63rd day in Korea. I’ve met countless people from all walks of life from different parts of the globe, coming and leaving at my residing hostel on regular basis.
There’s always a slight sense of loneliness after bidding farewell to those whom I’ve had good chats with, knowing the fact that it’s probably the last time I’ll be seeing their faces despite all the keep-in-touch promises.
Weather is unpredictable in Seoul. It was spring-like for the past two weeks, but here comes the snow again…
Samgyetang – literally ginseng chicken soup – is an iconic Korean dish which consists of a whole young chicken stuffed with glutinous rice plus Korean ginseng and boiled with some other oriental herbs.
One of the most famous restaurants to have this is Tosokchon (토속촌) which is located nearby the Gyeongbukgung Palace in Seoul…
Bongeunsa (봉은사) is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Korea. It’s founded in 794 and gone through difficult times as Buddhism was repressed for a long period in Korean history (it’s now the biggest religion though).
Bongeunsa is also one of the few temples in Seoul that offers short term temple-stay program which is pretty popular among foreigners.
Jokbal, Korean pig’s trotter or pork knuckle, another popular food here. Dined at the Original Jangchungdong Grandmother’s Place a couple of weeks ago – finally a restaurant that I can name in English lol – it’s one of the first jokbal restaurants at the famous Jangchungdong jokbal street in Jung-gu, Seoul.
50th day in Seoul (hope I’m counting it right lol).
[Update] Miscounted indeed… 48th day lol. A pictureless story…
Took a cab a couple of days ago. The taxi driver was a 61-year-old man who could speak some English; and he’s obviously excited for the chance to test his skills with an English speaking foreigner lol.
South Korea, like Japan, is an ‘aging’ country with low birth rate but significant number of retirements every year. Culturally the senior citizens would pick up some hobbies; trekking seems like the #1 favourite as Korea is quite mountainous, and there’s plenty of nice and safe tracks within Seoul itself.
The taxi driver I met is following another path though; he is taking English lessons and going back to university instead… at age 61… how cool is that? His charming smile will last in my memory for a long while, with admiration and respect.
Pardon me if it’s common elsewhere, but I’ve never seen cotton candy sold in a cup prior to this Korean trip; and you’re supposed to eat this with a fork? Hmmm…
Korean travel journal
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45th day in Seoul, officially crossed the halfway mark of my trip.
[Update] I actually managed to screw up my day-counting; it’s day 43 instead lol.
The weather is getting a lot warmer… a week ago I was still wondering when the winter is going to end, thinking that the temperature would rise bit by bit. But it rose a lot faster; I can now walk on streets without winter coat in daytime.
