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Published: April 27th 2013
Hello everyone!
I know I haven't blogged for a while and it is 2 weeks since my visitors left, but this is pretty much the first chance I've had to write this blog about my wonderful Easter holiday with my fabulous visitors. A quick summary of my life between Thailand (my last blog) and the Easter holidays (this blog): work, eating, a gig of one of my friends, a couple of birthday parties, a ball, playing netball and rugby, pilates, salsa and sleep. Now I will get on with the holiday blog.
So Kate arrived on the Wednesday of my last week of term. I was allowed to skip work for an hour to pick her up and take her to my apartment and then I strictly told her not to go to sleep and she went and did some touristy stuff herself. We then went up Seoul Tower that evening - a classic thing you have to do when visiting Seoul - and marvelled at the wonderful view! We went at sunset so we could see 'Seoul by day' and 'Seoul by night'. We got the obligatory pictures and then went back down the mountain to eat a
View from Seoul Tower
The first time I went up this holiday.lovely Thai dinner (that lovely traditional Korean food there....... ha ha!)
On Thursday and Friday I had to go to work again and Kate amused herself with the delights of the subway and her travel card, with a quick visit to meet my class on the Friday and help us make chocolate Easter balls. On the Thursday evening we went to a leaving party for one of the TA's in Year 2 as she was leaving to have a baby (which she has now had!) and ate loads of food that we all bought round. It was great! On Friday Mum and Dad arrived and again I skipped school to pick them up and take them to the apartment, then abandoned them until I had finished all of my paperwork before the holiday could begin. That evening, we all went out for Korean BBQ (much more traditional) and a few drinks. Mum found her new favourite bar called 'Barabar' as it's her name just spelt a bit wrong! Kate and I went up to Itaewon high street for a few more drinks but had a big day ahead of us on the Saturday so didn't stay out too late.
On the Saturday Kate and I headed off on our 'DMZ tour' whilst Mum and Dad chilled out in the apartment, got organised and went for a bit of a 'local' wander. We were on a coach for about an hour and a half to get to the DMZ area, noticing how much more military presence there was on the roadsides as we got closer. The tour guide was pretty hilarious - Mr. Kim - and kept us amused with random stories the whole way there. We ate lunch and then we went to see the 'Freedom Bridge' and the railway that joins the North and South to each other. We then headed into the Joint Security Area, where we looked over into the North, and then went into the hut in the middle that is used for 'peace talks' between the 2 sides. Kate and I didn't even realise we had crossed over into the North when we went around the table in the hut, but when we did, we had a 'cringe' photo together! It was all rather tense but there was only one guard on duty on the North side, watching us with his binoculars. The
military in the South were all stood super still facing the North and looking very serious! We then left the JSA and headed to a gift shop! Of course, I couldn't resist. I bought a mug, a badge and a magnet all with some sort of DMZ / JSA symbol on! Great! We then went back home (we both had a little nap on the bus) and out for a lovely dinner at Macaroni market - the one with the great French Onion soup, which I think I've gone on about before! We then went onto Gangnam for a drink, mainly because I felt that my visitors just had to go there and Kate had a really cringey picture under the subway sign! It was only when we got home around midnight that Kate checked BBC news and found out that North Korea had 'declared war' on South Korea earlier in the day! We were trying to work out what we had done wrong whilst we were at the DMZ! Ha ha! We figured it was either my hair that was blowing in the wind (you are not allowed to visit if you have shaggy or unkempt hair) or the
man that pointed over to the North (you're not allowed to do that either!)
On Sunday we decided to visit the Tim Burton exhibition. On arrival we were told it was a 2 hour wait to get in so we went from there to the 'owl museum' in between. This was AMAZING! It took quite a bit of finding and we ended up walking through these cute little back streets to get there, but eventually we found it. Basically, it is an old woman's house with this one room full of owls! You pay to get in but then you get a free drink and you just chill out looking at all of the owls. I loved it, had many a photo, and bought a t-shirt! Yes! We then went back to the Tim Burton exhibition, which was really cool to look around and Mum sat in a room and watched some of Edward Scissorhands when she was a bit tired of walking around! Our next stop was Insadong where we indulged in some yummy street meat and a twisty deep fried potato on a stick. We then did some 'tourist' shopping and bought a fair amount of Korean
tat, then had a quick refreshment in Starbucks using my gift card from one of the parents. By this time we were all flagging a bit (particularly Mum and Dad who were still a bit jet-lagged) so we went along to Myeongdong and had dinner at VIPS, which is a great 'all you can eat' restaurant. After gorging ourselves we were all exhausted so headed home to bed!
