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15th Dec: I left Korea about six months before and had done so much since leaving, but I was missing it. Korea was the place I called home for many years, so when I found out I was off from mid December, I planned a return trip. I was looking forward to seeing familiar faces, being able to read what is around and understand (to some extent) what people are saying to me. Also the food, I was really missing the food.There is a Korean place on my uni campus, but it is pretty crappy. My flight left Shanghai early afternoon and I got to Incheon around teatime. I took the subway into the city, which took a little while. I was staying in Gangnam and met my friend there as she'd booked my goshiwon for me. Central Gangnam for 20,000 won a night for a private room. It was the size of a cupboard, but it would do me for a week. I couldn't believe that I had to buy my own toilet rolls owe headed to Diaso and I stocked up on all the things I needed, since I had only brought carry on, I hadn't brought much stuff.
I also needed to buy some gloves, it was freezing, a lot colder than the part of China I live in.
Then it was time for dinner. I was so excited! Time for some legit barbecue. After dumping my stuff back at the goshiwon, we headed down another of the million alleyways in the backstreets of Gangnam. My friend had found a good samgyeopsal place online so we were headed there. I was in my element samgyeopsal and gyeranjjim (steamed egg), samjang and kimchi. I was a bit gutted that this place didn't serve my favourite Korean alcoholic beverage; sweet, sweet Maehwasu, so I had to settle for the devil's drink: soju. However, we did get a flavoured one, apple, which I can't remember having before and it went down nicely. After dinner we went to the Coffee Bean near where I was staying to have coffee and cake. A great end to my first evening back in Korea.
16th Dec: I had the day to myself today, before meeting up with a friend later in the day. The great thing about the goshiwon is that there is free rice, kimchi and eggs to help yourself to, so
when I eventually got up that is what I had. I loved how dark my room was, it was a proper little cave with no light whatsoever. I am going to sleep so well this week if today was anything to go by. I made sure that I had my thermals on before going out. It was freezing! I was a woman on a mission. I headed up to Nonhyeon Station, which is about a fifteen minute walk away. I took the subway to Namseong Station, which is only a few stops away. From there it was a quick walk to 'All That Sweets', a cool dessert cafe, I had found online. This place is tiny, there are only about three or four tables, but I managed to snag one. I ordered a Christmas Tree latte and a slice of strawberry cake. It is the coffees that make this place famous, they are true works of art. There are a few different ones on the menu and while I would have loved to sample them all and photograph them all too, my bank balance wouldn't like it. The Christmas Tree latte is shaped like a Christmas Tree. It has to
Strawberry Cake
All That Sweetsbe an iced coffee so that it will keep its shape, not ideal for a frigid December day, but it had to be done. It looked so cool and tasted good too! The cake was also nice and pleasing on the eye, too.
After my coffee and cake, I headed to Bongeunsa Temple, near Coex mall. I really miss going to temples since my move to China, so was eager to visit one and especially a temple I hadn't been to before. The temple was constructed in 794, during the tenth year of King Weongseong's reign. He was part of the Shilla dynasty. The temple was originally called Gyeonseongsa, but Queen Jeonghyeon renamed it in 1498. The temple complex isn't too big and it didn't take too long to explore. I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the old temple with the surrounding new and fancy buildings in the neighbourhood. I love the mix of old and new in Seoul, and throughout Korea. Since it was a Friday, we went for another Korean tradition, Chimaek. Chimaek is chicken and beer. My friend had researched a good place in the backstreets of Gangnam, so we headed there. We got a mixed platter
of regular fried chicken and fried chicken coated with sweet, spicy sauce. It was really good and I am gutted that there was too much food for us to finish. We washed it down with some lemon beer and orange beer, can't say that I was a fan of the orange one, but the lemon one was good. After dinner, we went for a hot chocolate. I'd had a pretty busy day, so was tired.
17th Dec: A nice easy day today. I headed down to Suwon and picked up a curry from my favorite restaurant and headed over to a friend's place. But first I dropped in on another old and dear friend at her work. She was shocked to see me, but it was a good shock and we made plans to meet up later in the week. At my friend's flat in Suwon, we chilled out, eating curry, watching TV and most importantly drinking tea. It was lovely to hang out with an old friend and catch up. Although I didn't do much, I was shattered when I got home in the early evening. I had an early night as I knew the next day would
be action packed.
