean grilled goodies for us to sample - chicken, tofu soup, deep-fried shrimp, tempura, mandu (dumplings) and a bunch of other stuff that I didn't recognize. So yummy! Nothing like a belly full of greasy food after a night of drinking! These two guys sat down next to us at the stand and it turns out they were New Zealand's Trade Commissioners for Korea and Japan, respectively! They were super cool guys and told us all about their high-profile jobs and their lives they'd spent living abroad. The four of us just ate and chatted away, while a dozen or so trannies* were running around up and down the alley, cackling away, trying to 'make some new friends' (for an hour or so, for a small fee of course!) It was one of those wonderfully random 'Wow I'm in Asia having a crazy experience that I never would have back home!' moments - I love those unexpected and prolific waves of awe, englightenment, and the feeling of being so damn lucky! They make me pause, smile and reflect for a moment before the feeling passes and then I'm back in the current reality. It was then time for bed and our pillows never felt so good!

*Trannies are men (or formerly men) who've had operations to turn them into women (or something sorta womanish-like) and prostitute themselves out on the streets trying to woo in whoever they can - whether that be kinky gay guys (although if a gay guy sleeps with a man who's now a woman-come-lately does that mean he's straight?) or horny, drunk, and very lost and naive GI's who are in for a nasty surprise!!! Haha!!! :-)