On Monday we decided to head to Yeuiodo on a search for cherry blossoms and to see the '63 storey building', which isn't really 63 storeys and 3 of the floors are in the basement! Anyway.....Kate and I wanted to cycle along the river so we headed off for a pancake breakfast together (amazing!) and then cycled there, meeting Mum and Dad at the subway station. We headed to this amazing gold tinted '63 storey building' only to be told we couldn't go up to look at the view as it was closed! So we went on a mission to somehow get up there, finally managing to blag our way up to one of the cafe / bar places at the top. We couldn't have been more out of place. Kate
and I in our cycling gear, and Mum and Dad dressed for a day of tourism....we really didn't fit their usual clientelle for their £8 coffees! We begrudgingly ordered 4 coffees, bearing in mind that 2 of us don't even like coffee, yet still ended up paying £8 for it!! But it was worth it for the view and just to have basically blagged ourselves up there! It amused me at least! We then went on a hunt for the cherry blossom park. We found the park, but we were just too early for the cherry blossoms so we made do with the picnic Kate and I had bought at Paris Croissant and then we all headed back to the flat. After a quick shower and a rest we then went to Namdaemun market, which is a HUGE Korean market near to Myeongdong, full of tat and random foods. Kate got some gifts, Mum got a hat, and then we headed over to Hongdae for an 'all you can eat' Korean BBQ - a combination of 2 of the other meals we had so far! We were going to go to the 'Trick Eye' museum as it was on our
Mum and Dad
Jet lagged but enjoying their first BBQ! schedule, but we were just too tired and hungry by the time we got there so we settled for just eating the dinner I had planned. This was a seriously busy few days but as Kate was only in Seoul for 6 days I made it my mission that she would see as many things as possible!
So on Tuesday I got up super early with Kate and we went to the airport. We said our goodbyes and then I headed back to the flat and promptly fell asleep on the sofa (I also had a little nap on the train on the way to, and the way back, from the airport!) I got up in time for my chiropractic appointment and went and got cracked, had a lovely massage and did my pilates. Mum and Dad came to meet me on Itaewon high street and we did a bit of shopping, including me buying some converse! The weather was rubbish but it cleared up around 5pm so we then went up Seoul tower (again for me!) I did the obligatory photo for Mum and Dad under the sign that says how far away England is, and we then
had a home cooked dinner at home. Quite a chilled day all in all, but certainly needed!
On the Wednesday Mum and Dad came into school to have a little look around whilst there were no kids. We had a pancake breakfast to start with (same place as with Kate as I couldn't stop thinking about the chocolate chip pancakes), popped into school, and then went on a walk up Umneyongsan, a small mountain. It was the same place as I met the 'farting monk' but we didn't go to visit the temple, we just walked up and then straight back down! Mum said it was about 30 miles as she likes to exaggerate when we make her walk up hills! We also had dinner at home on this evening as we just couldn't be bothered to move and we had a sandwich at a cool little sandwich place quite late in the day!
Then holiday time arrived for me on Thursday as we jetted off to Jeju, a small island off the bottom of South Korea. It was only an hours flight but I still managed to sleep on it and we picked up our hire car
Mum and Dad's arrival.......
they do just what I do at their house! and started on our way (after a few issues with how to drive an automatic!!) We headed towards our hotel via the 'mysterious road' where water runs uphill! Obviously it doesn't, but it looks like it does, so people just wander around looking at a woman pouring water into the road to see the optical illusion! We ate some street food and then headed to our hotel on the South coast of the island. We couldn't waste any 'tourist' time so we dropped off our bags and headed straight for the botanical gardens and a beautiful waterfall. We also bought some great souvenirs and presents for people, including Jeju chocolates, and had a burger from 'Kraze burger' for our dinner - the only 'normal' looking food available anywhere near our hotel. Then we had a well early night!
On Friday I had scheduled for us to climb the volcanic crater at Seongsan Ilculbong, as my guide book suggested a 20 minute stroll to the top! As we approached it Mum looked horrified and Dad announced that it would take 2 hours to climb up it, but we parked up it and started the ascent to the top! They were
both surprised when we reached the top in about half an hour, with a few stops for poor Mum, who wished she was walking up with the ajima's (Korean grandma's) and wearing a trendy visor! We had a few snaps at the top to prove we made it and then headed back down the hill. We bought some oranges off a pushy saleswoman and more Jeju chocolates and postcards then headed to the docks to get the boat over to a tiny island called Udo, which had been suggested to me as a nice place to go. We got off the boat and realised we had no way of getting round the island as the tour bus was all in Korean and it was too far to walk. So, we decided to enquire about using the quad bikes. Dad was able to produce his international driving licence, so him and Mum were fine, but I had to smile sweetly and accept that I was getting on the bike with no insurance in order to be allowed one! They didn't take much persuading and soon we were zooming (ish) around the island taking in all the sights! It was a slightly
gloomy day but beautiful none the less. We saw the women divers who catch fish with their hands in the sea and random statues and lighthouses. We then headed back to the mainland on the boat and thinking we should squeeze in another activity, we headed to the Manjanggul lava tubes. Here, we ended up walking another 2 km all the way to the end and back again, basically in a big hole under the ground. It was pretty interesting to see how they were formed, but my main entertainment was when
Mum's trainer broke and she was 'flip flopping' along the lava tube! It was hilarious! We then went and had VIPS for tea in the main city, knowing that there was limited choice near our hotel, and stuffed our faces accordingly!
