Back in the motherland

Though this trip included Japan and the Stans, the heart of it was to visit Korea. I haven't been back here since I was a teen so I was keen on seeing it now, brushing up on my korean and eating some great food (and drinking soju!). My parents were with me for the first week and then I was left with my wonderful cousin, Esther.

Living in Korea was fantastic. It was great to spend a month there so I really got a chance to see what life is like there. I met some really great friends and just soaked it all in. I also got to see a lot of my extended family and old family friends that I don't see very often so it was nice to be in the family fold. I also took a class at Seoul National University. I did spend a lot of time at the library like a nerd but it was actually really fun. What can I say? I love to learn!

With my parents, we visited some of the major sites, including the ancient royal cities in Seoul and the amazing Seorak-San (mountain) a few hours away. It was really great to visit the motherland with my parents.

I should have taken more pictures while there but I just wanted to take it all in rather than be a tourist.

The view from my room. Korea is a very mountainous country and Seoul is very large (something like 30% of Korea's 50mm population lives there) so its like an urban mountain, lit up.

My friends, Aram and Kyung! I wish I had better photos of them. It was nice to have local as well as ex-pat friends so I got the full experience. And they were so great to show me around and take out to some really great food!

Most of my fellow classmates were straight out of college but it was fun to remember what it was like to be 18 when I wasn't completely horrified. They were so funny... kids these days!

School can be so boring sometimes! That's me yawning on the right side of the picture.

As part of the language program, we got to visit the DMZ. That's North Korea! The military presence was insane. I stood right next to this soldier and he didn't even move an inch. Those sunglasses were practically impenetrable.

I went on a trip to Busan with my cousin, Esther, and her friends. It was so much fun though its a weird place. Its right by the water so its a major beach destination (and it felt like the entire country was right there on the beach) but had this creepy, B horror movie amusement park/bar/noraebang area that was all lit up at night. We hung at the beach, sang karaoke, ate (and ate) and even went to a jin-jil-bang, which is my absolute favorite (sort of sauna/spa/cafe but so much more and way less classy that it sounds).

The crew to Busan! And that's my awesome cousin in the blue sunglasses. My uncle (her dad) lives close to there so it was great to spend time with my extended family as well. I know, not enough pictures of my family! I will do better next time.

Lost in translation

After graduation I headed out on a mini-grand tour, this time to Asia. I had 3 months before joining the real world again so my parents and I planned on going to Japan and then Korea. After they headed back to home, I was to continue in Korea, hanging with cousins and friends and brushing up on my Korean, and then on the the Stans with my bestie Ang (Stans as in Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Uzbek - I'll explain later).

We had a great time in Japan! We started in Tokyo, went to the Ito Hanzu peninsula for the onsen experience and finally to Kyoto. Japan really is a different place and we had a great time, seeing the sights, soaking in the hot springs and best of all, eating our way through the country!

Shinjinku at night. Its just as bright during the day, maybe even a little more blinding.

English is not necessary at least when ordering food. Just point! The food was so good in Japan, even down to the little ramen stalls on the street.

The fish market in Tokyo. We went there at some awful hour in the morning to see the fresh catches come in. We also had sushi at this little shack and it had to be the best fish I've ever had. Yummmmm....

Japan is into everything perfectly packaged and delivered, even beer in vending machines. YES.

Right after the food was all the temples/gardens/castles are the things to see. They were as beautiful as they were plentiful.

Irrigation system in Japan. Genius and simplicity in one, the only way the Japanese will have it. And cute too!

Hey! Geisha are just girls too!

After 4 action-packed days in Tokyo we were ready for some serious hot springing. We headed to a traditional ryokan in this teeny town on the Ito Hanzu peninsula. It had to be the best couple of nights with outdoor hot springs, amazing massages and best of all, a traditional kaiseki meal. I would recommend it to everyone! The best japanese food I've ever had all in these beautiful tiny dishes with the most beautiful presentation. The meal also takes about3 hours because of all the courses. Food was a theme if you haven't noticed already.

The only way to travel in Japan is definitely on the shinkensen. We took the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto, which goes almost 100mph. The scenery just flies by.

Kyoto is definitely all about templing. Kyoto is a beautiful old city with amazing sites and a truly laid back feel. Just don't tell my mom who was a little freaked to be so close to the deer (they just roam around Nara).

And of course the food! We were so glad to find this teppenyaki place after (what felt like) hours of walking.

We were sad to leave but at least we were far from over...

Bschool blitz in the philippines

Spring break! 2 weeks is a great amount of time for travel. I would say that a month is perfect if you want to go somewhere remote but 2 weeks is perfect for fun, sun and everything else in between. There was a group of about 20 of us (I know, big!) in the Philippines but we were on slightly different itineraries so we were all just sort of cris-crossing and island hopping all over the country. We were like a swarm of business school students partying it up, blitz-style. The Philippines never knew what hit it.

My BFF Melanie and I were together the whole time and we spent the first few days swimming with the whale sharks though the water was murky and all we saw were huge spotted things that would just appear in the abyss. Pretty spooky but cool to see. The funniest part was that we were in the boat trolling for whale sharks and since the visibility was low it was a frantic scramble to get in the water the second the boat guys saw one.

Snorkels on, at the ready at all times. Whale sharks!

With the greater group of 20 we rented this crazy house in Puerto Galera that was on a cliff overlooking the beach. It was an incredible house with a pool, a gazillion rooms and private access to the beach. We didn't do much for the week we were there except drink jungle juice, play cards and hang in the pool. It was a ton of fun but the best part was the food! Our amazing housekeeper cooked breakfast and dinner for us everyday and the food was just incredible. Whoever said that philippino food wasn't very good clearly never had what we did.

Home sweet home!

The pool overlooked the ocean. We pretty much stayed in and around the pool all day...

... except when we were at our private beach!

Yet another jungle juice-fueled game of cards. After finding that a bottle of local rum cost about $1, we proceeded to drink it in everything and thus jungle juice was born.

After a week of fun partying, Melanie and I finished our trip with a romantic beach getaway on the island of Palawan. It was remote compared to the other beach areas but so much more pristine than the tourist-filled Boracay. We stayed at this really cute B&B and spent our days on a private boat, hopping from one perfectly secluded beach to another. And I mean PERFECT - white sands, turquoise waters, huge cliffs, all without another soul in sight. The only drawback was the jellyfish. They weren't poisonous but they were a little stingy and practically invisible. But still, hanging on shore had its perks!

The various modes of transportation it took to get to Palawan. But once we saw the welcome wagon we knew we came to the right place.

When do you see beaches like these??

The sunsets were just amazing. Watching the sun, the water, the light, I could do this all day.

Melanie and me!

Sigh, I miss spring break already...