Gaaaawwwwddddd, I miss a lot of things. I miss writing in a blog, I miss bitching about every little things that are going on, I miss feeling satisfied when I hit the publish button, I miss regretting I publish stuff, etc.

A lot of things are happening. The biggest thing right now, I guess, is the recession. I heard that things are still going quite well in Indonesia, so at least good for everyone. But here, all I hear these days is about the recession, its effect on employment level, its effect on people's investment portfolios, its effect on retail sales, its effect on every frickin little thing. I could hear the words such as 'recession' or 'current economic slump' or 'economic downturn' or 'economic meltdown' at least sekali sehari. Kalopun kata2 itu ga disebut, banyak kata2 lain dengan underlying meaning of recession.

Cape si tiap hari diingetin klo suasana ekonomi lagi in shambles, depresi jg apalagi klo ngeliat bentuk resume yg isinya menyengsarakan hati. Tapi mo gimana pun emang keadaan lagi lumayan parah. Di mana2 orang banyak yang cari kerja, dikit banget yg berhasil dapet kerjaan bagus, malah banyak yg mulai dipecat2in. Gw ada temen di semester terakhir yang bakal graduate this summer dan sedang cari kerjaan di bidang Finance, tapi sampe skarang masih nihil. So far gw udh apply ke about 10 different positions, dan gada satupun yg udh berhasil.

Masih untung kita2 yang baru taun ke 3, at least masih ada waktu 1 taun, ato 2 taun sebelum bener2 musti terjun bebas ke ladang pekerjaan. Tapi buat yg udh taun ke 4 apalagi yg jurusan Finance, bidang yg hiringnya turun jauh, mungkin udh panik banget. Yah, moga2 things are turning up really soon. Let's hope for the best.

Selain resesi ekonomi, yang lagi lumayan ribut di Vancouver tu kriminalitas, apalagi yang berhubungan dengan gangster2 gitu. Baru 2 bulanan masuk taun 2009, udh ada lebih dari 10 tindak kriminal gang, mostly pada tembak2an dengan korbannya kalo ga mati ya kritis di rumah sakit. Bulan lalu ada penembakan di rumah yang cuma paling 2-3 kilo dari rumah gw. Sebelumnya ada penembakan di tempat parkir di mall yang lumayan sering gw datengin.

Honestly, serem banget, di sini yang cerita nya one of the best places to live in the world, well, my assssss! Vancouver boleh copet sama malingnya cuman dikit, tapi apa gunanya klo sewaktu2 orang ditembakin? Apalagi tragisnya penembakan ini kadang2 salah sasaran, yang ditembak gada hubungannya sama gang, salah target gitu. Sekitar bbrp taun yang lalu, ada anak Indo yang mati gara2 tembakan nyasar. Kmaren ada yg nembak org tapi dia milih rumahnya salah, jadi tiba2 org lagi tidur ditembakin, bukan target yg dipengenin. Goblog mampus si org gang, tapi super ksian buat yang ditembak, ga salah apa2 tiba2 dianiyaya ga jelas. Moga2 polisi memperketat hal2 ginian so at least some sense of safety can be returned to people.

What else is going on? I practically have no life these days. Going to school and watching youtube are basically what comprised of my life at the moment.

Well, apparently an uncle of mine is running to become a mayor in his hometown. He AND his siblings are shelling money like mad to fund the campaign. The amount is pretty out of this world for me. It's out of this world because I think a) it's incredibly idiotic to spend that much money for anything other than investment OR a beautiful fucking house, b)it's useless as it is IMPOSSIBLE to break even WITHOUT committing some sort of financial corruption, c)it's going to be a source of all scandalous issues.

Frankly, I'm waiting for this to play out. This is THAT kind of uncle, the youngest, most spoiled one. The one who, oh I don't know, used up his mom's cash for his, his family's, AND his politic's expense. Rumour has it that he's been selling his late mother's cattles (yes, do realize the setting of this is a pure and simple country village) to make ends meet (read: to buy new and modified cars, etc). The funny thing is that no one in the family has the guts to tell him to fuck off even though they all talk about him behind his back.

So yes, the election is coming soon and man, I cannot wait to see what's going to happen. Good for him if he wins, but it's going to be HILARIOUS when he retreats back to his corner, knocked down.

