Met 'n vistenk onder die arm

Due to reasons unforeseen, I went to Seoul for the first time last weekend sans my weekend bag.  Literally with my handbag and the clothes on my back.  No worries, I thought, I've always wanted to go somewhere on an impulse and just fly in (or in this case, take the slow train) on a whim and buy what I need to get by.  So this was not impulsive, and I would have preferred a pair of sunglasses at least, but the principal remains, right?
So, I arrive at Seoul station to be picked up by my wonderful hostess and tour guide Lize Viljoen, who promptly hands me a helmet and loads me onto the back of her scooter for a guided tour of down town.  We then headed for the brand spanking new Braai Republic in Itaewon (I think) to celebrate National Braai Day in style.  We were met by Amber and her friend Jessica, who was visiting from LA and had picked up some nasty stomach bug in Cambodia the week before.  Braai Republic is just amazing!  I will post pics soon.  It was more Proudly South African than any restaurant back home!  Zebra skin on the wall, springbok and warthog heads mounted, pics of Cape Town and baby hyenas.  They also make their own biltong, droewors and serve Jagermeister and Ceres juice! We had lovely lamb chops with green beans and sweet potato mash.Yum!
Afterwards Amber had to take Jessica to the airport, so Lize and I set off on a shopping mission to get all the stuff I needed.  I was especially after a pair of jeans and an external hard drive, not to mention a pair of sunglasses, a change of clothing and a bag to put all of this in.  We found everything I needed and headed off to their apartment to meet up with Amber.  In the evening we took the subway to go and see the Seoul Drum Festival, which is an internationally renowned festival where performers from different countries get a chance to do their thing.  We caught the last hour and saw a group from Korea, who were very rock 'n roll and simply brilliant, very energised and entertaining.  Next was a performance by a Brazilian group, which was quite chaotic, with very colourful, crazy outfits, highly energetic and somewhat incomprehensible.  Which I guess is quite apt.  It was followed, if memory serves, by a group from Kosovo, which was also highly entertaining.
We took a stroll through the city and wanted to take a ride in a horse-drawn cart a la New York, but after seeing the sad state of the horses decided that we just couldn't bear it.  They were quite small, severely undernourished and didn't look like they ever got to rest for food or water.  I'll have to ask the Korean animal rescue agency that I joined online about that.  We made our way to a little restaurant for some exccellent soup, gimbap and bibimbap and decided to call it a night.
The next morning Lize gave me a little fish tank after I admired their fish bowl and expressed my fond and imminent desire to get some pet fish for my apartment.  Which meant that we loaded bags and ourselves back onto her trusty scooter - and I, with fish tank under my arm in the pillion seat. We wandered around the charming market behind Itaewon, browsed through antique shops, had a brilliant Belgian waffle and coffee for breakfast, bought a few trinkets and then headed across town via subway to find my external hard drive.  By lunchtime, almost exactly 24 hours after arriving, I bid Lize a fond farewell with plans to return - soon and often, bought myself a lunch box for the train and set off on the 3 hour slow train journey home.  With loads of souvenirs, a happy heart - and a fish tank under my arm. :)