You get what you pay for

So, first off let me just say that it has been really muggy both days we've been here so far. Today while traveling into Seoul and walking around for a bit we got quite hot and so decided to check into our room for the night in order to rest and cool off. The place we had booked was a cheap airbnb room with private bathroom near Myeongdong. We get in and check it out; it's small and a bit musty smelling but that's ok, at least it has a/c. It reminds me of the first place in Hong Kong that my brother and I stayed at because the bathroom is like an "all-in-one" deal (see first picture). You could probably use the toilet, shower, and sink at the same time. Except that the sink and the shower come from the same spout, with just a little knob to select which one (see second picture).

I start to wash my shirt in the sink because I had basically sweated all through the back plus the area in the front where my backpack straps touched my shoulders. I then noticed that there was water touching my feet and wondered where it came from. Upon further inspection I realized that not only does the sink also power the shower but in fact shares the same drain on the floor with the shower (see third picture)! The sink water all just flows out into the floor and down the drain for the shower! How weird is that?!?! And kind of gross because say you were brushing your teeth and spit out the toothpaste. That toothpaste-y water is then going to touch your feet as it goes down the shower drain. I guess you might as well just brush your teeth while you shower!

But maybe I am being a bit harsh on this guesthouse in particular, perhaps it's that the building was built this way a long time ago and it would cost too much to add a new drain for the sink. I offer this new theory because while we were eating dinner at a restaurant in a nearby neighborhood that seemed to also be in an old building I noticed that the sink in that bathroom ALSO just drained it's water onto the floor and going out a drain in the floor, narrowly missing where your feet would be. So maybe that's a thing.

Alas, guess the "you get what you pay for" cliche is appropriate here. I think we will book some real hotels for when we stay in Seoul again. Tomorrow night we will be returning to the Gimpo area since we will be spending chuseok (kind of like Korean Thanksgiving; takes place the beginning of next week for a few days) with her family.