Apartment Number Four (Video)

In October we were once again notified that we had to move. The director told us the owner wanted to live it in so we had move. We fretted on where we'll move to since we had a three-bedroom apartment and the school had a bunch of studio apartments in their arsenal. When we brought up the issue of size, we were told in today's market it'll cost more to get another apartment of our size. If we were willing to pay extra, they'll do it. It didn't make sense since we only had five months left and no plans for staying. So we had to settle for a studio loft apartment. Originally it was suppose to be in Landpia but then the director told us it is The O'Ville, which is only 5 minutes away from the school and supposedly newer and better than Landpia. I was not looking forward to the lack of space but it is only for five months.

We moved in on January 11th and the school paid for our moving charges. Since we had a lot of furniture, half of it had to go to the dump, which the school also took care of. The move was efficient like last time (we had the same movers!). 

This is an officetel, which is basically a residential/business building. Some of the units are actually turned into business offices. 

The Good

- easy to clean

- cheaper utilities

- close to the school (five minutes!)

- across the street from Lotte Mart

- air condition!

- washer/dryer combo

- built-in fridge/freezer

- more modern looking

- 19th floor view

The Not So Good

- small sink

- lack of space (it's one third the size of the old apartment)

- no counter space

- no cupboards for our plates, pots, etc

- short loft area (hitting our heads a lot)

- small bathroom (sink and shower in one area)

- weird loud neighbors (upstairs)

Lunar New Year in Seoul - Part II

Food in Seoul

Seoul is a big city and therefore has some of the best and newest restaurants. We went back to Papa Sushi in Hongodae to get some delicious salmon sashimi. The bill was around $30-40; we had a large salmon sashimi, fresh rolls (9 pieces) and udon. We also got free prawn sashimi (2 piece) and cooked salmon.  We also tried the chain pho place in Hongdae, but it's nothing to write home to. One of the coolest restaurant was called Mies Container in Gangnam and it is literally a container-themed restaurant. There's even a hook/pulley thing in the middle of the restaurant. At this restaurant, you go up to order and pay for your food, then they give you a construction hat with a number so the servers know where to deliver your food. They serve bbq platters and cheese pans. This is suppose to be a very popular place and lucky for us, being the holidays, it wasn't busy. The food was delicious! We had a bbq tray (chicken) and a cream cheese and corn cheese pan. I couldn't finish my food but it was one fo the most delicious thing we had on this trip! We also went back to Wang Thai in Itaewon for some yummy thai food. I really liked the food there! Bonus, it's just a floor up from What the Book so we got some new books as well. I got some assorted dumplings at Mapo Mandu (Hapjeong stn) and 900 won macarons from Whale Macarons (Hongdae). The dumplings were fresh and delicious. My favorite is their famous pork dumplings. The spicy one was VERY spicy. At least for me. The macarons were delicious! In fact, I went back the next day to pick up some more for the ride home. They have all the classic flavors (salted caramel, chocolate, strawberry, greentea) and some mixed flavors like apple/passion fruit. In Hongdae, I also got a bubbletea from Boba Time (an LA-based chain).

Another favorite of mine was Crepe Rei near our hostel. They serve delicious Japanese style crepes and royal milk tea latte. On the day this place was closed, we discovered Secret Garden just across the street. It's a super small restaurant with made-to-order burgers. Neil had a teriyaki chicken burger and I had pork burger. Both were delicious. It reminded me of the food truck in Vancouver. One of the last meals we had in Seoul was in a food court type area in Hongdae. It had a grill to order pad thai stand and you can choose what you want inside. I can't remember the name of this place but it was DELICIOUS!

Everland

Everland is one of two theme parks in Seoul. The other being Lotte World. We could only go to one so we chose Everland because there was a 40% discount and we heard it's better from some students. The journey to Everland took over an hour, a subway, and two busses. We got the subway at Gangnam and took bus 5002 (not 500-2) to the last stop then a transfer bus to go to the park. I didn't know what to expect and I can only describe it as Korea's version of Disneyland. It had four sections: Kids, American, Animals and European. We quickly made our way to two rides Lost Valley and Safari to see the animals. We arrived pretty late so we had little time to see everything before the park closed at 9pm. We saw white tigers, tigers, lions, ligers, hyenas, giraffes, elephants, mountain goats, zebras, porcupines, bears and more! We waited to see the fireworks show so we hung out at the Rose Garden. It was super pretty lighted up. The fireworks was cheesy and I loved it! On our way out we saw so many other rides we missed but it was super cold and I was not looking forward to the hour long journey back to our hostel. Overall, for 28,000 won, it was worth it and I have would liked to see more of the park. 

