Kimchee N Rice Wine Will Eat You From The Inside
Trip Start
Dec 01, 1999
1
70
103
Trip End
Aug 31, 2000
Mokpo, Korea Rep.
Tuesday, March 21, 2000
This evening finds me something like three hundred kilometers from Seoul in the southwestern corner of the Korean peninsular. Around mid day today I left Seoul and a few hours later I found myself at the end of the train line in the beautiful port city of Mokpo. While nearing the end of my journey a Korean business man (it seems all men in South Korea will introduce themselves as business men) came to sit with me and we chatted about all things 'life in general'.
When we arrived he took me across the road to one of his friends little hotels where he got me a great price on a room and then invited me out for dinner with himself and a few of his friends.
I spent the next few hours walking around its port area and found it to have more of a fishing village feel that a city with around two hundred thousand or more people. It was a beautiful afternoon walking amongst drying sea-weed and fish along with happy smiles!
I head back to my hotel around sixish and luckily enough found it as Kevin and friends were there waiting for me. I was early as were they so I didn't have to feel guilty...whew!
We spent the next few hours eating an amazing amount of food that included many types of sea-food. I couldn't believe the about of side dishes each main dish came with and as usual I couldn't believe how hot some of them were.
Korean Kimchee has got to be some of the hottest food I have ever tasted!
Kimchee this and kimchee that.
Kimchee omelet.
Kimchee soup.
Thankfully once they found out I wasn't 'really, really, really' into hot and spicy food they ordered me what is known as Pibimbap. This little dish will become my savior here in Korea. Out are the Yukkaejangs, Kimchee's and whatever they can't seem to be able to cook 'without' spices, no matter how hard you beg.
I can even say it and be understood!
This is a rice and assorted vegetable dish and it comes several ways. Usually it comes in a stone pot with a raw egg having just been added prior to handing it to you. Then come the four or so side dishes, that of course include spicy kimchee, spicy sea-weed etc.
Bugger but delicious all the same!
Along with each dish seemed to come a different bottle of Korean Rice Wine. Most of them gutted me from the inside just like back in Seoul but one or two of them actually weren't too bad. I tried my best to cheers with rice wine only when someone noticed I was drinking beer!
I got away with it most of the time but I also have a feeling they were being easy on me.
Beers N Cheers toya.....shane
Accommodation:
No idea of the name.
A little Hotel across from the station.
Two doors down from the florist
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The soundtrack to this entry were the huge nineties jumpers 'Green Day'
The album I was jumping around to was 'Warning'
