An Epic Avalonian Adventure: COEX, Catfish, Casino, and Cuisine (T.G.I.Fridays)

So, last weekend, Katrina, Spenser, and I went to COEX, mainly for the aquarium. It was something to do inside! It has been awfully cold lately and Seoul, as is the case with most cities, is an outdoor city, unless of course you want to go shopping. There are few things to do indoors and this was one of them. If you are looking for something to do inside COEX is definitely the place to go.

A thorough summary of the COEX Aquarium - It was similar to every other aquarium I have ever been to with the addition of some rabbits, squirrels, scorpions, bats, and the main feature, a two-headed turtle.

After the Aquarium we walked around for a while, checking out the stores. It was a good 10-15 minute walk from the subway station to the aquarium and along the way we passed several restaurants - T.G.I.Fridays, Bennigans, Sbarro's Pizza, Burger King, and a few steak houses. I guess COEX is the place to go for tourists so they make sure they have something to eat.

I have been craving a burger, a good burger since I have been in Korea. I have tried McDonald's, Burger King, Kraze Burger, and a few other places, without much luck. Needless to say, they suffice in a burger craving. So, we headed to T.G.I.Fridays in the hopes of finding a good burger. Mission Accomplished! It cost roughly $12, a bit high for a burger, but was well worth it. It was a nice, thick, juicy burger with bacon and cheese on top. For those of you who know me, I was even able to get some extra mayonnaise - an added bonus. After dinner we were all stuffed. The food was a bit pricey for Korean standards but all of us had more than enough to eat.

We headed back to the mall area in search of UNIQLO, my favorite clothing store. A few times we saw signs for Seven Luck Casino and both Spenser and I said something about going in to check it out. Well, we saw another sign and headed in. From my understanding, gambling is illegal for Koreans so it was a foreign only casino. In about 20 minutes both Spenser and I lost 40,000 won each (about $35). I'm not headed back any time soon to try and win my money back.

We found UNIQLO and Spenser and I both picked out something we would have bought had we not lost the money so we didn't feel too bad. We came back and Spenser told us about his Korean mom. The night before he had gone to a restaurant close to our apartment, had a little bit to drink, and got to talking with the owner and her children. So, we headed back again Saturday night after COEX. We had a great time, to say the least.

(They had a Wii Station set up to promote the system in COEX so Spenser played for a bit)

(COEX Aquarium - entrance. If you go, walk down a bit farther, there are lockers to put your jacket in. Also, there are fish in both the pillars and the area above.)

(Katrina and I as soon as you enter)

(Tiger Fish - maybe?)

(There was a neat area with, I guess you could call it Art Deco with Fish Tanks. It was interesting. Spenser is buying a coke from a machine with fish in it.)

(House that's leaking and phone booth is the background)

(What's that in the washer?? It's fish!)

(Lamp post with fish)

(Piranha)

(The famous two-headed turtle!! Does it have two brains?)

(This is where things started to get fun. We went into the kid section, kind of cool, had some sweet frogs and snails. Katrina went to take a picture and this little kid just walked up and looked at her. Then, the grandma came over to grab the kid - you can see her arm.)

(After Katrina is done this grandmother just hands Katrina her camera and yells at the little boy to get in the suit for a picture. Katrina couldn't figure it out so she handed it to Spenser. Spenser took about 5 minutes trying to figure it out but eventually got a picture. This is Spenser on the left, grandmother on the right, and the same kid in Katrina's picture in the suit.)