pearls-notes-from-asia

[pearls-notes-from-asia]

Day 28

Homebound.

Breakfast was onigiri from the convenience store. We packed all of our things, and I almost left my phone in the hotel room. I wish I could have taken the pajamas home.

The weather was great. We called a cab to take the train to Narita, where we were forced to check our carry-ons due to weight limitations and paid an extra $100. It seemed like everyone was having the same issue. They hadn't checked the weight on our flight there! The scammers.

We had bad McDonald's for lunch and anticipated getting home. I don't think doing a budget airline for a 10+ hour flight is worth it. I kept thinking about Korean Air flights from my childhood. I watched a few episodes of Russian Doll and House of Ninjas on the flight, otherwise slept. I knocked out like a dream the first two hours of the flight, like every flight we've taken the past month. The remaining hours—not so dreamlike.

We departed at 2:40 pm and landed six hours earlier, 8:30 am. Trippy. It felt chilly in LA. I kept telling Josh I was glad to be home. Josh kept saying he he felt proud to be American, in a funny but unironic way.

We Ubered to Josh's mom's place, picked up the truck, got some groceries, and arrived at home, all before lunchtime.

Then the moment I was waiting for—breakfast at home! The kitties had missed us and we had missed them. The rest of the day was spent unpacking, napping, and figuring out what to do with our broken fridge.

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Day 27

I got a gorgeous pair of Japanese denim for my birthday. I forgot to take pictures because the shop was small, hot, and humid and so cool and can you imagine trying on stiff 100% cotton jeans in a space like that. I could barely stick my arms out, the fitting room was so tiny.

The employee wore a crochet shirt and had an undercut and rope braids held back by white sunglasses. He looked like a sushi chef's son who decided he would sell cool clothes instead of inheriting his family's business. I tried on three pairs of jeans and went with his recommendation.

In the morning, we had the hotel's breakfast (so good!) and went to Tsukiji Market. I don't know if they always give a mochi with the iced matcha at Matcha Stand Maruni, but when I got it, it felt good.

We shopped around Ginza afterwards. I spent an inordinate amount of time at Loft (all five floors...), tried to find bowls for my mom (no success), bought my jeans, and headed back to the hotel in good spirits.

Once I got back to the room, I didn't want to leave. I had wanted to try this pizza place that I saved from my last trip, but the hotel pajamas were not getting off. So I UberEatsed it (luxury!) and ate in bed. It was decent pizza, decent enough to have a happy end to the night.

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Day 26

After a heated internal battle about whether I could handle going to Shibuya for Japanese denim, we decided to keep it chill and went to kooky campy Tokyo Tower.

We took our time traveling from Osaka to Tokyo during the day. Shinkansen tickets were more expensive than we had assumed so I tried to treat it as an experience of its own—which it was, based on the views. The suitcases were heavy. Well, the one suitcase, which Josh handled with beads of sweat on his forehead. We saw a huge happy dog on the way to the station.

For four weeks of traveling in Asia, I thought we did pretty good at keeping our stuff to a minimum—two carry-ons with our clothes, two backpacks with our electronics, a checked bag of gifts and other things we bought. Josh said he would have traveled even lighter if he wasn't with me. His carry-on felt like a feather.

When we checked into the hotel, I collapsed for a few hours, had that aforementioned internal debate, and gathered up strength to make our reservation for the observation deck. The staff guided us through a narrative about the origins of the Tokyo Tower before whisking us up to the deck. Talking portraits and aspirational elevator music were involved.

It was a kooky time. We had dan dan mein for dinner and ice cream for dessert.

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Day 25

I had two ice creams today.

So it was a good day even though our plans for Kyoto got nixed. I think I would have collapsed if we traveled to another city before leaving for Tokyo the next day! So we slept in again and left the hotel past lunchtime. Our first meal of the day was ramen and takoyaki. Then we went to Osaka Castle.

We were supposed to go back to the hotel afterwards, but I was craving ice cream, which took us to Dotonbori and the Shinsaibashi Shopping Street. It was packed. Is Osaka fun because it's full of Korean people?

