Itaewon

Well, I went off to Itaewon. Full of pasty-faced folk with their firm prejudices and fat fucking dollars - you know the kind, the 'new colonialists', looking down on the locals. But that wasn't all. I saw near-emaciated Ukranian and Byelorussian ladies with fear in their eyes. Nigerians in groups, lone Pakistanis with beard and shalwar kameez - all rubbing along amidst a sea of buzz cuts and tattoos. It is a melting pot in the way that the rest of Seoul is not. But frankly, Itaewon is like the upper end of London's Oxford Street (near Centrepoint), full of tourist shops and rip-off bars. It has a little bit of Kings Cross with it too - if you want a 'massage' head towards those places sporting barbers poles.

I went for a stroll up and down 'Hooker Hill' which is near the US base (it takes on a different character at night).

The people gave an impression of saudade; the place, a distinct feeling of seediness. If you want to see the real Korea, avoid Itaewon. The rest of the country is fantastic.

Highlight of the day was going to a Pakistani restaurant (I have eaten Chinese/Korean food since leaving London and I love it, but fancied a taste of the old country) and speaking to the staff in Urdu. I haven't used it for the last week and a half (apart from calling the folks now and then). Going to Itaewon was worth it, if just for the glass of lassi.

Yes Simon & Kristof - I picked up two TTA 24 chargers.