Loos With A View
One of the first places I visited when I arrived in Seoul years ago was Jongno Tower. The building is intriguing with its three pillared design, standing like some giant metallic invader out of a sci-fi movie.
I found out there was a restaurant up in its top section, so I immediately booked a table. The restaurant is called Top Cloud, and I celebrated my first pay check there one evening—to the tune of around $280 for dinner for two, if I remember rightly.
Yes, the place is pricey, but you’re paying for more than food: your investing in a spectacular downtown view through massive windows in setting like no other in Seoul. That’s what I said to myself to feel better about the restaurant bill.
Actually, if I had not been in such a celebratory mood, or had not wished to impress my female companion, I guess I could have simply had a coffee in the cafe beside the restaurant. A basic coffee there will only set you back $13 or so.
With the idea of getting my money’s worth out of my visit, I took a long time in the men’s room. I don’t mean for traditional reasons. It’s because it too had a scenic view. What I discovered in there was a whole window from floor to ceiling where you’d expect a wall to be.
One feels pretty exposed. But I found you can’t do your business while exposed or looking out at the view. That’s sectioned off. You can, however, stand at a circular washbasin in the middle of the room and take in the sites. At least the chuckle the place gave me helped eased the pain of what the evening cost me.
This leads me to Seoul Tower, pictured below, whose men’s room on the lower circular viewing deck goes one step further, as it is purpose designed for enjoying the view while letting it all hang out. It has actually become famous—a tourist destination in fact, as I learned on a recent visit to the tower.
I was only made aware of its fame after I happened to be standing outside of it recently and was approached by a woman with a proposition. No, it’s not what you think.
She was an Asian tourist, and she came up to me gushing something in broken English about a famous toilet. What she wanted me to do was take her camera inside the men’s and get a picture for her of the interior. Sure, I said, a little perplexed, and proceeded inside to see what she was raving on about.
Those urinals are each directly in front of their own window, overlooking the Seoul downtown area. You can even see the Jongno Tower from here. Now that’s what I call a convenience—your viewing pleasure need not be interrupted even if you have to relieve yourself! And it’s so inviting, isn’t it? You feel you just have to go.
What you see while having a pee.
No one was in there at the time, so when I came out I urged the woman tourist to duck in and have a good look for herself. A friend of hers had just joined her, so they both made a mad dash inside. I could hear the laughter and squeals of delight as I stood watch by the entry. It sounded like the men’s was giving them a greater thrill than the panorama of Seoul ever could!
It certainly made my day, seeing that famous men’s loo. Ironic, really, that I got to learn about it from a woman.