We had some sweets, browsed Second Street, and had dinner by the Tombori River. Goodbye Osaka, you were fun and sweet.

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Day 24

It was a very suburban day, which was just what we needed.

We slept in and left the hotel around lunchtime. I wasn't feeling great, so I took a Tylenol and hoped for the best. Gratefully by the end of the day any vestige of a cold had left.

Lunch was tempura udon and tamago kake gohan. The weather was significantly cooler than in Hong Kong so I changed into jeans, the ones I bought in Tokyo, which I didn't think I would wear until I could deal with the stains but I couldn't help it—I immediately felt more like myself once they were on.

We went to a nearby outdoor mall to find a linen shirt for my brother. I found a gorgeous one at a place called Urban Research Doors (obscure name, cool clothes) and bought some very nice tops for myself too. I had finally found a white blouse that I liked! We walked around and had our favorite shopping experience there at Namba Parks. Obscure names, cool clothes.

Dinner was at Kura, which to me, was significantly better than the ones in Southern California, but to Josh, not that much better. It was fun and it was good. Josh said Osaka felt like LA.

In the evening we went to Shinsekai Market and I bought a bunch of snacks at the duty-free store. It was packed with Chinese and Korean tourists. Are there even any Japanese people in Osaka? Lol. To round out the day of shopping, we stopped by Mega Don Quijote where I got a Zojirushi thermos for my dad (the perfect amount for a cup of coffee to go) and Josh got a little razor.

Dessert was this heavenly strawberry milk.

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Day 22

We love Hong Kong.

Big IDGAF energy. We're into it. Maybe because it was humid and drizzly no one had the time for self-consciousness. Everyone seemed busy living their lives. The pace was just right—the pedestrians, the taxis, the escalators.

Breakfast was at Cafe Matchbox where we had (real) milk tea for the first time. Then we stopped by Kapok and Josh bought a replacement fanny and I saw some gorgeous, gorgeous French and Danish purses. I forgot to take pictures of those.

Afterwards we went to Victoria Harbor (Harbour?), took in the views, walked to the Monster Building, stopped by a market, got some coffee (and a perilla tonic cold brew!!), ate some egg tarts andshrimp shumai on the street. Then, because my nose had bled in the morning (which happens when my body reaches its limits), we went back to the hotel to rest. We snacked on some lychees and jellies and roast goose over rice in bed.

Dinner was divine pasta at the restaurant downstairs—spaghetti bronte, spaghetti alla chitarra, seasonal scallops, and the most delicious red wine I've ever had.

We ended our night with a second attempt at going to the famous jazz bar, but the wait was an hour and Josh got dress-coded (his Crocs). So we just walked around another market, went back to the hotel, and stayed up late watching The Gentlemen. It was a better night than the bar, to be honest.

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Day 23

Part of why I love Hong Kong so much is because there isn't any emotional baggage tied to the city like in Korea.

The other reason is maybe the Western influences and their familiarity?

We only had the morning left before our Osaka flight, so we ate another Hong Kong-style breakfast and then went to Bakehouse where I ordered one sourdough egg tart (delicious) and Josh got a lime tonic cold brew (so good).

I had really wanted to try Halfway Coffee solely for the glassware, so we took the subway there, ordered a double shot espresso, a longan latte, and an "earth juice" (apple, beet, ginger). They were my favorite coffees (and juice) ever!! We read another part of Psalm 119 and tried not to eavesdrop on the Korean couple sitting right next to us.

After coffee, we took the tram back to the hotel, picked up our luggage and took a cab to the airport. We arrived early which was good, because Josh's passport wasn't working on the smart scanner and he had accidentally given me his boarding pass. He told me to go through, so I went. He called and called. I saw his calls and texts after security. I waited. He got a new boarding pass. We argued. We made up. We had dinner at the lounge.

