After yesterday’s trek, we need a bit of a rest today - and the extended walk through the city has also brought home another reality: I only have one pair of shoes now, having send my sandals back home in Taiwan. Considering how much wandering we’re doing (an average of 12km a day from the beginning of the trip), it would be prudent to have a second pair to alternate, which leaves me with a challenge to find my size in an area of the world renowned for small feet.
We take an easy start with a coffee and (delicious) pastry at an absolutely deserted shop near our hotel (we have an entire floor to ourselves!) before heading back out to hit our neighbouring shopping district. I’m looking for high-top shoes covering my ankles, to help keep warm in colder climates. My initial plan was to look for some urban walking boots - perhaps something like Doc Martens? But I’m limited to the men’s section to find my size, and previous reconnaissance yielded no results on that front. Instead I spotted some ankle-high Adidas trainers which looked promising - and therefore our first stop is Footlocker which we hope will stock some.
Unfortunately, this particular store does not have that exact model - but I do find a couple that could work, and in the process we get a nice chat with our attendant, Vex, who is sporting a cool pair of Air Jordans (he recommends them, but that’s not quite the budget I had in mind). Still, I’m unsure about the tennis shoes: they look great, but we’ve been walking so much and I worry that they don’t have enough support to deal with that. Looking for something more cushioned, we wander over to the New Balance section: Ollie has a pair which he’s been praising for more than a year.
The display wall is a perfect example of the peculiar absence of colour in Korean fashion: while in a London New Balance shop the shoes would come decked in all the colours of the rainbow, here, the choice is only between varying shades of greige. Still, despite the uninspiring palette, the sneakers feel like I’m walking on clouds and definitely seem more equipped to handle our ramblings, so I reluctantly sacrifice fashion and ankle warmth for comfort and get a pair.
While I’m debating, Ollie strikes up a conversation with the only European shop attendant we’ve seen in our entire trip so far. Elia’s come all the way from Italy to live in Seoul and travel Asia on his holidays - in fact, he’s headed to Vietnam next week and we have a happy natter discussing itineraries and tips. He’s been very happy in Korea so far - he’s impressed with how well everything seems to work here, which is certainly true compared to easy-going Italy, but wasn’t our sentiment coming from incredibly sleek Taiwan. It’s lovely to get an insider perspective on the country - we haven’t actually met that many expats on our trip.
We even get a lunch recommendation from him and his friendly colleagues - a little cantina close by in this skyscraper-full area of Seoul, which we definitely wouldn’t have looked twice at if not for them, but which turns out to make lovely, down-to-earth bulgogi. And the highlight: unlimited self-service sides of kimchi and radish pickles. We’ve both discovered a passion for Korean condiments and therefore are delighted with this perk!
Very full, I take advantage of our “off” day to fit a nap in and collect the clothes washed yesterday at one of our hostel’s freely available laundry machines. Despite the cramped room, it’s been a homely base for our stay in Seoul, with everything we could need included - I probably judged it a bit harshly that first night.
Between our first two days we feel we’ve got a nice taster of Korea’s capital, and we still have a lot of planning to do for our looming visit to Japan, so we bunker down and get to it. Tomorrow, we’ll be heading out bright and early for our first bullet train of the trip, down to Busan where we plan to catch a ferry on to Kyushu - we’re both quite excited to see how the Korean trains will compare to the Taiwanese ones!
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