Lunar New Year in Seoul - Part I

During the five-day Lunar New Year holiday, we decided to have our final trip to Seoul. Since we will be leaving in four months, this will most likely be the last time we go anywhere. Plus, we have a lot of money to save for the wedding for the summer.

Transportation

We worried that it will be busy with the bus so we went early Friday during the day to pick up tickets for Saturday AM departure. The bus ride was uneventful, the bus wasn't even full. People are definitely not traveling in droves to Seoul. But there were a lot of buses when we got to the terminal. It was so busy that the bus driver let us off while it was lining up to get into the terminal. On the way home to Gwangju, there were only 4 people on the bus, us and two older men. This is a 28-seat bus. It was great because we moved to the back and took all four seats in the back row. Transportation is definitely NOT a problem during this time. 

Accommodation

We went back to Fortune Hostel because we liked the area (Jongno) and it was easy to get to. A straight line from the Bus Terminal and only one change to get to the Green line. It was also very well priced ($50ish a night). The staff spoke English very well. There's continental breakfast provided but we never get up on time. 

Trickeye/Ice/Love Museum and Hanbok photos

We went to the Trickeye Museum/Love Museum/Ice Museum since we're in the Hongdae area. It was great! The Trickeye Museum was smaller than the one on Jeju Island, but it has all the other attractions (Ice and Love) so it was good. The Ice Museum was really cool. Very small and cold but very interesting. Everything was made of ice and there's a slide you can go down on. The Love Museum was fun, it's like the trickeye where you get to interact with the paintings. I also took the opportunity to take some photos in a hanbok (crossed off my bucket list!). It was 20,000 won for the clothes and hair. Would be an extra 20,000 if I wanted makeup and professional pictures. I chose not to do it and get Neil to take pictures for me in their studio instead. It was fun! 

Cool/Themed Cafes in Seoul

One of our goals in Seoul this time around was to visit as many cool/themed cafes as we can. Since we were in Hongdae, we decided to check out the Hello Kitty Cafe and Get&Show Cafe (lego-themed). It took a bit of navigating to find these places, we did. The Hello Kitty Cafe was up a set of stairs and it was huge! It's two stories and quite a tourist hot spot. It was soooo pink. I'm not a big fan but I can see the appeal. We sat on the first floor and had a mocha, sweet potato latte and two cakes. They were good but I think people really come for the atmosphere. We took some pictures and headed to the lego-themed cafe. At this cafe, you can pay 4,000 won to borrow a set of lego to build. You have 30-min to build and afterwards you'll get charged extra. It's a bit of a challenge for people. We saw mainly couples there building their lego sets. It is a great idea and we really enjoyed building our puzzles! Word of advice, time goes by really quick, we ended up pay 7,000 for the lego-building experience.

During this trip, we also went to the Bau House Dog Cafe, Thanks Nature (sheep) and Blind Alley (raccoon). The dog cafe was also in the Hongdae area (closer to Hapjeong Stn). There were puppies and big dogs there. It was very quiet there and only three sets of customers. The puppies and big dogs were separated, which is a good idea. We decided to feed some treats to the big dogs and I got a little scared because they SURROUNDED me. The dogs were generally very friendly and just want attention from us. It was sweet and little sad. The sheep cafe is a very nice cafe. They have a resident hipster grandpa artist who is also the caretaker of the two sheep in the courtyard. You can order your drinks in the cafe, commission hipster grandpa to draw your portrait and then go outside and pet the fluffy sheep. All in that order. The raccoon cafe was near Sookmyoung Women's University and a 15 minute walk from the subway. The area is very nice with lots of shops. Definitely reflects the young demographics. The cafe itself was super busy. There was only one raccoon and it was in a separate room inside the cafe. When we sat down, we were handed instructions on what to do/not do. We had to empty our pockets and bring no food in the raccoon room. My many years in Vancouver has taught me to be afraid of raccoon and that fear lingered the entire time, despite how friendly it was. Neil let it crawl around him. It's definitely a strange experience!