seoul: yeouido park and n.seoul tower

//Reunited in South Korea and hanging out at Yeouido Hangang Park//

A little belated, but the month of April was an incredibly happy one. I got to spend ten whole days with one of my best friends and old roomie, Ivonne! It was so great to be able to welcome her to my little part of Asia! She saw some of my favourite places that I've gotten to know over the last four months, and we visited some new-to-me places, too.

I squeezed as much of the best of South Korea as I could into those few, precious days together!

Saturday morning I took my first ride on the KTX and met her in Seoul. It was my first time there and I was looking forward to exploring it. It was pretty fitting to start the trip off like that; we've been travelling around new cities since the beginning of our friendship on Disney Cruise Line. After (finally!) reconnecting at the train station, we found our guesthouse and then went off to conquer the subway system and find some of the last of the cherry blossom trees.

I'd read about Yeouido Park being a popular place for them, so we started there.

Thankfully, we were in luck! There were still some in bloom and it was a really nice park. Many people were out for a walk or a bike ride and there were plenty of trees and flowers. It was located close to the Han River so we were able to spend some time there too. We were surprised by another nice area closer to the river itself with open pools the kids splashed in, a sort of water park type of feel, minus any water slides.

People watching was completely fascinating. Strangers seem to sit on top of each other; they claim a spot on the grass even if it's barely a foot away from another group of peeps and bring tents just to chill in for the afternoon. The picture below doesn't really reflect that (it was more the sections of grass on my side of the photo) but I couldn't help but notice how stylish everyone was for a walk in the park. You start to observe two kinds of people here. Ones that are decked out in hiking gear for a day out, or those dressed to the nines.

Later that night we made our way to Namsan Park to visit N. Seoul Tower. Somehow we got off the path to the cable car and ended up climbing one of the top 5 tallest staircases I've ever seen instead haha. I say "top five" because I'm learning that Korea just really likes stairs. Everywhere.

//tired but happy faces//

While waiting for our turn to head up the tower, Ivonne tried her first Tornado Potato--a delicious deep-fried spiral dipped in magic. Actually, one of her friends described it as 'crack potato' because she was so addicted to them. We also browsed the love lock fence and the little gift shop where I bought magnets/postcards, my main souvenirs of choice. My only other regret (the first being, not using the cable car) was not giving in to my ice cream craving at the Cold Stone Creamery there!

At the end of the night we had hoped to take the cable car back down, but with the huge lineup and the subway closing around midnight, we hightailed it back down all those stairs and ran for our lives. We just made it and even passed the cable car building that we were originally looking for on the way down. Seoul was just rubbing it in. Next time.

By the way, the view from the top was kinda spectacular. Only problem was that it was really crowded in the observatory tower and you had to keep an eye out for rogue selfie sticks. So, in all honesty, I had more fun looking up at the tower itself and looking out at the city from the different vantage points along the hike to get there. (And had a few chuckles at the fancy girls out on their date night wearing HIGH heels, leaning heavily on their boys who obviously had to be regretting their choice. That, or, it was all a part of a clever--yet painful--plan! ;) ) We were so tired just in our plain ole sneakers, but I wouldn't change a thing.

Missing that cable car ride was a wonderfully happy mistake!

birthday in korea

In the days leading up to my birthday, literally the only thing that I was looking forward to was opening the mysterious packages that have been hanging out in my room all week. My mom had sent three big, brown envelopes and I didn't have any idea what would be in them other than a few cards from my immediate family.

Then, I opened them:

When I posted a photo on Facebook (of the envelopes plus two other cards) about it being from a "few" family and friends, I honestly had NO idea how big a "few" could be. I had no idea what was inside of them at all!

It's not my first birthday spent away from home, but for some reason this year I really felt the distance. Inside the packages were about 15 letters and each one made my smile grow a little bigger. The sweet, tangible words made my birthday so much better than I'd anticipated. 

After a morning of skyping with home, I got dressed up and I went to Turtle Park where I sat by the pond to write in my journal and read a few more; when you work through the afternoon all week long, its nice to get the chance to relax and appreciate a nice day. 

