Itaewon has been around for years and is a major area for tourists. Lots of military personnel and civilians from America and Europe live in or visit the area. Home to about 22,000 people from all over the world. Place of trade, dining and entertainment.
Let me get to my experiences:
I experienced my first really good western meal at this place called "Helios." Hamburger, fries, wings. All delicious and needed after almost 2 months abroad. The restaurant also played western music. Heard some "Make Her Say" and "Killin' Me Softly(which unfortunately, as in America, always has a group of girls singing along and contrarily; killing bystanders quickly.)
But the food was great and our night seemed to be headed in the right direction.
Next we decided to head to a dance-club. Club Cancun. Seemed like a hit. We went in, but were very early. It was only 11 pm. It was here that I experienced my first White Russian. Why not do it while I'm in South Korea? It was pretty good. Although, I don't know how The Dude drank so many in Lebowski. A little bitter. Maybe my milk was just spoiled. Maybe it was milk from a cat.
Next, we headed down a road looking for something to do before the nightclub filled up. All of a sudden, I experienced my first African bazaar. Outdoor markets, African men and women selling jewelry and beads, kids running around barefoot waving empty beer bottles. It was very strange to see in the middle of Korea, but also pretty interesting.
After this, we headed down an alley. "...headed down an alley." Can't be good. And it was not. It felt like I was walking down Elm Street or into some Max Payne'd New York City scenario.
(Play video while reading bottom lines)
When the darkness fell, New York City (Itaewon) became something else, any old Sinatra(Moon Joon Ran) song notwithstanding. Bad things happened in the night, on the streets of that other city. Noir York City (Itaegone).Turn around, walk away, blow town. That would have been the smart thing to do. I guess I wasn't that smart-Max Payne (Me in Itaewon)
Broken windows, bad lighting, screams of terror, and scantily-clad women screaming at us to come into their dark, terrifying bars. Halloween had come one month early. I think I saw Lady Gaga peaking out one of the windows.
Once we had escaped this mistake, we came back out on to the main drag. We took a couple deep breaths and headed back towards Club Cancun. Guess you could say I experienced my first "weird alleyway."
The night was never really the same after that, and even in the club, we had some more troubles. It seemed difficult to distinguish a few of the women from men. This problem was handicapped even further by the 3rd and 4th white russian. We decided to leave this part of Seoul and head back home.
We got back around 2 am, picked up some tuna kimbaps (rice and tuna). I also grabbed a snickers bar and a gatorade to get some normalcy back into my situation. Went back to LW's and put on some Bob Marley- Three Little Birds. Felt much better.
Now, I'm not saying Itaewon is a bad place. But it's also not the best area to hang around late at night. It's got great food, good tunes and a mix of about 7 different cultures. Sometimes, you just feel like you walked on to a Tim Burton movie set and really don't understand what is going on or what is who. Let's just call it "an experience."
Here's to normal:
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