GYAHAHAHAHAH, EVIL BECOMES ME!

It seems to be a recurring theme. 1 writing, 2 months block, then another insignificant little rambling.

So, this is my first semester being a real student in a real university. It dawned on me how the past 2 years sort of swayed me with its slower pace, smaller classroom, easier courses, available instructors, and laid back classmates. Here, it just feels like going to war every single day. The first few weeks of school was hellish for me. I knew so few people, was pretty much blind to the campus setting, and just the notion of it being something new keep me constantly on the ground, most likely digging my own foxhole.

To be really honest, I didn't take it so seriously. I thought I had it all in check, having had spent the past 2 years going to school as well. Then the midterm came. Believe it or not, I basically studied for every midterm about 6-9 hours beforehand. Because studying regularly became some sort of habit when I was in college, I didn't feel the need to cram until dawn. The problem is, that habit died this semester. It was pure and simple, cramming for 6-9 hours before midterm.

As expected, my midterms are shitty, the shittiest they've been ever since I got out of high school. It's getting to a point where I am seriously scared that I might get kicked out, which is not even funny considering the amount of time I spent in that school has only been like 2 months.

As of now, I'm just still waiting and trying my best with what it left. Just means I've gotta work super hard for the finals.

Oh, an interesting convo I had with one of the instructors this term regarding an appeal procedure (in easier term, remarking my pitiful midterm):

Me: So, what's the appeal procedure like?
Him: Well, you write why you think your answers are right and I'm gonna mark them.
Me: I see, but you're gonna be the one marking, right? (the previous one, he used a marker)
Him: Yes, if I'm in a good mood, my marking's gonna be good, otherwise...
Me: But it's subjective, then.
Him: Yes well, life is unfair...

Dear TA, thanks for the little tip. You stupid jackass..

After 2 years of living on my own, I've started living with my family again. Almost all of them. My dad is still back home, as he has to work. Even though I was so looking forward to seeing my family, it's really hard going from living alone to living with your family. It's been a month in Vancouver, and we're starting to reach the breaking point.

First off, I'm used to going off alone. Lock the keys, don't come home too late. That's the principle. I'm not used to telling people at home where I am at this time or who am I with. I never used to leave messages if I'm out, my host mom would just know I'm not in my room. Plus, I never had to ask for permissions. But now, it feels like I'm doing it all wrong. I need to tell people where I am, with who, when I'll be home, etc. My mom hasn't said anything but I think I'm gonna have to tell her constantly if I'm going out, or ask her if I CAN go out. I loved the freedom of living by yourself.

Second, I'm finding out things I never realized from my family, even though we used to live in the same house for about 18 years. I'm finding out that my brother isn't so bad after all. We never got along, but now I think we have to find a way not to slash each other's throat. And so far, even though there are tiny stuff, I never felt much animosity towards him.

I'm also finding out just how hard it is to understand my sister. Maybe because she's feeling strange suddenly moving to a far place, but she's behaving like a complete idiot, and it's starting to really make me sick. All she does all day is stare at her computer, sleep (yes, even at noon), does not shower, does not go anywhere (her excuse is always 'I'm fasting', well, we all are, but you don't see me pigging out every single day). She's starting school, and she knows that it's gonna be hard for her with the english and everything, but not once have I seen her open a book or try to freshen up her grade 11 materials.

I'm becoming more aware about the personality of each of us. My mom has been saying how she feels unappreciated for all the effort she's done. I'm finding out that's because she never appreaciates the people around her either. I remember how everytime my dad goes home from a trip or something, and he would buy gifts for her and for us, but she said how ugly and how useless the things he bought were. Even now I still feel bad for my dad.

A few months ago, she was supposed to come here to take care of renovating the house, but she never came and instead delegated the tasks for me. At that time, my course load was a lot, I was still volunteering, I was preparing for my trip to Korea, AND I started working. But I took care of it, called up a handyman to do the house. Months later turns out this handyman is a total crook and the job he did was shitty. I was pissed, but it really got me upset when my mom started to say how I should've done better and I shouldn't have gone home soon. Basically what she was saying is she never should've trusted me with it.

