Shopping !!!

Huh? Shopping? Yeah, I just got back from shopping. As most people know about Seoul, Korea or just Asian countries in general : THIS IS PARADISE !! for fashion freaks :)). I must admit, I am not good at shopping, sometimes I find it a waste of time to shop, especially if you don't really know what you are looking for. But being in Seoul, fashion town where you can really find everything, EVERYTHING, as long as you have the patience to shop, I found myself a bit obligated to do so. So I have worked out a tactic : I do some research first about the things I like in clothing and fashion and then I go out for shopping, with certain style of clothes in my head.
I have been asking around to people where is the best place to shop in Seoul, but actually it's a ridiculous question, because you can practically shop about everywhere in Seoul downtown and vicinity.... The places to be, are Dongdaemun, Myeongdong, Apgujeong and also Namdaemun and Itaewon. But actually, like I said, you can shop about everywhere. The city is crammed with department stores and malls and markets.

So I went out to Dongdaemun today, it's already my fourth time to that region, to shop. With some specific items in my head after doing more than 2 hours of research on the internet, I was brave enough to hurdle myself into the crowd of 80% shopaholic women. I went to a small 'mall' where a lot of middle aged women where shopping around and being there was quite agreeable, considering my age, hahahahaha ;p. Had a nice strolling around without having to bump into too many people and shopkeepers kept quietly observing you passing by without being to persistent to have you buy something or to take a look. But then I went to Migliore Mall where I tried to find something nice, but my head started spinning because of too many people, to many alleys where I got lost and too many things. So, there goes my tactic. I just can't shop. Don't really have the patience for it. Especially when it's for myself. I really need someone close who can assist me and give me some advice, like my husband. But even then, it's hard to shop. So being in that mall didn't last more than one hour, so I decided to leave Dongdaemun and head for somewhere else.

Climax of that trip : I bought a really yummy hot steamed green tea bun filled with sweet red bean paste, somewhere on the street. Eating that bun felt like heaven :)). Too bad my camera was out of batteries, the bun was really good.

Next destination : Gwanghamun, location of Korea's largest bookstore Kyobo. I kind of got a real adrenaline kick at the sight of so many books, the feeling of so many written knowledge in the atmosphere. I directly asked the directions for English books on Korea and Korean languages. For more than one hour I have been looking at so many course books not really knowing what to buy. I helped out some guys from India who were looking for a good book to start with and recommended the course book I used in the USA. As for myself, I bought 4 volumes of course books of Sogang University, so that I have some other references for learning the Korean language.

So, my urge for shopping was over and completely satisfied with new knowledge to explore, I went back home. I just found out, I am not really made for shopping clothes, but clothes are necessary sometimes, you can't walk around in lumps. But books, books are forEVER and make me happy all the time :)))