Pure Gold For Lunch, Anyone?
Yesterday, our client took us out to lunch to a Japanese restaurant.
Everything was fine and dandy, until a platter of sashimi came out, with pure gold on them!
I thought my client was joking when he said it was pure gold. But then he started eating it! I was like, "Are you sure you are supposed to eat that?" He said, "Of course. It's pure gold. It's good for your system."
So then I ate it too. I could barely taste it. It just melted right away in my mouth. Weird, but true.
Little Things I learned About Korea
I have been in Daejeon, for about 13 days now and I have learned a thing or two about this country. Some things to know about:
- As in most places, exchange your money for local currencies at the airport, because it usually has better rates than your hotel.
- Taxi fare starts at 1800 won in Daejeon, and 1900 won in Seoul.
- Korean restaurants always serve the side dishes (or appetizers, if you may), before the main entree comes. And you can ask for more, for free.
- Korean language (definitely not enough to get around, hehe):
- Yes : ne
- No : ahn-nee-oh
- Thank you : gahm-sa-hahm-ni-da
- You're welcome : chon-mahn-eyo
- Hello : ahn-nyong-ha-se-yo
- Hello (for phone conversation) : yo-bo-se-yo
- Goodbye : ahn-nyong-hee-ga-se-yo
- Excuse me: sil-le-hahm-ni-da
A Trip to Seoul (2)
We arrived in Seoul around 17:30. The first thing we needed to do before anything else, was to buy a return ticket to Daejeon. So we bought the ticket for the last train, departing at 22:30.
Stepping out from the train station, we were smart enough to write down the station name in Korean, just in case the taxi driver doesn't understand the word "Seoul Station".
Speaking of being smart, we were also smart enough to ask our hotel's front desk about places to go in Seoul. She mentioned two places: Insa-Dong and Dongdaemun.
Seoul is a pretty amazing city. Just outside the train station, we could immediately see lots of tall buildings and whatnot. It reminded me of my hometown.
After enjoying the view for a little bit, we then took a taxi to Insa-Dong.
Insa-Dong is pretty much a traditional market, with not-very-traditional price tags! The price tags are outrageous! However, they also have cheap stuff, that are obviously made in China, such as scarfs, handbags, hats, etc!
In fact, I saw the exact $12 handbag that my friend bought in Chicago, for $5!
From there, we took another cab to Dongdaemun, which turned out to be a shopping malls complex.
A Trip to Seoul (1)
Last Sunday, we headed to Seoul. It took us about 1.5 hours total to get there. Half hour for the taxi ride, and 1 hour for the bullet-train ride. However, the so called 'bullet-train' is not very "bullet-like" at all. Its speed is really slow! Not sure why they call it 'bullet-train'..... hehe
I also spotted Popeye's Chicken from the train station!
A glimpse of my hotel room
OK, so I am really bored here. Didn't know what else to do but to take pictures of my room. :)
The bathroom is really nice. Heated seat, with automatic sprinkler and such. The shower is even nicer.
But the bed? Not so nice! It's really hard and firm. I guess it's good for my back, but still, it feels like I am sleeping on the floor every night. I am not complaining....I am just reporting..... :P
First Week in Daejeon, South Korea
After 6 months, I am finally blogging again. This time, I got the privilege to travel to Daejeon, South Korea.
The city is not so bad. The population is about 1.3 million people. So it's not too crowded nor too quiet.
I did some sight seeing over the weekend, and snapped some pictures.
The Sun Actually Shone Today!
I can't believe the sun finally showed up today! Yesterday was so crappy. The sky was dark most of the evening, with lots of fog! Yuck!
We were done with today's agenda right around 5 pm, and we decided to hunt some lobsters. So we went to Halifax Waterfront and did some sight seeing. Then we ended up eating at this sorta fancy restaurant called Salty's.
The place was right at the shore, with an excellent view out to the sea. It was simply gorgeous!
Then we ordered lobsters at a price of $32 per lbs.....That's pretty expensive! But the lobsters are fresh out of the sea and they were outstanding! :P