There are many small stuff, that I don't even remember. Like just now, I phoned her from the mall asking what she would like me to buy and she said to buy a melon, the sweet one. I didn't want to buy it because it's heavy, but because she asks, I decided to lug it around. When I got home, she took one look at it, and immediately launched into a rant that I bought the wrong melon and this one tastes so bland it's so gross and everything. Is it hard to say something like 'Aw, this isn't the sweet one, it's the bland one, but it's okay.'? I don't know, she always says that she wants to have a friend-like relationship with her kids, but whenever we try to tell her how we feel, she goes on to defend herself a. Either that or she starts going to her 'make them feel guilty' mode by saying she's done sooooo much yet no one appreciates her. Well mother, guess what, you never appreciate other people either.

[random thought] war..

I feel really lucky to be born in a period and place where a full on war is not happening.

I had a dream a couple of days ago where we had to fight against the white people (lol, because our ex invader, Dutch, are white, I guess) and I was stupid enough to get stabbed and slashed by swords. But of course, because it was a dream, I didn't die and ended up fleeing the place by bouncing a la Mario Bros in his Mario World.

Super weird..

Exodus, Between Hating and Missing

Both my parents come from Batak families. While my mother's family was sort of 'modernized', my father's family holds the true traditional (sometimes conservative and lame) Batak blood. His hometown is Pasar Latong, Sibuhuan; about 7 hours from Pekanbaru or 12 from Medan. It's a place where you could either get in touch with your cultural roots or wish you don't have them. Weddings are still held for days all through the night. Toddlers are still thrown a 'Swinging' party (literally put on a decorated swing). Cousins (Pareban) are still encouraged to marry. And of course, male populations still rule all!

Almost all my father's family still lived there or in cities near it, like Medan or Padang Sidempuan. Seeing them used to be a five-yearly thing, then after we got older it became a yearly thing to spend Lebaran in Kampung. I used to dread these trips because not only it was exhausting, Kampung used to hold no interest to us, who longed for sms-ing (there used to be no signal coverage there), cinemas, and mall walking.

Also, I felt like a stranger to my own family. I mean, I know all my dad's siblings, and of course there's my grandma. But I barely knew my cousins and they me. Because I'm my father's kid (see how people take this male thing seriously), they treated me like a special guest, but still not one of their own. And in all honesty, I didn't bother to know them past that. The first time we got back after a long time, I used to stay in my room with my comics and magazines. After one of my aunts developed an amusement park, I came to know more people and mingle with them. Whatever the case, I was always relieved when it was time to pack up.

So about three weeks ago, my grandmother from my dad died after battling cancer for 2 years. As nobody really knew her actual age, we just assumed she was either 85 or 88. Consequently, we all pulang kampung to bury her and do these ceremonial prayers for 3 days then the 7th day. It wasn't long, yet it was long enough to discover things I never knew before.

My grandmother was a true batak woman who favored her sons than her daughters. Compared to my mother's side of family,]it was a deeper case of favoritism. There used to be a difference of what the males ate and what the females. The males had to eat first before any of the females. She would yell at her daughters more than she would her sons.The females, of course do most of the household tasks. The males got to finish their schooling before getting married. And they got to choose WHO to marry and WHEN to marry. I used to wonder why her daughters even cared for her at all.

A little side story. One of my aunts were 3 months into her 2nd year of college when her mother called her and told her that her wedding had been set to a guy she (the mother) deemed well enough for her (the aunt). Later, even tho they had a good marriage, that guy was the first to die out of everyone. Despite all of that, she doesn't seem to resent her mother.

So, this trip made me understand why her daughters loved and respected her all the same. It dawned on me that her mothering is not all about favoring the sons over her daughters. There are more to it than what is seen. She made her daughters feel special by sheltering them from unwanted attention from unwanted men, by weeding out prospectless marriage proposals, by preparing them well for marriage, by educating them much more than usual mothers in the 50s and 60s.

Another one of my aunts (I've got 5, so yeah) told me that when her mother sensed there was something bothering my aunt, her mother used to take her to the rice field and just talk freely. She'd talk about whatever there was to talk about and unknowingly, my aunt would spill her troubles. That's just something I never do with my own mother.

So, what I'm meaning to say is that however you see other people's mothers, never judge them because you'd never be justified until you feel what her kids feel.

