Some Trip Highlights..Korea

(I will upload some pictures soon when our internet connection is better!)

Alright....

Tonight we are taking it easy in our hostel that we found on www.hostels.com. Such a great site. It includes reviews and pictures, and it is a cheap great way to travel. They weed out the dark-dungeony-cockroach-filled-creeper/pervy-lice ridden hostels we all conjure up in our minds..., though I'm sure they are out there.

We picked a private hostel with our own bathroom, and paid 20 euro per person. There are cheaper, but they were filled already :-)

Amenities include...WiFi in room and lobby, unlimited coffee and bread, heated floors, AC, in room fridge & washing machine (no dryer-you hang stuff here), and OF COURSE the "bathroom shower" Combo, AND...AND TOILET PAPER!! Can I get a woot woot!

When you are done using the john..., what a better way to refresh than by turning the shower handle on and enjoying the nice relaxing down pour of water above you! Just don't forget to turn the water heater on before you enter :D If you are up for some hardcore multitasking bring your tooth brush in there too, the sink is there to meet your needs.


So far we rate our nice hostel... Khaosan in Seoul * * * * *

Location 5* Near the subway, shopping, and food places. Local life.
People 5* Very Very Friendly
Clean 5* They brought in the fresh laundry as we arrived. It smelled so fresh!
Amenities 8* Can you say Bathroom Shower Combo

The food has been terrific. If you like Korean food at home, which I do, then you will like Korean food in Korea.

I love Kimchi, Fish shaped Waffles with sweet tasting bean paste, and the dumplings. I love bulgolgi, but have not had any here in Korea yet...though there is a great restaurant right next to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, WI.

You can drink the water, and eat the meat on the streets and in their restaurants.

Tips.. They serve fairly big portions, and they don't speak English, so look around at the other tables. This became really important, and I found it was super helpful to follow the crowd! If a whole table is sharing one dish, DON'T order four dishes for your four person group. It will be too much food. Not to mention they usually bring out appetizers......not saying you will be up for eating all of them, but you should at least try them!!

Also, take pictures of the pictures of food on the signs outside. That helps people understand what you want to eat because a lot of times there are no pictures on the menus. They do have descriptions, but the picture is still helpful at times.

They do have American food, but make sure you get the right American food because some people make wanna-be American food, and it is not as tasty.., and sometimes you just need something simple and easy to digest..Go to McDonalds, or Popeyes, or the grocery store!

IE:
Bubble gum ice cream in America= ice cream that has a bubble yummy flavor,
Bubble gum ice cream in Korea= Ice cream you bought that looked like ice-cream,but is chewy like bubble gum, and so you call it " bubble gum ice cream". NOT THE SAME.

Oooow..I almost forgot..surprisingly I LOVED LOVED the dried squid we had from the dried fish Market.

Markets are the in things over here. Every street has it specific purpose. There is Motorcycle street, the Material Market, toy Market street, light shopping, the Shoe strip, the paper district, puppy row (they don't let you pet the dogs :-(...Everything is segregated, which promotes a lot of transportation needs, but taxis are only like 5 dollars. So not convenient for the consumer, Fun for the traveler, and great for the producer..as everything they need is close by...until they need a replacement light bulb, and then its off to the light market.

The Markets are terrific. Today we went with Jeff and Kendra Lindsay to the Clothing Market! They are like family, and are visiting from their current home in Shanghai, China during the Chinese holiday season. It is great visiting Korea together. Besides their hospitality, great taste in cuisine, and knowledge about the sites in Korea....it is GREAT having people nearby that speak the same language. While in the Toy market, we all walked into separate stores, and quickly, my inability to talk to anyone, read any of the signs or prices became apparent. That was when I realized I was in Korea. ANYWAY, the clothing market was my VERY 1st experience bartering with money. I got 30% off a scarf I wanted. It was a lot more nerve wracking and out of my box than I thought it would be. They drive a hard bargain, and use a lot of not very nice gestures when you say you want it for less, and they look at you like " you must be joking", and faces like " Do you do this in your country? Do you tell store owners what their prices should be? Is this some kind of Joke" Right as you start to walk away though they come back and help you continue, by giving in to what you want. It's great!!

Let's see... Korea is clean. It reminds me of New York only safe, and all the people went Asian. You don't really notice it until you see someone who is not Asian, and you find yourself staring at them. It makes sense why people stare when I walk around. I think I am one of the only blondes here. Several Several times people have asked to take their picture with me, and our friend Jeff because he is about 6'5ish. :-) It's been fun.

The Markets have been my favorite site-seeing thus far, but we did get to see a palace....it was very cool.


Anyway, I am beat. I get tired about 9-10. I am following the early to bed early to rise suggestion better than ever thanks to the time difference. Curtis is doing much better, and slept most of the night and only woke up around 5am. The one odd time zone change I have noticed is that I am hungry at all the wrong times. My body is rarely hungry during the day and then suddenly Famished at night. I eat a little bit for every meal and a small small small something to settle my stomach at night. Its getting better, but..I'm literally falling asleep. I will fix things later. Sorry if it does not make sense.