So we went into Seoul again for some shopping as we have heard that winter can get pretty cold. Apparently we need some waterproof boots because noone puts salt down on the walkways and things get slippery pretty quickly...so its either risk walking on ice or get some waterproof boots and walk in a foot of snow.

Anyway, we ended up going to Nomdimoon shopping center this time. This place is super crowded and is loaded with vendors on both sides of the alleys as well as the center. Watch your step as bikers like driving through the crowds and have no fear of letting you know they are right behind you by reving their engins. We found some pretty good deals on cold weather clothing. Best boots we found for military grade gortex boots for 60,000 won or roughly $60. Ended up buying some warm longjohns and heavy socks for the winter. Still waiting to see how bad winter really is before I buy any boots.

Next we found ourselves walking into the Bank of Korea Museum. Free Admission, kind of a cool spot if the information was in English. But it seems like this building use to hold the treasures of Korea. Today it still houses very valuable artifacts. Their website seems cooler than the actual musuem though...maybe because I dont understand Korean yet.

Next, we decided to try to take the cable cars up to Seoul Tower. When we found that its about an hour an half wait we decided to walk up instead. This ended up being a beautiful walk up the mountain, which surprisingly all ages of people take. From grandparents to toddlers everyone made their way up the mountain at their own pace. Along the way you will see an ancient wall built to protects against enemies and awesome views of the city. At the top of the mountain there are many street vendors a few places to eat and a ticketing booth for those who actually want to go up inside the tower. There are also thousands and thousands of love locks arranged in tree formations as well as all along the sides of the fences. After seeing the sites and grabbing a bite to eat at the burger joint that proclaims it has "the best burger in Seoul" (It was pretty good) we decided to make our way down.

Once down the mountain and after finally finding a subway station we decided to head to itaweon, the foreign district. This place is crazy! Everyone speaks English and you can catch military members, tourists, hookers and aggresive vendors all in the same spot. There are also a great number of restaraunts, clubs, bars, lounges, etc... Another place that was really cool was the foreign market. If your aching for a taste of home, just make ur way here and your likely to find some good ole American products, among other things. After grabbing some chicken kebab from Pasha restaraunt (this are also has many Arabs) we decided to take a break at the local family mart. After talking a bit to a New Yorker who decided to open up his own business in Korea we found out that Itaewon is growing pretty quickly which is great for business but apparently also bringing in the Korean gangs. After explaining how business works out there with the gangs it reminded me of the Mafia in Chicago...guess its the same no matter what country your in. After that finally headed home and knocked out!

Check out the pics and videos of Seoul Tower.