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Whoops! Turns out my plan to write about every day (or most days at least) bombed fantastically. I'd not thought of needing a power adapter to use with any of my electronics so haha.. just now got to charge up my laptop so I'll write up about the just-over-a-week in Korea.
I arrived on Tuesday evening after a crazy long flight and met up with Annie and Ryo in the aero!! They're super lovely! They'd just got in from Japan so they were both fresh and ready for the night but I was disgusting, so we stopped by the Yellow Submarine so I could have a wash and we could wait for Hattie to join us.
She didn't turn up early enough and the rest of us were starving, so we went to have dinner and ended up in an Italian place (the joke was not lost on us) and it was really nice. The interior was very cosy and obviously for couples or group-dates and I'm so mad I didn't take photos. Everyone kept trying to talk to Annie and me in alternatively Korean, then Japanese when we didn't understand.. Come to think of it, that's what happened the entire time..
Hattie came around 10 or so and the girls stayed up to chat but fuck that I was tired as heck and went to bed.
Our first official day we decided to go to Myeongdong! We got started a bit late since the girls all take so long to do up their makeup and get dressed.. they always look so nice though so that's just fine! First we went to see one of the palaces, we only went just through the entrance since Hattie and Ryo had both already been over the entire thing and it would take all day to see. Even that was really cool!
GyeongbokgungThe guards up front looked completely like statues! The poor guys had to stand absolutely still and out in the sun in full uniform. They were very good at their job. Afterwards we got a bite of lunch over at this cafe Ryo loves called Minto. It looks so tiny. Teeny tiny.
That far side wall only goes a metre deep?? Walk around the corner and the building disappears!But you go down a staircase and suddenly it's huge!! An underground cafe! The food was really good and the atmosphere was relaxing since most of the tables were in little booths by themselves. Several students came in to study. Maybe I'll do the same thing if I do an exchange program here?
There's a pillar and a pinboard near the entrance where pieces of art people create in the cafe are hung! All of them were really impressive.. I got really embarrassed
Then we finally headed for the shopping district so Annie could find her cosmetics and Hattie could start getting warmer clothes for the winter. I got a few of the kpop albums I've been wanting, plus the EXO-K 으르렁 repackage because I really needed 'Growl'. I haven't even listened to the rest of the original album yet. Oops?
EXO-K 으르렁 repackage (Xiumin card traded for KAI), BTS O! R U L8 2 (SUGA+full group cards), and 2 Cool 4 Skool (postcard)Ryo got KAI's photo card in her EXO-M album and was sweet enough to trade me for my Xiumin (which was also very cute,,). We luckily both got SUGA's card in our BTS albums too. At the same store, I got a Dadamato headphone dust-plug since I apparently don't have any shame.
Wandering about the bookstores and small indoor shopping area, I also found a few small gifts for friends, then we went out and hit the streets to do a fair bit of clothes shopping. I walked away mostly unscathed, but Ryo bullied me into buying a 10,000₩ shirt that admittedly does look very good.
She also goaded me into buying the fake Boy London beanie a few hours later..We walked down a side street for some reason and saw an incredibly depressed looking man in a Snoopy costume. I didn't nab any photos of him, but Ryo said he was out advertising for a nearby dog cafe! A dog cafe??? OF COURSE WE WENT.
Baby Mongae, aka the only photo that matters. Sleepy puppy.Animal cafes are apparently really popular here since the apartments are so small and many people don't have the space or time to look after a pet, so you pay a small entrance fee to one of the shops, order a drink (included in the 8,000₩ entry fee) and spend as long as you like enjoying the fuzzbutts! Hattie was the most popular..
Left to right we dubbed them 'Look at his stupid face', 'Who gave you that haircut', 'The Pretty one', and 'Asshole either climb in my lap and let me love you or stop coming around seriously'.But since we spent HOURS here, everyone had their moments!
Every photo of Annie is so Disney princess it HURTS.For dinner we went for Korean BBQ back in Hongdae, which Hattie led us to. Delicious. I want to eat it forever!! Samgyeopsal, where have you been all my life?? If I didn't nab my cooled meat fast enough, Ryo would nick it from our shared seasoning bowl. Korean chopsticks were already hard enough for me to use BEFORE she introduced somaek.. why did you take all my food when I couldn't defend myself.. I never knew you liked pork so much, or was it to make me suffer--?