Solo in Seoul

__PRE-TRIP
So I had wanted to visit Korea since last year. The thing is, it's on my way from Jakarta to Vancouver and vice versa, therefore access is so easy. The first thing was I asked a friend if she probably wasnted to go, and she said yes, but she later backed out. Whatever. Then I asked my Korean friend to go home around April (initially she wanted to go around June), but she later went with her original plan. In the end, I had no one to travel together. But I just really wanted to go there and in all honesty, I kinda wanted to try traveling alone. So I decided to heck with it and went. Thank god I at least had an unnie in Seoul, so I at least had someone even though she wasn't with me everyday. Anyways, the period inbetween decision and taking off was spent with LOTS and LOOOOTSSS of researching, from websites, books, maps, even some friends who went to Seoul. Because I was gonna be alone, I had to know a lot of things to survive.

__TRIP DAY

Honestly, I was hella nervous. All I kept thinking was WTF am I doing going off alone to a foreign country. Going off to Singapore or Malaysia alone wouldn't have been as..scary because I HAD been there quite a few times, and they actually speak both English as well as Melayu. But Korea? They speak little English and I had never been there. But backing out was not an option.

__DAY 1 (ARRIVAL DAY)

I arrived on a Sunday afternoon. Another problem occured. I had not seen my unnie, Helena for more than 3 years, and the last time I met her was for only an hour or so. I honestly did not remember what her face looked like, and I'm not really sure if she would recognize me. Miraculously, the moment I came out of the security area, a woman pointed to me and said 'D? DL?'. Phew, so at least she still knew what or how I looked like. We went to Myeongdong/Chungmuro area where my hotel was located. Finding the hotel was a bit trying but we managed. After checking in, we looked for food. My only condition was that it was traditional Korean. I didn't want to eat yet another Western type fast food, thank you very much. So I ended up eating a Bulgogi Soup in a Stone Pot, which was gooooddd. Back to the hotel, slept, and got ready to face a big day.

__DAY 2 [Myeongdong-Yeouinaru (Han Riverside & 63 Building)-Gangnam-Samseong (COEX)-Jamsil (LOTTE)-Apgujeong-Myeongdong (Subway CD Store)]

I set out at 9am to look around Myeongdong, which was a 10 minute walk from my hotel. It was still quiet as a lot of the stores weren't open yet. Trying to figure out where to go next, I bought a drink from Starbucks, a tall Caramel Macchiato for 4800 won, approximately CAD$5. As I later found out through some more purchases, it turned out chain store type coffee is expensive in Seoul, despite the fact that there are plenty of them (Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Tom Tom's Coffee, Cafe Pascucci, you name them.

What I originally planned was to do a Hanggang cruise from Yeuido dock to Jamsil and then did the tour the other way around. However, when I got to the dock, not only the boat had already left, there were literally hundreds of little schoolkids. I forgot that on Mondays, elementary schools usually do their field trip. So that blew. At first, I didn't plan on going to the 63 Building, the once famous building from the drama My Girl, but since my cruise plan was thrown off, I decided to visit its Skydeck to see what it was like. And again, more school kids, but I wasn't gonna be upped by them and I went up. Even on daytime, it was pretty cool. I can imagine how awesome the view would've been at evening.

Done from 63 Building, I went to Gangnam. According to books and internet, this area is mostly famous for its clubs, restaurants and as a pretty high end area to live. I didn't expect it to be just as packed and as bustling as Myeongdong. I was already so hungry and tired so I just popped into the first restaurant I saw. After lunch, I saw a bunch of stalls selling Odeng (seafood glutten on a stick), Ddukbogi (rice cake in a spicy red sauce), and some other Deep Fried Floured Seafood. It was GOOD! But most of all, I finally got to interact to real Koreans who know not a word of English. Took off to COEX in Samseong station.

If you're used to living in Jakarta, the city of Malls, you probably wouldn't be so impressed with COEX. Yes it was huge that my feet hurt so bad, but the stores (at least the one I came accross weren't all that spectacular). I have a feeling that there was a lot more to it, but I was too tired to care. I just took some pictures and went off.

If I thought walking around COEX was bad, I obviously didn't realize how it would be in Jamsil. My God Almighty, my feet were already exhausted, and the walk from the subway station to Magic Land/Lotte World (the Amusement Park) was so painful. The only thing that kept me sane was the great surrouding around the Magic Land. I had half a mind to try to circle the amusement park, but it was already 5pm and I still wanted to go to Apgujeong.

