Korea Life: My First Trip to Seoul

For the Chuseok holiday I took my first trip to Seoul. A coworker and I packed one carry on suitcase and headed for the big city (according to the people we met in Seoul, we are living in the country).

Luckily Cheonan is a transportation hub. So we have the KTX (high speed train), it only took 30 minutes from Cheonan to Seoul (2 hours or more by bus). The tickets only cost 16 dollars for a one way direct. If we had bought a standing ticket, it would have only been 10 dollars.The Seoul subway was actually easy to navigate. We downloaded an English app and we were able to find everything easily on there. It is also very cheap, much better than a cab.

Our first stop was Itaewon-dong because I had heard about a Mexican restaurant their that I had been craving for the past month.The restaurant did not disappoint. It was called Coreanos and the food was excellent. I got a chicken quesadilla and it was a great reminder of home. As you can see by the picture, I could not wait to eat it. We then made our way for coffee and dessert. We found this cute little place called Hello Pudding. We got a cookie, carrot cake, and some coffee. Everything was delicious.

After that we went to find our hostel. We were staying in Hongdae-dong. We were recommended a hostel called Fortune Hostel. Neither me nor my coworker had ever stayed in a hostel before, so we did not know what to expect. All we could think of were the really crappy hostels you see in movies, we were quite scared to be honest. However, we were pleasantly surprised. The hostel was very clean and quiet. We stayed in a 6 bed room, the floor we were on was girls only, so no worries about pervs trying to peak. The price was good, 180000won a night (around $18 US). We were right in the center of all the action too. We could walk anywhere to get anything. Everything was right beside us, including a great night life scene.

Since it was Chuseok weekend (korean thanksgiving), lots of Koreans had gone back home to see their families. There were sooooo many foreigners there for the long weekend. All the bars were filled with foreigners from around Korea (mainly English teachers). We met lots of cool people and made many new friends.

We spent most the days walking around and exploring. Seoul is so big, with lots of really cool things to see. I feel like I was posting too much and not enough on instagram all at the same time (a_is_for_amyzing if you want to see more pictures). We tried lots of food and bought stuff from a lot of small vendors. I am pretty sure I gained 15 lbs from sweets and street food. But it was all worth.

Before we left, we went to the Hello Kitty Cafe. It was everything you would expect and more. It was like pink and cutesy puked on the whole place. I loved it. The food and coffee were ok, it is definitely a place you go to for the experience. The place is two stories high and filled with Hello Kitty everything. The top floor has a Hello Kitty bedroom where you can take pictures. There is also a gift shop to buy overpriced brand name things (you can get them on the street for a lot cheaper). But it was a fun experience and  I was really happy to go there.

We only stayed for 2 days, but I will go back soon and explore some more. It may be a lot different on a non holiday weekend. It will probably be a lot more packed full of people. Which is fine, because it made Cheonan seem so small.

Although I loved Seoul, I was happy to arrive back in Cheonan. I needed a full shower and a full night of sleep. But I will be going back soon.

Korea Life: Coffee Shops

I had a given up drinking coffee on a regular basis about a year ago. I had switched it for green tea. But it is so hard not to be a coffee drinker in Korea. Why? Because there are cute little coffee shops EVERYWHERE! Down every road, on every corner I find them. The cutest, most welcoming coffee shops that say "Come in, Have a sweet latte." How can I resist the coffee shops. Yes I know they serve non coffee beverages, but I do love the taste of coffee. So it is hard for me to go to a coffee shop and not get a latte.

In Houston, we have Starbucks everywhere. And most starbucks look exactly the same, with a few minor difference. But the menus are the same and the people look the same. But here there are so many small, local shops. All of them have different drinks and items, all of them look so different. It is absolutely wonderful. I have fallen in love with all my local shops and a new one just opened up two doors down from me that I am dying to try.

It may not be healthy, but it is relaxing. I love a warm cup of coffee and the weather is only getting cooler. I know in winter I will really appreciate all the coffee shops being so close to warm me up.

It is also nice to have the fresh coffee, because most of the coffee in the stores is instant coffee. The instant coffee here is good. But after drinking it all week, it is so nice to have a fresh cup of coffee at a cafe.

Korea Life: Living Off Convenience Store Food

The first few weeks I was here  I could not find an international ATM. So, I was not eating out but living off of cheap convenience store food (thank you GS25). When I say convenience store food, I do not mean the really processed, disgusting hot dogs and nachos you get in the states. Here convenience store food is much different. You can get as healthy or as bad of food as you want. I probably now have an unhealthy love for Korean convenience store sandwiches. Most of them have eggs/egg salad and are oh so delicious. But I have gotten kimbap to sandwiches to a full on stew from the convenience store. None of it cost over 25000won (2.50 US). The point of this being you can live off of convenience store food for cheap. Now the second point, this blog has a lot about losing weight and healthy living. Even though I was poor and eating from the convenience store. I still ate in moderation and chose wisely. So instead of gaining, I lost weight the first few weeks. Meaning that even if you have to live poorly your first few weeks here or even months here, that does not mean you will gain weight. Choosing wisely and eating in moderation are still big factors.

Lets move on to my real obsession that I buy from the convenience store.... banana flavored milk. It was honestly one of the things I wanted to try most when I came here. It is a hit or miss among foreigners, but it was a bullseye with me. I love the stuff. I would drink a bath of it. Even though I grocery shop now, it is something I still need to buy from the convenience store (this is to discourage me from drinking more than one a day because they are high in sugar).

I can now report that I can access my money back home and am back to cooking for myself. But I still treat myself to an egg sandwich once a week and banana milk a little more often. I am very happy I went through those broke convenience store times because there are other gems I found that I will probably continue to eat as well.