[Part 1] 8. Nampodong & hair day!

The Korean placement test that I took today was held from 9-11am. It was like a shortened version of TOPIK and with an additional component of a speaking test which was quite simple. The test was easier than expected in the sense that I could complete the paper as compared to my past experiences when I never ever managed to complete any.

After the test, I went to Nampodong, together with my roommate and Azeem, to meet Fadul and his friend, Chris, who made a day trip to Busan from Seoul. Nampodong is like the Myeongdong of Busan and the last time I went there was 3 years ago- at night and only to one part of it. I expect this to be a place that I’ll frequent during my time here in Busan :)

Lunch was at 서울순두부 where service was very good and the food was delicious too. Thanks Fadul and Chris for the treat!

After lunch, Fadul and Chris left to explore more of Busan before their KTX ride back to Seoul later in the evening. The 3 of us went shopping, or rather, I bought stuff…but only a pretty hairband! Azeem had to leave around 3pm to head back to school to meet Mr Yun while Shu Hua and I made an impromptu decision to do our hair :)

Actually, I wanted to do my hair when I’m in Seoul this weekend. But after calling Hair Casting to check their opening hours on Saturday and discovering that the number no longer exists, I was quite worried as to whether I would be able to find a hair salon and get my hair done in time to meet my friends. Rather than spend a few hours in a hair salon in Edae, I figured it was more worthwhile to meet more friends while I’m in Seoul.
We didn’t know which hair salon to go to so we just walked along the street and I randomly picked “Bin Hair” which turned out to be a good choice.

For my hair perm, I could choose between the 40,000원 and 50,000원 types of perm; prices vary because of the different quality of products used. As for my hair colouring, I was asked to choose between the 50,000원 and 60,000원 ones. I chose the 50,000원 perm and 50,000원 hair colouring and was given a 5,000원 discount so my total bill amounted to 95,000원.
I really love Bin Hair and I’m glad I decided to do my hair in Busan instead of Seoul. Who knows, I might be contemplating coming back down to Busan next time to do my hair hahaha. The place is so pretty because of the layout. There are private suites and service is better than the hair salons that i visited in Edae because the staff are more attentive. When I first peeped at the salon through the door, I thought that I had got the wrong place because all I saw were seats and I thought it was a cafe instead. I had a great time talking to my hair stylist and assistants too.
Surprisingly, the perm and colouring only took 3 hours- shorter than expected!

We went to Pasta Mama for dinner but the portion serving wasn’t sufficient and I found myself hungry after a few hours :(

Pretty menu book

The eatery

Aglio Olio + cider for 7,500원

After dinner, we walked around Nampodong and found a Daiso store. I couldn’t find the Artbox I went to previously. Oh wells, I’ll get my Artbox fix when I’m in Seoul.

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