The World's Largest Indoor Theme Park!

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Hello again… I’m back for another installment of my blog. This past week and weekend wasn’t as crazy as my last. However, it was filled with a lot of things.

This past Tuesday was a coworker’s birthday, so just about all the English teachers went out to eat. We ended up going to this restaurant that serves duck. It was really good! We had about three courses. The first was small pieces of duck. The meat was cooked on a flat iron pan that is tilted to drain the drippings. The second course was larger pieces of duck, and it was smoked. This course was amazing! The meat was so tender and it tasted so good! For the final course the woman who was serving us took a ton of rice and dumped it onto the flat iron pan. Then she took the cup with the dripping from the entire meal and poured it onto the cooking rice! This was outstanding! I couldn’t believe how delicious this was. After the meal and several bottles of mekju and soju, we headed back to our apartments.

Friday I went and got some fried chicken and beer with my lady friend. Then we went bowling. I hadn’t been bowling in a long time. Seriously, I can’t remember when I went last. My first game was awful! The lanes were WAY too oily. I adjusted and put up two respectable games of 171 and 184, after my first game of 126. The nice thing about bowling in Korea is that all the alley balls are in pounds so it was easy for me to find a suitable ball to use. And, to my disbelief, they actually had shoes that fit me. I was certain I was going to have to bowl in my socks! Haha…

On Saturday, as most Saturdays, I met up with my buddies in Seoul. We met in Gwanhwamun (광화문), which is where the Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁) and the U.S Embassy is located. We went to this restaurant that is noted for its samgyetang (삼계탕). Samgyetang primarily consists of a whole young chicken and Korean ginseng; the dish's name literally translates as "'ginseng chicken soup" in English. I had this meal once before, my last time I was in Korea. As it was the first time, it was outstanding. The chicken is stuffed with rice, ginseng, a walnut, garlic, and jujube fruits. I wish I could do its description justice, but suffice it to say it’s an amazing meal. And the best part, it only costs about $10. After dinner, we headed to another section of Seoul where we went to a bar for a few hours. Then we headed to northern Seoul, where my buddy Jon lives, to hang out in his neck of the woods. Jon went home to the U.S. for a week so we gave him a little send off. Haha.

Sunday, feeling a bit of the previous evenings activities, I headed home from Jon’s place. After a shower and a nap, I went to Seoul with my lady friend to get some dinner and to go to Lotte World (롯데월드). Lotte World is a major recreation complex in Seoul. It consists of the world's largest indoor theme park (a Guinness World Record) which is open all year around. A portion of the theme park is outdoors as well. The indoor section is like being inside a giant snow globe. It was quite amazing! I look forward to going there again some time.

Another weekend in the books and time still goes on. It’s quite amazing how time is flying by. It’s hard to believe it’s already November! The weather here is starting to get a little colder; as I am sure it is back in NY. I hope everyone stays warm. Until next time…

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Photos

Duck
First Course

Samgyetang
Delicious!

Lotte World
Inside section.

Lotte World
Inside section.

Lotte World
Outside section.

Lotte World
I was captured!

New Friend.
Haha... My pirate buddy.