Our first day was the best! The most surprising (possibly greatest) thing that happened was an ahjumma handed me a flyer for a personal trainer named Dennis. So I look like a local?? Or just like I need the exercise..? Either way it's a fun souvenir!
I arrived on Tuesday evening after a crazy long flight and met up with Annie and Ryo in the aero!! They're super lovely! They'd just got in from Japan so they were both fresh and ready for the night but I was disgusting, so we stopped by the Yellow Submarine so I could have a wash and we could wait for Hattie to join us.
She didn't turn up early enough and the rest of us were starving, so we went to have dinner and ended up in an Italian place (the joke was not lost on us) and it was really nice. The interior was very cosy and obviously for couples or group-dates and I'm so mad I didn't take photos. Everyone kept trying to talk to Annie and me in alternatively Korean, then Japanese when we didn't understand.. Come to think of it, that's what happened the entire time..
Hattie came around 10 or so and the girls stayed up to chat but fuck that I was tired as heck and went to bed.
Our first official day we decided to go to Myeongdong! We got started a bit late since the girls all take so long to do up their makeup and get dressed.. they always look so nice though so that's just fine! First we went to see one of the palaces, we only went just through the entrance since Hattie and Ryo had both already been over the entire thing and it would take all day to see. Even that was really cool!
GyeongbokgungThe guards up front looked completely like statues! The poor guys had to stand absolutely still and out in the sun in full uniform. They were very good at their job. Afterwards we got a bite of lunch over at this cafe Ryo loves called Minto. It looks so tiny. Teeny tiny.
That far side wall only goes a metre deep?? Walk around the corner and the building disappears!But you go down a staircase and suddenly it's huge!! An underground cafe! The food was really good and the atmosphere was relaxing since most of the tables were in little booths by themselves. Several students came in to study. Maybe I'll do the same thing if I do an exchange program here?
There's a pillar and a pinboard near the entrance where pieces of art people create in the cafe are hung! All of them were really impressive.. I got really embarrassed
Then we finally headed for the shopping district so Annie could find her cosmetics and Hattie could start getting warmer clothes for the winter. I got a few of the kpop albums I've been wanting, plus the EXO-K 으르렁 repackage because I really needed 'Growl'. I haven't even listened to the rest of the original album yet. Oops?
EXO-K 으르렁 repackage (Xiumin card traded for KAI), BTS O! R U L8 2 (SUGA+full group cards), and 2 Cool 4 Skool (postcard)Ryo got KAI's photo card in her EXO-M album and was sweet enough to trade me for my Xiumin (which was also very cute,,). We luckily both got SUGA's card in our BTS albums too. At the same store, I got a Dadamato headphone dust-plug since I apparently don't have any shame.
Wandering about the bookstores and small indoor shopping area, I also found a few small gifts for friends, then we went out and hit the streets to do a fair bit of clothes shopping. I walked away mostly unscathed, but Ryo bullied me into buying a 10,000₩ shirt that admittedly does look very good.
She also goaded me into buying the fake Boy London beanie a few hours later..We walked down a side street for some reason and saw an incredibly depressed looking man in a Snoopy costume. I didn't nab any photos of him, but Ryo said he was out advertising for a nearby dog cafe! A dog cafe??? OF COURSE WE WENT.
Baby Mongae, aka the only photo that matters. Sleepy puppy.Animal cafes are apparently really popular here since the apartments are so small and many people don't have the space or time to look after a pet, so you pay a small entrance fee to one of the shops, order a drink (included in the 8,000₩ entry fee) and spend as long as you like enjoying the fuzzbutts! Hattie was the most popular..
Left to right we dubbed them 'Look at his stupid face', 'Who gave you that haircut', 'The Pretty one', and 'Asshole either climb in my lap and let me love you or stop coming around seriously'.But since we spent HOURS here, everyone had their moments!
Every photo of Annie is so Disney princess it HURTS.For dinner we went for Korean BBQ back in Hongdae, which Hattie led us to. Delicious. I want to eat it forever!! Samgyeopsal, where have you been all my life?? If I didn't nab my cooled meat fast enough, Ryo would nick it from our shared seasoning bowl. Korean chopsticks were already hard enough for me to use BEFORE she introduced somaek.. why did you take all my food when I couldn't defend myself.. I never knew you liked pork so much, or was it to make me suffer--?
Our first day was the best! The most surprising (possibly greatest) thing that happened was an ahjumma handed me a flyer for a personal trainer named Dennis. So I look like a local?? Or just like I need the exercise..? Either way it's a fun souvenir!