안녕하십니까

Finally.

At long last.

And it turned out a little more, sometimes a little less, than what I've been imagining it to be all this while.



The Namdaemun Gate.


Steaming hot and juicy dumplings in chilling winter that could make one's dislike for porky pork dissipate.


The ajumma at the roadside puchangmacha who fed us dinner.


I don't know, but it must have been some radish cake. No eggs, I'm sure though.


炒年糕！


My craving for fried tung hoon was thus satisfied.


Moo moo moo moo mmMMmmMMmmmoo.


The deceptively healthy beer made from "naturally fresh water" that washed down all the junk.


Soju, the drink for the broken-hearted, but not the faint-hearted.


The freakin' nine-course roadside meal that cost me a hundred grand in Korean won. Yes, five 'zeroes' at the back. Yes, that's a hundred US dollars.

And YES, AUNTIE HERE GOT CONNED BIG-TIME!!!


The freakin' conwoman who fed us, warmed us, then cheated us. And who probably closed shop for the next couple of days.


My one-time daily fix that I have been missing for the past five months.


Bu-Gol-Gi... Bu-Gol-Gi... Bu-Gol-Gi... Bu-Gol-Gi...


I think beautiful blue skies tend to follow wherever I may go. : )


Right. I'm pretty sure I had seen this exact picturesque scenery in Seattle.


There is always tea-time anytime when I travel.


The barley rice cake that we waited freakin' fifteen minutes for.


And then, in a matter of an hour, I thought I was teleported to Little Italy in Frisco.


Four in the p.m.


This, of all names, is called the "Hangover Soup". I didn't have to be hungover to like it.


Myeongdong in the night. Colder than Tokyo. Less crowded than Honks. Almost as much food as Taipei.


The ice-skating rink at the City Hall, outside the Seoul Plaza Hotel. I think I must have seen this place in some drama. And I wanna say, I make a darned good navigator of complicated subway systems.


It actually snowed a little on the last morning. So little, so quick to melt... I didn't actually see snow.


Look Ma! No leggings/stockings/pants/socks/whatever! And it's just zero degree in the Celsius!


Three-thirty in the p.m. On the way back home.


So there. Four Asian cities in two weeks.

A food odyssey that came and then had to go.

I have eaten more than I possibly could in any given two-week period. I have more memories than I possibly could expect.


It's time to get back into the clothes.

Fifteen clicks in two days. And it's hoops time now.


I walked around Seoul for two days, with my balls hanging loose.