Adventure to Asia: South Korea

This is my last Asia post. Can you believe it's come to an end? I guess it's about time for another adventure!

Tuesday: August 5: Incheon & Seoul

If you ever get the chance to have a long layover in South Korea do it, especially if you can't actually visit the country. First, the airport is amazing, but secondly, they offer tours anywhere from 1 hour to 5 hours. I was actually lucky enough to take two because my layover was so long.

While waiting for my first tour to start I met a girl from Vietnam who was studying in Canada. I'm really kicking myself because I forgot her name. We decided to stick together on the tour. The first tour I went on was just an hour to Yonggungsa Temple. The temple was beautiful, but it was really foggy that day because of the pollution from China. Apparently fog like that doesn't happen all the time but it was like that for both layovers I had. Maybe I just have bad luck. There were so many cats running around too. I was so used to seeing street dogs that it was weird seeing cats.

After the first tour my friend and I sat on some benches before the next tour started. I got a Jamba Juice to fill me up a little bit and I charged my phone while she slept. Right before we went on the tour we walked around one of the make up stores. On the second tour we met a French girl who was living in New York City and she tagged along with us too. I don't remember her name either. But I was impressed by her accent because you could barely tell she had one. Once you reach puberty you will never have a native like accent when you learn a new language, so I thought it was pretty cool that she sounded so American. The first stop on the tour was the Dongdaemun Design Plaza.

The second stop was at Changdeokgung Palace. The palace was huge and we didn't even see all of it because we had a time limit.

After walking through the palace we went to lunch where we were served bibimbap. I had never had Korean food before and it was really good. I still crave it sometimes but I don't know anywhere around where I live that makes it. After lunch we had about 30 minutes before we had to meet to go back to the airport. The Vietnamese girl went off because she wanted to find a certain make up store so the French girl and I walked around. We were laughing at these little kids because they all had these funny shaped cones filled with ice cream.

When we got back to the airport I was in a hurry so I never really said "good-bye." I regret that so much, and I don't know why. My flight ended up being delayed AGAIN. Then when we finally boarded the flight it was delayed longer for customs issues. Sitting next to me was a woman, a woman with a baby on her lap, and me. I felt bad for the woman with the baby. She apologized to us saying she tried to get a seat with the baby crib. After we were served dinner a flight attendant came over and told her they had a seat for her. This was a blessing for me and the other woman because we had no one in between us. I was able to sleep on my side a little bit letting my feet go into the next seat. I got the best sleep, which is a miracle because I can't sleep in cars or planes.

I purposely picked the flight with a long layover in San Francisco so I could see my aunt. Unfortunately, since the flight was delayed I didn't have as long as I would have liked but I still had a long time. My friend Rosendo also came up from Sacramento so I got to see him too! After I showered my aunt took us to my favorite place in San Francisco, The Cliff House. I was very thankful for a great layover!

Please don't mind my terrible hair. I didn't have a straightener for 3 weeks and my hair tends to take on a mind of it's own.

Adventure to Asia: Philippines, Pt. 3

Saturday, August 2: Dumaguete City

After paying for an extra bag we walked to our gate. Our flight ended up being delayed an hour! This wouldn't have been a problem, but we had to catch another plane in Manila. When we landed in Manila we had to wait for our checked bag which is exactly the reason we didn't want to check any bags. We had about 30 minutes to get to our gate. I just told Jillian I would try to get our tickets without her there. When I got to the counter I explained pretty impatiently that my sister was waiting for a bag and we had a flight with the same airline. She hesitantly gave me both tickets and I ran to wait for my sister. Of course cell phone service was terrible and literally at the time we needed to be at the gate Jillian finally came up but there was a family that couldn't decided what they wanted to do and I was just yelling at Jillian to ask if she could cut in front of them. Then we ran through security and to our gate with all our bags. Luckily, we made it on time. I don't know how but God was looking out for us. I tried to sleep on the flight, but I couldn't.

When we go to Dumaguete we went to a hostel owned by someone my sister knows. We ate breakfast and then went to her apartment. When we got there there were so many roosters tied up that my sister had never seen before. We figured they were being used for fights. We both showered and then took a nap. We left her apartment around 5 and she took me to a coffee shop called Scooby's where she had me try Halo Halo. It's this purple ice cream (I can't remember the name) and they put lots of different toppings on it and it all sits on some ice. We both forgot our phones so Jillian went back to get them while I waited for the food. It came while she was still gone and I felt bad starting to eat it before she came back.

A little bit before 7 we headed to a place called Pasta King where I met some more of my sister's friends. After we ate I really wanted caffeine. Jillian and I walked to a coffee shop but they didn't have to go cups. I just gave up. After we ate some of us went to vidaoke. It's like karaoke but with videos. It's big in the Philippines and my sister wanted me to experience it.

Sunday: August 3: Dumaguete City

On Sunday Jillian, her two friends, and I went to Dauin to go swimming. It took a while to get there, but it was a really nice spot and there weren't many people around. We stayed there for a long part of the day but it was really windy!

Afterwards, we decided we were going to have dinner together so we went to a market and super market called Lee Plaza. Lee Plaza was strange because there were so many check points and security to get through. I bought a buko shake because Jillian wanted me to try it and it was SO GOOD! It tasted like a vanilla milkshake. Outside of the super market two guys were with a little puppy and it was so cute, but then they tried selling it to us and we declined. We then headed our separate ways to shower before dinner.

