Swissboy in Korea

Tokyo

After I arrived at the airport I took the train to my guesthouse it took me around 1.30 h. On my journey there I saw the slight difference of the landscape between Seoul and Tokyo. Everything looked greener and in the streets there were more flowers plus it was a lot cleaner too.

When I arrived at the Hostel I was really tired and hungry. So went to get some food. Unfortunately it was 3 so all the restaurants were closed and I had to settle for some food from the convenience store. After my lunch I went to my bed to get some sleep.

The next day I woke up early and walked around my district. I started sweating immediately caused by the humidity. First stop was Akihabara where I visited a huge electronic store since everything was still closed except for that store. I found nothing except many movies about trains plus some arcade machines. Later I walked to a nearby park. It was getting time for lunch so I found a small restaurant with a ticket machine as server. It was a gamble for me what to take since everything was written in Japanese and there were no pictures either. I ended up with with Japanese style spaghetti. Not exactly what I expected but it was good. Then it was time to dive into the manga culture. I visited Mandarake. It’s a huge complex dedicated to Manga souvenirs, books and collectibles. On the 2nd floor where all kinds of different manga’s costing around 3 CHF. The 3rd floor was the adult manga floor. The books there costed around 7 CHF. The art was good but many women portrayed were really young. After this shop I visited an arcade and gambled with my money when I tried to win something from the crane machine. When I was looking for dinner I was craving Indian for what reason so ever.

Next morning started out with some breakfast sushi. Since the weather was really bad I decided to spend some time t the museum of modern art. The had a special exhibition going on about a famous Japanese animator Isao Takahata. He was the animator behind the Heidi series which brought me back to my childhood. I enjoyed that part the most. The rest of the museum had some nice art pieces but nothing outstanding. Next stop was the science museum. They only accepted cash so I had to find an ATM by the time I found one I was already to far from the museum that I decided to visit a temple and wander around the imperial palace. After 2 hours I decided to go back to the science museum. Everything was written in Japanese so I didn’t understand anything plus I was the only adult besides all the parents that came with their kids. For dinner I had noodle soup and rice with curry.

The next morning I had a good feeling since the weather was really nice. When I arrived at my destination it was around 11 so to early for lunch and nothing was open so I decided to go to Wendys (I know its not Japanese but I was really hungry). I had burnt butter cheese fries with avocado mayonnaise and garlic sauce. Doesn’t sound so bad right? After that I headed to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. You can visit the 45th floor for free and you get a nice view. It took us 1 min to get up there. Since the Tokyo Tower was in that area as well I walked there and found a nice lawn to rest and sunbath for a couple minutes. After another Subway ride I walked across the Rainbow bridge. The weather was so hot that day that I thought I will have a heat stroke. In the evening I found a small diner and had a curry with egg and noodle soup.

On Thursday the sun was shining again so I decided to walk to the Skytree. On my way I found a temple and a cute little garden with turtles. After a quick visit to the Skytree mall I decided to walk a long the river (Sumida). On my way back I wanted to try some nice Ramen. On my way I passed the famous Asakusa temple. There I met two Japanese guys who wanted to do a little interview with me and try to guess where I’m from. They obviously couldn’t do it. As a reward for my help they told me about a cool Ramen place (where the cool kids hang out). And it was indeed really good.

On my last day I had a nice curry for lunch. It’s was my favorite thing to eat in Japan. Later that day I wanted to visit one of the famous animal cafes. I wanted to try a mini Shiba version. When I arrived there all the tickets were already sold out for that they so I went to an owl forest. There I was able to pet some of them but one guy also tried to bite me so I was slightly nervous when I took a picture. After the forest I had a meeting with Khalid planned. He’s a Saudi guy that lives in Tokyo. We met in South Africa during the solar race. We met in Shibuya and he showed me his favorite bar. I drank a beer (sorry mum). Then we went to another place for another drink and ended up in a burger restaurant with another drink.

