Pierrot Bowling in Seoul

 

I have heard a lot of great things about the bowling alley in Apgujeong called "Pierrot Strike."  Matt has raved about it and has gone twice.  There seemed to be good reviews on the internet.  So Jennifer and I went.  Matt warned us that there is often a wait so we should get there early and put our names on the list.  Our plan, as per his suggestion, was to go at 6pm, then grab some dinner nearby and then come back and bowl.  But as it turns out you are not allowed to put your name on the list and then leave (or else you forfeit your place in line.)  So we ordered pizza at the alley (which was really good!) and then we bowled.  

Looking around the bowling alley Jenn remarked "This isn't special.  This is just like all the bowling alleys in Vegas."  Although I argued that Las Vegas is probably an exception to most things when it comes to entertainment, I had also seen bowing alleys like this in every city have I lived in from Broomfield, Colorado to Portland, Oregon.  Every bowling alley has a "Rock N' Bowl" where they dim the lights, add some black-lights, play fancy videos and jack up the prices.   Enter Pierrot Strike.   To be fair, we did have a fun time. 

But unlike the bowling alleys in the United States... On the 8th frame of our first game an attendent came up to us and impatiently asked if we would be playing another round.  Yes, we replied.   He went away.  On the 6th frame of our second game the attended came back and asked again.  No, we replied.  At the 9th frame the next group of bowlers were instructed to wait behind us for their turn just as we had been urged to do for the group before us.  The feeling that we were rushed and taking too long to bowl was not very welcoming.  

All in all, I would say that we had a good time, but frankly I wouldn't go back again.  I much preferred the less pretentious no hassles bowling alley in Yeongtong.  Cheaper too.  

 

Dr. Fish

The other week some friends and I went to do the Dr. Fish.  What an experience, I tell you!

When we went on a Saturday afternoon the coffee shop was populated but not too busy.  We had to wait about 30 minutes before we could do the Dr. Fish because there was a line.  Later, we learned that you can call in advance and make a reservation.  

In order to do the fish thing you have to order a drink (which they overcharge by at least an extra dollar or won from the already expensive Starbucks-standard price).  The reason it's so expensive is because you get "complimentary" all-you-can-eat bread with butter and jam as well as an extra cup of coffee (12oz) to go.  The price of the Dr. Fish is just w2,000 for 15 minutes.  Trust me, you don't need more than 15 minutes. 

When it was our turn I was excited and I thought I'd be fine.  Um, no.  I think I must have said the words "oh my god oh my god oh m god" over and over for 12 of those 15 minutes.  

Why you ask?  Well for one thing the fish look like this: 

 

Look at the mouth on those things!  

Om nom they want to eat your skin and they are ravenous! 

Mali was a pro and she kept her feet in the whole time no problem.  I couldn't hack it though.  

We decided to take an ironic picture of me in a cool calm and collected pose because I was anything but. 

EDIT: The fish feel like little vibrations.  It doesn't hurt but rather it's a slight tickle.  I felt like there must have been close to 50 of them on me but Mali & Nicole assured me that number was actually closer to 5.

All in all, it was a worth it and I'm really glad that I did it.  It's another thing to check of the SoKo-To-Do list that I made a little while back.  

Things still on there that I need to do: 

Everland, Chungmuro Pet street, Jeju Island, temple stay, DMZ, and bungee jumping.  I do hope I get to do it all in the short time that I have left (about 70 days now!) 

Directions to Dr. Fish:

Walk out Exit 6 from Gangnam and go straight a few blocks.  It’s across from the GCV and next to the Krispy Kreme donuts shop.  The name of the café is actually not Dr. Fish.  It’s something along the lines of “read books and relax café” or something weird like that.  It’s on the 2^nd floor of the building.  

Girlie Day

On Friday Nicole and I had a luxurious day of relaxation and bliss.  

We started out at the Flying Pan brunch spot in Itaewon.  I loved this place!  

  

Unlike Butterfingers which is very modern in its decor, the Flying Pan is cute with a classic country cottage style that doesn't go overboard.  There are many restaurants and coffee shops in Korea that take the cute and make it obnoxious.  Flying Pan is not in that category.  

