Street Markets

Today I went back to Myeong-dong and Namdaemun, where I went last week with Mom and Eun-mi. You know, the place with the crazy mascots?

Yeah.


I was actually looking for a place to get some makeup. The sad stick of eyeliner that I've been using for the last three years has finally died and I need a new (preferably nicer) one. There were plenty of cosmetics stores around, but I didn't buy anything. It turns out the salesgirls at those stores were the scariest in the whole market. I fiddled with one tester stick and I suddenly had three salesgirls breathing down my neck.

Oh, God. You can pay to have tiny fish eat the dead skin off your feet. This actually reminds me of one of the pictures I didn't post from the aquarium:

There was a little tank where you could stick your fingers through a slot and the fish would nibble them. Very tickly. I think if I stuck my whole foot in a bath with these little guys I would die of ticklishness.

The street preachers around here are out of control. They have booths and sound systems! The crazy street preachers in Portland are lucky if they have a fire hydrant to stand on.

There are lots of big shoe stores, but they're all the same brands as in the US. The street vendors have shoes too, like in this strip of marketplace, but they're all pretty bland and samey. Tyson, you may be out of luck on the shoe front, but that's what you get when you ask me to go clothes shopping for you.

On the other hand, I saw a dress that was really pretty and at a good price, and I was tempted. It took physical effort to walk away. Is this how other girls feel all the time? Is Korea turning me into a girl who likes to shop? God save me...

 Oh, hey. It's Alucard if he was a parking attendant. Hahahaha.... I hope at least one person gets it. 

I got a little lost in Namdaemun, but that was totally not my fault. The place is a goddamn maze.

I've just discovered the song "Girly" by The Refreshments. It's described by one of my favorite webcomics (which is also called Girly) thusly: 

"Well, about ten years ago there was a group of rocking desert bandits known as 'The Refreshments.' Its frontman Roger wrote one of my favorite songs during a barfight with federalis down in San Jose... about his need for a girl to keep him in line through the use of blunt objects. It's called... GIRLY!" 

I've been listening to it all day. I know listening to a song too much ruins it, but I can't stop because it just makes me so happy whenever I hear it. There's just something about barely-figurative violence set to a catchy tune that puts a spring in my step.