Daejeon: Mountains and Booking
Why Daejeon?
Well, I wanted to get away and see something other than Seoul mostly. Would you believe I've spent around 6 months in Korea all up and never been outside of Seoul.. Just like being back in Perth :P
I was going to go to Busan to see a friend, but couldn't get a hold of him, so I picked something closer. I flicked through Lonely Planet and found out about Bomunsa. I guessed this would be reason enough to stay in Daejeon.
Mid-morning I headed over to Seoul Station to see what time I could get the KTX to Daejeon.. in about 30 minutes was my choice. I could've got one sooner but opted for some relaxtion with food first.
The KTX is obviously fast, since it's the sister train service to the TGV and Shinkansen.. We covered the ground to Daejeon in around an hour and I disembarked into my new city.
First impression: Daejeon blows. I won't be coming back.
Found a room near the train station for ease of escape tomorrow. 20'000W.
With a few things in tow I headed off in search of Bomunsa. First I had to navigate the expansive subway service.. :P ..2 lines, what a sad excuse for a subway, ha
I trek to Bomunsa and sweating my jeans off begin the accent. I encounter many enthusiastic old men along the trail and we exchange pleasantries. Once atop the hill slash mountain, the view is impressive.
Daejeon only has a population of 1 million people but it is spread over such a distance. And seeing the World Cup stadium below my feet was a nice surprise.
Once rested and optimistic I traverse to the next lookout around 40 minutes away.
When I sat in the pavillion, and mid-30's man begins to talk to me. I took it as a chance to brush the rust off my fading Korean and we talked about lots of things for an hour or so. We traded phone numbers and agreed to meet later for a drink.
But first, he insisted on taking me down a very narrow and rather steep path (in parts) path.. I won't lie, I was a little apprehensive at times, but kept my wits and we emerged near a Buddhist temple that I interpreted as being the largest in Daejeon. He opened the door and we had a chat to the old man inside who invited me to look through as I please.
To be honest, the old man spoke in such a dialect that I understood sweet FA!
After a wee rest and recovery my new friend showed me to the bus stop and said to call him later.
On the bus, I was stood.. many girls were sitting. And a new old man, even older than before, grunted in no uncertain terms in my direction something along the lines of me being a man, and them being women, so they should stand for me.. Wow.. Sexis.. err.. no... Confucian society, I remember ;)
Anyway, slightly scared and not wanting to offend I told him I was getting off in a moment... And I did... Where the fk I was I had no idea, I just wanted to get away, haha
I discovered I was downtown, and it's quite quaint.. Small shopping mall, but with all the wants and needs. I found a dodgy English shirt with words that don't make sense in any language, so I just had to have it.. 10'000W
With fading light, I traipsed back to my cheap room to be greeted by many ajumas approaching me saying they had beautiful young women awaiting me.
Making arrangements to meet my new friend across town and some magical place I had obviously never heard of. I told the taxi driver where to take me and it was surprisingly close. He arrived with friends and we chatted and drank the beautiful clear miracle that is soju for a while before he suggested we go to a club to drink beer. I said sure.
He told his friends to leave. ...Why?
Taxi to above-mentioned club.
Everyone starts bowing and calling him 'boss'.
"Oh, you come here often?" I inquire.
"Yes... it's my club" he says proudly.
What the f.... ?
How did I manage this?
Once inside I realise it's not the kind of club I was expecting, but a booking club.
For those that don't know.. a booking club is a place where girls are sent to your table to talk to you, you basically pay for everything and if you're a special kinda guy, the girl leaves with you.... ? Or so is my understanding.
This was my virginal experience.. aside from one dodgy incident in Seoul a couple of years ago.
Anyways... to spare you the details, he thought it would be nice to ask for one of the white girls to sent over to me....
I spent the evening trying to speak Korean with a Russian woman... very bad dentistry.
She even mentioned I was speaking in a dialect.. Which my new 'hyeong' (older brother) retaliated with "he speaks standard Korean, you're the one speaking in dialect"
All-in-all.. he got trashed and became too preoccupied with his female friends and I was knackered and sick of trying to decipher Russian-ised Korean.. so we said our farewells and he apologised profusely for not paying enough attention to me.... all said with the other hand on a female leg.
I find my way home through the dark alleys, past the sex-sellers, and get some rest.
Daejeon nightlife.
