Our last few days in Seoul were a whirlwind of activity. We stayed in Hongdae, which at night reminded me of Shibuya: crammed full of people going to bars, clubs, and restaurants. There were loads of shops and plenty of things to do nearby.
Thursday evening h was the first time any of us were feeling well enough to venture to karaoke. Thursday night was also the night we learned how treacherous the Seoul subway system can be to people lugging suitcases halfway across the city, trying desperately to make the last train.
Perhaps we should start back at the beginning: karaoke. I love how east Asia does karaoke. Private room with friends, ice cream, and maybe some booze.
In South Korea, we learned that most karaoke establishments don’t carry booze because that indicates it is less than reputable, so we brought in our own booze to mix with the parlor’s drinks. We were too lazy and in too much of a rush to stare at what we were getting, so we picked out soju based on the prettiness factor of the bottles. We put them in our bags, careful to not let the bottles clink when we walked lest we be caught with our precious cargo.
And so the merriment began! The place we went had a surprisingly broad list of songs: Jizz in my Pants, I’m on a Boat, What the Fox Say?, Gangnam style (of course)….all while craftily hiding our moonshine behind the karaoke parlor’s juice bottles.
Before long, we realized if we didn’t go, we’d miss the last train back to Hongdae, and we’d be stuck halfway across Seoul with our luggage and zero ability to speak Korean.
Hastily, tipsily, and with everyone in tow, we bolted out of the karaoke parlor and back towards the station.
Once we got through the gates at the station, we realized we were down one party member…we were missing Justin!
Chaos ensued. Did we go back? Did we call him? We spammed him with many messages via IM but about five minutes later, he showed up. He had apparently told all of us he had gone to the bathroom and we were all so focused on getting to the station that we hadn’t heard him.
We made it back to Thomas and Marie’s apartment building. It was very important to me to beat everyone else to their apartment, and I bolted out of the elevator doors as soon as they opened.
What’s behind door 205? A dark, tidy apartment with two pairs of slippers in the doorway. I stared in shock – this wasn’t familiar! Everyone was whispering my name very loudly from down the hallway – apparently this was NOT the right apartment.
My bad.
We gathered our luggage up and Marie advised us that sometimes the escalators would randomly shut off at stations when it gets late. We discovered that after 11pm constitutes “late.”
Hauling luggage across the city with escalators that were shut down was a real treat. Fortunately, we were able to get help with some of the bigger bags, and only a few locals witnessed our drunken (and definitely not embarrassing) rehash of Gangnam style while waiting for our train.
Somehow, we made it back to Hongdae and our hostel alive.