I ordered the eggs benedict (without the ham) and although it wasn't the layered benedict on English muffins that I was expecting, it was quite good.  My only complaint was that I wish the tomato had been sliced so that I could better eat it on my benedict.  

Nicole got some kind of salad and an Americano.  We each also got the little potato salad on the side.  I normally don't like potato salad, but this may have been some of the best potato salad I have ever tasted!  

Our bill for the meal came to about w44,000 total ($36.86).  True, it's not cheap, but it was a splurge day.  

After our delicious brunch we took a short taxi ride to Hannam-dong to go to Spa Day.   I'd highly recommend this place as well.  (see website)  I got the Package D which was a full body massage, facial, and foot massage and cost me w150,000 ($125 -- much cheaper than in the US for a nice place like it was).  Nicole got a back/neck/shoulders massage and a pedicure.  We were there for 2.5 hours!  It was perfect.  

SoKo Scavenger Hunt

I had an awesome weekend.  The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining, and I got to do some super fun things.  By far, the highlight of the weekend was the Scavenger Hunt (sorry Lotus Lantern festival, but you are no match at all for the Scavenger Hunt.  In fact, dear Lantern Festival, you don't even make the Top 5!  It's not your fault though, my weekend was top-notch.)

So what is this scavenger hunt I speak of?  Well, basically you go around Seoul doing crazy fun things and take pictures (or video) of it.  Here are some of my favorites from the list:

1 - Visit 5 different Family Marts

2 - Eat a food item you've never tried before

3 - Play in a playground

8 - Race an athlete along the Han River

12 - Photobomb someone or something

13 - Sing on the Subway

16 - Jump shot in a park

24 - Find an animal in Seoul

26 - Visit a palace and get a group shot

35 - Sit on someone's motorbike

41 - Get 3 free hugs

43 - Find 7 different coffee shop chains

48 - Order a Big Mac at Burger King
49 - Visit 2 Dos Tacos
50 - Hand stand at a monument
51 - Take a creative photo of Namsan tower

58 - Drop your pants in public
59 - Take a picture in a tank/military plane

81 - Find couples wearing couple clothing

82 - Take a picture with each denomination of Korean currenc

84 - Wear something matching - all members

90 - Eat street food

Now for the photos:   (Click on them to make them larger) 

  

      

 

World DJ Festival

This weekend I went to the 4th World DJ festival with my buddy Matt.  We got to the festival at around 5:15pm and I got back home from the festival at .. oh, 5:00am. Needless to say, it was a long and crazy night.  

I didn't know any of the DJ's that were playing so I was really there for the experience and because I love outdoor music festivals.  

I only brought along my little camera since I didn't want my nice one to be stolen so the quality of the night photos is sub-par.  I wish I could capture how many people there were at the main stage.  Thousands and thousands.  There was 1 large stage, 1 medium stage, and 2 small stages.  I didn't even discover the second small stage until I was trying to find my way out of the venue and accidentally stumbled upon it instead.  We spent most of our time between the main stage and the Jagermeister medium stage.  I was appreciative of my sitting mat I bought at Home Plus a few weeks ago.  It came in handy for saving our spot on the grass and maintaining an easy gathering point for whenever we got separated from each other (and we did-- often.) 

Here is a photo of Matt and me.   

Children's Day!

Yesterday was a special day in Korea: Children's Day!  On Children's Day students & teachers get a day off and parents are supposed to do extra nice things for their kids.  Apparently this means letting your child eat as much ice cream as they desire because of the kids who had ice cream, 3 seemed to be the average number of cones eaten.   3 ice cream cones!  

I, however, did not eat ice cream.  Yesterday also happened to be Cinco de Mayo so I celebrated by eating a burrito from Dos Tacos and even treated myself to a margarita with my friends Jenn and Alex.  

After Dos Tacos we had some time to kill so we wandered down to the Kyobo bookstore.  The Kyobo bookstore isn't anything like What the Book.  It's like a massive Barnes & Noble.  I fell in love at first sight.  Alex and I practically squeed with delight.  (I bought the book A Thousand Splendid Suns.)  