The purpose of visiting Apgujeong was to see what this Beverly Hills-like area was like and partly to go to Shinhwa's Kyochon Chicken shop. I first went to the shop and fell short of disappointment. The shop was quiet, small, and the Shinhwa memorabilia wasn't impressive at all. What was, however, was the chicken itself (which I bought to eat as a dinner and breakfast at the hotel). It was honestly one of the best, if not the best chicken fast food I had ever eaten. It was SO good. Done with Kyochon, I walked around to see the Rodeo Street and Cheongdamdong Fashion Street which houses world class luxury brands. More painful walking as those two streets are quite far from each other. Across the street was Galleria Shopping Store, the host of more popular brands for the Riches. But I was too tired that I just decided to go back to Myeongdong.

Why go back to Myeongdong? Simply because I wanted to buy a bunch of Shinhwa goodies in a Record Store in Myeongdong Underground Subway Arcade (near exit 7&8). This record store is pretty famous as told from Philippines and other Indonesian fans of Shinhwa. Thus, I went with as much energy and hype as I could muster to buy those goodies. I had been saving up money and working partly to fund this shopping spree. Sadly tho, the one I really wanted (Brand New Story DVD) was out of print already. I ended up buying the Personal/Colors Photobook DVDs, MV Collection DVDs, and the Winter 2006/2007 DVDs and came back to the hotel feeling content.

I thought this day was wonderful if not for one thing and that was too many places to visit and so little time. It was pretty crazy. I went out at 9 and got back at 7, 10 hours of almost nonstop moving, and even then it didn't feel enough.

To fit all those places, I had to really push it and was only in one place like one or two hours each, which made me crazy tired and hurt my feet so much as these itineraries all involve walking and most of the time, a lot of walking. I regret not looking for more food stall in Gangnam, walking around COEX and eating at the food court, entering Magic Land or at least did a walking tour around it, and of course visiting Galleria and walking/shopping around Rodeo Street.


North Seoul from 63 Building


Street Stall in Gangnam


The front of Magic Land

__DAY 3 [Gwanghwamun (Kyobo Bookstore/Hottracks & Cheonggyecheon)-Insadong-Namdaemun-Myeongdong)]

Originally I wanted to do a Downtown Tour with Seoul City Tour Bus from Gwanghwamun, then after arriving back, the plan was to go hunting for Shinhwa stuff, especially Junjin's new album, New Decade. However, I was too tired from the day before that I left the hotel at around 11. In the end, the city tour was forgone and I ended up going straight to Hottracks, which was a disappointment. Why? Hottracks chart is popular as the sole determinant for Korean Gasoos to win a Daesang award, which is a big deal. Therefore, I expected the store to be huge, full of new and rare CDs and DVDs, perhaps something like HMV in Downtown Vancouver. So when I got there I was sorely disappointed at how...small and insignificant it was especially since it was the main branch. I didn't even find Andy's new CD Propose which was supposed to be released that day I went there. So maybe there are other stores, but I just find this particular one to be extremely pitiful (their english was that too, pitiful). That aside, I still managed to buy Jinnie's New Decade and Kangta's Eternity (for a friend).

The good thing is that then, I realized that I was already near the Cheonggye Stream, a green project of Seoul city that lies for about 2km across Downtown Seoul. It was an oasis in the middle of the bustling city. It wasn't all grand and spectacular, but it provided a quiet serenity even with the people and the traffic above. It would be great to sit on the edge of the stream with a good book and a cup of Ice Coffee in the middle of the summer.

After, I went to Insadong, the famous culture street. And I can understand why many travel books would praise it. It was a great place for art and souvenir lovers. As I walked along the Insadong Street, I ate lunch there (quite expensive for a portion of Octopus Bibimbab), it wasn't anything to rave about, but it was quite good. I also got to try some street food, like Kkultarae, a traditional snack of peanuts/almond wrapped in honey threads, and Fried Seafood On Stick (oh dear god, this one is delicious beyond words).

