2nd Day Here, Even Better

Since my last post was pretty long I'll try to summarize today quicker and write a bit less! Around 1pm, Byeongjae, a former exchange student at UTA from Ajou came and picked me up at my dorm. I had gotten to know him last semester at UTA and he is a really great guy. He came with us to Austin and I showed him around Texas a bit so today was his turn to show me around his hometown of Suwon. Leaving the campus we passed the older downtown area and he showed me around Hwaseong Fortress. He explained a lot of the history and different aspects of the city to me along our way to Suwon Station, the main train station. 

Once we got to Suwon Station it was clear that it was a hub of activity on a busy Saturday afternoon. Besides being a train station it is also the largest shopping center in Suwon and has many restaurants. Before we got lunch though he gave me a t-money card for bus and subway fares and showed me how to put money on to it. Soon after, we went to this traditional Korean food place and he ordered a seafood and noodle soup while I had a very tasty spicy pork dish (click here for picture). It was really nice to see Byeongjae again, to talk, and to know how small the world is to think that 2 months earlier we were having lunch in Dallas together is crazy. After lunch we made our way back out but along the way stopped at 2 street vendors selling interesting foods. Ever since before I came to Korea I really wanted to try some street and market foods and with Byeongjae there was my perfect opportunity. First I tried this sweet potato fried-pancake thing and then got some pastries all being made under small huts outside in the cold (see album for pictures). 

After I returned to the dorm I went to just relax and watch some tv in the common room. There I met with two Dutch guys I had met yesterday, Floris and Jerrel. Floris suggested we go for a little hike and then get some food and even though I was tired I am glad I went. The three of us guys took a taxi from the university to the district near Hwaseong Fortress. Again the taxi was so much nicer than bus and cheaper too with 3 of us. After walking through some markets we made it to the fortress but they were just closing the palace part for the day. The wall that surrounds the fortress is always open though and we hiked a large portion of it. Along the way we came across a temple with a beautifully large golden Buddha as we continued going to the top of Mt. Paldal-san and at the top we had clear views across all of Suwon (see pictures). The entire fortress and wall was really neat architecturally and still very intact. I can't wait to go again, hopefully once it gets warmer! As we continued to circle along the wall it was getting very cold and we needed to find a place to eat. I guess the three of us all wanted to try something new because where we ate was very Korean. We walked in and first had to take off our shoes and put them in a cubby-hole style thing on the wall, after that we sat down on the (heated) floor with the wooden table slightly above our crossed legs. Imagine 3 guys, all over 6ft tall, coming into a place like this, not speaking any Korean, surrounded by Koreans that don't speak English. The experience was great and a lot of fun. We ended up ordering dumplings because surprisingly I remembered the word ("Mandu") from the night before and then got this fried pork dish covered in syrup and sugar that we ordered by pointing at the picture on the wall. We ate while occasionally having to stretch our legs and being distracted by the endless stream of K-pop music videos playing on the tv. For the three of us it was 20,000 won in total which I think is pretty good for all the food we got. When we left it was dark outside and we took the opportunity to walk down some neon-illuminated alleyways and try to find more places to go in. After failing twice to find a karaoke bar (one time we walked into a bordello by accident) we decided to call it a night. Anyways, so now I am in my room. There is a group of 15 or so of us going to a club in Seoul tonight at 10 but I am too tired and would rather sleep, since the subway stops at 12 either they will only stay an hour or will have to stay out till 5 when it starts again, after meeting most of the people here, the latter is the more commonly accepted manner. Click here for a link to my photo album!