Body, Mind and Seoul

Apologies, this will be long. But only because we crammed a lot into vacation and surprisingly saw a lot.

Finished up camp number one (Iron Chef Gurye style). I'd say it was a success. But with only 20 students and 3 Native English Teachers, there would have to be a colossal mistake for it to be a failure. Needless to say spending two days teaching about cooking and eating all kinds of food, it was a blast. But with all the fun also came all of the eating. What's wrong with that right? When you talk about food with Koreans, there's always going to be an abundance floating around. I've never heard so many students complain about being full (serious, at 14 years old, who actually gets full when you're eating pizza, grilled cheese, cookies and pancakes?). But that's what happened. Pretty sure I gained a solid 10 pounds after those two days (and that weight didn't come from eating the food we made, just the food we were given).

But who cares, vacation time! Destination: Seoul. As a way to save money (failed experiment by the end of it all) I decided to stay in the country. Plus, there is a lot in Korea I haven't seen so this is the perfect chance. Start off the adventures in Hongdae. People seem to bash it, but I like it. It's the University area (Hongik University), so the streets are always crowded, there are plenty of young people, and plenty of foreigners as well. I will admit, it's not the classiest of places, but if you're looking for a neverending night of adventure, Hongdae is the place to be. Even just walking the streets at 4 A.M. appeals to me. The bars, meh, not so much. But the live music and the food stalls and the restaurants! How can you go wrong? Actually, you can go wrong. There are plenty of places that have good (even great) food, but many places that are mediocre at best, and incredibly overpriced. The Korean places are cheap and (mostly) delicious, but that's no surprise since I've fallen for almost every Korean dish. But in Hongdae you get a ton of international restaurants as well. These can be hit or miss. The first night, decent chicken wings (forget the restaurant name, foreign spot), but the second night we got back into Hongdae late and our dinner was at 1 A.M. At that time, not much is open in terms of full meal but we found a Japanese restaurant.  One of the most expensive meals I've had in Korea, and it was only meant as an appetizer. The sashimi was good, but I've had better at local Korean fish restaurants where they actually feed you. This dish simply wet the tongue. It wasn't memorable enough to even catch the name.

So on this adventure we started off with myself, Shu, Alex, Ginny and Ken, all from the original orientation group. Our first stop is Caribbean Bay! Caribbean Bay / Everland is in Yongin, about an hour(ish) south of Seoul) and is one of Korea's largest amusement parks, and largest water parks. What an experience! It's clearly peak season now that it's basically 30 degrees during the night and reaches temperatures I don't even want to know about during the day. So the water park is a necessary getaway! But that's also what all of Korea is thinking. Like everything Korean, this place is packed to the brim. Each ride is minimum 60 minutes wait, some of them are not worth it. The Boomerang (think Wonderland's The Bat for the waterpark) is definitely worth it. And while you're waiting for rides to die down, jump in the lazy river! Floating around in water after standing in a line for 2 hours in the blistering heat was an amazing decision (thanks to Shu), but also made for a brilliant mode of transportation when you have to get to different parts of the park.

For the price of one ticket you can jump in between parks. After being away from amusement parks for a while, it felt great to be back in one. Everland (think Never Everland) is like Korea's version of Disney, fitted with painted buildings and magical trees to welcome everyone. There are no talking trash cans, but give it time. Since everyone tends to head home pretty early, the park was ours. In less than 2 hours we were able to get in 4 coasters and tour the park. We got on one of Korea's largest wooden roller coasters, and probably the fastest and steepest wooden roller coaster I've ever been on. Also, dare I say, one of the best. After the first drop (which is at about 70 degrees) there is no time to let up. It you thought Wonderland had fast rides, ughh, this is one you have to go on.

The next stop (also Shu, Ginny and Alex's last day in Seoul) was touring Hongdae during the day. We managed to get a few things in. First, let's talk about TrickEye. Wahhh! What a place. It's a museum devoted to optical illusions. You get to interact with all of the art pieces to become part of the art. We had a ton of fun. It takes about an hour, but you get a lot in that hour. The TrickEye in Hongdae is the most famous, but the exhibition moves around Korea and is available in a few other cities. Definitely something else. After TrickEye, it was fitting that we jumped into the Hello Kitty Cafe. Yep, you heard it right. It's a Cafe devoted to Hello Kitty. The cakes are shaped like Kitty, the drinks have Kitty drawn in the foam, the walls have Kitty shaped windows and even the bathroom is littered with Hello Kitty memorabilia. This is one of those places you go to for the atmosphere though. The product, meh. The bingsu I had was good, the coffee, mediocre. Plus, they messed up one of the foam drawings. Come on Kitty, get your act together.

After that, adios Shu, Ginny and Alex! Onto Seoul Adventures with Mike and Ken! So luckily for us, Christina was in Japan and we were able to use her place in Incheon during our vacation. Incredibly nice of her and saved us an easy 60-80,000. The only problem is that Incheon doesn't have a whole lot to offer, and it's a little depressing as a vacation spot. After checking out Wolmido Island and Chinatown (in a matter of 2.5 hours), we both decided to forget Incheon and jump back into Seoul. I mean Wolmido and Chinatown are fun, but I've been there countless times and Ken wasn't impressed, so fun was basically on the low side. It didn't help that the weather was awful. Ah well, Seoul Adventure!