Done with Insadong, I took the subway to Namdaemoon Market mostly just to see what it was like. I had no desire to go shopping or something since I'm no good at navigating through it alone. I ended up just cruising along the market streets, buying Bungeo Bbang (The Goldfish Bread with Red Bean filling), which was also sooo good. Such a stark constrast from the open area traditional market is Shinsegae, which was only

I just went into Shinsegae, the high end shopping mall with brands such as Channel, Dolce and Gabbana, Valentino, etc, to borrow the bathroom. Even the bathroom, in addition to the luxurious toilets, had couches and make up tables for Shopping Mamas to relax, unwind, and of course gossip. But damn it, the inside of that mall is not unlike a really really pricey hotel, it was so gorgeous.

Initially, I planned on going either to Shinchon/E-Hwa University area or Itaewon after Namdaemoon, but my feet couldn't really stand anymore. I decided to just buy dinner to go (A roast chicken from Nutrition Center in Myeongdong) and go home. But then, I was tempted to look around Myeongdong and ended up buying lots of stuff from Skin Food (I already bought 2 eyeliners the day before from It's Skin simply because they had a human size Eric poster). And after this Skin Food detour that I found out my new thing in Seoul: Cosmetic Shopping.

Without my mom, I couldn't really afford to buy clothes or fake leather bags, but cosmetics, I could do. For the rest of the trip, I went back and forth, frequenting Missha, Skin Food, Innisfree, and The Face Shop. What I love love love about these beauty stores is that they give a bunch of free samples, sometimes really really generously. The amount of free samples in my suitcase is almost the same as the stuff I actually bought, and definitely more in numbers. I asked my unnie why this is, and she said it's because there are sooo many stores selling the same stuff, therefore they need to give some sort of edge. And yes, there ARE so many beauty stores it's mind-boggling.

In terms of price, my god, the price is good, no, it's beyond good, it's awefrickinsome. I did hear that it was pretty cheap there, but I didn't really try to prove it or whatever so I had no idea how it compared to prices in Jakarta or Vancouver. However, even when I was there, I did feel those stuff were quite a deal. It wasn't until I arrived in Jakarta and did a little visit to The Face Shop in Plaza Senayan that it really hit me. Just imagine this. I bought an eyeliner for KRW3300, which they price as RP71000 here. Another example is a liquid eyeline which I bought for my mom for about KRW7700 is RP159000 here. Yet another example, I bought a cleansing foam, a cleansing cream, and a facial mask, all for KRW6800 and they are around RP60000 EACH!! Just for reference, KRW100 is around RP900. A freaking good deal is what it is.

In terms of quality, it's not a joke. I got to talking with my unnie. One time she designed an ad for Missha, so she researched about their lab histories, quality control and whatnot, and their quality is almost the same level with renowned world brand, Lancome. The conclusion is Cosmetic Shopping in South Korea deserves its own category in travel resources and definitely a special attention in every travel itinerary. Okay, enough yapping about this. So anyways, Day 3 concluded with satisfaction (and of course, sore feet).


Cheonggye Stream daytime


Ginseng at Namdaemun Market


Myeongdong on a Tuesday afternoon

__DAY 4 [Itaewon-Myeongdong-City Hall (Deoksugung)-Jongno]

So in the morning I had two choices whether to go explore Itaewon or the Shinchon/Ehwa area. I opted for Itaewon and was not really impressed. Not only this district is the default place for foreigners therefore a considerable share of criminality, Itaewon's identity as a shopping area is still in question, at least for me. I walked up and down the main street and felt blah because both the price as well as the actual goods just aren't worth it. So maybe the good stuff are obscured in smaller alleys, or that Itaewon's shining contribution is just the night life, but I just thought my visit was so..bland.

I had to meet my unnie at 2 and hang out, but I still wanted to explore and shop around Myeongdong (and before you ask, yes, shop for beauty stuff), plus there was this cool place I was dying to try out called O'Sulloc. I heard they've got quite some delectable Green Tea desserts at quite a higher price. I paid for a Green Tea Cheese Tiramisu and a Green Tea Ice Cream Milkshake for KRW14000. Expensive, but at least it appeased my hunger and curiosity.

Anyways, I was a bit late meeting Unnie Helena. First she took me to a Uniqlo store, a Japanese brand I had absolutely no idea about. It wasn't as expensive as I had thought about Japanese brand. Of course it's not high fashion or fantastic style, but suffice to say that I am going to go back there if I'm ever back in Seoul. And if you know me, you'd know how cheap I am. We also went to Migliore and Lotte Dept Store, the latter being the higher end of the two. After mucking about in Myeongdong, we went to Deoksugung, one of the big palaces in Seoul to take some pictures and look around the vast palace complex.

