My last (full) day in South Korea

Yesterday morning I went out to help myself to my second serving of Taco Bell for breakfast. Yes, I love Taco Bell that much. I think no matter how hard you like something in a foreign country, it's hard to repeat it because of the opportunity cost of trying something new. But this I just had to have again lol.

As I was eating I was playing around with my new Samsung S4 mini. One of the differences between this and the 'normal' sized one is that there is no haptic feedback (the little vibrations you get when pressing buttons), which is kinda annoying because I'm so used to it.

Anyway, after that I went looking for a case and screen protector for it. All those bright, glitzy stores that display phones out front? They don't sell cases and screen protectors - apparently. I went to one which was selling only cases and got served there by a girl who didn't speak a word to me until the very end when she gave me the screen protector package saying "one more". I had watched her apply the screen protector and it took her a while to get all the bubbles out, but I appreciated the effort. All of that for $20 when back in Sydney I get hit for $15 just for the screen protector.

When I got that done I went back to the hotel, then headed back out to meet Adnan. I was a bit late as I stayed on the subway and went to the wrong station, but managed to meet him at Gangnum station anyway. We caught a subway to Myeong-dong then a taxi to the cable cars for the Seoul Tower. The line was heaps long, and it was cold, but at least it was moving relatively fast (though we still waited for probably just under two hours).

To be honest, at first I wasn't too sure about meeting him. Part of me wanted to be by myself and do my own thing, but it wasn't too bad, and it got better later on.

Anyway, we squeezed into a cable car, and there was this one girl who I thought was pretty hot. Funny thing is, I mostly only got to see her from the side, but she didn't look that hot front on or when she was smiling.

I wasn't too sure about this tower thing at first, or the love lock thing, having heard of neither. But when we got there, I could see this was one of the things all tourists should do. Despite the freezing temperature, the view was magnificent. Definitely had no regrets coming here.

Also, initially I wasn't too sure about the love lock thing. When he said he was going to buy one, I was a bit like "errrr..." but went along with it. I figured it'd be good to leave my name somewhere in the place of history. Obviously couldn't help but think about Jin somewhat, but managed to push those thoughts out each time they came. I find it easier to do when I tell myself, in a Hollywood sci-fi tone, "from this day on, this person never existed..."

I got some souvenirs and we got our locks. I just wrote my name and date on it, then went to lock it up. Funnily enough, you can actually use your key to open up other locks of the same type. I tried it because I figured it'd be too costly for them to make individually custom key patterns for each.

Adnan spent a lot of time writing on his. Not sure what he wrote. But what surprised me as well was he wanted to put it next to mine. My first thought was "is he gay?", particularly when he seemed to put his arm around my shoulder. But later I figured he only did it to ask for a favour (like taking a photo of him). We got talking about girls after we left, so don't think he's gay.

We walked to Myeong-dong for some shopping. I knew he was after the PS4 and souvenirs, but I really couldn't see any electronics. I felt a bit guilty for selfishly looking for my own things, ie. a coat and a present for my dad. Ended up buying a coat for myself for $160 and a tie for my dad for $20. I had just enough money to buy both, before needing to withdraw more from the ATM.

It's probably a good time to say this - as silly as it sounds, I think it's a bit of a problem that I'm a cheapskate and don't shop much. Why? Because it means I don't realise what money can buy, and so instead, I only use my money for what I know it buys - gambling and sex. When I look at all these clothes, I realise there is so much more out there for me to buy, or at least to set as a goal, and much cheaper too.

Anyway, we did a lot of walking around, and I managed to get him to try the street food. I think he liked it, but was always just too scared to try as he wasn't sure how it worked. I got him to try the spicy meat on a stick lol.

We did more walking around before we settled at a restaurant. We ordered this big fry pan of fried rice for only $6 per person!!! Fucking incredible.

We got talking a bit, and found out another thing in common - we both have had ACL surgery on our right knees. He also told me that in Saudi Arabia you could have a maximum of four wives lol.

I bought a Poporo plush toy for Yuna after that, before we caught the subway back home. I must admit, it was a bit sad to part when it was my station. Despite me saying earlier I wanted to be alone, I really enjoyed having someone's company for the last couple of days. He said he felt the same way too, that being alone for a bit can be exciting, but then you just get too lonely.

We shook hands and said we'd contact each other on Wechat, before I got off the subway, and made my last trek home back to the hotel (and as per usual security procedures too, to check if anyone was in my room).

Maybe I'm just fantasising, but I feel ready to become a better person for the new year.