My week Part 2 - Dongdaemun & Gio Cat

Well monsoon anyone?

So yesterday I met Dylan in Dongdaemun to have a look around. It was monsoon weather and it rained all day. Hard rain, light rain, medium rain and side walk lakes.

We first ventured out into the shoe market which was filled of... shoes, lots and lots of shoes. We then travelled across to the Fashion Town building and looked at 3 or 4 floors of women's 90% and men's 10% fashion. There are so many clothes in these places it just blows your mind!

From there it was an exploratory excursion away from the market area to heavens knows where. Once we got to E Mart we had lunch at Steff Houlberg which is a hot dog joint. It wasn't bad and I saw a picture of the chicken coke cup. The chicken coke cup has the chicken in a small cup inside a big cup with coke in it and a straw protruding out (check out the picture I took) which is quite innovative.

We then discovered a type of American? museum in the middle of a market with lots of old memorabilia and a few knights in armour. But the gem in all this is when we stumbled across (whilst trying to get out of the rain) the Seoul Folk Flea Market.

This is a must see and in my opinion the best market I have been to so far. If you like nick nacks or strange unusual things perhaps even military equipment, knives, DVD's, clothes, boots, hats, cowboy stuff, Alcohol and just about anything you have to go here... YOU HAVE TO!

I took a few pictures of the items on sale there but there is too much to take in. There are two full floors of items and an eating area. At the time I did see pigs faces being offered for a meal I assume so it is distinctly a Korean food court. (I have seen pig faces twice now and no picture... next time my friend's... next time).

The only thing I did purchase was a Barber 1912 U.S. Half Dollar for 5,000 won which is a good price for that kind of coin (I am hoping to use it in a later photo project).

I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking (check out the slide show).

We then, wandering through the back streets, discovered the Dongmyo Shrine

I took some rainy pictures and one of the history for you to read in the slide show.

Then it was off to the toy market which is close to exit 4 from the station but that was a little underwhelming as I was looking for Eddy (the little red fox from the Korean cartoon Pororo). So if you see a little toy or something cool of Eddy please let me know!!!

Here is a picture of Eddy so you can recognise him:

The day continued with the most anticipated visit since I arrived here... Gio Cat. Jump on the subway line 6 (same line as Itaewon) and get off at Sangsu station. Take exit one and when you reach street level do a 180 degree so you are now facing the exit you just came out of. There is a street in front of you. follow the foot path around to the left and walk up a slight hill until you reach a park, there will be a Starbucks on the right side of the road or look for the infamous condom shop on the right side of the road. Take the steps that you now see on your left up to the park and you should see a big Mr Smoothie sign on the other side of the park. The alley way just to the left of Mr Smoothie is where Gio Cat is. I think it is on the 3rd floor from memory.

Here is a map:

I only had enough battery power for a small video clip :(

But I think it deserves its own slide show so here it is:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624526135332/show

Entrance will cost 8,000 won per person but you get your first drink free. Its a lovely environment where you can sit at tables. benches or even on the floor and play with the cats and kittens. There are no less than 20 cats around the cafe and you will discover them up tree posts, on ceiling grates, in cubby holes, shelves on the wall and just about anywhere. There are some little toys you can use to play with the cats but there are rules of conduct regarding picking up, waking up and annoying. However I did not see a rule about play fighting with the cats so I guess that's OK or I hope it was....

And the day is not over! On to Hong Ik University Subway Station to go on a mission to find apparently the only war gaming store in Korea "Orc Town".

Take exit 5, walk down past a main street then take the next street on the left. Follow that up past KMC... yes K.M.C. and you should then see an ORC and a sign saying Orc Town.

Of course a map is always handy and since I believe in not just telling of such finds but also letting you know where to go so you can enjoy then too... here is a map :)

Or you can simply just go to the site.

http://orctown.com/orc/map.html

Phew! So after such a long day it was time to retire and go home.

However next week is approaching already promising an exciting and unusual weekend filled with interesting characters, fun events and crazy collectables... I will keep you on the edge of your seats for now.

Here are the rest of the pictures I took and a couple of video's I took of Dongdaemun. Enjoy :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624401613889/show