As I write to you, I actually just flew into Tokyo today, but I’m still trying to catch up with all the photos from Korea. It’s been a whirlwind past couple of days, with meetings all day, presentations, business lunches, business dinners, and going out. I’m pooped. We had a travel day today, but tomorrow it’s back to work in Tokyo all day long.

I’ve missed Vancouver and home since the beginning of my trip, but I’m starting to feel it even more so now.

Here are some photos from our third and fourth day in Korea.

Yes, there are actually snowboard shops in Seoul, Korea. There’s actually a whole row of them, maybe 10-15 shops all in a row. Similar to Burrard and 4th area in Vancouver. There are a number of mountains to snowboard/ski at in Korea, but apparently they aren’t super high and don’t have much terrain. Still, it’s really cool to see one of my favourite sports littered across the streets in Korea of all places!

The CO-EX Intercontinental Hotel in Seoul, Korea has some really nice touches that make traveling away from home just a little bit easier. The Pillow Menu! You can “order” any pillow you like for free, whether it’s anti-bacterial, shaped a certain way, full of buckwheat, or provides other magical side benefits. It’s actually really neat (there’s two sides to the menu, sorry I didn’t capture the other side).

It’s also really nice to get a new fruit every day! My fruit plate just keeps growing and growing.

The mini bar is definitely more than just a mini bar. There’s a ton of different drinks and snacks (not pictured), not to mention a full (not disposable) razor, hairbrush, toothbrush, and more.

Other nice touches:

• I love how my clothes and folded and organized when I come back into the room.
• When I chose my pillow, all the other pillows I didn’t want were magically removed from my room the next day.
• Terrycloth and silky slippers were placed next to my bed.
• A beautiful white robe/kimono is found in the closet.
• There’s a pants steamer/presser, as well as an iron and lint brush in the closet.
• The lamps are turned on and the curtains are closed for me at bedtime.
• Chewy chocolate chip cookies, a full-fledged tea menu, and fancy coffee maker.

Photo Credit: ichotelsgroup.com

Photo Credit: ichotelsgroup.com

Not to mention the hotel has a full sauna (dry and wet… I liked the dry one), and three different temperatures of mineral pools… tons of sit down or standing showers, a full gym, and an INDOOR DRIVING RANGE, lol. I did check all of these out and use them (especially the mineral pools!!) but unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to take photos.

One night we went out with a bunch of our fellow Korean coworkers to Korean BBQ and a gorgeous jazz club called Once in a Blue Moon. It’s actually really popular with locals and not really a foreigner bar as far as I can tell. It’s very classy, and my mojito was delicious. The jazz was pretty good but perhaps my little brother (a musician) would have argued with me.

A Ferrari motorbike! I don’t even really know what to make of this. Is it fake?

It was neat to watch this man announce the pastries from the bakery.

You can’t be in Korea without having Korean BBQ!

One night we went to a Thai restaurant and ordered Wagyu beef (Kobe beef) that was cooked on a burning hot stone. Then, to make it even better, they flambéd it with Hennessey cognac. It was delicious.

A street of the Sinsa-dong shopping district. We went down the Garosu-gil street. It was really amazing… sort of a trendy shop area like Main Street in Vancouver. All the shops had very eclectic styles, and each shop is very small but nicely presented.

The store I liked most in all of Seoul was the Understar shop on Garosu-gil street. Beautiful clothes, a little pricey, but definitely very unique. I don’t think you’d find most of those styles in Vancouver.

You had to go down the stairs to find the Understar shop.

I ended up buying two things from Understar: a cheetah print scarf to tie on my purse and I also bought a neat necklace. I’ve noticed they seem to be in fashion in Korean, and I think they fit in well with my style!

Talk to you again soon!

Today was a full day of work and meetings, and tonight we’re going out for a business dinner with our newly befriended Korean coworkers, and then possibly a jazz club. I’m excited!

In the hour break I have before dinner, I thought I’d write up a quick blog post. I must admit I’m cheating a little bit, as I have no photos from today, so these are from yesterday.

The Hyundai Shopping Centre! Hyundai cars are everywhere in Korea, and their advertising and sponsorship is no different.

Last night I met up with my friends Chris and Aaron, who I know from a design forum (SomethingLeet) back in the day. It’s crazy that we have known each other for 8 years and are just meeting up in Korea of all places. Chris is in Korea and is the Editor of a magazine for ex-pats here, and Aaron is teaching Korean at a local school. And even more strangely enough, we all showed up with our Nikon DSLRs, and so we went on a nighttime photo mission. Long exposures are difficult without a tripod, but somehow I made do.

We went to the Bongeunsa Temple in the heart of Seoul. It was really beautiful. People were there (really late on a Sunday night) praying, meditating, lighting candles, and paying their respects.

The candles were beautiful, glowing in the middle of the night.

The wax from the candles was spreading out everywhere over the water.

The temple had these stunning ribbons of cloth that were strung from one temple to another. Old beauty in the middle of new high rises.

The Buddhist statue Mireukdaebul (Buddha of the Future State) on the grounds, by night. It is the largest statue of Buddha in Korea.

Stone pillars with Korean inscriptions and the moonlight shadows.

Aaron, Chris and I ate at Mad for Garlic, an Italian Restaurant in Seoul. Apparently, the Koreans love Italian food and it was definitely full of locals when we were there! The food was okay, and it was a little strange eating Italian food in Seoul, but it was a lot of fun.

We had a pizza for an appetizer, and then I had the pasta with lobster and crab, and then we had the cheesecake.

All in all, a very good night in Seoul!