Putting in the hours

I woke up still a bit tired from the long day before, waking up early and going to bed late isn't the best combination. But after some more soozing it was time to get to work. I wrote up my weekly blog post, did some more planning, and started my shift at the office. After a morning of review work and refactoring, it was finally lunchtime. I found a place nearby that makes fresh kimbaps, so I headed there. The food was pretty good, and getting a break like that helped me refocus for my send shift.

Getting ready for Halloween

After my second shift, I was so tired that I had to take a nap. It was a necessary one, because tonight was Halloween. I’d signed up for a Halloween party for digital nomads I found online. My plan was to party a little but still be in bed at a reasonable time—I had plans for the next day. The invitation said the party started at 21:00, so I aimed to arrive around then. I put on the sailor costume I’d packed, grabbed a quick bite, and headed to Itaewon for some dancing!

Lit Lounge

The closer I got to my destination, the more people in costumes I saw. There were Chinese vampires, sexy vampires, K-pop vampires—honestly, most people were vampires now that I think about it. When I arrived in Itaewon, the streets were already packed. There was also a heavy police presence; they clearly didn’t want a repeat of what happened three years ago. All those officers made me feel both safe and uneasy at the same time.

I eventually found the Lit Lounge, where the party was supposed to be. The bar was tucked away in the opposite direction of the main crowds. The vibe inside felt a bit amatureish, I paid for a beer at the counter, but then had to grab it myself from a fridge next to it. The place was already pretty full, everyone dressed up—but no one was dancing. Most people were sitting on their phones while loud music blasted in the background. I tried talking to a few people, but the music was so loud I could barely hear them.

After about ten minutes, and with half a beer still left in my hand, I decided to leave. Katherine had told me she’d be in the area that night for some people watching, so I messaged her and we ended up continuing the night together.

Itaewon Halloween

Together we wandered through the small streets, past all the clubs, soaking in the atmosphere and checking out the costumes. Eventually, we spotted a place called 'Danco' where people were actually dancing—moderately, at least—so we gave it a shot. We had one drink, got in a few dances, but the music was just too loud to stay much longer. We did some more walking afterward and even played a few games at an arcade.

After the arcade, we grabbed some pizza. A guy offered to pay for our meal if we agreed to do an interview for his YouTube channel, and I accepted. Luckily, the interview was pretty tame—he mostly asked about my stay in Seoul, the culture, and the food. I have no idea what his channel is called or if the video will ever be posted, but hey, the pizza was good!

The long walk home

Around midnight, we were both done and decided to head back to the hotel. The nearby metro had stopped running, so we walked to the nearest bus stop that could take us home. When we got there, the bus stop was packed, and when the bus finally arrived, there wasn’t enough space for us to get on. Katherine decided to be spontaneous and, instead of waiting for the next bus (which would arrive in ten minutes), she hopped on a random one that had also stopped.

Once we were on board, we realized it was going in the complete opposite direction. With most public transit in night mode, getting back to our hotel suddenly became a lot trickier. We decided to ride the bus all the way to the last stop—the central bus station—and figure it out from there.

When we got off, it turned out our options were more limited than we’d hoped. The Cheonggyecheon Stream was nearby, so we decided to just walk along it all the way back. We talked and laughed the whole time, which made the long walk feel like a short stroll. By the time I finally got into bed at 2:30 a.m., I got a notification on my phone saying I’d already hit my step goal for the day. Score!

The night didn’t go at all how I expected—too many vampires, not enough dancing—but it still ended up being one of my favorite Halloween nights ever.