15 – 20 July

This week Lea left for Germany on Sunday so on Tuesday the whole staff from the guesthouse went for lunch together. As usual we had BBQ and a lot to drink. We started at 2 with the BBQ at the restaurant. After maybe 1.5 hours we left the place. I was already a little tipsy when we arrived at the next place. It was a small room where people just go to drink and eat some snacks at the same time. When we came back to the hostel I was definitely drunk and it was just 6. We had some cake and I became so tired that I went to my room and slept till 11. When I woke up I went back down to the reception area where I found my coworkers drinking with 2 guests so I joined them. Later in the evening we relocated to the rooftop. Jamie took some mattresses outside and promptly fell asleep. At 4 we decided it’s time to go to bed. I exchanged contacts with a guest since he lives in Busan so we can maybe meet up when I’m there.

The next morning I was still a bit hungover but I had a hiking trip with Yeonju planned. We went again to Dobongsan the mountain I was in the 2nd week. Unfortunately it was a bit cloudy and the air quality wasn’t good either so I was sweating a lot. In the evening we went to the guesthouse and I cooked some spaghetti.

We met again on Friday. This time we had some Korean/Chinese fusion food. One thing was fried pork with sweet and sour sauce to dip and it was the best right after BBQ. Later in the evening I showed her the bar I was with Jamie and Kate and I had to eat all the fries we ordered since she was so full from the beer. It got late and once again the subway was closed so for the first time I took the bike. The map told me 50 min. I got lost and it took me 1.30 h to get back home. Good experience.

On Saturday I was preparing for Tokyo. I also went for dinner with Mary and Lea. We had some fried chicken followed by a great Noraebang session. I didn’t go to sleep since my bus was leaving at 4.20 Sunday morning. I was really tired the following day.

8 – 14 July

On Wednesday Oli from Switzerland came to visit me. Before Korea he was in Japan and was a bit sad since Japanese people were a lot nicer then Koreans and the environment much cleaner. In the evening we went together with Lea and Lena for typical Korean food, some pizza. Later we visited a bar and the arcade for some games.

We met on Thursday again. This time we had some good BBQ. It was much better then the pizza. In the evening I met up with Yeonju and I had BBQ again.

On Saturday I met with Jina. We went to a Dakgalbi restaurant. She told me that the dish would be quit spicy so I was a bit scared. The waiter told us it should be okay but he wanted to see me cry because later he brought me the hottest sauce and pressured me to eat it. After I survived the sauce we went for a stroll and found a beer place. With a few beers in we decided to go and sit at the Han river. We forgot to check the time and after 12 we had no subway back so we stayed a bit longer. Around 2 we were looking for a place to stay. Fortunately in Korea there are public baths called Jimjibang. It’s like a spa but you are naked. It’s separated by gender but there is also a mixed section where you wear bath clothes. I wanted to take a bath before sleeping but I couldn’t figure out how and the guy I asked just sent me to the sleep room. In there where already around 40 people sleeping on thin mattresses. My night was really uncomfortable, short and every hour an alarm from different people went off and woke me up again. I was so tired the next day that I slept at 8 pm.

1-7 July

On Monday evening I met with Yeonju. We ate Korean BBQ later we went Bowling and I was really struggling but luckily I was able to tie the game. After this exercising we got thirsty so we headed to a bar close by and had a few beers. We also had to eat something since in Korea it’s almost not possible to drink without ordering food as well. We had some chicken. Yeonju was full after 2 bites so I had to sacrifice myself. Since the night was still young we decided to go to the arcade where we played many games. There was also a punching bag where you can test your strength so I challenged her. I somehow lost but I think the machine was broken. Our last stop for the night was as usual „noraebang“ where we sang a few songs.

On Thursday we had company evening. For that our boss Alan organized a camping spot in Seoul. This basically meant one tent on some stones and a table plus a grill. We bought a a lot of meet vegetables and even more beer. Later in the evening a guard came to us and told us we had to buy a second tent since we are 9 people and a tent is only for 6. In the end no one slept there. We came back to the hostel at 1 and I met a guest I spoke to before at our bar. He was drinking there with a work colleague so I joined them and we drank till 3 in the morning.

The next day I felt quit hungover but I already had a meeting planned with Joe. So we met at 6 and he also brought along two of his friends. After some beers at a bar and a short trip to the arcade where I had to show again who’s the strongest we went to „noraebang“. The 3 guys where always rapping some Korean songs so I was just sitting there for 1.30h. After this long period of doing absolutly nothing I decided that its time for me to go home.