If you're into art districts and original, handmade products, then Insadong is definitely your kind of place. This is the artsy part of town. I'd been here once before, but that was New Year's and it was only in passing.  This time we took our time, sat down to a nice green tea spot (OSullac) and had some Jeju Green, with, wait for it, Green Tea Tiramisu (aka cheesecake). Delish. But I'm getting really wary of new products now since Koreans are very confused about what exactly a nut is, and what it means to have a nut allergy. Pretty sure I ate peanuts, after asking about it, and showing a direct Korean translation. Second time in two weeks. I guess to avoid a third time drama, I might have to strap the epipen right at my hip. Inside Insadong is a Square Market called Ssamjigil, it's a pretty cool spot and this is where I caught my first sight of Korean Love Locks. Sometimes Korea is like walking through a Disney film. A romantic wonderland. Here in Ssamjigil you (and your partner) can buy love badges ("I love you", "Marry me," "Let's stay together forever", "I want your babies" etc) and lock them on a fence anywhere in the courtyard. What a place. For this experience, plus authentic Korean clothing, items, jewelry, and food, this is the spot to be.

Next, why not take a stroll out to Dongdaemun. This is a huge shopping district (still not sure how after 9 months in Korea I had not been here). Mind you, it's a huge shopping district for women, with the men delegated a square foot for every floor devoted to women's clothing. If you're a woman, you're in dreamland. But hey, what there is for guys, it's not bad. But be careful, it's easier to drop money here than you think. Especially when they are great sellers. Not pressuring, but chatty and get you distracted. At least that's my excuse for walking out with green pants. No regrets.

After Dongdaemun, as the sun was setting, we walked along Cheonggyecheon. This spot is really cool. Basically after all of the industrialization of Korea, the city planned to built a river to ease heavy industrialization and keep the city looking pleasant. This river stretches over 8 km and is really nice to walk along. If I lived in Seoul it would definitely be a regular spot, especially for a run at sunset.

Our final day in Seoul. This was basically a combination of everything we'd done. Our first day was spent scoping out the city, now we can experience it, along with other sights. So back to Anguk Station near Insadong for a little cultural experience. Hanok Village is located near Insadong and is supposed to be a very traditional area filled with Korean traditional shops and activities. It's nice, but I don't think it's as traditional as it makes itself out to be. We might have missed a couple streets, but it was all very modernized, and some of the buildings were remodeled. It was nice to see, but it's more of a passing interest. Back to Insadong. But today, Insadong was a side effort. Our real devotion: Samcheongdong, another artsy area located next to the palace and across from Insadong. If you like your cafes and little restaurants, this is the place to be. That, and we found a Cafe called Cafe Keopi Mashineun Goyangi (trans. Cafe Drink Coffee and Cat, better in Korean) which is easily one of the best cafes I've been to, and easily the best in Korea. And I set myself up for disappointment by ordering a Maple Latte. But dang Coffee Cat, you did real good. Match that with an incredibly welcoming and quirky atmosphere and you make me wish I lived in Seoul!

After that, Itaewon (sigh). Luckily Ken wasn't a fan, so we caught the fastest train out of there. Everyone should see Itaewon because it is incredibly international, and you really can have good meals there, but it's so skeezy looking sometimes that it doesn't make for a pleasant destination unless you're familiar with the area. Off to Dongdaemun and Myeongdong for some shopping (my poor wallet!). Then top off the whole Seoul Adventure with a trip to Namsan Tower (did I mention this was an exhausting day, mentally and physically?). Namsan is a must-see. We decided to take the gondola up, which made for a nice ride up the mountain and the sight of Seoul underneath while the sun went down. Before you go in the actual tower, there is a base where you can lookout and see the Seoul cityscape. since this is already a mountain, this sight alone is fantastic. And, if you want love locks, you've got them here. Wow! Now this is romantic. There is a Korean tradition that if a couple takes a lock, hangs it on top of Namsan Mountain, and then throws the key, they will have everlasting love. So you are literally surrounded by thousands of love locks. Not all of them are romantic, some are friendship, some familial, but it definitely makes for a bit of a surreal experience to stand where thousands have stood before to write these words. But enough with the romance, on to the tower! Namsan Tower is like the CN Tower, but I think I prefer Namsan, although my memory of CN is not the greatest. There is no glass tower here though, that I remember from Toronto. The view of Seoul at night with all the lights shining is brilliant. I hear that during the day the view isn't as nice because of the smog and pollution, but during the night? Ahh, unbelievably. You can catch the Han River while eating dinner in the buffet restaurant or enjoying a coffee on the top floor. Perfect end to our Seoul Adventure.

Okay, I told you there was a lot! But, I'm going to save part 2 of my vacation for another day. Reliving Seoul Adventures is making me not want camp to start tomorrow and making me just want to travel more! One week is not enough!