Sunday and Monday passed pretty much the same as others days: up early, drinking coffee and studying Korean, lunch and siesta, and a few hours in a cafe in the afternoon. The key difference is there was a window of relatively clean air allowing me to train two consecutive days.
I like the running circuit I can do here in Daegu, with two minor exceptions. Firstly, to get to the river, I have to go through quite a few traffic lights, so that first kilometer is really stop and go. Secondly, the entire circuit is quite long–12 km (an entire 1.5 km more than my last run in Seoul)–and any variations to improve the scenery would make it even longer.
Having a fridge full of green leaves, I stuck to salad on Sunday night after my run, so obviously I was pretty hungry when I woke up Monday morning. As the air was still clean, I had a notion of spending the day out and about in town, starting with a leisurely breakfast out. I packed up a salad for a potential lunch picnic and went to the nearest McDonald’s around 9am. It was a two-story joint with a drive-thru — very fancy. I didn’t necessarily want to go for the super deluxe breakfast, so I took a few minutes to weigh over the menu before noticing that there was no cash register. There were only two self-service terminals and I had the sudden realization that I couldn’t pay cash. It’s funny, I remember “China Watcher Twitter” mercilessly laying into a piece about China’s transition to cashless and non-acceptance of foreign credit cards from a couple weeks ago. The headline thing was not being able to buy McDonald’s with whatever fancy credit card the reporter had. While McDonald’s in China have those same self-service terminals, they also always have staff working the counter. Yet, here I am in Korea experiencing a moment of shut out because I don’t have a Korean bank card. Koreans, generally speaking, use plastic for everything, including minor purchases. The clearance system must have really low fees or something otherwise those takeout coffee counters charging 1500 for a coffee wouldn’t survive.
Anyways, digression aside, I had a backup option, namely a “Coffee and Bagel (100% Original)” place I had passed on my run. I literally cannot even remember the last bagel I had, and I was salivating at the Instagramability of the breakfast. It was open, but there wasn’t a single bagel. wtf. I went back to the apartment, made myself a cup of coffee and cooked that last package of ramen. It was 10am.
For my second run, I knew it was going to be quite warm outside, so I dug out my exercise shorts (as opposed to the old sweats I’ve been wearing all the time). I also grabbed a pair of 0.5 kilogram dumbbells that were sitting around the apartment. Though baffled by the idea of such light weights (what practical function could they possibly serve), I figured they’d give the run a little extra oomph. I headed west along a major avenue, followed the path along the river south for several kilometers to the edge of town, cut up at the bridge which lead to Suseong Lake, did an entire lap around the lake, and followed an avenue straight back up to the apartment. I forgot to turn off my tracker until I stumbled into the apartment and the gps had some malfunction on the first kilometer, but that lap added about 2km to the total distance. I’m insane.
Before leaving the lake, I noticed a man with a large camera taking pictures. It took a few beats for me to realize he was standing under a tree in full bloom. Spring is starting.
I took a hot shower, put on a pair of sandals and went out to get some real food. I guess I’m doing it right by not eating Korean food everyday (I don’t count noodles or dumplings) because every time I sit down to a simple Korean meal, I am just overwhelmed by joy and gratitude.
I swung by a Dunkin Donuts to get a couple donuts for the next morning. They had cleaned out the display case and had just the last few sitting on a tray by the cash register. Note to self: learn how to incredulously say ” how are these not discounted?” in Korean. And to make sure I didn’t eat the donuts that night, I grabbed a box of choco pies (which were discounted) at the mart at the bottom of my building.
| Starbucks drip coffee | 4800 |
| Americano | 4000 |
| Kimchi Stew | 5000 |
| Dunkin Donuts | 2600 |
| Choco Pie (12 pk, Lotte brand) | 2500 |
| Total: | 18900 W (114 RMB) (USD 17) |
Running Total: 8317 RMB (USD 1241)
Daily Average: 231 RMB (USD 34.47)