This past weekend I headed up to Seoul to visit my K-friend Heeya. The city centre seemed modestly chaotic in the wake of North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile tests and the suicide of our former President. There were riot cops and military personal everywhere we looked guarding every important building in the city. In some isolated situations this tension had boiled over into a full out conflict with the police involving sharpened bamboo sticks, rocks and tear gas. The photo above is a prime example of these protective measures. The building way in the distance is the Blue House, the Presidential home. We had to walk to this point going through 2 separate checkpoints on the road and were constantly watched by the six special unit cops on the other side of the camera. Fortunately an equally clueless Chinese tourist was around and willing to snap a photo when the police would not reply to my perfectly phrased and eloquently recited request. After getting lost amongst some embassies we found our way to a quaint little part of town that used to be the homes of the Yangban. The Yangban were the upper aristocrat class and senior government officials of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). After touring around this historical district we found our way to a few art galleries before finally making it to Seoul Tower. The tower stands a mere 276 meters when compared to the CN Tower at 553 meters but is situated atop a mountain and requires a 5 minute cable car ride to the top. The view from the top was terrific despite the smog and I was able to see a good portion of the city on both sides of the River Han. It was also very peaceful atop the mountain despite the number of tourists around. I am still not used to seeing many tourists in Korea so it came as quite a shock to me when an Indian fellow asked me for directions. After descending the mountain we hoped on the subway and went to meet my friend Maxine. We had dinner in a really cool yet really sheik little place and enjoyed some drinks before heading to Doctor Fish. Doctor Fish is a sort of restaurant where you put you feet into a pond beneath the table and let little fish eat all the dead skin off your feet. Being my first time Heeya thought I would chicken out but I showed her who is boss and I went straight in to the pond with the bigger fish. It was an interesting experience to say the least. While at Doctor Fish the three of us made friends with a German diplomat and a French bank auditor. We ended up talking with these two for most of the night which was great because I was given the opportunity to practice both my French and German and learn a little more about their cultures. Stereotypically the German thought it was great that I was trying to practice my German while the French woman preferred to speak in English. As the night progressed she did begin to speak more in French to me and I think she enjoyed watching me stumble my way through conversation. Interestingly enough there were several incidents where I sought to reply to her in French but would instead answer in Korean. It seems as though I have a new second language haha! After a few hours we left Doctor Fish and headed to a nearby bar with the German diplomat and proceeded to have a great time with the crazy Deutschlander. The next day I played it lazy and stayed close to home with Heeya heading out to eat and see a movie before jumping back on the KTX in downtown Seoul amongst the chaos and rioters that surrounded the station. I got back to Busan safe and sound at around 10 pm, made some dinner and went to bed after an exciting and memorable weekend.