On Saturday I had another meeting. This time with Jina. We met on meeff and later in Gangnam. She showed me a nice fried chicken place. Somehow we didn’t connect at the beginning and it stayed a bit awkward. But after another „noraebang“ session we went to a bar where we finally opened up more and it became a nice evening. At the bar I tried a green apple beer it was way to sweet lucky for me we ordered some cheese sticks so I could balance it out. Turns out the cheese sticks were also sweet. I almost became diabetic.

The next day two of our guests cooked lunch for us which was really nice. Later I met Yeonju for dinner. The restaurant we planned to go to had no place for us and there were already 57 people waiting to get a table so we decided to go somewhere else. After an hour walking we finally found a pizza place. It was a good idea to share a pizza since after 3 pieces I was already full.

Weekly Update

Since I am slowly settled in Seoul I decided to just write weekly updates unless I go on trips.

On the Friday evening I asked Jamie if he wanted to go out for drinks luckily he said yes so we went to a small Korean restaurant. He ordered and after a few minutes we had a huge plate in front of us full with crab, shrimps, squid and innards from various fish. I was really suspicous if I could eat it since I never eat such things but it turns out its really delicious (and hot). As usual many beers were involved as well and after our meal we just strolled around and he showed me some other small restaurants close to our hostel. We couldn’t find a good bar to end our night so we returned to our home and just drank there.

On Saturday I had no plans so I tried to contact Joe if he wants to go to a bar but he told me he had to stay at the university because his professor said so. I just thought well thats it with our friendship, he wont contact me again. So I just went to the city on the look for some record stores. I found two. The first was in a basement and really well organized and the second on the second floor but really messy I almost couldn’t find anything nevertheless I bought 4 records. I have no idea how I to bring them back to Switzerland. But thats a problem for another day.

On Sunday evening Lena was celebrating her birthday which was on Monday so I joined the girls with drinks and we had a great night singing and dancing.

On Tuesday I visited the Coex Mall. Its according to Wikipedia the biggest underground mall in the world. Apart from a cool library it was like every other mall. So after a lunch break I quickly left again. I visited another temple which was located next to the mall. I liked it much more.

The next day I had another meeting with the help of meeff. She couldn’t speak that well English so she sent me to the station she left from so we met an hour later than first agreed. She was really nervous but laughing all the time. We went to a restaurant close to the city hall (near were I live) it was really busy when we arrived. We ordered pig feet. Again I was surprised by the good taste. Because of the noise around us we barley spoke but it never felt awkward. When we left (she paid) was a long queue waiting to get into the restaurant. Koreans like to wait in queues (in front of restaurants or at the bus stop. the record so far 100 m at a bus stop). After that she wasn’t that nervous anymore and we were able to speak more she was really funny so we went to a bar ordered some food and beer. Like the last time we went to the arcade but this time we were shooting. We were both really good at least after I showed her how to do it. Then we went to a karaoke place and finally there were English songs so we were both singing really loud and terrible but we had a lot of fun. I also found my go to karaoke song with Dancing Queen.

On Thursday I cooked risotto at the hostel for everyone. I turned out quit good despite not having all the right ingredients. In the evening I joined a hiking group. I prepared for a serious night hike. Turns out this hike was around an hour but only because they were all so slow. I didn’t find new friends but thats no miss I think. In the evening I was chatting with some people and set some dates to meet them plus Joe returned and asked me for a meeting. I also finally started to learn Korean writing with the help of Jamie.

Days 9 -12

So after a couple of days without an update I finally have enough new things to tell you about.

The day after my museum visit I wanted to go for another hike. At 12 I headed north by subway to Bukhansan National Park. In the subway I had my first encounter with a Korean other than Allen, my boss. At a station an older man entered and was standing when the car started moving. It was a bit abrupt because he fell on me. I was laughing and so was he. I was surprised that he could speak English that well. He had to leave at the same station as me and after an awkward handshake our ways separated. My target for the day was Dobongsan with height of 740 m so around 700 meters to climb.The weather got really hot and as usal there were only old people hiking with me. On my way up I also visited a beautiful temple. The ascent took me around 1.30 h and it had some small climbs included. At the top the view was astonishing and I met another Korean guy and he took some pictures of me. Then I decided to walk on the summit next to it. There where to different ways there, difficult and normal and I thought difficult can’t be thaaat difficult. I met the guy from before on the same route and I had to concentrate on not dying.

