Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Korea Week 1 Recap




So I have been in Seoul for about a week.
Today Im planning to go to Japan so I decided
to look back on the things I have done.
First day in Korea- we just stayed near the airport.
On the first day in Seoul we went to Hongdae
This area is extremely hip, artsy and urban.
You can feel the youth spirit as you walk down
the crowded street.
Cafes, bars - and all the stores are extremely awesome.
Everything is very unique and cool.
We stayed out until the morning.
Loved it so much. Gonna go back next week.




The next day I met up with Hitomi & Chris.
Chris had just come off from his army duty
& took us to Insadong.
From research on the Internet I thought
Insadong was going to be some rip-off touristy area
with a bunch of foreigners in fanny packs.
But, it wasnt like that at all.
Yes, it had tourists and tons of traditional
souvenirs but once we turned the corner off the main
street it was like ... an amazingly cute paradise.
My God. Everything was so...mix matched , pretty
& t0tally adorable. It had a certain charm that
I cant explain.






On Sunday I met up with Young Il .
This is where we had our first subway experience.
Not a fan of subways. I always feel like they are
gonna crash haha.
He said he was taking us to an Electronic Store
so Lj could buy a camera.
Pretty sure that place was like 3 Bermudas. My lord.
It had like freaking tons of floors with everything you
could ever wish for.
Oh and p.s - Korean sales ppl are freaking amazing.
This young staff member convinced Lj to get a
Olympus camera instead of a pretty Sony one
after dunking it into the Staff's water dispenser and
doing the classic Peace sign required by all Asians
to perform from birth. He set the timer and
it took his photo under water. We were sold !





We did some other things that day...
Hung out with Sang Yoon...went and looked at
prostitutes just for fun...
The boys called it going on a 'Safari' haha
We had like a late midnight meal
and we went back to the hotel late.
The next day me and lj woke up at like 5 pm.
We were like Holy Crap.
We then decided to go to Itaewon.
This is truly Foreigner Central.
There were Indians, Black ppl etc - with their own
restaurants or stall. It was pretty random.
Haha. I felt very comfortable there though
because everyone was speaking English around us.
To be honest this area is known for being
kind of 'ghetto' & I didnt have the urge to take any photos.



to be continued...

Thursday, April 2, 2009

I have arrived in Korea !




The trip to New York from Bermuda felt like
it lasted 20 mins. We must have got thrown into
the BDA Triangle Vortex and chucked out the other side.
Anyway, after that we had a 4 hour wait...
We wondered around and bought things.
Randomly a guy Lj knows was also in the waiting area
going to Korea. There was a few foreigners but
I couldnt help feeling kind of awkard...
Stepping on to the plane made me feel like I
was in a movie...There was a frikkin stair case
in the front & the under 25 yr old
Flight Attendants that looked like
they stepped out of a magazine !
It was cool. The plane was massive.
Never been on a 2 story plane before.
The flight wasnt as bad as I expected.
It lasted 14 hrs but...I didnt sleep at all.
The seats were just too uncomfortable to
be able to relax.
The 14 hours went by faster than expected because
I never once looked at a clock.
I watched movies and diff shows & there was always food
coming around.
I arrived yesterday around 5:45 pm Korea time.
Bermuda is 12 hours behind Korea.
So its 1:45 pm here and 1:45 am there.
Ate dinner with Young Il...and then went to sleep.
Surprisingly I dont have any jet lag.
I think because I didnt go to sleep on the plane
I was able to go to sleep at Korea's night time &
not Bermudas. So yay for that.
I like our hotel room. So glad we have a computer !!!





Later tonight Im gonna meet up with some friends
from High School. Yay !
I feel so weird going out alone though.
Although I can speak enough Korean to survive
Im embarassed to use it. I dont know why. Haha .
Its such little foreigners here.
We are such obvious outsiders.
Hopefully I will feel more comfortable soon.