Electronics and Such

Yesterday we hopped on the subway and visited a market called Itaewon. It is located near the U.S. Army base in Seoul (although we were still the only Americans walking around). It was very modern looking, with storefronts and mall-like areas to go in. Lots of clothing, luggage and bags, and a few souvenier shops. I bought Adam and Alex a few things here.

After Itaewon, we returned to the hotel to pick up our Holt friends from Little Rock - Melissa and Daniel. We had Pizza Hut for lunch and headed to the subway. I thought we were headed for another market, but once on the subway, the boys informed the girls that we would be going to a "Techno-Mart" at a Yongsan Station. They were looking specifically for camera equipment, but only found TONS of computer stuff. It was really unbelievable, actually. Floor after floor of different vendors, repair shops, street vendors, etc. After seeing all the computer stuff we finally asked for directions to the cameras and we were informed that all the camera people had the day off. What are the odds?

We found a subway station at Yongsan-gu - although it was a little dicey there for awhile because the ticket machine did not use english and we couldn't figure out where the subway was. Below are photos of Tim trying to figure things out, and the station itself:

We took the subway to Namdaemun Market. We knew this was a well known market in Seoul but nothing could have prepared us for what we saw when we got there. This place is huge, and its got everything. There are whole sections of the market dedicated to certain items - childrens clothes, shoes, hats, food, blankets, mens/womens clothing, and CAMERAS. Tim knew there were camera stores here, but he was elated when he saw what was there. Store after store of camera goodies - some new, some used. There was something for everyone here, and we all found a little something (yes, more for Adam and Alex here too - I cant control myself). Here are some photos of the market - as you can see its more of a traditional market with lots of people bustling about and street food, vendors, etc.

By this time we were all tired and hungry (I was not thirsty because I had found the Diet Coke at once of the street vendors here! Still so excited about that). We made our way toward Myeong-dong - another shopping area nearby with restaurants. I bought some pottery from the cutest lady at this store:

On our way to dinner we walked through an area with a fountain, statues and a great view of the Seoul tower. We will need to do more research to figure out exactly what this area was.

It was a long, busy day but I feel like we really got to see many different parts of Seoul and get feel for what this city is all about. We are happy to have this time to explore so that we can tell Alex all about his birth country. Tomorrow is the big day!