spoke too soon, part 2

well now that it seems to be full-fledged high season, bangkok is not as cheap anymore… the things in the grocery stores and minimart are still cheap as they have fixed prices, and so far the guesthouses and street stalls still cost the same. however, basically everything else, things that you have to bargain for, has gone up. most souvenirs, clothing, jewelry and other accessories are more than what i thought they would be, and it’s hard to bargain them down to the price of a month and a half ago.

speaking of bargaining though, my bargaining skills have gone to shit for some reason since getting to bangkok. i think i got used to the aggressive style of the vietnamese, so now when the thais bargain nicely (and cunningly), i give in and cave almost immediately without trying very hard. whereas with the vietnamese, i had to put up a strong front. the poor bargaining is a dilemma as i’ve already made a couple of purchases and have probably been ripped off by about $1.50 to $2 each time, which adds up after a while. i’ve also made a few VERY unnecessary purchases just because the thai storeowners have been very good at luring me slyly.

i’m tired of bargaining for everything. in vietnam, i almost cringed at trying to buy anything for fear of being ripped off and having to stress over haggling. however here, i cringe AFTER having purchased something for having made an unnecessary and pricey buy. too little too late.

last days in seoul

so apologies for the delay in updates. a brief synopsis: my last day at the hakwon (the tutoring center) was two fridays ago, and right after class (consisting of parties with my remaining, mostly good students), i took off for gwangju, a city about 4 hours south of seoul. i visited and couchsurfed for a night, then took an hour-long bus to mokpo, and from there, took a 4 hour ferry to jeju island (a prestine island in the south), where i stayed for 3 nights, again through couchsurfing. after that, i took an hour-long plane up to busan, was there for a night, and came back to seoul late last wednesday night. phew!

but the trip wasn’t without some glitches along the way. when i got to mokpo on the bus, i immediately hopped in a cab to try to catch the ferry that was leaving from the ferry terminal in 10 minutes. just as i got to the terminal, the ferry had left. i was exasperated – hands flailed up in the air, heavy sigh (scream?). i went to the ticket desk and asked whether there was another ferry leaving that night. the woman said there was, but that there weren’t any seats left. oh, i begged and begged, nearly cried. told her that i didn’t mind standing, but she explained that there was a limit to the number of people they could have. she told me i could stay the night in the town and catch the ferry the next morning. i told her i couldn’t do that, that i had a friend to meet. and that i didn’t see a lot of people waiting in the terminal, it couldn’t possibly be entirely full. finally, her manager came, and through some stroke of luck, agreed to let me on the next ferry! i don’t know how or why, but i’d finally gotten a seat, and i was soooo relieved, because i didn’t know anything about mokpo or where i would even stay had i had to sleep in the town for a night. phew! i was saved.

anyway, it was a lot of traveling in a very short amount of time. luckily, korea’s only about the size of new jersey, so going from place to place didn’t take too long. speaking of which, some stats. yes, korea’s really that small. there are 50 million people – that’s greater than the entire population of canada in an area the size of indiana. or, in another perspective, it’s kind of like the entire population of california, plus about 12 million more, in an area nearly 5 times smaller than cali.

did i mention how big seoul is (in area and in population)? i think, including greater seoul (the immediate, circular metropolitan area surrounding the city proper), there are somewhere around 16-18 million people living here. and as far as physical size, seoul is HUGE, huge, i tell you. it’s much much bigger than new york. it takes about an hour and 30 min to go from one end of the city to the other on the subway – a complicated maze of 12 lines. and i think the diameter’s about 12 miles. HUGE. very easy to get lost. a web of streets, side streets and alleys.

did i also mention how expensive seoul is? yes. i have to mention this again. i’ve found that it’s possible to seek cheap things but it’s just not that easy to save and budget smartly here. for quality items (in terms of food, clothing, and just.. things), you have to shell out a lot of wons (the korean currency). an american friend of mine put it best, i think – the money runs so fast, you’re almost convinced you’re spending monopoly money – fake money to which you think you have an endless supply. in reality, you can find yourself looking at an empty wallet after having just withdrawn money a few hours earlier. you could easily blow $100 in one night out in seoul. and due to the everpresent capitalist culture, it’s so easy to spend.

not including rent, i’ve spent upwards of $1380 in the entire 7 weeks i’ve been here (NOT including rent). i am dead serious, believe you me. i just looked at my bank statement and i’ve withdrawn $730. in addition, i brought $200 in cash with me from the states, received $350 in cash from my aunt (she gave me a weekly allowance of $100 plus 50 bucks for the first 3 weeks until i insisted she stop), and received $100 from my uncle as spending money before my trip last week. i’m sure there’s other cash i’m forgetting.. again, this is not including my rent for the past month (the closet-sized dorm room was $550, $200 of which the hakwon subsidized). this is also not including my airfare and the other pre-travel expenses before i flew out which was well over a grand, i think close to 3 actually. $1500 in flight, $400 for immunization crap that i should’ve just gotten in korea to save some bucks (health costs are cheaper here), $70 travel guides which i could’ve bought on the road, some travel items and gear like plug converter, etc. that’s an average of $187.14 a week. how?! i mean , i guess i ate out quite a bit (i couldn’t cook for myself) and went out wednesdays or thursdays and fridays and saturdays. but again, i haven’t bought much of anything else. a few souvenirs here and there, but really not much. ah! hopefully, southeast asia will be better to me financially and i won’t continue to run into this problem.

still, i’ve saved up a bit from my teaching job, and i’m hoping it’ll last me at least a month and a half including airfare around that region. but depending on how long i plan to travel for, i’m sure i’ll have to use additional money thereafter, and definitely for my flight back to the states, whenever that is…