Korea: day 6 and 7
The last couple days have calmed down and stayed pretty uninteresting. I woke up ass early in the morning to say goodnight to E and my IM friends, then took a few mile stroll through a sleeping Anyang. President Kim has ordered lunch into the office, since I might guess we were cutting into his work time a lot. That bothers me, but I don’t see what I can do about it. Then dinner ordered in Wednesday, and dinner out Thursday.
But there were some interesting points to bring up, even so. Wednesday lunch was Dominos pizza delivery. Yup, they have pizza here. I’ve seen Dominoes, Pizza Hut, and Poppa Johns stores in the streets. I think Tony and I were both ready for some American food for a change. And so we learned everything is a little different in Korea. Although the crust is just like at home, they don’t have a tomato based pizza sauce. They’re beef isn’t ground, but pieces of sirloin, and it is accompanied by broccoli, potatoes, and onions and then covered with cheese. And it was really very tasty. I could do to have that back home just fine.
I mentioned earlier that Koreans will park any damn place and if the city issued tickets they’d bank, right? On Friday night we came out of the little Korean restaurant and found Pres. Kim had a ticket. Or… something. The guy issuing these little receipts just ran up to the car and Pres. Kim gave him some money, and we proceeded to go. From the back seat I had to ask, “What was that?” “Parking fee,” said Pres. Kim. I have no idea if it was a “fee” like paid parking in Austin, or a “fee” like a traffic citation. In my walk along the avenue later that night I found more of these notes on parked cars. I can’t read them, of course, but the only number I see is 40,000. If that’s the “fee” that’s about $30. Pretty steep! But I got the feeling Koreans just see it as the price of doing business.
Of course I still left the hotel after being dropped off to wander the streets and undercity in Anyang looking for little treasures. I made some finds, feeling more confident that I knew what was there to find. It occurred to me that I’ve spent almost every night shopping the “mall” where I would never step foot in one at home. Seems different in there are even MORE people than home, and the businesses are strange and interesting. Oh, and everything doesn’t cost through the roof. Something to think on if I ever want to create a shopping mall, no?
As Pres. Kim dropped us off at the hotel he said since tomorrow is my last day here Tony and I should go on another Seoul exploration trip. In the morning he would send Mr. Yuh to drive us to ??? to shop and see the world. Although Tony will try to rush me, I’m going to be more insistent on shopping. Until then, good night.
But there were some interesting points to bring up, even so. Wednesday lunch was Dominos pizza delivery. Yup, they have pizza here. I’ve seen Dominoes, Pizza Hut, and Poppa Johns stores in the streets. I think Tony and I were both ready for some American food for a change. And so we learned everything is a little different in Korea. Although the crust is just like at home, they don’t have a tomato based pizza sauce. They’re beef isn’t ground, but pieces of sirloin, and it is accompanied by broccoli, potatoes, and onions and then covered with cheese. And it was really very tasty. I could do to have that back home just fine.
I mentioned earlier that Koreans will park any damn place and if the city issued tickets they’d bank, right? On Friday night we came out of the little Korean restaurant and found Pres. Kim had a ticket. Or… something. The guy issuing these little receipts just ran up to the car and Pres. Kim gave him some money, and we proceeded to go. From the back seat I had to ask, “What was that?” “Parking fee,” said Pres. Kim. I have no idea if it was a “fee” like paid parking in Austin, or a “fee” like a traffic citation. In my walk along the avenue later that night I found more of these notes on parked cars. I can’t read them, of course, but the only number I see is 40,000. If that’s the “fee” that’s about $30. Pretty steep! But I got the feeling Koreans just see it as the price of doing business.
Of course I still left the hotel after being dropped off to wander the streets and undercity in Anyang looking for little treasures. I made some finds, feeling more confident that I knew what was there to find. It occurred to me that I’ve spent almost every night shopping the “mall” where I would never step foot in one at home. Seems different in there are even MORE people than home, and the businesses are strange and interesting. Oh, and everything doesn’t cost through the roof. Something to think on if I ever want to create a shopping mall, no?
As Pres. Kim dropped us off at the hotel he said since tomorrow is my last day here Tony and I should go on another Seoul exploration trip. In the morning he would send Mr. Yuh to drive us to ??? to shop and see the world. Although Tony will try to rush me, I’m going to be more insistent on shopping. Until then, good night.