The Seoul of Asia

Annyeonghaseyo!!! (Hello!) 

I have now been in Seoul for 1 month and not gonna lie its been a spectacular month!! I have been exploring this great metropolis that is Seoul everyday and everyday I see something new. I have seen everything from the poorest of the poor to the most elite shopping department stores that I feel inappropriate just walking inside!!

The top 10 things I love about Korea SO FAR would have to be;

10) Food! I love all the seafood here. The freshest of the freshest and the cheapest of the cheapest! Buying huge platters of the most delicious fresh sushi for only say about $15 USD, when in Canada that would be a good $50-$100, not even joking. And not to mention the abundant places to eat! and how late every type of restaurant is open. 90% of restaurants here are a) cheap b) OPEN 24 HOURS!! Not gonna lie, some stuff here is REALLY disgusting, I mean I in general do not eat any pork but man they eat some nasty parts of all animals, and a lot of pig by products. And....dogs. No comment on that, it grosses me out.

9) The subway system- although I LOVEEE driving, and just cruising down the road listening to your fav songs and jamming with your friends...the simplicity of Seouls INTENSELY complex subway system is amazing, you can literally get to every nook and cranny of South Korea and Seoul with it...and its CHEAP. I have spent about $50 in subway tickets for the entire month, which is the least I have EVER spent in my life on transportation, hell I buy $80 of gas a week back in Canada. NOT MISSING THAT AT ALL. And not to mention all the comedic stuff you can see everyday by riding the subway!

8) Taxi's! Ahhh yes, even though there subway system is awesome, it is still a tiresome after a long 14 hour day at work sometimes you just don't feel like walking and waiting for the train, but no problem!! Taxi's are disgustingly cheap here!! Like straight up costs about $5 to go from my work to home which is a good 20-30min drive. In Calgary that would be like $50 dollars. Yuck.

7) PEOPLE. This one comes with discretion though, I am not gonna lie I have already gotten into 4 different verbal and almost physical fights with 4 different old people LOL. The elder, less educated crowd here is like it is anywhere in Asia, from India to China I have seen this time and time again, they are racists. Racism is SLOWLY going down here, but the general dislike for foreigners you can definitely feel with some people. The younger generation, my age and beyond are VERY welcoming though, they LOVE foreigners. Especially you lucky whities hehe. But no complaints from me, everyone stares at me in amazement here, and my receptionist thinks I am big time Bollywood celebrity LOL...hell I don't argue ha.

6)  SHOPPING!!!!! OMG Shopping is SPECTACULAR here! I have already spent no joke a good 5 grand on just clothing, that doesn't include shoes and accessories and omg MAKEUP. One thing though that I have had difficulty with is SIZES, people here are so small (obviously the Asian culture and I mean all Asian cultures, Indian, Chinese, Japanese etc, are in general very small sized people, especially women, don't ask where I came to be such a monster considering I'm also from Asian decent but alas that Arab in me takes over) Good luck to you finding shoes that are any sizes bigger than size 8!! I am a size 9, and I have only found ONE store that sells my size so far. And pants!! Yikes, I don't consider myself to be a LARGE person by any means, I mean duh I have gained my fair share of winter fat haha, but I am in no way over weight, but here GOOD LUCK finding pants if your anything bigger than a size 26!! But who cares! I don't even wear pants!! haah I'm a dresses and tunics type of gal...and this is YOUR CITY if you also are. OMG. Just amazing shopping, so different, so stylish. I literally shop till I drop everyday. I'm gonna need a new closet soon.

5) Clubs!! Seoul is literally a city that never sleeps, especially their nightlife. Liquor is disgustingly cheap here, an average drink at a super fancy club costs about $3, and beer or Soju which is super popular here costs about $1, and it will get you fucked up. House music is SO popular here and literally every club plays it. It's GREAT. Also, Kereokee is soo popular, and SO MUCH FUN. I love it. I love the lounges and just everything to do with their night life. Cheap and fun, my kinda night out!!

4) The history. In general I really like the Korean culture, but I also love how much history there is in this City. There is a fascinating museum on every block. And they do not cost much to go in. From their war memorial to their Art galleries, they are rich in culture. This country has gone from a almost 5th world country to a 2nd world, and now almost a 1st world country in a matter of 20 years. The amount, from wars, economical development and to technological development this country has seen and done it all. I love how nationalistic people are here, they will pay $10 more just to buy local stuff, then to buy consumer goods marketed in from around the world. You will see only 3 types of cars here EVER I dare you to find a domestic. Kia and or Hyundai (same company) Mercedes and BMW. I really envy there nationalism and how hard they work to preserve their nation and their culture. And not to mention the DMZ being oh just around the corner. The fact that a part of Korea is still communism and under such humanity turmoil, the South Koreans still support and want freedom for North Korea.

3) Festivals!! Gah, I love waking up hungover on Saturday morning to see yet another festival and don't forget about the protest on the other side of the street ! There is constant actions 7 days a week I swear to god, but more so on the weekend. There is some street festival, free of charge to attend and their is some social group protesting at the parliament every weekend. Before you know it 7 hours has gone by and you've only spent it at one festival. There are like several going on all over town, the best ones are in their downtown core though.

2) This one may come as a horrible shock to you but my number 2 most favorite thing in Seoul would be.....ALL THE BURGER KINGS!! God I know that probably sounds horrible that a fast food joint is my number 2. But to be honest, even in a big city like Calgary, there are only about 4 Burger Kings. Here in Seoul there is seriously one on every corner!!!! It makes me sooo happy.

1) FASHION!! My favorite absolute FAVORITE THING ABOUT SEOUL is every single persons FASHION and STYLE. I cannot begin to explain how much I envy Asian peoples fashion. No matter where you go everyone here is dressed to a the TEE. I dare you to find someone not wearing designer this and designer that. Even if they aren't spending thousands of dollars on their clothing, dressing well has nothing in my opinion to do with AMOUNT OF MONEY, its to do with personal STYLE. And ladies, Koreans got dat shit dowwwwn pat. Everyone wears heels and walks around in them none the less for a good 9 hours a day!! Women are dressed like they are going to a fancy dinner at all times, and that is my kinda city. Back home in Calgary everyone is SOOO lazy with style. Jeans and a T-shirt. BOO. I always look like I'm over dressed, but HERE, HERE I found my home. I always fit in and feel at home, its WONDERFUL. I just love walking around downtown just staring at what everyone is wearing. The style amongst the younger generation here is IMPECCABLE!

Okay!! I hope that with my top 10 you have now been convinced to come to South Korea!! I love it here, but yet again, I miss my lovebugs back home. They will always be my number ONE.