Life with Chinese Characteristics, Chapter 6: Chinese Near Year in Korea: City Lights, Seoul Food and Jeju Island

I started this post the other day, writing on the back side of the sheet of suggestions my students had given me for what to do in Seoul, while I was sipping a honey, peanut latte at one of the Starbucks on Jeju Island. I was pouting. Or, perhaps better put, I was sulking in my chair as I stared out at the blankets of clouds and palm trees blowing hard in the blustery wind. I think I failed this part of my first Chinese New Year trip I grumbled to myself. On the flight over from Seoul, as I am wont to do, I was daydreaming abut what the experience could be like. I really enjoyed my experience in Seoul, I imagined telling my students when school begins on Monday, but I fell in love with Jeju Island. I don't know entirely why I had romanticized and projected such things before arriving, except that sometimes I practice escapism, and I was on a plane, and I don't really like planes, so I was meditating on happier thoughts. Nonetheless, these thoughts had essentially set me up for disappointment. As had the fact that I had done no research before purchasing the ticket to Jeju Island some weeks before. I had not spent five minutes Googling or on Trip Advisor, nor had I put the word out to my well-traveled friends. Sometimes being unplanned and spontaneous works out in one's favor in the form of chance encounters with interesting people and the discovery of quaint restaurants. This time around, though, found me craving kimchi while eating a small Starbucks panini and pondering a visit to the neighboring KFC because I was still hungry and the local restaurants all appeared to be closed for the lunar new year.

I decided the slim silver lining was that the Starbucks was attached to Ripley's Believe It Or Not museum, so I forked over 10,000 won (about 8.50 USD), found an afternoon date, and let my jaw drop a bit.

So this is Mr. Robert Wadlow. Never mind that he is 8 ft 11 in to my 5 ft three-if-I-stand-real-tall.
He was a perfect gentleman as he guided me through this quirky museum. 

We took a look at a chicken wire John Lennon. And we imagined. Imagined, in our hearts and minds, imagined all the people living for today, and living life in peace.

Sometimes I am a dreamer. Maybe someday if you join me, the world will live as one. 

Since soon two will be joined as one, I did also find a Vera Wang made out of toilet paper that I thought I might send back to Linds for her nuptials with Jon. Very elegant in the front ...

with a little view of crack in back. (Cuz you got a bangin' booty, sista! besos :-) ) 

In addition to the museum, the very friendly staff at Hotel The Born helped me to make a spa appointment. I had the strangest massage of my life thus far after Liz and I finished hiking the Inka Trail. This facial proved to be the most interesting of its kind. There was a good deal of light slapping, clapping above my face, some patty-cake between my chin and décolletage, but I walked out of there with skin that was gleaming. Korean women are meticulous about their skin, and it shows. They glow.

By the time my 90-minute treatment was done, my stomach was eating itself. I took my fresh face to dinner next to my hotel.

I mowed down this mackerel. Pretty darn good catch of the day.

Even after a tasty dinner, I returned to my hotel room a bit sour. Until I read a friend's response to the photo above. She posted: Jeju Island is magic -- don't miss the green-tea museum! Jeju Island is magic? I questioned. Mmm, it hadn't really been in my book thus far. But Dalya got me thinking. It's all relative, isn't it. It's all a matter of perspective and experience. And choice. So I got on Google (finally) and found that green tea museum. I messaged Alexandra, who was staying with her friends about 30 minutes away, and inquired about their plans for today. She invited me to join in on some time with her friends. 

So I'll tell you what, today turned out to be awesome. I found some of that magic Dalya noted. 

It looked like this.

And this.

And it tasted like the best green tea I have ever had and the green tea ice cream melted like silk on my tongue
and the sun was so pretty at the O'sulluc Musem.

And I just gave you the introduction and conclusion of my trip without giving you the middle. So, here's what happened in Seoul ...

Throughout this trip, the foodie in me has been quite delighted by the Korean cuisine. 

This was just the beginning, at a restaurant near our hotel in Seoul, in the neighborhood Insadong.

Spending three days in the city, I've become a kimchi addict. I am typing in bed right now, craving this ...

kimchi kimchi kimchi

You can get creative with that crunchy, spicy, healthy, fermented vegetable dish ...

Take a peak at the right corner of our breakfast spread. That is a Swedish pancake thin omelette with kimchi rolled up inside. Somebody has gots to figure out time travel. If I could turn back time ... (I'd eat the whole thing and leave none for my lovely travel companions. I've regressed, Michelle. Back to my old selfish don't-touch-food-in-my-vicinity-lest-I-stab-you-with-a-fork ways.)

After devouring this, we kept with the theme and took down two orders of kimchi fries at Vatos in the trendy neighborhood of Itaewon.

My gut health's looking goooood, friends.

If you are over the food photos, I will go on to detail how we uncovered Korean culture in ways outside of restaurants.

Here we are, Alexandra, Ra Mac and I, outside of one of five palaces of Korea.
Behind us is Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Inside the National Palace Museum of Korea, I was most taken by the traditional dress of the royalty of the Joseon dynasty.

All that silk, the embroidery, the headdress, all so beautiful. And heavy.

This is a photo taken by Rachel showing the cool contrast between the old and the new.
One must marvel at the way history and the present day are juxtaposed.

When the sun went down, we got a taste of how the city burned bright at night. This is in Myeong dong, an area with lots of shops ... predominantly beauty shops for days.

These crowds were surprisingly reserved. Korea was also celebrating the lunar new year, so the city was quieter, but still, I noted that restaurants and populated areas did not put out big decibels as you find in China and the States.

An especially quiet space that we found one afternoon was a cat cafe. While I did leave my dog behind, I am a loyal pup person who misses that spunky Gus like mad. I've also come to love my cuddly daredevil Patacón. My friend Vanessa worries about my trajectory towards cat lady spinsterhood. This won't help my case ...

We had to keep it quiet due to cat nappers.

Some kitties were wide awake, but still not too impressed with our presence.

This is the look I got when I started singing In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeeps toniiiight. Aweemaway, aweeemaway, aweeemaway. Perhaps singing has never been my forte.

Definitely not too cool for school. I am certain they are reading some text about how to take over the world, but I'm all Kitty Choi for president 2020? Yeah, you got my vote.

Vanessa, just a quick note: I did not acquire any more cats on this trip. I did not pack one in my suitcase, did not stuff one in my sweater. Lil' P remains an only child. 

Those cats were actually not nearly as friendly as we found the Korean people to be. I have been fortunate in my travels, and in my life abroad, to come into contact with, and to befriend, countless individuals from dozens of cultures and countries who are divine, interesting, beautiful human beings. Still, I have not experienced such welcome and openness from an entire people as I did here. Walking down the street, sitting in a taxi, or dining at a restaurant, I have spent time reflecting on what I project out, what my appearance is if you are a stranger looking over. Often deep in thought, I think I frequently have furrowed brows. I also sometimes wear a frown because #hangry is my middle name, and I am a 34-year-old hypoglycemiac who has not learned to keep snacks close at hand. 

This humor aside, citizens of Seoul, you have prompted me to ponder the faces I wear around town. You have warmed my heart with your welcoming nature. You have shown me some of the beauty about a culture I previously knew so little about. Thank you. 

I'm pooped now. I fly out in the morning to go back to Seoul to catch a flight back to China.

I'm out. 

Peace, family and friends. Peace and love.