Seoul

Food and more food

For most of my time in Korea, I felt like I was eating 24 hours. This was mainly due to the fact that Teresa wanted to try everything before she left. We (Renee, Teresa, Alice, and I) were usually really lazy for most of the days we were in Korea, so we would usually order food using the food delivery app. In Korea, food delivery is absolutely amazing because they would bring actual plates or even a hotpot for you and all you had to do was leave it outside the apartment when you were done (This would not work in North America). Here are some highlights of the food.

Gyeongbokgung Palace

I’ve been to Gyeongbokgung palace before last year and also wore the Hanboks but Renee has never been there before, so me and Alice (Alice is Teresa’s friend that she randomly met in Thailand and invited to Korea. She is from the Netherlands and was backpacking around Asia) decided to join her. Both Renee and Alice have never worn Hanboks before so we decided rent some (Alice did not want to, but it gave you free entrance to the palace and it was a once in a life time opportunity) What I found funny was the fact that occasionally, I would see other girls eyeing Renee. There was even this one time where we passed a pair of girls staring at Renee, and when we passed by them, they were still staring from behind.

Dogs

This was probably one of my favourite parts of Korea due to the cuteness factor. Me, Renee and Alice went to a dog cafe called Bau house, and it costed around $9 Cad to stay as long as you want with a free drink (amazing deal). There are two sections in the dog cafe, one for the small dogs and one for the big dogs. I personally liked the small dogs because when you sit down, they would just come up to you and fall asleep 😍😍😍😍😍.

Teresa’s Grandmother

One of the main reasons Teresa went to Korea was to visit her grandmother. It was nice of her to invite me and Renee to stay over at her grandmother’s place for a night as well. Teresa’s grandmother’s apartment was located in Paju which was near the North Korean border and we were excited to visit the border, but we didn’t have enough time. Upon entering Teresa’s grandmother’s apartment, she asked us if we were hungry and made us some delicious soup with homemade kimchi (Best kimchi I’ve ever had). Teresa’s grandmother was very sweet and was always asking us if we were hungry (Teresa told me her grandma used to drink A LOT and can probably drink more than me). I want to give a shout out to Teresa’s uncle because he drove us from the subway to her Grandmother’s place, and also drove us to the airport at 4am 👏👏👏👏.

Cherry Blossom

During the time I was in Seoul, cherry blossoms were starting to bloom, so we all went to go see the Yeouido Cherry Blossoms. It was really bumping with street performers performing everywhere. There was also a bunch of couples in the area and it was a very romantic area.

While we were leaving the cherry blossoms, we noticed a group of KPOP looking guys with a small fan group following them. We then noticed a huge group of people crowding in front of a TV broadcasting station. There were lines of fan girls, and each time a group would come out, a small portion of them would follow them. I even saw some short paparazzi looking girls bring chairs, so that they could stand on them to take a picture. (They tried entering the premise when security wasn’t looking and got caught). I guess this was my closet moment of being near KPOP stars?

Fortune Telling

While walking back to the airbnb, we walked pass an fortune telling store – fortune telling in Korea is really popular. We decided to check out the price and we discovered that it was too pricey for a full face reading, but the guy gave us a discount to see how our strong our friendship (with Renee and Teresa) is. The fortune teller didn’t speak English, so Teresa had to translate everything to us. He read us our horoscope and said that since our Chinese zodiac was Rabbit-Pig-Rabbit which was 4 years apart from each other, then it means we are really lucky and it meant that we have a strong friendship. He was also nice enough to provide a free surface level face reading for all of us (He was making more comments for Renee for some reason 🤔🤔🤔🤔). For me, he said that I had a feminine face and eye bags which meant that i would have a really good relationship with my spouse and children. However, he said that since I have an birthmark near the bottom of my eye bags, then the amount of good fortune stops there and he told me to remove it (rip). Also, he said that since my chin was more oval, I shouldn’t start a business because all the money will flow out (more rip).

PC Bang

Teresa wanted to go to a PC bang in Korea and I was actually very curious to try it because Seoul is known for their PC gaming scene. The biggest difference between a PC cafe back home and one in Korea is you get to order all your food on the PC (The food looked really good). I’m glad I got to experience the PC bang experience in Korea because I was itching to use a computer after not touching a keyboard for a month.

Taipei Layover

Since I was originally going to fly out from Taipei to fly to Singapore, I had to fly back to Taipei for a day. I booked a hotel named MU hotel in Taoyuan City (There is nothing special in this city) because it was near to the airport and declared it the resting day. The hotel room was actual really really nice, and the staff was so friendly (I just love it when I can make conversation with hotel or hostel staff and feel like they actually want to have a conversation).

Trip Overview

To be honest, I had no interest in going to Seoul again (I went last year) without a group of friends that wanted to drink (They drink so much there and the nightlife there is insane) because apparently from reading online, solo travelling there is more difficult due to some restaurants only allowing groups. Fortunately, I met Teresa in Taiwan and she was able to read and speak Korean. So, I wasn’t going to turn down that opportunity for a translator. Also, I really enjoyed spending time with the scooter gang in Taiwan and having a little bit more time made it just that much better. Hopefully in the future, we all reunite!

Would I come back to Korea?

Hell yes but not soon