You may have noticed that our blog has been a little schizophrenic lately. Truth is, half of our team is living the sweet life in Istanbul, while the other half wraps things up in Seoul. Jen, Nick and I are on a mission to secure jobs, housing, and a life for the team. In the meantime, enjoy two incredible international cities for the price of one– here’s the view from our balcony in Istanbul.

One of Istanbul’s most visible traditions is nargile– Turkish water pipe (hookah). In certain (admittedly more touristy) parts of the city, you’ll see rows of men crowded on sofa and chairs puffing apple-flavored tobacco. Each man has their own nargile, which will run you around YTL 10 (about $7 USD) and a cup of the local tea.

Nargile in a Turkish Tea House

Other than the eels I have no idea what the food here tastes like.  Maybe someday when its freer or I’m richer.

We just recently checked out a tiny bar/venue by the name of bowie in Hongdae.  Really chill people, interesting basement atmosphere and some of the most unique shows that you can find in Seoul.  The night we went happened to be a live mixing of some experiential noise music (I think) definitely not something you can find many places in Seoul.  If you’re looking for something different in Seoul I recommend tracking it down.

“Hey baby, wanna go for a ride…heh.  I mean, do you like to go fast? Uh, I mean lets go to that shady love hotel with a giant car on the outside…vroom vroom!”

I often wonder about the reasoning behind some of the love hotel themes.  This would be one of them.

Presented by Ray Ban.

Edit: While 6 seconds of static is indeed ‘brief’ and accurately represents our Internet situation in Istanbul, the video that should be here is much more entertaining. We’ll get it patched up as soon as we find an Internet cafe or figure out how to transmit video by carrier pigeon. In the mean time, stare deeply into the static and don’t attempt to resist the urge you feel to donate.   – Nick

Edit 2:Video is now working. Enjoy. – Rob

ZOOM IN! ENHANCE!

I know its the subject of so many jokes about Korea, but Starcraft really is just about everywhere here.  When we went to watch a game live we actually saw someone watching a second match while cheering on the team onstage.