We landed in rainy Osaka after four hours on a sticky plane. Booking.com didn't say our hotel was Buddhism-themed, so that was a surprise when we checked in. It was low-key hilarious. "Guess we just have to pray extra hard," Josh said. I was annoyed at myself. There was nothing we could do at that point, so we washed up and slept.

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Days 20 and 21

Our last full day in Korea was hard because I was so ready to leave and also so not. My body was exhausted from traveling. Had a good cry at the hotel.

Scones and samgyupsal were just OK. The highlight was going to 한강 and watching the sunset.

There were a lot of couples picnicking at the park. Josh and I talked about what we would have been like if we grew up in Korea. Would we be any different?

That question makes me spiral a bit because it makes me wonder if I'm living my current life correctly. Whatever that means.

The next day, we got to Incheon Airport early but still almost missed our flight. The stewardesses were so annoyed at us ha ha.

Getting to Hong Kong made it feel worth it.

We landed at 8 pm, got to our hotel around 9, tried to leave for a jazz bar around 10. It was humid and raining and the jazz bar was too full so we left. We decided this night that we really liked Hong Kong.

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Day 19

Overwhelmed with how cute things are in Korea.

We stayed in Gangnam in the morning to shop for gifts. Did you know Burger King gives you coffee in a mug? It was bad. But the burgers were good.

Key rings are popular here. Seeing the girls walking around with them makes me want one so bad, but it would look crazy in the States. The shopping impulse is a struggle. I keep having to check myself: Would I wear this at home? Do I need it? Is it on my list?

I'm so sick of consumption!

After Gangnam, we went to Seongsudong, where I learned another shop that I wanted to visit was on break. So we walked around, had a snack at a coffeeshop, and then went to dinner.

Dinner was rotisserie chicken but samgyetang style. It was busy. It was good.

We went to 가로수길 afterwards, where I bought some more gifts, a ring (on my list!) and some skincare stuff (not on my list).

Tomorrow is already our last day in Seoul. I don't really know how I feel about that yet.

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Day 18

I tried to go to a bookstore in Yeonhuidong but it was closed. Two days of the same mistake! I was pretty discouraged.

For lunch, we had 찐만두, 군만두, 고기튀김. After being disappointed, we went to a coffee shop, read Psalm 119 (I forget which letter), and walked around the neighborhood. There was a celebrity, I think, based on the horde of people following somebody around. I couldn't see who.

I'm not sure if the cartoon above really looks like us but it was fun to sit a few minutes for a reward. We got a bunch of postcards and stickers too. There was one that looked like Jupiter and another that looked like Luna—whose birthday is today! I miss them.

For an afternoon snack, we found this gluten-free sugar-free pastry (?) that looked like a cloud and tasted like a 꾸덕 madeleine. It was so good. Josh wrote a kind review that was full of spelling mistakes.

We went to Hongdae afterwards and decided it was like a better version of Harajuku, with funner stuff and funner food. But I think we're too old for a lot of the clothes in Hongdae now. I also noticed that Korean women generally dress more feminine than Japanese women. People's clothes are so impeccably tailored here; even baggy things are tailored to be baggy.

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Day 17

No lip pencil sharpeners to be found in the land of convenience. I tried to use a knife and do it the old school way, but long story short I don't think I'll be using my lip pencils until I get home.

We tried to go to 창덕궁 in the morning but it was closed. So we went to Insadong instead. It was our favorite part of Seoul so far. I got a cutie 5,000-won pearl necklace and we walked up and down the street with all the well-dressed elderly and their friends.

We took an afternoon break at a traditional tea house where the owner taught us how to pour tea.

We ordered domestic teas—green, and plum blossom. We had injeolmi too. It was such a beautiful space!!

Dinner was 치맥 (치소 for Josh), ddukbokki, and a long, long walk to 한강.

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Day 16

경복궁데이. So beautiful. Few pictures. I don't find myself wanting to take photos like in Tokyo.

Before the palace, it was a slow morning and market afternoon.

Then we were too busy eating dinner we missed the 창덕궁 hours.

So we walked around the 광화문 area instead and Josh got to see his hero 이순신.

