Yesterday I took a smooth 50 minute ride on the Korail ITX down to Pyeongtaek Station, then cabbed to my hotel in Anjeong-ri.

I lived here for exactly one year (left on the day my lease expired) and have been gone for just over one year. Still know a few folks here and hope I’ll be able to meet up with some of them between now and Thursday.

I’ve really been amazed at how much things have changed in the little burg of Anjeong-ri in only a year. Tons of new construction–high rise apartments, restaurants, and of course bars.

Speaking of bars I visited a few of my old haunts last night. I was a little surprised and touched that the staff in most of them remembered me and gave me a warm welcome back. Which is good because I didn’t see anyone else I knew out and about. I was astounded at being charged W8,000 (more than $7.00) for a San Miguel Light. I pay around a buck fifty for that same beer back home. At those prices I’m not sure I could afford to retire here! Not that I’d want to.

And speaking of IDK (I asked what that stood for but everyone says “I don’t know” so I still have no idea) Facebook reminded me this morning it was exactly two years ago that I won my first dart tournament down here.

Anyway, I got up this morning and had breakfast at a restaurant called “Me and You”. It’s where I had my first breakfast when I moved here. New location, but the food was the same (average). I was the only customer and the ajumma was delighted to have me, so that was nice.

After breakfast I caught a cab to Good Morning hospital in Pyeongtaek city to see about scheduling my physical examination. I had it done there last year and figured they’d have all that history to compare with this year’s result. Except they told me I wouldn’t get the results/consult with the doctor for two weeks! Well, that ain’t gonna work. So I won’t be getting an exam after all. Which was one of the primary reasons for making this trip. What a fiasco. And yes, I should have done my due diligence prior to traveling.

I walked home from the hospital which took close to two hours. This afternoon I did some of my park loops from the good ol’ days (which really weren’t all that good). I’m planning the long ass river walk that circumnavigates the perimeter of the Army base (outside the fence of course) in the morning.

Tonight? Well, I reckon I’ll visit the bars I missed last night. One guy wants to get together for darts so we’ll see about that as well.

And oh yeah, here’s a serious religious question I stumbled upon while perusing the internets today: Did Jesus shit? I report, you decide.

Peace out!

A drunken Saturday night in Itaewon. Felt like old times. But prior to the alcohol fueled activities commencing I had some walking to do. The goal: My old nemesis Namsan and the Seoul Tower.

Yeah, I wimped out and didn’t actually climb to the top. Instead I walked around the mountain rather than over it. I got a lot more distance in that way without all the exertion required to reach the peak. Anyway, I deem the effort “good enough”.

Back to the hotel for a nap and a shower then made my way out to Shenanigans. Nephew Justin came out to join me and later on some friends from way back in the day dropped by.

And of course by the end of the night I was pretty much a worthless drunk.

Blog buddy Kevin Kim was originally intending to join me for the Namsan hike but after ingesting some spoiled soup his gurgling stomach convinced him to not risk having a shitty experience on trail. Later in the afternoon he was feeling better and he did take a walk, only to encounter some rude dog owners. So when I saw this meme I immediately though of him:

I took the train down to Pyeongtaek today and it feels like I’ll be strolling with the demons from memory lane here as well. I know, I know. I just need to man up and get over myself. Easier said than done though. For me at least.

Day 2 of my trip report.

I woke up hungry so ventured out for some grub. Found myself in line at McDonalds and then changed my mind about eating there . Now what? Well, there is a Pancake House across the street but I wasn’t feeling that either. So I figured I’d just go back to the hotel’s coffee shop and grab a pastry. Stopped at the local GS25 convenience store and picked up some diet Coke and water. Then it turns out the coffee shop only sells coffee, which is crazy.

Dropped my drinks in the room and headed out for a river hike figuring I’d find something to eat along the way. I crossed the Banpo bridge and headed out towards Yeouido. They have some floating buildings on the river and I walked through seeing if I can find any food. A restaurant named Dolce was open but I wasn’t feeling like doing a formal sit down meal so I kept on walking.

I had thought about walking all the way to Yeouido but I was already over an hour into my walk so took the preceding bridge.

Walked back into Itaewon and it was 12:30 and so I decided to end my fasting. And I was craving some BBQ, Linus style.

I’m not sure what was up with my Fitness app, but the resulting map of my walk looked like this:

Back to the hotel for an after lunch nap. Later I showered up and headed out to Shenanigans for some beers and a meetup with old friends. We got hungry after a bit and decided to visit my favorite Samgyeopsal place.

Back in my early days in Itaewon Dolce Vita was my home bar. Then a few years ago they changed the concept and became a “music” bar. I think Jim and YJ saw the writing on the wall and went for attracting a younger Korean crowd. They’ve pretty much succeeded at that but I no longer fit the demographic and Shenanigans became my new bar home.

Lots of drinking with some people I’ve met over the years of my Korea life. I think I had fun but I was definitely overdoing it. In fact, I got floored.

Anyway, it was a good day overall. And now it’s time to get started on a new one.