Friday night
got spent celebrating a friend of R’s birthday festivities in Hongdae and
Saturday saw us hanging around in my old stomping grounds of Hyehwa. Here you go...
Funny enough, two of
my lady teacher friends mentioned this specific noraebang when we found
ourselves riding the bus together. They recommended it and said I should go because
of how nice it is. They were right…Su’s easily the fanciest noraebang I’ve been
to yet. The place looks palatial and ritzy with its shiny flowers and
chandaliers. It has one significant drawback though: it doesn’t serve alcohol.
This seems perplexing because frankly, a noraebang session just isn’t the same
without a round beer or soju to go with the singing. We still had a good time
though.
Others like it. I don’t.I
disliked it as soon as the sign came into view. Before this evening, I’d told myself
to keep the negativity at bay and enjoy the night as much as possible, but as
soon as we descended the stairs, that same feeling came back: This music’s too
loud, it’s not any good, and I’d rather be somewhere else. The
dance/dub/whatever it is music that sounded too loud on the street got even
worse inside. I know that a club’s supposed to be loud, but after over a decade
of rock shows, it’s possible to have the music too loud—as in, when it’s too
loud to think or hold a rudimentary conversation with the person next to you.
Yes, I know that clubs aren’t symposiums, but no one should have to scream to
tell the bartender a drink order. No disrespect to the birthday girl; her
enthusiastic dancing showed she clearly liked the place. R and I hung around
for a bit before catching a taxi with another friend. The one good thing about
the place: Max beer on tap for 3000. Not bad for a pint.
I’m not a club guy and
thanks to living in the country, I rarely, if ever go to trendy bars here
because they’re always too loud and too crowded. It wasn’t much fun in the
States and it hasn’t gotten any better in Korea. What gets me here is that this
place felt like every other
basement/dive in the States, only it instead of being just some neighborhood
tap, it’s a viable and “cool” destination.
Yes, you can
bring the leftovers home if you ask.
We ate some excellent
grilled duck at the Well Being Restaurant near Noksapyoung Station. While there,
we learned something quite valuable: We can take the leftovers home. The
thought came when I saw that we couldn’t possibly finish all the duck in one
sitting. I wondered if it’s possible to take it home in a bag. We wondered if
it was even possible since none of us had ever taken any leftovers home in all of our 15 months in-country, but yes,
it is. All I did was ask about a box for the leftovers and the lady said fine.
She gestured to grill the rest of the (delicious) duck and came back later on
with some foil and a bag to carry it home in.
Victory. No more will
we leave meat ungrilled and wasted.
More DVD bang stuff
Saw the new Total Recall. Pretty decent film. We
hadn’t seen it yet and I must say, it’s a good film to watch in a home
theater-like setting because of all the action! My memory of the first Recall—the one with Schwarzenegger—is hazy,
but the new one had a grittier and darker feel to it.
The Barket – World Beer Outlet in
Hyehwa
It's decent bar with big TVs, abundant seating, and
a good selection of international brews on sale. Everything’s self service. We
met a couple friends here for a bit.
