Seoul walkabout proved...I dunno, inconclusive. Having made no plans and completely unfamiliar with the area I was at a loss in terms of what to do. I kept a map with me and did my best to follow the same techniques I use to guide myself in wilderness areas. The day is overcast and cooler than the day before. Humidity is high, several trees abound and the place seems quite clean. There's a mild odor of sewage everywhere but strangely fresher, less offensive than usual.
It appears the neighborhood I have landed in is a major shopping area. Boutiques abound, everything is cramped together for maximal efficiency with tall buildings everywhere. In a lot of ways this area reminds me of Seattle.
First order of business, lunch. I walk around the block to get a feel for the area and a sense of what's available. I settle on a place with live octopus swimming in tanks. Octopus are fascinating creatures, their brains are highly developed, they can solve mazes, their eyes are structurally similar to ours. They have a hydrostatic "skeleton" meaning they can fill their tentacles with water to create an erect appendage capable of puncturing soft tissues, or drain themselves until they can slip through slender crevices. One legendary octopus kept in a zoo allegedly lifted the top of it's cage, scuttled across the floor, deciphered the combination lock of the fish tank, preyed on fish and returned to it's cage on a nightly basis all under the nose of the zoo keeper. Clever beast. I'm gonna eat one.
I guess I ordered a delicacy. It's 20,000 Korean Won (about $15.) My plate comes out with hot peppers, garlic cloves and severed raw tentacles still writhing! Unbelievable! I had no idea these things could still squirm after death. Or is it even dead? And what do these strange creatures consist of? It's obviously dismembered, but no sign of blood vessels, no blood. Does this mean no muscle? Only flesh and gray matter? One way or the other the appendages continue to wriggle as I lift them to my mouth. Inside my maw the tentacles cling to my soft palette. How terribly unnerving. The bigger pieces cling tenaciously to the plate, one slips from my chop sticks suctions onto my lower lip. What a trip.
Even 20 minutes later they still have life in them. They go down well with the salty garlic sauce provided.
The rest of my day was largely uneventful. I hung out in parks, mostly populated by old people. That's one main difference between UB and Seoul. The population of 12-24yr olds in UB was extremely high. Here it seems like the majority are over 50. I suppose a steady diet of writhing severed octopus tentacle increases longevity.
Or maybe I'm just hanging out in the wrong area. I mean what kind of hip kid hangs out in the park on a Saturday? I'm turning into such a geezer.
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