The day ended with another bath and an attempt to watch a movie. (I fell asleep in 20 minutes.)

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Day 15

This hanok is probably the best most beautiful place we've stayed at.

Not because it's particularly luxurious or scenic, (it is) but because it's a hanok. I think this is something like a dream home if I were to have a dream home.

Before getting here we spent the day packing, checking out, eating, walking, and shopping. Josh bought some pants and I ate some cheesy scallops while we walked around Myungdong. We also got burgers for lunch and a "plain milkshake" which was like whole milk but in milkshake form, and it was so good. When we got to the hanok, we walked around the neighborhood, ate some 꽈배기, 찹살도너츠, 김치만두, 막걸리, and then ran the bath. The bath was peak luxurious. It was so nice for achey muscles now that my average step count has almost quadrupled in the past two weeks.

After the bath, we ate Shin ramen plus Neoguri along with quail eggs and kimchi from the convenience store. It was elite. Korean food in Korea is elite.

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Day 14

Is it a Korea trip without an embarrassing bathroom episode?

All week we've basically been going to different cafes in the daytime to work and read. Today (after the real CSULB internship interview, which went fine for how unprepared I was), we went to a cafe that I can only describe as peak boy vibes. Aspirational industrial aesthetics and a signature drink called a "Push latte" after the cafe's namesake, Push Coffee, in the spirit of "pushing yourself" toward your goals, dreams, etc. Decorations were sparse. Bathroom was in another building.

The latte made me desperate for the bathroom. But someone was taking forever. The baristas said they would let me know when it became available, but they eventually just told me where it was so I could wait there. It was in the adjacent building. On my way over, beaded with perspiration, a different barista appeared from the corner and went up before me. He disappeared behind a little door at the end of the narrow stairway. He didn't close the door all the way. Why didn't he close the door all the way? I could see his outfit through the crack while I was so utterly swirly in my stomach and confused in my mind. If this was the bathroom, and he was using it, he would have closed the door, right? So I went up, knocked, and realized in that instance it was indeed the bathroom and he was of course using it. Didn't make a sound when I knocked though. I also didn't hear anything at all, which was why I stayed so confused until he came out and I confirmed that it was indeed the bathroom, urinal next to sink. He looked me straight in the eyes with some inscrutable look before whishing away in his 90s parachute cargos.

I went back to that cafe and pretended like nothing happened. Couldn't say a word to Josh until we left an hour and a half later. I'm still so perplexed as to why one wouldn't close the door and lock it when using the restroom. I did, but an ajusshi still yanked it open while I was washing my hands. (Can you imagine if I were mid-poop.) I am never going back to that neighborhood again haha!

Other things that happened:

We went to the wrong cafe in the morning and spent $10 USD on mix coffee and tea.

We ate old school soondaeguk for lunch. Like, needed-soju-type soondaeguk—everyone else was drinking there but we couldn't do that to ourselves before noon.

We went to Tamburins and Josh tried Lotteria for the first time. Good as always!

We watched Furiosa and decided Anya Taylor-Joy was great but Charlize Theron was truly a G in Mad Max Fury Road.

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Day 13

Let me try to recollect what happened this day.

I thought I had an interview for the CSULB internship in the morning, but it was actually scheduled for the next day. Time zones. I couldn't go back to sleep, so I called my mom who was just getting off work. I told her I had incorrectly told my family that we were leaving this weekend for Hong Kong instead of next weekend. It was stressing me out, the possibility of their deep disappointment—even anger—with me. She said it was fine. But it came out when we had dinner with my uncle later.

"But they all thinking you're leaving next weekend. ... [frown] Then you should come Sunday. Sleep over and" et cetera. We had only told two people about our (incorrect) schedule, but it had made the rounds. Dinner was three rounds: 낙지볶음, 북어국, 골뱅이.

I had considered turning down dinner that night too but I felt guilty. I do this to myself, I know that for sure now. When I called my dad later, he was amused more than anything. They kept telling me it would be fine, I "just have to reject politely"—but what does that even mean? How do I do it? Specifically? Like the literal words, I asked for them. He texted useful language later, and I had him look over my message.

