The Gang Becomes Encased in Cocoon, Lose Steve: Part II

Last weekend Malia and I were lucky enough to host RJ and Steve. Now it is complete: the trio of cities have been visited by all, and all is well. We had such a fantastic day/night/morning on Saturday that some of it must be recounted. 

     It seemed a bit unlikely that we would do anything at all besides laze the day completely away. After some delicious lunch Saturday in Gongju, we all quickly fall into a food coma, and just barely make it back to my place to "nap". 2 hours later, at roughly 5:30, we try and shake off the grogginess with a variation of coffee and chit chat, and eventually come to the conclusion that this cannot be how we spend the rest of the night. No way. We muster up the energy, and get on a bus to the Chungnam provincial capital called Daejeon, 대전, which only takes about 35 minutes. I was told by a few Koreans that if we were looking for good restaurants and nightlife, check out Time World Galleria in the Dunsan-dong area. We make it there pretty easily, and right away we're astounded by the size of this area. I remember commenting after dinner that it was so bright from the neon one could safely assume it was just midday. All 4 of us were starving, and finally just settled on a restaurant that looked popular and decent from what pictures it had on the door. We order the usual samgyeopsal and soju, only to find out it was anything but "usual". This was easily the best samgyeopsal any of us has ever had, hands down, without a doubt, no hesitation. Part of me truly regrets not having a camera handy. The meat wasn't the standard bacon-esque strips cut into squares, rectangles, or other geometric shapes, but thick-yet-tender strips about thumb-width and -length, seasoned to perfection. It looked pretty just sitting on the platter uncooked. We had the standard garlic slices to cook, as well as the thinly stripped green onion (green onion here is far bigger in size and popularity than those found in the US by the way), red pepper sauce, lettuce leaves, et al. Everything about the place was pleasing. We left the restaurant completely satisfied; even our wallets were happy.
     We made our way to a 7-Eleven to get some playing cards, and found a bar to keep us company until we could go to a nightclub. Most bars in Korea require ordering food along with drinks, so we gorged some more "since we had to".
     Leaving the bar, we ran into some Korean girls, who were nice enough to show us around a little bit and eventually led us right to the "happening" club, named Cocoon 코쿤 (a fit name, as you fall into a music coma for the duration of the visit). I think it was around 1 when we made it into the club (thanks for getting separated and lost again, Steve). There was a 15000 won cover that all 4 of us ultimately came to terms with. At first it was sad to see those bills go; we had become somewhat close, and it's never fun when your wallet has an eating disorder and is constantly becoming thinner. However, getting downstairs to the club more than made up for my wallet's weight problem; a multi-level epilepsy-inducing-laser-and-fog-palace filled with 99% Koreans methodically bouncing and moving to the beat, the womp-womp bass that lingers in the ear drums far too long. Korean dancing is so enjoyable here. We always end up with a big group of Koreans, and at times form a large circle, where everyone is rotated to the center to perform their almost-ritualistic interpretation of the womp-womp bass. It's a ton of fun, almost everyone is friendly and up for seeing Americans dance the wee-hours-of-the-morning away. Highlight of the night: Steve and I getting pulled on-stage to dance in front of the masses. We stumble out of there, eardrums bleeding, and around 5 decide it's time to flag a cab in hopes to get home, as it's too early for the buses to start up again. Luckily, try number one lands us with a guy willing to drive us the 25-30 minutes, no problem. Go us.