N’aaw, look how cute we looked
It’s that time again, or should I say ‘occasion’ where we’ve reached another milestone. It has been one year since we waved goodbye to England in return for a years’ long Asian adventure. Only one problem…that ‘year’ practically flew by!
I find it very surreal to believe we have been away from home for 12 months. I remember how I felt when I left the UK, all those fears and nerves about the unknown.
We stayed in South Korea for 3 weeks – by the time we reached Seoul the media were in a frenzy about the recent outbreak of MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory syndrome).
Here’s my two cents/pennies/won/whatever! about this recent outbreak…
What is MERS?
MERS is a viral respiratory disease which was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. Symptoms from the disease can range from an infection like a cold to more serious illnesses like respiratory failure and pneumonia.
We waited until our last day in Seoul to visit N Seoul Tower. Coincidentally it was also the best time to go as the weather had finally cleared up.
N Seoul Tower opened in 1980 and has become a popular landmark for Seoul. The facilities at the Tower include an observatory, a roof terrace and a variety of restaurants.
There are 3 options to get to the Tower – walk, bus or cable car.
Seoul is not short of café culture. There are streets around Seoul lined with rows of coffee shop after another.
In recent years a number of quirky cafes have emerged. Cat cafes which seem to be the rage everywhere are not the only quirky cafe you’ll find in Seoul. I recently discovered there was a dog cafe in Hapjeong as well as a sheep cafe in Hongdae!Take that kitties with your sneeze inducing fur!
We stayed in Seoul for two weeks so Kyle could catch up on work commitments. At first we weren’t sure how to long to stay but we found a great hostel which had everything we needed for a couple of weeks downtime.
There are many districts in Seoul but we decided to stay in Hongdae, a lively area near Hongik University which had plenty of food, drinking and shopping choices.
We only stopped in Daegu for a couple of nights as we were meeting up with a friend (who we met on a cooking class in Chiang Mai).
Again we booked another ‘love hotel’ as they’re usually the cheapest types of accommodation. Unlike Busan this one had a really tacky feel but given the location it sufficed.
Our cheesy room at Prince Motel
Still feeling burned out from our experience in Busan we didn’t really explore Daegu much.