"야 넌 욕심이 너무 많다—" my dad said when I told them my fear of my family's disappointment if I rejected their offers to stay with them. I can't do what I want and still be perceived as a dutiful granddaughter/niece! I either do what I want and become that slightly disrespectful American, or I suck it up and commit to the cultural schizophrenia of also being Korean.

Josh said I

didn't grow up around different Korean-Koreans, only my family, that's why it's so hard to just be normal and not unstressed around Korean-Koreans

try to act like I'm Korean, when I keep telling him it's my family that treats me like I'm not American; also, I am Korean?

should get a tattoo and an undercut so I look more American

I told the last part to my parents, and one responded, "Omg I told your dad we both should maybe get tattoos in a hidden spot! Since your brother has one already and your sister keeps getting more and more piercings..." and the other said, "Never. [Deep frown]."

Anyways, I felt encouraged by their okaying rejection. That was all I needed to hear. It was comforting to connect with people who knew me enough to make correct assumptions of what I was experiencing. My dad told me I just needed to accept the stress—when I can't let it go, accept it. It lifted the shame of being stressed in the first place. Maybe one day I will be fully unbothered by how 별나 I am. But today is not the day!

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Day 12

Korea is so much funner than Japan. Why? 1) Better coffee. 2) Louder people. 3) Shin ramen. 4) Nengmyun. 5) Ddukbokki.

Also look at this chef-ed ramen that Josh made.

He added tuna and sausage. I had regular instant ramen like a normal person. We also mixed muscat grape juice with Chilsung and took turns drinking it before it went flat. I can't tell if it was the food or the views that made Namsan Tower worth it—all 20,000 steps!

In the morning, we had gone to a retro themed cafe called 을지빈. There we read the sixth part of Psalm 119, which talked about the boldness and freedom that the Word brings. It encouraged us. In my current 복잡한 mind, I especially loved verse 45: "I will walk freely in an open place / because I study your precepts."

Afterwards Josh worked and I read Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami. It was cool to read it after just visiting Tokyo—I recognized all the subway line references.

Then, I went to the 12-floor Daiso and picked up stain remover, an eyeliner, a contour stick, and some pads. There was a line at the elevators so I walked up and down eight floors there too. When I got back to the Airbnb, Josh and I left for Namdaemun Market. We ate some 분식 but didn't buy anything because the stalls were closing for the most part when we arrived. Our evening was walking (hiking?) up to the Namsan Tower, enjoying the skyline, eating food, and walking home.

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Day 11

I waited seven years to finally order 짜장면 배달!

It did not disappoint, though we didn't actually have it delivered—we walked to a nearby restaurant and picked it up because we couldnt figure out what to do without a Korean phone number fast enough. (You can't use the usual delivery apps unless you have a Korean number...)

In the morning, we took the train to Seoul, and I had lots of thoughts in my mind. They come out in incoherent bursts. Josh knows how to put my family dynamics into words better than I do. Basically, he said, my mom's side is a principles over people kind of family, and my dad's side is the philosophizing kind of ungrounded sort. I'm still trying to find my own words.

I think I like Seoul better than Tokyo. When I was in Daegu and Mangyung/Gunsan, I liked Tokyo more, but the fairer comparison is between the former cities. Coffee is better here and people are more relaxed. No constant apologizing, etc. But that also means people get in each other's spaces without a second thought. My uncle had explained to my cousin when we were still in Daegu that a general cultural difference between Korea and the U.S. is that the concept of personal space/privacy isn't a valued thing in Korea, while in the U.S. it's even a right. I thought this explained another part of why my trip last time was so challenging. It wasn't just my family getting up in my business, it was literally everyone else!

When we got off the train, we found the Airbnb almost effortlessly and basically stayed in and rested all day. I did some laundry and bought face wash at Olive Young. I'm feeling the consequences of a sleepless night the most today, so I'm hoping to fall asleep and stay asleep.