Before we knew it it was 2:30 and we were going to be late to the game.  Naturally I started freaking out and anxiously rallied the two others so we could make our way to the stadium.  We got to the Seoul World Cup Stadium at about 3:15 (so we were 15 minutes late) but I admit that in the end it was ok.  We found some pretty decent seats and although it looks far away in the picture, it really wasn't that bad at all.  

 

Plus, we go to sit behind these awesome nuns.  

Action shot like whoa.  See the dirt kicked up? 

Red shirts like whoa.  

One thing to note about the game was that it was soooo loud.  People were screaming almost nonstop and the roar of the crowd was unbelievable.  Part of the reason it was so loud is because many people seemed to have these horns like the kids sitting next to us: 

Every time a goal was scored they'd shoot these fireworks into the air.  It was sweet and made the 4 goals that the Seoul team got even more exciting.  I couldn't capture the picture of the fireworks but I was able to snap a shot of the foggy haze that fireworks create afterward. 

It was a fabulous day and the perfect way to spend Children's Day.  The weather was warm and sunny and I was in good company.  What more can a girl ask for?  :D 

Yeouio Part 1

Yes, I know that it has been a while since I have updated my blog, but I have been so busy lately that I really haven't had much time to sit down and write about everything that has been going on.  Until now.  Even still, I only have an hour before I have to meet a friend for dinner and so I won't be able to write everything.  So here's what I can do for now:

April 10 

On this day I met up with Taylor and some of his friends to check out the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival.  It was not a very good day for it as the weather was unusually cold and there were few blossoms on the trees.  Still, we managed to have a lot of fun and I got some decent pictures out of it.  

This is the Yeouido area and the Han River.  People were still out biking despite the frigid weather. 

Wow!  A cherry blossom!  Yes, I did alter this photograph.  But I like it.  

Bridge at the Han River 

There's a little recreation area in the middle of the park landing.  You can rent tandem and single bikes (as seen in the first picture).  These kids had the thrill of riding through the shallow water.  If I had a bike (and it was warmer out) I would totally do that too.  

Instead I got to play on this.   

Because the bench is only balanced in the middle it's almost like a see-saw.

***

Taylor is going to Korean class with this girl from China and she brought along her two friends.  Upon meeting me, one of the Chinese girls gave me a Chinese name which she said means "romantic and free" because she said that was her first impression of me.  It was really sweet.  There was also this other guy that I think was from Africa and said he speaks 6 languages!  Pretty impressive.

After walking around for about 2 hours we were hungry and ready for an early dinner.  Not surprisingly, I had a craving for Mexican food so I suggested that we go to Hongdae for some Dos Tacos.  It was the Chinese girls and the African dude's first time eating Mexican food and they loved it.  I did too.  

Then we went out for a drink in Hongdae at Ho Bar.  Ho Bar is just a typical chain bar and our experience there was only mediocre at best.  They played terrible American rap music that the bartender knew all the words to, the cocktail waitress was standoffish and unhelpful, but most importantly, they were out of the first 3 or 4 drinks that we tried to order.  I wouldn't go back there any time soon.  

After that I had to call it a night since I was tired and had to wake up early the next day.  On my way back I stopped at the central plaza area of Hongdae and watched a free music performance.  The music was ok but there was a male tap dancer and that made it awesome.  

***

Next entry: Dad's visit to Korea

Korean Basketball

Yesterday some friends and I went to a Korean basketball game at the Jamsil Sports Complex.  (There is also a baseball stadium and an Olympics arena in the area).  The website to buy tickets was all in Korean but with the help of my co-teacher we were able to secure some tickets in the upper level of the stadium.  We were fortunate enough to go to Game 5 of the Finals!  

The game was a blast! The team that we were rooting for, KCC Egis, won!  It was a tight game the entire time which made it all the more thrilling. 

Korean basketball games are fun because there are cheerleaders

who don't do flips and cartwheels but rather 

just stand there and make little k-pop dance moves and look cute  

~ How to dress at a Korean basketball game ~

You have two choices: 1) a team shirt, 2) a suit and tie

Shot clock is 01.. At the buzzer.. He shoots... He SCORES!  

 Final  score: Ulsan 65, Junju 69

The crowd goes wild!