KOREAN SPRING

The main branch of Shinsegae Department Store in Seoul has quite a unique food court. Also known as Gramercy Hall, this place is more like a restaurant that just happens to have menus from a bunch of different countries. It's got Korean food, Western (which probably means Italian), Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Mexican, and more I think, I wasn't paying much attention to the menu. The reason I went and even knew of its existence, is because my best friend got a job at the kitchen there, in the Indian food section. I heard enough stories and gossip about her colleagues to be curious about her workplace, and plus, she invited me with promises of complimentary services (from her manager, if I informed of my visit in advance). And I wasn't to visit on a weekend because then she would be too busy to pay attention to me. So tonight, on a Thursday evening, I met up with my brother after work and visited Shinsegae Department Store - the oldest department store in the country, actually

A couple of weeks ago I went out with a few of my colleagues to a birthday dinner at the Ramada Hotel buffet. The birthday girl wanted to go someplace a bit fancier than usual since it was a special day, and chose a place with a nice view of the city skyline and a wide terrace where we could enjoy the evening outdoor weather - which we ended up regretting a bit because the weather was hot and humid, and much pleasant indoors with the air conditioner blasting. Anyway, that's not really the point. I have a whole lot to write about this place, as well as photos, which I'll try to dedicate to a separate post. Today I wanted to focus a bit on the people who were at the hotel buffet, Koreans in particular. Man, I mean, I know I'm Korean too, but these people seriously need to learn how to relax and enjoy themselves. I can go on and on about a ton of other situations to which this applies, but I felt this strongly at this hotel dinner, specifically during live music time. So I h

Singapore holds a very special place in my heart because of the incredible experiences I had. The sightseeing, while enjoyable, honestly didn't stand out much in particular, probably because it was rainy and I was sick as hell. Rather, as it always is with traveling, it's the people I met that made my days there so amazing. My memories of Singapore are still pretty vivid, and I already wrote a short diary during my trip, but I want to rewrite them down in detail just in case, to make sure they never fade. This country actually wasn't even on my original itinerary. My plan was to head straight from Thailand to Europe, but this changed due to a guy from Couchsurfing that I'd never even met (hi Steve!) before. Steve had reached out to me during his visit to Seoul in the winter, and we chatted for quite a bit on WhatsApp before making plans to meet up. He was very likeable and fun to talk to (still is), and I had agreed to take him out to budaejjigae since it's the ty