Luckily it was a really sunny day and many people were out for a nice Sunday walk. I even had a few sweet Korean ladies invite me over to briefly talk with them at their picnic table. It was strangely comforting. 

Later that night I met up with a few friends for a supper at a Korean BBQ place (so good!) and then we enjoyed some dessert called patbingsu (aka the biggest bowl of shaved frozen yogurt you will ever eat) with a delicious strawberry topping. 

I want to say a BIG thanks to my momma for organizing this all the way back in April and to everyone who took the time to write me a message in a letter for her big surprise, or simply on-line. 

Together, everyone made me feel connected to home and have given me a most precious birthday gift! 

all the green tea things

Martha and I took a little day trip to Boseong Green Tea Plantation. It's located in the South Jeolla province and luckily just a couple of hours outside of Yeosu by bus.

Actually, it took us two busses--one to get us to the Boseong station, and a second heading towards Yulpo. We met a kind local that was heading in that direction too and helped us out, also making sure we got the right bus along with her. On the way, the bus driver made a stop and yelled out "nok-cha!" (meaning 'green tea') and stared at us a few seconds longer and we realized maybe we should get off here too (earlier than we'd expected haha). We said farewell to the kind stranger and found that the place of our green tea dreams was just a short walk down the road!

We grabbed our first green tea ice cream of the day and walked down the path which was lined with tall and admittedly majestic cedar trees.

You know those moments where you feel like time slows down and you want to breathe in a little deeper?

This day was full of 'em.

Since we were pretty hungry, we grabbed lunch at a place subtly named "Heaven" and ordered a Green Tea Beef Casserole for two option, which did not look anything like casserole to us. It was delicious nonetheless (below is a photo of all the fresh ingredients before they were reduced in the boiling broth). The outdoor decor was charming. Repurposed old kimchi/gochujang jars as planter pots.

All fuelled up, we got our tickets and went inside the park area. We took a path that lead up past a fountain and a gift shop and that's when I caught my first glimpse of the fields.

The little bit of research I did before our trip did not prepare me for how I would feel when I finally saw them for myself. You can't contain the grandeur in a simple photo. It's like looking out at the ocean, or sitting under a sky full of stars. You feel so small.

The fields stretch as far and wide as you can see and up the side of a huge mountain. Absolutely incredible.

We walked and walked and went up and up.

I even went all the way to the top to see the view. A sweet, Korean lady saw me struggling to take a selfie--haha, embarrassing--and kindly offered to take one for me as I was about to head back down. It turned into a family ordeal as she couldn't hit the right button on my iPhone, so her husband hopped over to do it, but then the daughter tried to help instead, then he was motioning that she should take it from the waist up and took over again. Slightly more embarrassing, but SUPER sweet that they all took it upon themselves to get me a nice photo up there! Here's the result of that teamwork:

(Martha and I took some pretty great selfies together too, but they were on her camera, sorry guys!)

Also, there were sooo many flowers!

So, we mightttt have bought a thing or two at the gift store of ALL THINGS GREEN TEA (literally, if you can imagine it, you can probably put green tea in it) and we maybeee got a second scoop of ice cream, each (although, mine was technically an apocato- a delicious ice cream and coffee combo), along with an actual cup of green tea, and a green tea churro on the side, but I'll try and keep some mystery. 

Or, not:

Why choose between hot and cold? Get BOTH. ^^

To get back we waited at a little bus shelter on the opposite side of the road that we got off at (which entailed going down the street and through a tunnel, not as straightforward as that originally sounded, friends!), but a taxi came by and brought Martha and I to the bus terminal along with two other young women who were visiting from Australia. It was nice to meet new people and hear about how they were enjoying their travels.

The bus back to Yeosu felt much faster than the ride there, as the way all trips do. I heard there's a place where you can actually bathe in green tea which intrigues me enough to want to go back and try it some time, if not to simply stare at this lucious, ocean of green.