korea round up

After carrying my DSLR around for over a month in China and Korea, I haven't touched it since I got back to Sydney. I really should take photos more regularly, but I've been the biggest homebody. That, and researching and planning Europe. My excitement is through the roof. One of my high school classmate's boyfriend is from Germany, so he's going to help us buy football tickets! Ah! Super pleased.

First, though, here are the rest of my Korea photos. I was in Seoul for seven days, and to be honest, three to four would've been enough for me. Majority of what I did was eat and shop. I think I expected some of the magic from my Japan trip, but instead I found Korea very similar to China in a way. Of course, from the obvious differences. There was just a similar feeling. Probably because most people I interacted with weren't very friendly - when it came to service, or when I asked for help. (The exception being the staff from my guesthouse, who were so incredibly lovely.) I don't know, it's a little hard to explain, but it comes down to moments of genuine friendliness from strangers. The really small moments you experience on a day-to-day basis, like a nice interaction with a stranger, a stranger helping you out, et cetera. Just strangers spreading a little warmth. It's not something I feel in China, and Korea was the same.

Forgoing a data or sim card meant the struggle was real. We went into a lot of cafes to use the wifi. This was one of my favourite cafes, with walls filled with books.

Macaron ice cream burgers on a very hot and humid day. It rained the moment we stepped out of the shop. Look how nice and photogenic they are.

A truck passed us while we were walking in Hongdae, with crates of empty soju bottles. Ah, Korea likes alcohol.

We hopped into Sunnye Dog Cafe after the macaron ice cream burgers. When I told my friends back home I went to a dog cafe, their first reaction was: "You don't even like dogs." Well, I like them on my laptop screen. (This goes for animals in general.) Maybe this comes down to never having a pet, but real life I am not a fan of the saliva, hair everywhere, and the smell of animal (excrement). I did make an exception while on holiday - walking around Korea in humid Summer... 'Nuff said.

It was kind of crazy! There is a sign outside the door that you have to sit down on the bench immediately when you come through, as all twenty or so dogs come running and barking at you until you do. Then they quieten down and go back to finding something else to do.

Similar to the Princess Cafe, each person has to get a drink. I'm still figuring how they manage the upkeep. It's not like they would be making much money through beverages, not with so many dogs.

Best waiter? I think so too.

Food was definitely affordable in Korea. (But, uh, a bit of a struggle, as I've stopped eating meat for a couple of months now, with the exception of seafood. It did restrict the food available. It meant a lot of kimchi, and a lot of carbs.)

Korea was the first time I made plans by myself. That I met up with friends was a nice coincidence! I stayed in Duriworld House in a dormitory, and it was really comfy. (The only con being a single shared bathroom, which was a little annoying when you needed to use the toilet and someone was showering every time you went to check.) But Duriworld was cozy, and I spent a few nights in the common room chatting with other people. We had a nice celebration on one of the nights before a few of us were leaving. Celebration of fried chicken and chips and Korean alcohol.

The woman who minded the desk during the week was so, so nice! She saw us celebrating and bought us two bottles of a type of alcohol she said Koreans commonly have. She was finishing her shift but she got it for us. So lovely! But whatever it was, it tested like intestines. Eek. I had a sip and had to spit it out. Just too much.

We did go to the Trick Eye Museum and Ice Museum, which was a lot of fun! My 50mm was a bit useless in the Trick Eye Museum. I definitely need to pick up a wider lens for landscape photos.

This is gelato from a vegan chain I went to thrice in Sinchon. I did take photos of the food I had there, but the focus was a bit off (again, disadvantages of a 50mm lens. I have to stand up and hold the DSLR in the air to fit everything into the frame, and then focus is questionable.)

I did really love how young and vibrant places like Hongdae and Sinchon were. Felt like Newtown, but much more alive. It's nice when shops open past six. Looking at you, Sydney.

hello kitty cafe in hongdae

...was actually a disappointment. As you can imagine there were a lot of visitors. I don't know how often the place gets cleaned, but the floor, particularly on the top floor and near the bathroom downstairs, was absolutely disgusting. It was sticky and dirty. In fact, I'd go ahead and say it had the dirtiest floors I have ever seen in a cafe. The place needed more staff. Floors aside, it was quite pretty and fun. The layout and the bathroom were super cute.

the dmz, or as close i'm going to get to north korea

Despite it not being on my list of things-to-do in Korea (which did eventually expand beyond the Princess Cafe), I did end up going on a DMZ tour. My guesthouse just had really nice persuasive pamphlets, and a nice special if you had a group of three or more. My mates and I paid 41 000 won each, which was 5 000 won cheaper than the usual price for the DMZ morning tours. I was not willing to part with $100 to get closer to North Korea. Unfortunately, I can't say it was interesting or worth the money. The only time I felt any change in my mood the entire period was during my sneakies - see: first photo. (All for the memories, aye. The closest I get to Kim Jong Un.)

I did quite enjoy the walk down and up an infiltration tunnel - in which the dead-end of a brick wall did infuriate one European tourist, who started on an irritable rant beginning with, "That's it? I walked all this way to see a wall?" I don't know what she expected at the end of a tunnel, but I don't think it was a wall.

n seoul tower

These photos were taken in extremely low light, on a very foggy night in Seoul. The plan was up to Seoul Tower on a clear night, but my last two nights were extremely wet and foggy. This was the last night, and you couldn't see much at all due to the fog. With a little tweaking, I'm probably seeing a little more here in the photo than on the actual tower.

We took the cable cart up, but in hindsight, after waiting in the lines - line to the entrance, line to the bathroom, line to get tickets, line to get on the cable cart - it would have been more enjoyable to actually climb up the mountain, which didn't seem too bad. (And not after climbing up Huangshan the week before.) Seoul Tower was basically a lot of waiting. Of the three hours we spent there, nearly half of it was waiting. In total, the cable cart was 8 000 won and the ticket to go up the tower was 9 000 won. If I'd do it again, I'd climb up to the base of tower, which provided the first photo - benefit of not having the glass - and not go up the actual tower. The lines to take the lifts were ridiculously long for such a short height. Plus save that money!