Random Bus Hopping Adventure

Why is it that every Sunday night I stay up as long as I can in hopes of prolonging the weekend? I think that as long as my eyes don’t shut, the weekend is still happening. I developed this strange, anxious habit in college. Sometimes I wonder when I’ll stop acting like a college student. I still take advantage of free food any chance I can get, I put off my reports until the last minute and “cram” the night before they’re due, and I still proudly sport my Mizzou hoodies. At least I’m not sleeping on the living room floor anymore and storing my clothes in the coat closet. I’m moving up in the world.

This Saturday I was supposed to go snowboarding, but the rainy weather canceled the trip. Instead I hopped on a random bus with Amy and Carina. Our destination: Pyongtaek, a city about 65 miles southwest of Seoul. Once we arrived at the Pyongtaek station, we found a huge tourist map of the city, and were pleasantly surprised at all the cultural sites dotting the map…a seated Buddha, ancient ruins, temples…we had no idea that the closest we would get to these images would be in front of a computer screen at a pc bang.

After deciding to visit a cultural center by the sea, we jumped in a cab and told the driver our destination. About three minutes into the ride we noticed the cab fare jump up drastically. Never in my life have I seen rates escalate so quickly. We started freaking out and told him to take us back to the station. He took the long way back, missing exits along the way. Our total bill for a ten-minute ride to nowhere was a whopping $21! We got gypped. I mean, come on, I rode around in a blinged out cab with a strobe light for an hour and it was almost the same price. All this guy had to offer was an aroma of lilac that was so strong it made my eyes burn. Are two potent cans really necessary?

Once we were back to exactly where we started, only with our pockets lighter, we walked to a pc bang and researched the city. We found the train station and decided to visit Pyongtaek port to see the longest bridge in Korea, and search for a Mexican restaurant. However, the train didn’t go near the port, and after another expensive, unsuccessful cab ride, we decided just to explore the downtown area.

We may not have seen the longest bridge, and we struck out finding a Mexican restaurant, but it was still a fun trip. Cheers to spontaneity!
Walk to Dongbu bus station in Daejeon...Downtown areas during the daytime remind me of empty carnivals.
Breathalyzer tests at one in the afternoon. We (yes, I refer to myself as part of Korean society now) like our Soju, and we like it early.
Picking our destination by using "kai bai bo". That's rock, scissors, paper.

Fellow random bus hoppers.
Oh, the excitement of seeing the hip hop bear. Every foreign teacher has him on a mug. It comes furnished with our apartments.
Classy subway sign
Comforting glow from the pc bang. Why did we even venture out? We should have just lit up a fag, played some games, and called it an afternoon.
Check out the clouds.
The "no..." socks series. Apparently, these are "no flamethrowing," "no shoveling," and "no falling asleep while reading."
Market where some man glared at us, and said "NO!" forcefully. He proceeded to get up in Carina's face and say something in Korean with eyes filled with hatred. This was the first time I've ever been shown any kind of animosity.
Furry dead thing. Do you eat this? Barf.

This is the bridge we were supposed to see...
...and this is the bridge we actually saw.
We ate at an amazing Indian restaurant and called it a day.