Korea, the experience in a nutshell

How to keep this journal short... hmmm. Oh here we go.

This was our original itinerary. We completed it, in no particular order, and had time to spare for a few extra destinations. Too compressed though, in my opinion.

My favourite parts of the tour has to be the few climbs to Sunrise Peak and Mt Sorak, as well as the Cherry Blossom lanes at Jeju Island. I got a few good photos there, as the day was bright and sunny. The cherry blossom feathers were falling. It was such a beautiful sight. We spent only 15 minutes there. Best time spent ever.

The least favourite part has to be the food. Kimchi in every meal. Granted,there are over 200 types of Kimchi in korea but they're all basically a variety of preserved food. The best 'kimchi' dish to me was this fried beancurd, which is not unlike what we have in Malaysia, except that it's served cold. There are exceptions to the standard Korean fare though, like Ginseng Chicken soup, which was pretty good, and Black Pig... which is really just pork, but they had good seasoning.

Some unforgettable experiences besides the above are:
1. Sleeping on the floor with layers of futon as a mattress ala Japanese style.
2. Heated floors!
3. Electronic toilet seats with front and rear cleaning and a blowdryer. I need to get one of these. My ass will thank me.
4. No supermarkets. None. No Carrefoure, Tesco, nada. Plenty of mini-markets, though.
5. Myeongdong. Bukit Bintang meets Petaling Street. And it still puts both of them to shame.
6. Ladies wearing nothing but a blouse and hot pants in the freezing cold night of 10-17 degrees. Respect.
7. Ladies in make up and heels while hiking up a mountain. Vanity hath mercy...
8. Korean self-preservation trinity: Ginseng, Liver Supplements and Horse Bone/Marrow Pills.
9. Salespeople speaking 3 languages. Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin. I think we can beat them, though. English and Mandarin have a wider regional coverage. heehee.
10. Snow in the mountains! They didn't completely melt.
11. Rent-a-phone, at the airports. Didn't see that one coming.
12. Men in suits, everywhere. I think the weather may be partly to blame, but even shopping in malls with heating we see these glossy suited boys everywhere.
13. One nation, one race. (well, it's hard to tell Korean from Chinese sometimes, we're all from the same roots anyway). Point is, every public servant is of the same race, not a foreign worker or the presumed Indians like our nation. The end result is young boys and pretty girls servicing us most of the time. A pleasant experience.

Oh, and I'm convinced that Korean fashion trumps ours. Hands down. But our instant noodles are better.:)

So there. No wall of text.