A day at the pool. :)

Yesterday I got up early to meet a few of my friends from work. We went to the Tower Hotel swimming pool. We went early in order to get a good place to sit, and to avoid lines. We were there by around 9am. The Tower Hotel is down the 'mountain' a bit from Seoul/Namsan Tower.
The pool is basically just a big outside swimming pool with no deep end. I think it is all the same depth, about neck deep for me. There is a kiddy pool to one side. Entry was 28000 won.

It seems a bit strange to me, the way they do things here in Korea. First of all, to get into any swimming pool, you have to wear a swimming cap. It is supposed to help keep the filters clean. I went to Lotte Mart the night before to get one. I guess it isn't so bad. I only had to spend around $3. They give me a headache, though. I don't like things that are tight around my head. I never could wear headbands. The other thing I found strange was that every 30 minutes/hour, the lifeguards blew their whistles 3 times and everyone had to get out of the pool. Then after 5/10 minutes, everyone could get back in. What is the point of that? Then at just after 1:00, everyone had to get out and couldn't get back in for over 30 minutes or so. The lifeguard's lunch break?

The set up of the pool is a bit strange. The changerooms are up above, as are the bathrooms. Up there, you wear your shoes, but you have to take them off on the pool level. The showers are on the pool level, but there are no changerooms attached to them... just a room with cold showers around the walls. Some women were in there showering and then changing near the doors, getting everything that people have set down to keep dry, wet in the process. With such a small crowded room, it just creates a big confusion.

We had a great spot on under the water slide, next to the pool. Because we were there early, we managed to borrow a mat from the lifeguards to sit on... thanks SeoYeon (Giraffe class teacher/piano teacher) for asking them. Yes everyone loves you. :P We also rented 2 beach chairs until 1pm, as they were quite expensive to rent. It was a great day for the pool. Sunny and hot. Kelly (Korean English teacher) spent the entire morning sleeping in the sun, working on her tan. She loves her tanning oil. Hepburn (Hippo class teacher) spent the entire morning sleeping in the shade. She said she doesn't like the sun, or something like that. Hepburn doesn't speak much English. She is so cute, though.

Hepburn, Me, SeoYeon.Kelly and I.

We went on the slide a couple of times. It is just a simple waterslide, with 6 lanes. You have to pay to go on them... 500 won a person (about 50 cents). I had to be careful, as my swim suit that fit me a few months ago is a bit loose. No serious mishaps, though.
My shoulders and back are slightly burnt. Not too bad, though. It's surprising how much just sitting around a pool can wear you out. I was so tired by the time I got home.