18th Dec: I got up fairly early as I was go hiking today. I helped myself to some breakfast and then headed over to Sadang, where we would start the hike from. I think the hike started around midday, maybe a little earlier. We headed up to Gwanaksan to start hiking. I have hiked Gwanaksan many times before, but it is always a good hike, not too long or difficult. It was also nice to meet up with all my friends from the hiking group again, and also meet some new people. We hiked up the mountain and the views were good. It was a bit hazy, but nowhere near as bad as China. I enjoyed looking out over the city, and the hiking kept the cold away. We stopped for a break and to have some lunch, then continued on. We hiked until about 4 or 5 pm, I'm surprised how well I managed to keep up, especially as I have only done one small hike since doing the Hadrian's Wall Path back in August.
After the hike we headed to a samgyeopsal restaurant in Sadang. I had been there before so knew that the
food was good. Some of the other members of the hiking group joined us, they all looked really nice, dressed in proper clothes, not their scruffy hiking. It was really nice to catch up with everyone and eat a tonne of good food, if I don't leave Seoul a stone heavier, it will be a miracle. The hike and subsequent dinner were a farewell party as one of the guys was leaving Korea. After dinner, we headed to the Jeon Jip (pancake house), I had been to this place before and I loved it. It is in the backstreets of Sadang, I am just realising now that all the best food and drink places are tucked away in the backstreets. The reason why I love the Jeon Jip so much is that when I walk through the door I feel like I am steeping back in time. This place is rustic. We spent a good few hours here, drinking beer and makgeolli and munching on assorted jeon, I skipped the hongeo (홍어, fermented skate) as that was all I could taste for days last (and probably the only) time I had it. Then it was time for round three, which
was a noraebang close by. That was fun and a great end to the night.
19th Dec: I woke up feeling better than I expected. I was really surprised that I wasn't hungover. I got some kimchi, rice and egg into me and then headed out. It was a cold day again. I had decided to revisit one of the places I visited within my first month or so of moving to Korea, Gyeongbukgung palace. This is the main palace in Seoul and there is quite a lot to see inside. I spent a couple of hours wandering around the palace. There were a lot of tourists, more than I expected for a cold December day as the palace is all outdoors, there is nowhere inside, in which to stay warm. I scoured every inch of the palace. I had totally forgotten the pretty lake/pond in the middle, so photogenic. After the palace, I walked over to Gwanghwamun Square, which is the huge square just opposite the palace. There were lots of anti-Park protest things about. Korea wasn't happy with the corrupt government and were protesting against it. I really wish that I had been able to go to
one of the demonstrations, but it wasn't to be. I was surprised by the tents, I don't know if they were occupied, but it shows some dedicate to their cause.
I had plans that evening to meet a friend, so after a quick pit-stop at my goshiwon I headed back out. Conveniently we were meeting in Gangnam, so I only had to walk down to the main street. Of course, food was high on the agenda and we decided to go to Dos Tacos, a cheapie Mexican place that we used to frequent. It might not be the greatest Mexican food in the world, but it is good and filling. I got my usual fish burrito and we shared some Fiesta Nachos while having a good catch up. After dinner, we decided to go and watch a film. La La Land was showing at a time that worked for us so we went to see that. It isn't a film I would have normally picked, but had seen some people recommending it online and I really enjoyed it.
20th Dec: I had plans for the evening, so had some free time during the day. I wanted to visit
one of my favorite cafes in Seoul. Plant is a vegan cafe, which makes the best cakes ever. I took the subway to Itaewon and headed there. The cafe is really small and even on a Tuesday I had to wait to get a seat. I really wanted to have the vegan grilled cheese because I thought it would be interesting to try, as I've never had vegan cheese, but they had sold out. I went for the pumpkin and hummus salad instead. That was delicious, I could have happily eaten a second one. I had saved room for dessert and I ordered a slice of chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. That was really delicious, too.