On Saturday it was predicted to rain all day, so we were pleasantly surprised to see the sun when we woke up! We walked along to tourist information to steal some Jeju tourist maps for my year group at school (our topic this term is 'holidays'😉 and then went to visit the duty free shop so I could order duty free to pick up at the
airport. We got into the car, drove for about 10 minutes, and then the heavens opened for the rest of the day! We decided to head for the chocolate museum to cheer ourselves up! It was slightly random.....a Christmas room, with no relation to chocolate, a random artefacts room, with no relation to chocolate, and some very interesting facts (see photos!) They also referred to people who live in Holland as 'Hollish' on one of their signs, which had me in stitches! After our education at the chocolate museum we decided to head towards the airport and stop for food on the way. We saw 'Paul and Mary's cafe' as we were driving along and stopped there. We ordered 3 meatball dishes and a coffee and ended up with a 3 course meal each, including free dessert. All for about £9 or something ridiculous. We were a little worried when Mary told us lots of flights had been cancelled that day due to the weather, but headed to the airport none the less. This turned out to actually be in Dad's favour as we ended up going on a huge 2 floor plane, which he had never been on before!
The Joint Security Area in the DMZ
We were there the day the North declared war on the South! I can't remember what it's called but he was excited! Ha ha! We then got back to Seoul and headed out for Mexican food with Rachel and her visiting friend and shared tales of Jeju (as she had been there as well just before us). Of course, we were exhausted, so then headed home to bed!
Sunday was our last full day so we headed to Sinsadong for more tourist type shopping. We also headed to Emart (supermarket), Daiso (the great shop like poundland / home bargains) and stationary shopping (wow!) We needed food and stuff so it had to be done. We had booked tickets that night to see 'Nanta', which is a Korean musical about chefs! It was very bizarre but a good laugh! Worth seeing when it heads to England if you like a giggle. We then went home and headed to bed after I got ready for work the next day! Boo :-(
So Mum and Dad amused themselves for the next 4 days as I was at work and Korean classes. We went out for dinner each night - Sortino's (Italian), somewhere else I've forgotten, La Bocca (Italian) and Mapia chicken (fried chicken)
Do we smile?
A bit unsure about the face to pull as we have our photo taken in front of the view of the North! - my waist line has certainly expanded over this time. They also went on the DMZ tour on the day that North Korea threatened to launch a missile, but they survived their journey there too! On Friday I took them up to get the airport bus, with strict instructions for Mum not to cry as I had already done my make up for school. Of course she cried, which made me have a little cry too, but I sent them on their way to the airport safely and I headed to school for a normal Friday.
Since my visitors have left life has been pretty non-stop. I've started Korean classes, work is mad (my class assembly is coming up, which is always an extra stress, along with year book page, reports and parent's evenings on the horizon) and I'm still doing pilates, netball, rugby and salsa. However, I did take some time out to go and visit the cherry blossom festival once the cherry blossoms were actually out. We went in the day time on the Saturday but the cherry blossoms were still not quite out properly, so we then went on the Thursday evening after work. This resulted
Scared faces!
We're in the North!! in some lovely photos with them all lit up in the dark, but also a cycle home from school at 9.30pm in the cold!
I also had my birthday (thanks for all the messages, cards, presents etc.) The actual day was a bit manic as we had an emergency evacuation drill at school, which involved us all traipsing down to the underground car park and standing in the cold for about 10 minutes, then we had a whole school staff meeting, followed by my Korean class. So it was 8pm before I started to celebrate, and we went to have wine and cake at a restaurant and I opened all my presents. We then celebrated some more at the weekend. At salsa I received some homemade cookies and a huge tub of strawberry ice cream, which somehow hadn't melted when I got home 4 hours after it was given to me, and then got bought a large number of drinks including 4 jagerbombs. I had a birthday meal on the Saturday night and a few more drinks to celebrate. All in all, it was fairly understated but enjoyable.
Which brings me to the end of this blog! I'm
currently enjoying watching Iron Man on the TV in preparation to hopefully go and see Iron Man 3 at the cinema tomorrow! If I get all my shopping done......
Claire xxxx
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Ron Burn
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Hi Claire. Sounds like you are having great "holiday" out there. xxx