Around 6 we headed to the one girls apartment. She made us iced coffees and when the other girl arrived they made guacamole. We ate so much guacamole that by the time we made the pasta we weren't too hungry. We finished the night watching 50/50.

Monday, August 4: Cebu City

In the morning I packed up all my stuff and we went to where my sister works. I dropped my stuff off and then we walked to a coffee shop where I got some tea and food. Jillian had to leave to go to a meeting so I finished everything myself. I almost started crying because I get really emotional when things end, plus I was sad to be leaving my sister. We had our arguments while on our 3 week trip together, but it was still really sad to be leaving. After I ate I walked to a little souvenir shop and bought last minute gifts. I walked back to my sisters work and met some of her co-workers. Then she took me to the airport.

We said good-bye and I went to check in. When I got to the counter they had to weigh me and all my stuff. I was waiting to be charged for an extra bag again but it turned out they only need the weight because it was a propeller plane. When I got on the plane a woman was sitting in my seat and I just let her have it because she was with her husband. I got a seat the faced everyone and it was really weird to be sitting that way. So, there is a stereotype that Filipina women date old white men and that stereotype rang true on this flight. The first three rows in front of me and 2 out of the 3 rows on the other side were Filipina women with these really old white men.

The airport was a lot smaller than I was expecting and I spent 10 hours at this coffee shop with no food. I met a guy named Ferdie and we talked for most of his shift. He was really nice. Then he left and I still had so much time before my flight. I just journaled for most of the time. Finally about 10 pm I was able to check in and wait for my flight.

Adventure to Asia: Vietnam Pt. 3

Friday, August 1: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

On our last day in Vietnam we decided to walk around the city since our flight didn't leave until 12 am and we had to check out of our hostel by noon. We left our luggage at the hostel and marked places we wanted to see before we left. We first walked to the War Remnants Museum and the Reunification Palace but both were closing for lunch so we decided to eat at another restaurant our hostel suggested. As we were leaving to go to the restaurant a group of about 10-15 students came up to us and asked if they could take our picture. I felt like a celebrity. ;) We ate at NGON Restaurant, and it was pretty expensive compared to other places we stayed at but the food was delicious.

After lunch we still had time before the other two places opened. We walked to the Notre Dame Cathedral and the National Post Office to take pictures. They were really close to the restaurant so it worked out really well. The Cathedral and post office were beautiful!

We walked back to the Reunification Palace and realized it was actually really boring, but we decided to trudge on after the first floor. It was hot that day and the roof had a really nice breeze. There were rooms on the top floor for guests and I think I liked that part the most because it reminded me of Frank Lloyd Wright's work. We went to the basement last and we were so hot that we just sat in some room playing a documentary in Vietnamese to cool off because it was the only place with air conditioning. As we were leaving the Palace there was a group of soldiers playing on kids toys. I tried to get a picture of it but they didn't turn our very well. It was funny though because this little girl wanted to get on but she couldn't.

When we go to the War Remnants Museum this guy with no hands and one eye came up to me. He asked where I was from and I was just waiting for him to tell me "Your country did this to me." It turns out he just wanted to sell me some books. I felt bad, but I politely declined. The museum was very sad, but it is something you should definitely see if you are ever in Ho Chi Mihn. I didn't even take any pictures inside because it didn't feel right. You could tell the museum was Anti-American, pro-communism though. It was blatant throughout the whole thing.

We decided to get some coffee so we walked to a coffee art shop that was kind of pricey. We both got Vietnamese iced coffees (because we were obsessed with it and the Thai teas). We sat and talked or a while. Then we walked across the street to the Chợ Bến Thành market. Every thing was so over priced and we were trying to remember how much stuff was at the store we had went to a few nights earlier. Luckily, we stuck to our guns and only bought a few items which we managed to get for the same price or slightly cheaper than the store. My sister wanted to buy something and the lady almost started crying when my sister said the price she wanted, but she ended up giving it to her for the price. When we went to the other store and saw that it was sold there for the same price she got it at the market she didn't feel bad anymore.

Since we were in a shopping mood and it was getting late we decided to go back to the souvenir store to buy our last minute gifts. Google maps kept messing up though and we got lost. I was getting really frustrated but I ended up just taking a street and it took us to where we needed to be. It was our goal to spend most of our Vietnamese Dong so we didn't have to exchange it later.

After we went to the shop we were both craving fish and chips so we went to a restaurant nearby. We sat and ate for a while because we still had a lot of time to kill. We paid our bill but the guy was taking forever to give us our change. When my sister finally asked about it he acted like he forgot, but he was looking at us the whole time so we knew that wasn't the case. Plus, we were the only ones in there. We were planning on going to this famous bar for some drinks but neither of us had any money left and we didn't want to go to the ATM just to take out money for a drink.

We decided to just go back to the hostel to hang out until our taxi came. We met another traveler whose name was Andrew, and he sat and talked with us until we had to go. This started a night of everything going wrong. First, the taxi forgot us and had to come back and then when we got to the airport they charged us $25 for an extra bag which we never had to do. I was so mad at that point. The problems continued, but I will talk them in my next post!