In the middle of the night I got up to use the bathroom. Then it made sense that the toilet bowl was lit. Very convenient. Chris' alarm went off at 6. He got up a little later, showered and dressed. I told him we needed a top sheet because the comforter was too much but I needed something over me. He went to breakfast in the executive lounge. When he got back, he threw a robe over me and that was just right. He left for the base. I stayed in bed until my alarm went off at 7:30. I opened the drapes to discover that daylight was in full force. I drank bottles of water while reading e-mail. I did my exercises. I washed up. I read the list of guest services. They have a sauna and offer in-room massage bya visually impaired masseuse. They also have shuttle buses to markets like Dongdaemun. Chris called to tell me how he found the subway station. I called Gerrie to see what she wanted to do today and agreed to meet her at the base after breakfast. I had brought my breakfast and coconut milk, but did not have a spoon. So I had to go to the executive lounge to eat. I felt too self-conscious to take my coconut milk jar, so I drank some before I left. I had to swipe my card at the entrance to the lounge. Then a lady found me a seat. I asked her for a bowl. They had small ones, but not large enough for my breakfast. She had to send down to the first floor for one. I got some fruit from the buffet. Then she brought me a glass of water and later a bowl. I emptied my powdered meal into the bowl and added water. She brought me a spoon without my asking. I sat there, feeling self-conscious, but at least I had my nicest outfit on. When I finished, I looked out the window on the other side to see the path Chris had talked about. Then I went to the room to clean my teeth and dress for a rainy day. I listened to more of an audio that I had started earlier. I put on my backpack, and carried a coat and tote. I went to the front desk and asked about taking the shuttle bus to Itaewon, but they said it only goes to the Dongdaemun area. So I asked them to call me an AFEES taxi. They dialed the number and I did the talking. I was given a plate number to look for. I went outside to wait. When it came, I got in and asked to go to the theatre on post. The man was in a mood to talk so we had some conversation. At one point, we drove through a deep narrow tunnel only big enough for one car. It made me a little claustrophobic. Then we went around and through the commissary gate. I showed him my quilt top and paid him. The fare was 7100 and I gave him a 10,000. Gerrie was waiting at the thrift shop next door. There was another lady there who recognized me. We chatted and I walked around, looking at all the stuff for sale. With people moving away from the base, the drop-offs had increased and the clientele had decreased. I picked out a bunch of $1 t-shirts, and looked through the formal dresses for something that would look good at the Navy ball, but nothing struck me. I got a spoon for breakfast tomorrow. When I went to check out, Gerrie paid for my items with her extra thrifty bucks. That was very nice of her. I rolled the t-shirts up tightly and stored them in my backpack. I went to the ATM to get more cash. We went to MWR and I dropped off the quilt top for Ruth Ann. They showed me the pile of tops waiting for her to quilt. I had not realized that she was the only one who was allowed to operate the machine. Then we caught a bus to the hospital gate. As we walked off base, Gerrie pointed out all the new buildings. We entered the subway and took the one headed to Dongdaemun. We got to talking and missed our stop so we had to come back one. I looked for ironing board fabric on the first floor of building B, but it was not as I had remembered it. Then we went upstairs to see the Happy Quilt man. He was not there, but his wife was and she recognized me with a big smile. Gerrie sat while I picked among the rolls of fabric. I did not see anything for the back of the fish quilt. I tried to explain ironing board fabric but it did not translate. Her assistant got out his translate app. Then she said no. I asked about exchanging money and she sent her assistant to show us where the back was. When it was in sight, I thanked him and he left. We entered the bank and I was given a number. At my turn, I handed the lady my dollars and she changed it to won, at a better interest rate than the ATM or the hotel. We wandered back through the market but did not see what I wanted. Gerrie wanted to go to Daiso, which had been on base but closed. We walked quite a ways, and saw lots of plants and plant pots that I would have loved to buy but space was at a premium. But no Daiso. We crossed the stream and walked back the other way. I stopped at a bathing suit stand for $10. I picked one out to wear in the sauna. Then we walked by booths full of scarves, hats, belts, and ties. At the end of the street we turned right, towards Doota. I wasn't done shopping but she must have thought we were. She made sure I was at the bus stop for the Shilla bus and then she took the subway. I waited for 40 minutes, watching all kinds of tour buses stop to divulge or pick up passengers. Then it came and I rode it back to the hotel, which had all kinds of tour buses in front of it. Could I have taken another bus? I got to our room at 5. I saw Chris had called so I called him back. He said he'd be back by 6:30 and then we'd go to the executive lounge to eat. I was hungry but I read e-mail to take my mind off. I did some tapping, too. I tried on the bathing suit but it was almost impossible to get into because of how high the back was cut. It was after 6:30 when he got here. I put on my shoes and we went to eat. We sat by the window with a nice view. Chris introduced me to two ladies sitting at the next table. Then we ate from the buffet. When Chris went back for a second plate, the hostess took away his first plate and silverware and napkin to reset his place setting. She did the same when I went back for seconds. When we were finished, we went down to the first floor to ask when the bus left for Dongdaemun in the morning. Then Chris showed me how to walk to the nearest subway station. When we got back, we went to the room and I showed him my bathing suit and told him I intended to return it. My laptop was low on charge because the electricity cut off when I left the room earlier. As it charged, I called Myra. We had a nice chat and when I asked if she wanted anything from the market, she just asked for some gray fabric for a quilt. Then I went back to reading e-mail. I wrote up my blog a little early because Chris wanted to go to bed.
* Korean ties in the market *
No comments:
Post a Comment