I spent the afternoon chilling and then headed out in the early evening to do a night hike. One of the hiking groups I used to hike with always do a midweek hike, which I was never able to attend due to always working late. We met at Sadang Station and headed up Gwanaksan, the same mountain I had hiked at the weekend. I've never done night hiking like this before and I really enjoyed it. We only hiked for couple of
hours, not doing the full trail, just up to the flag pole and the viewing platform. We were a small group, only six of us which was really nice. It was good to hang out with old friends and new. The trail wasn't too bad in the dark, the light from the city below stopped it getting too dark and I loved the views of the city illuminated beneath us. It just looked spectacular. We headed back down and since it wasn't too late we stopped off for dubu kimchi and makgeolli in a little place. I love dubu kimchi so I was glad I got to eat in on my return.
21st Dec: I had a lazy morning before heading over to my old hometown. I got my hair done by my hairdresser and she commented that the guy I went to in China had done a good job, glad I have her seal of approval. I had gone over pretty late, so that she could shut up shop after my hair was finished and we could hang out. We went to a galbi place nearby. It was a place I used to go to for work meals
and also with friends, so I knew that we would get a good feed. We ate lots of delicious meat and sipped on some beer. IT was lovely to catch up. Afterwards, I went back to my friends place and we chilled watching TV, she got me up to speed on what was happening in the K drama we were watching and munched on some fruit. It was nice to just hang out in a real home, I'm glad I got to do that on a couple of occasions in this trip.
22nd Dec: My friend made me a lovely breakfast and I headed back over to her work with her. Time for another goodbye. Then still a bit full from breakfast, it was time to meet another friend for lunch. I have eaten so much on this trip. Korea is one of my food heavens. We went to a Thai place in the local mall. While the food wasn't authentic Thai, it was tasty. Then I headed back to my goshiwon to rest and make use of the free laundry service, toilet paper may not be included but the use of the washing machine and washing powder is.
I don't think I have ever done washing so often, all my clothes will be clean for Japan.
For my last supper, as it were, I was going for one of my favourite Korean meals, Jokbal aka pigs' feet. Just before leaving I had been to one of the top three restaurant in Seoul and this time we were off to try one of the other ones. I decided to walk down to Yangjae, where the restaurant is located as I had a bit of time. I also stopped off for a coffee and Christmas doughnut at Krispy Kreme, I was hungry and couldn't resist. I met my friend at Yangjae Station and the restaurant was a short walk away. I can't remember the name of the place now, but on Naver (Korean Google) it is one of the top three jokbal restaurants in Seoul. I had tried one of the other top three just before leaving Korea, so it would be interesting to see how this one compares. We headed down the backstreet to the restaurant, there isn't just one restaurant, this place is so good that they have three or four premises. Not all of them were
open though, when we got there. We ordered a big plate of jokbal, we probably got the smaller sized one, but it was still more than enough food for two people. Also my friend had researched online that this place sold the special limited edition 'Christmas Hite' beer, the ajumma had no idea what we were on about and told us they didn't have any. It was all lies as we spotted some in the fridge, we also got a cheeky bottle of Maehwasu to wash the food down with. The jokbal was delicious. The meat was so soft and juicy. While the sides were better at the other restaurant we went to near City Hall, the meat here was far superior and it is all about the meat.
It was time for a post dinner coffee, I am glad that Korea has coffee shops everywhere. We only had to walk back up to the main road and along a few doors, before we were at a Cafe Pasucci, I went against the grain and ordered a milky, creamy coffee with sweet jelly things on it. I enjoyed it, although it wasn't the best coffee I had ever had.
Time to say goodbye while I loved visiting everyone in Korea, it was hard saying goodbye to everyone again and also knowing that I would be too busy to visit next year.
23rd Dec: My flight was leaving late in the afternoon, so I had time for one last meal before heading to the airport. It was freezing outside and I didn't want to go too far, so I headed to the mandu place just around the corner. I ordered kimchi chamchi jjigae (kimchi and tuna stew) and kimchi mandu (steamed kimchi dumplings), I managed to scoff the lot. It was totally delicious, and I would definitely be sweating out kimchi for a while. I headed to the airport for my flight to Japan. I'd had a good week back in Korea and was glad that I had visited, but it felt weird bring there and not being at work. I also want to re-visit again when it is warmer.
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