Towards the middle of fall we sort of got the blues. Maybe it was the normal progression of living abroad, somewhere between the excitement of living in a new country and realizing we wouldn’t be home for the holidays this year and feeling the tiniest pangs of homesickness because of it. We had explored a good amount of Korea and with the newness wearing off we were now feeling wanderlust to explore other countries. And in between it all there was life: the daily grind of it with the same stresses and worries that follow no matter where one lives.
All this to say we have been in something of a slump and we soon realized that the best way for us to get out of said slump was to get out and explore, to try all the places we’ve been meaning to try…to eat lots of sushi…
Sly hosted a holiday party at his work today. I reluctantly (I dread small talk) went, lured mainly by the thought of gorging on lots of food. On the drive over it started to snow – the wet kind of snow that melts before it hits the ground. A couple hours later, and stuffed to maximum capacity, it snowed a little bit harder.
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Despite not bringing appropriate hiking gear/athletic shoes and despite a breakfast of jalepeno kettle chips, we decided that no camping glamping trip would be complete without at least one hike.
Hiking Namsan appealed to us because it sounded like a big bang for our buck sort of hike: short and scenic. Literally a walk in the park. As I typically constitute the ‘research’ department of trip planning, I convinced Sly that our simple day hike would take us no more than two hours and could be easily completed in what he had on: jeans and Vans.
I think we all know where this is heading…
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FAKE
We’re back from Vietnam — a combo of a bday + Thanksgiving trip + finding reasonably cheap tickets on a somewhat dubious Asian airline with crappy flight times. It was worth it though — it always is. We had one of the best trips ever. We ate street food, drank Vietnamese coffee (and beer?!) with ice, had sketchy fried food that mildly resembled egg rolls, slept on two night trains, hiked everywhere, rode on a motor bike, met a ton of amazing people lifelong friends, taught an English class to children…the list goes on and on. Hopefully I’ll blog about it one of these days. Hopefully that day won’t be several years from now.
The icing on the cake? I didn’t get sick like the last time I was in VN (granted that was well over a decade ago, pre-tourism and backpackers and Western style toilets). I’m still getting over a cold I caught somewhere in between Korean and Vietnam, but in the grand scheme of things, a pretty good trade-off.
If you have a bucket list, and Vietnam isn’t on it, it needs to be.
We’re already thinking of when we can go back.
I remember when I used to look forward to getting older — so many new milestones that could only be unlocked with age. Then came the dread of getting older, or maybe it was the dread of no longer being “young.”
Honestly I’m not totally on board with this getting older thing and I don’t think I ever have been. I recall sitting on my bed at 19 crying my eyes out (super emo back then) thinking how I would never ever be a teenager again. Instead of feeling excited, every birthday I have felt a sense of loss.
The best way to get over something is to fully embrace something new, right? I’m trying anyway. Another year older. Maybe it’s not so bad? It’s another year I got to be on this earth, it’s another day to spend with Sly, it’s another birthday I get to celebrate with well wishes from friends and family.
There will be no crying on my bed tonight. (Even though an older lady patted my belly yesterday and asked if I was preggers. Awesome. I’m not.) Today we woke up in a bungalow, motorbiked around town and finished by watching the sunset in top of the mountain. Tonight: bday dinner in a tacky restaurant in a cave.
I’m looking forward to it.
Our Thanksgiving meal: beef pho, stir fried beef and veg served with stir fried noodles, pickles and spicy sauce, fried honey donuts and fresh pineapple for dessert. Washed down with multiple glasses of 22 cent local draft (served with ice) while sitting on plastic stools on the edge of a bustling street.
We are in Hanoi this Thanksgiving and if there is ever one thing that makes you feel thankful on so many levels it’s traveling to another country. Of course we miss our families, my mom’s cooking, stupid sibling antics, and my nephew, Jack. It’s not the same but we can’t complain too much. We have a lot to be thankful for — and a lot more street food to eat!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
The outdoor lifestyle industry is insanely popular in Korea, second only to the US (or so I read). I suppose it makes sense – Koreans do love gearing up in expensive technical clothing for any/all outdoor activity to include leisurely strolls along the river and weekend trips to the department store. Koreans also enjoy grilling and eating outside or day camping in sweet tents in parks or on beaches. Basic tent camping (as in a tent that sleeps less than four) and backpacking/minimalist camping however is not as widespread.
Instead, Koreans have glamping.
Once upon a time, Gyeongju was the capital of the mighty Silla kingdom, one of the world’s longest running and most powerful dynasties that, at its peak, ruled over two thirds of the Korean peninsula. At the heart of the kingdom sat the capital city of Gyeongju.
Nearly a thousand years later many of the Buddhist temples, royal tombs, and ancient artifacts remain (or at least portions of them — many were burned to the ground and rebuilt over the past century or so). The concentration of national treasures, historically significant buildings and Buddhist relics created a historic area that is collectively recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site.
Among the most popular of the sites is Bulguksa Temple.
