Heyo Family and Friends,
We’re still drowning but taking a moment to write about Samantha’s quick weekend trip to Seoul with her friends. Samantha, Caro, and Dhara (Sophie couldn’t make it unforunately) flew the short 3.5 hours to Seoul super early on the morning of Friday, 29 SEPT. Due to few people on the flight, they all lucked out and were able to sleep across three seats each.
They stayed in a traditional Korean home called a hanok, which had unique architectural design. After settling in they ate an incredible meal of traditional BBQ cooked over the integrated table grill. The meat was eaten in lettuce wraps and topped with copious sides including bean pastes and fermented toppings. It paired perfectly with a local Cass beer. After they ate, they explored the exterior of the Changdeokgung Palace, as there wasn’t enough time to explore the inside just yet. The mountains serve as a gorgeous backdrop of the palace, which was a sight to behold. From there, they walked to a Korean Zen Buddhist Temple called Jogyesa Temple in the Gyeonji-dong quarter. The Jogyesa Temple serves as the representative temple of Korean Buddhism according to Templestay. The temple was being decorated for their upcoming Chrysanthemum Festival and it was gorgeous. Fortunately, the monks began service with their drum and gong procession just as the ladies arrived. The temple houses three ginormous gold Buddha statues. From there, they walked to a flea market called Ssamziegil where they purchased some souvenirs and had their caricature drawn by a local artist. In it, Samantha is convinced she looks like a certain famous English actor… can you guess who?? Reach out to let us know if you have a guess – photo at the end of the post. They ended their night with a late dinner at a mom-and-pop style restaurant where they devoured green onion pancakes (pajeon), bibimbap, and the best stir-fried kimchi (Kimchi-bokkeum) of the trip.
Day two was filled with many adventures. After a quick Starbucks breakfast/coffee, the ladies headed to The Color Place, where they participated in a two-hour color analysis session. Honestly, Samantha was hella skeptical but in the end it was so fun and really enlightening. The session essentially involves the analyst testing out different colors against your facial skin tone via fabric in the four seasonal palettes to determine your most flattering seasonal palette, temperature, and saturation. In the end, the ladies learned their best and second-best color palettes to wear and also their worst color palettes to wear. If you know Samantha, you know she has a very distinct color palette she wears: primarily black, faded army green, cream, grey, and maybe navy. Samantha’s end result was best = autumn, warm, mute (light grayish hue) colors and second best = summer, cool, mute (light grayish hue). Thankfully a majority of what she wears is in her best color type with a few minor adjustments.
Next the ladies found the Gangnam hands statue (oppa gangnam style!) on their way to the gorgeous Starfield Library. As an avid reader, one of Samantha’s happy places is the library and Starfield hit the spot. After exploring the wondrous library to the sound of a live classical quartet, the ladies did a bunch of shopping including taking advantage of the deals at the flagship Olive Young store for all things skincare. Korean skincare culture is next level and amazing. Delicious street food was to follow in Myeongdong. The ladies ended the night on a high note, eating knife-cut noodle soup (kalguksu) and Korean dumplings (mandu) at a seven-time Michelin starred restaurant. It was incredible and lived up to the hype.
Meanwhile, back in Philippines, Travis returned home early Saturday from his fourth U.S. work trip in 8 weeks. He spent the day with the kiddos and then that evening the guys planned a poker and BBQ night for him at the Quimbos’ house. They ate some smoked brisket, Travis lost all his money to dealer Mila (Carlos’ 4 year old), and they sang their hearts out at karaoke well into the morning.
Back in Korea, day three started with some unfortunate news, the ladies’ evening departure flight was delayed by 12 hours to a new departure of Monday morning… leaving them in Seoul for another night (had to figure out accommodations). This change in plans forced Samantha and Travis to cancel their Anilao dive trip planned for Monday because there was no possible way Samantha could make it back in time. They all rolled with the punches, the ladies soaking up more time in Seoul before their departure and Samantha and Travis still doing date day on Monday once she returned. After sorting the logistical changes, the ladies returned to Gyeonbokgung Palace to explore the expansive interior and grounds. The details and intricacies of the architecture were awe-inspiring. After the palace, it was on to a tasting menu at Blue Bottle Korea, where they ate delicious desserts paired with complementary coffee. After, the ladies took a series of photos in a quintessential photo booth and walked through Insadong. Next was a walk through the packed Gwangjang Market and eating scrumptious street food including a decadent hotteok (sweet pancakes filled brown sugar syrup, peanuts, and some cinnamon; but they can be savory too, think cheese, meat, etc.). YUM! They ended the night with a quick visit to Dongdaemun Design Plaza and then sipped a night cap at a local hotel. Just before jumping on the train to the hotel, they picked up their luggage from the super sketch storage hostel they stored them in all day… thankfully all luggage was accounted for. Phew. The morning alarm came quickly at 2AM and somehow the ladies lucked out again with three seats a piece for their 5AM flight home to the Philippines.
Overall, it was a trip for the books, filled with incredible food, wondrous architecture, and unforgettable memories with friends.
All our love,
xo Team Jansen
Team Jansen Abroad 