My way down took me around 30 min since I was running. In the evening I had my first meal of the day and the first time I used uber eat. I got a really fine burger.

The next day I had to clean again and nothing special happened apart from a really disgusting room.

After another cleaning morning with the crew passed Allen invited us for lunch. We went to a small restaurant and had sundeatguk. Its a soup with blood sausage and pork face. I preferred the blood sausage and as usual we drank alcohol with it. This time makgeolli which is fermented rice and looks like milk. In the evening Jamie and Kate invited me for drinks near Jamie’s girlfriends house. It was a small pub with great fries and cheap beer. After a few beers we had to walk Jamie’s girlfriends dog. So we went for a walk where I also saw the world cup stadium where at the same time a football game was taking place but not many people attended it since football isn’t that popular.

The next day was special because I finally had a meeting with a Korean guy I’ve met over the app. We met at 7 close to where I live and went to a restaurant for drinks and food. We were hitting it off quit well. But he had to ask me a second time after he already asked me over the app if I am gay. His name is Joe at least that’s his English name and he’s really into hip hop which he later showed me. After the drinks we went to an arcade across the street and had some strength contest with other Koreans. Obviously we beat them. The next stop was noraebang, Korean karaoke. We just sat in a small booth and he showed of his rap skills. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a English song so I was just sitting there and did nothing. At 12 we were thrown out so we bought some more beer and snacks and sat at the river. I was getting tired so I thought I should go home. The subway was already closed but home was close by foot. Joe had a problem because he lives further away, so he went to a pc bang which is just a big room with pc’s where you can game or watch movies 24/7. So i joined him for an hour and he showed me how to play PUBG but I had still no idea how to play it so I did pretty awful. After that experience I finally decided to go back home.

Day 8

Finally was able to eat at the restaurant across the street. Had pasta teriyaki style. When I ordered it I wasn’t sure if it was the right choice but it was delicious but also spicy.

After my meal I visited the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Later I went to the Gwangjang Market. The market is one of the oldest and largest traditional markets in South Korea. I tried some Bindae-tteok. At that time it was great and I also enjoyed the buzzing atmosphere but when I was on my way back my stomach acted up.

Day 5 – 7

Day 5

As mentioned in my last post I went clubbing with Manon. She introduced me to her friends who were all really nice. We ended up in a club in Hongdae. It’s a lively place with many small shops and a booming nightlife. We stayed there till 5 and later went for some pizza. During the night I was also invited to try some Korean street food which was delicious. I went to bed around 9 am and had to start work at 11 so you can imagine I was quite dead. After my shift I went straight to bed and slept till 9.

Day 6

I felt much better. After work I met with Zena. A lovely Aussie girl who was one of Manon’s friends. She invited me for some coffee in one of the oldest coffee shops in Seoul called Hakrim Dabang opend in 1956. Since I don’t really like coffee I decided to go for a chocolate milkshake. It was exquisite. In the evening I watched the french open final. Too bad Thiem lost.

Day 7

Finally something happend again. While cleaning I decided to go to the Trick Eye museum. It’s also located in Hongdae. Before I visited it I had to eat something and since all the restaurants are closed when I am finished with work I had to go for fast food. After years of disappointments I gave KFC another shot and they delivered, failed me in Korea as well.

When looking for the museum I walked right passed it and ended up searching for 10 min. The exhibition that combines art with high-end technology. So you had to download an app and with it the paintings and sculptures came alive. Unfortunately most of it was on the condition that you have someone with you so I had a disadvantage. They also had an ice exhibition. A room with minus degrees and everything made out of ice. I enjoyed it much more since they had a slide.

