A Hop & A Skip

    Feeling fully recovered from my disaster trip to Seoul, and determined not to let it get the best of my desire to explore, I set out this evening to a neighborhood that's about a 10 minute bus ride from mine. A neighboring neighborhood, if you will. *Bah-dum chhhh!* Anyway, I have heard of this store, Home Plus, from several different sources and it was rumored to be the Korean equivalent of WalMart - A place where I would be able to find anything that I might need or want when it comes to random household necessities. So being that I did laundry for the first time last night and that I am without a dryer or a clothesline, I decided I needed a rack on which to hang my laundry. Which just so happens to make for a perfect excuse to seek out Home Plus, don't you think? Yes. I'm glad you agree.

    Now, wanting to be sure and avoid any kind of mishap even slightly resembling my Seoul experience, I began researching my outing this afternoon at school after lunch (Wednesday is a half day for the kids so we don't have any afternoon classes). I searched my neighborhood on the internet, found where I live, and then searched for the closest Home Plus. It is located in a neighborhood called Ingyedong, just a little ways up the road. So, thanks to my trusty travel partner, Google Maps, I plotted out the bus route and jotted it all down so I wouldn't forget. When I got home this evening, I retraced my search to be sure I had done it correctly and once I was sure I knew where I was going, I headed out! I have to say, when you get to do things your way and you don't have to rely on random other people, life as an expat is so much more enjoyable! 

    I was waiting for the bus, groovin' along with my ipod, and being stared at shamelessly by all the natives per usual (Oh, I may have forgotten to mention this before: Because there are less than no foreigners in Suwon, the locals like to gawk at you and they have no problem with you knowing about it). I think tonight, however, I may have attracted a little more attention than average because I was in a really good mood and listening to really good music, so I may or may not have been dancing a little (Now, for those of you who know me on a daily basis, this is probably not surprising to you as you know that I tend to have spurts of random dancing on any normal day). But once my bus finally arrived and I hopped on, my moves only got better. This is because I am fairly certain that all the bus drivers here are playing into some kind of underground betting pool to see who can get the largest number of people to eat it every time they stop or start the bus. I now know what the pebbles inside a rain stick feel like.....

    As we drove along, I watched out the window as new parts of Suwon passed by me. There is so much to this city - I could spend days just exploring it! Then, finally I saw what looked like a shopping center so I figured this must be my stop. Sure enough, I got off the bus and there in front of me was, by far, the largest home department store I have ever seen!

Home Plus: This place is not for wimps!

I'm telling you, Super WalMart's got nothin' on this place! Sam Walton needs to get his booty down to Korea and see what's up cuz his stuff is weak in comparison! This place has 6 floors, each containing a completely different genre of retail shopping. Now, I have been getting a lot of feedback from people about how they really enjoy the pictures in my blog, so I want you all to know that I officially geeked out tonight, I mean really dorked it up, simply for all ya'll's sake. I took pictures inside the Home Plus and caused myself to look exactly like the Oegug-in (foreigner in Korean) that I am! So I hope you're happy!  ; )  

    Ah-hem! Now, let the slide show begin. The following are pictures of each floor of the store. I have referenced each with the name of a store from home so that you can get a better idea of what you are seeing.

Level 2: Street Level: "Kohl's Level"

Level 3: "Vons Level"

Level 4: "WalMart Level"
That's right. WalMart Level. The entire WalMart store could fit on this level alone.

Level 5: "Barnes & Noble Level"

Level 6: Parking Garage Level
There is also one of these on Level 1 in the basement which is why I started the pictures at Level 2.

My favorite was the "Vons Level" because everything they're selling has a "free gift with purchase" taped to the front of it. Seriously. Taped. Like with packaging tape. It must be some kind of Korean thing that I'm not familiar with, but either way, I'm down with it cuz free-gift-with-purchase deals are so my bag, baby! Check out the pictures in Oodles. 

    Now, needless to say, Home Plus left nothing to be desired............. or so I thought, until I walked outside and looked across the street. And there it was:

The Galleria!
(Also known as.... Mecca!)

Hello friends! Where have you been all my life???

These Koreans, they know how it's done!

I felt like I was staring up at Sodom and Gomorrah - so beautiful, yet soooooo dangerous! So I took a quick and frugal lap through the ground floor (past Kors, Coach, Louboutin, and more) and then went back outside before temptation overcame me. Outside was really beautiful, though. I can't say that it was hard to enjoy myself once I was back on the street. The soft neon glow of hundreds of shop lights, the hum of the busy streets, and the bustle of people on their way about town is really fun to take in. 

Plus there is a great looking park and an art center in the middle of all of this that I will definitely have to check out some time during the day. 

So I'm pretty sure I already know what I'll be doing this weekend!  : )