What's more interesting tho was the dinner after. We walked towards Jongno area for dinner and that was the first time I watched a real life night life in Seoul. I always had to be back by 7 because unnie was checking up on me every evening, so I never really got to taste what evening was like, even in Myeongdong, which was soooooo close to where I was staying. Going back to Jongno, waaah, honestly, it was great. Neon lamps everywhere. People everywhere. Restaurants everywhere. It was a wednesday evening, but it was ridiculously crowded. What amazed me tho is that Jongno wasn't even featured in any travel resources, yet it was so vibrant and lively. It makes me yearn to see how the more major areas are like in the evening.

After dinner of Dalkkalbi (Grilled Chicken with Vegetables), we just walked around and ended up enjoying some Coffee Bean and talking. This unnie was a friend of my late cousin. She actually went to UI for about 2 years so her Bahasa is just amazing. She hasn't used the language in years yet she was still so fluent on it. I knew her when my cousin was still alive, about 8 or so years ago. Being mostly a kid then, I never really hung out with her, so I was never close to her. So it was really nice of her to be really helpful when she's crazy busy at the moment. We just chatted and caught up with stuff. It was wonderful.

And that ended my Day 4.


Deoksugung Palace


Jongno Area in the evening

__DEPARTURE DAY

I was still gung ho on buying some more cosmetics. I reasoned that my new white eyeliner was sort of ruined, so I quickly run to Myeongdong to get a new one, while of course secretely browsing for more items. Sadly tho, the I could only do about an hour or even less there because I had to catch the 12pm bus to Incheon Airport.

By 1.10 pm, I was already at the airport, waiting for the check-in counter to open. My flight was at 4.30, I thought I was way too early, but it was actually quite packed.


Incheon Airport

__________________________

So anyways, that concluded my Seoul Trip. It was soooooo short!!! I wanted to get a full 5 day trip, but decided against it because I wasn't sure how I'd fare alone in a foreign city. But there you go, my first ever solo trip. Personally, despite the time constraints, the night curfew, the getting on solo, it was an amazing experience. I had always been traveling with my family, so it was something new and foreign, but in my opinion, everyone should try it at least once in their lives. I would love to go back soon for sure.

There are the goods and the bads of traveling alone. The goods: you get to fully research the place before the trip and you arrived there with good enough knowledge, you get to do whatever and go wherever you want to go so long as your feet manage, and you get to actually observe your surrounding instead of just immersed in your own stuff. The bads: if something goes wrong you could be screwed big time, you tend to be too cautious thus missing out on many stuff, and last, there's no one to go crazy with which is the biggest setback of taking a trip alone.

What I like about Seoul is its moderate nature. It didn't strike me as OMGWOW! inducing as in spectacular or anything, but it was just a great place. As a metropolitan city with huge roads, huge department stores, it still has many palaces and traditional buildings as well as traditional markets, alley stores, and even a beautiful stream in the middle of the city. What impressed me a lot was how developed their subway system is. You can go practically anywhere in Seoul armed with a refillable T-Money card, which functions as a Subway prepaid card. English and romanized instructions are everywhere that it would be hard to get lost. Of course, things could be made easier if you can tackle the bus system, because sometimes you still have to walk for a bit from the subway station, which is still largely written in Hanggeul. And there's always Taxis which has good reputations from what I hear.

Korea doesn't have any like really major attraction. It doesn't have The Great Wall like China does, or Rocky Mountain like Canada does, or Eiffel Tower like France does. Maybe it's just because I'm interested in anything Korean thus biased, but I thought Seoul was an experience city. It's to be lived and breathed in, instead of just a couple of days visited. Having said that however, the government has done a great job vamping their tourism. Nearly all informations can be found in their website which is accessible in 13 different languages. That website is just amazing.

My own resources:
KTO: Official Korea Tourism Guide
Seoul's Best 100 Guide Book from VisitSeoul.net
Korea Tourist Map from KTO
Lonely Planet: Seoul City Guide
Some friends who went to Seoul and gave their words of wisdom
Helena Unnie