For the part that follows now I want to apologize to my parents in advance. After the museum I was looking for a tattoo studio. I was playing with the thought of getting one for a long time and finally told myself to get it done. It was really difficult to find a place. It showed me several on google maps but every time I was at the location there was nothing. The first I found was in a basement. I walked down and then a woman told me to follow her. We went out of the shop and walked a few meters in another building. There it looked much more like a tattoo studio. I showed them the subject I wanted and they told me their price. 200’000 Won. I thought, wow 2’000 USD that’s a bit much. Two minutes later I caught myself again being a fool. Obviously it’s only 200 USD after an hour of consideration and help from my friends I decided to do it. The real tattoo studio was again at another basement. I was so nervous my heart was beating like I just finished a marathon. There I met Joon, my tattoo artist. He fortunately spoke some English and was in general friendly. After an hour it was finished. So yes I finally have a tattoo.

Day 4

Today I finally made it to my first shift. I started at 10.30 and finished at 14.30. It took me way too long for only 3 rooms. Additionally it was so hot in these rooms that it felt more like a workout program. After my shift I was really hungry my last meal were some cup noodles last evening so I tried to go to the restaurant across the street. Obviously they were on their break and would not cook before 5 so I visited Gyeongbokgung. It’s the biggest palace built by the Joseon dynasty. Built in 1395, changed through the years by the Japanese and reconstructed 1990.

While I was Inside I saw many people leaving through a big gate and behind was a beautiful building. I also went only to realize that I just left the palace and would have to pay again to get inside. These things only happen to me. By the way the house was „cheongwadae“ also called the blue house and is the Korean presidential residence.

The weather was nice despite rain in the morning so I tried my luck hiking. Inwangsan is a small mountain close to me and only 338 m high. I walked through a few closed ways but hey I can’t read Korean. It took me around 30 min. The view up there was incredible so I just stayed up there for a while and took some pictures because there were also no people.

On my way down I became really hungry so I finally decided to go into a restaurant. The food was good but nothing like the BBQ.

Now Manon, another Workaway, girl invited me to go for drinks with her friends later in the evening. I will write tomorrow how it was. See you. Also a few pictures from my camera from the past days.

Day 3

I started late. A bit too late. I woke up at 14.20. I am not sure how I was able to sleep that long. Jamie already finished cleaning so I felt really bad because I should have helped him but he thought I would start another day so I was lucky. At 3 went again to the city. I walked to a coffee shop to get my late breakfast. Next to it was a Church so I went inside. It felt like a normal gothic church in Europe.

I was writing with someone over meeff to meet and I wasn’t sure if today or any other day so I just walked to the Seoul forest. It’s maybe 1.30 h away from me so I thought the subway is a good idea. I went underground and tried to get a ticket. They only accepted cash so I had to go back up and decided to walk. I had no other plans for the day anyways.

From the beginning of the day it was raining, not much just a bit, but after 1 hour of walking it startet to pour. I just had to cross Han river (the major river in Seoul) to get to Seoul forest but I had a problem. In front of the road to cross the river were rail tracks. I walked for a few minutes and found a station so I thought maybe I can go up and on the other side down.

So I went up and there was an elevator but there were gates where you had to show you ticket so i just ran through went to the elevator and landed on the train platform. There was no exit so I had to go back. It felt really embarrassing because the gate was saying something in Korean very loud and it tried to stop me but I was to fast (like Sonic). I was walking back down to the street when I heard someone shouting. I acted like I don’t hear it and just continued my walk but the voice became louder so I turned and there was a railway officer. He told me to come back with him. I thought now I will get a fine so I tried to explain to him I just want to get on the other side but he didn’t react. At the gate he put his card for the gate and wanted to give me a free ride. Nice man but I had to decline. Back on the street I realized 20 m further was the passage. I am an idiot.

On the other side of the river it still rained, even with an umbrella I was getting wet. It got dark so the forest wasn’t that nice. My Phone was slowly dying and I had no Idea where I was but after 30 min I found a metro station. I went Inside. I finally had some cash on me so I bought a ticket. For me the subway map was so difficult but I thought I figured it out. I took the train to the next station where I had to transfer but I couldn’t figure it out so I was dumb enough to go out of the subway station. Maybe I was already closer. Wrong I was away even further. So I went back and took the same subway back to my old destination and and changed to another line. I came close enough to my place. It took me around 2 hours to go back. What a day.