And I am blogging. Again. I did have a lunch in the neighborhood (the restaurant was tuned to a TV program, showing Parisian men in skirts and a New York modeling agency featuring "ugly" unique models), which inspired me to blog, about the town I am visiting.
I am in a township, the seat of the government of the local rural county which also includes lots of rice paddies and a few farming and fishing villages. However, the township has all the amenities of a small city, and probably has the population as well; much of the newer section of the town has tons of high-rise apartments and many modern buildings. In fact, the township is trying to legally get itself promoted to cityhood, which is possible in South Korea at a certain population threshold. A city is no longer part of a county, but is an equivalent of a county in itself, directly under the provincial level.
This township's boom was caused by the opening of the West Coast Expressway, Expressway 15, in recent years, linking it to Incheon and its huge port. With primitive local roads, and no rail service, this area once was a forgotten backwater; now, many manufacturing jobs are set to locate here, and a harbor is also set to open soon to serve those businesses (if not open already).
I am in the older part of the township, where streets and alleyways are quite narrow and difficult to navigate. Nevertheless, having a car still makes sense here, though it's possible to get by without a car, thanks to the county buses and a small fleet of taxicabs. My particular section has been taken over by nightclubs and bars, and can be a bit boring during the daytime. In fact, the motel I am staying in is what the Koreans call a "love hotel" - for good reasons.
The Confucian family traditions dictate that unmarried children, even as adults, continue to live with their parents. Even after marriage, the tradition also demanded that sons continue to live with, and support, their parents. This arrangement doesn't allow for much privacy. The solution: hang out at the bars and nightclubs, possibly go bar-hopping, before retiring to a "love hotel" to finish the night in passion. I also see a few sex toy stores nearby, to help out the process a bit more.
At the "love hotel" I am in, the check-in desk is tiny, and has even tinier windows, to minimize face-to-face contact, and to hopefully protect the privacy of the customers. Once I arrive at my floor, dim, colorful ambience lighting greets me, along with curved wall tiling. My room has double locking doors, and also has more dim, colorful ambience lighting, as well as standard lighting. A big-screen flat panel TV set and a PC with Internet access allow me to grab all the porn I want. The partition between the room and the bathroom is in partially frosted glass; although there is some privacy, I can still see the silhouette of my lover taking a bath or answering the call of nature. (Of course, the top portion of the glass is clear - so I can get closer and peek inside for a complete view.) Too bad I'm alone; otherwise, this is a really nice setting to get really turned on - and make some steamy love. The only thing I wish for (and is not present in my room) is a mirrored ceiling, so that I can look up - and watch myself make love.
I don't know when I'll return to Seoul, other than that I will go back sometime later today.
