Meat and mayhem

When I woke up, my shin was sore, my hand was bruised, and I had a bump on my head.

It took me a minute to piece together what happened.

It started with a dinner at "Dino Buffet".

The place was an all-you-can-eat meat buffet. At this restaurant, you pay a flat rate for all the meat of various types you can stomach. There's a display case like at a butcher shop, but here you help yourself and pile the flesh onto a grill, where you cook it yourself. Places like these are pretty common here.

As always, the meal is eaten with a fair to large amount of soju and weak beer. I have to say I was impressed by glancing at another table and seeing something like 14 bottles of soju, about one per person (not an uncommon sight here).

After chowing down all the meat we could stand, we made our way to the batting cages in the neighborhood, where S.O. was quick to challenge a group of Koreans to the kick-the-big-padded-thing-outside game. Those of you who don't know how to play, it's just what it sounds like. You stick 500 won or whatever it is into a machine, and kick a giant padded thing. That was how my shin got sore. Luckily, I escaped injury.

The quickest way to make friends with any Korean, in my experience, it to challenge a group of them to game. Koreans are very competitive, it seems, and many are quick to take you up on your offer.

Next was the punch-the-big-padded-thing-outside-game. It involves...well, you know.

Don't worry, I didn't break anything.

But since we lost against the Koreans we offered to buy them beer and wandered into the nearest bar.

The drinking culture here includes refilling an empty glass for someone without asking. Which basically means you end up drinking a lot more than you planned.

These guys were actually a bunch of businessmen who worked for Lotte, "number one chewing gum!" as they were quick to point out.

All things considered, it was a good night, and I woke up at the usual time despite getting home pretty late.

As for the bump on my head, I have no idea....