Thought I was in the middle of a riot.

Had my first mediocre day in Seoul today, due to only a few hours of restless sleep so decided to treat myself  for dinner and get a pie to fix my mood. To any kiwis that are currently living in Seoul we have Jesters!!!!!!!

http://www.seouleats.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/P1200335-720082.jpg

I wont keep this secret to myself here are the directions:

Seoul, Yongsan-gu Itaewon-dong 127-102-797-8290Directions: Go out Itaewon Station Exit 3 and walk straight 5 minutes.

And omg it was so good! Had a good ole steak and cheese and decided to go for the topper option. Nothing better than a pie topped with mashed potato, mushy peas and gravy. I added a huge amount of tomato ketchup and ate in silence enjoying every mouth full. I so desperately wanted to get an apple, cinnamon and custard one for dessert but alas I am dirt broke and have to live on only $5  a day until pay day! In fact this splurge means that I have to walk home tomo because I can't afford the bus fare. It's all good though because Mum sent me over my kicks so I'll be sweet!

http://www.jesterskorea.com/images/SUBS_LAYOUT_000/goods/topper.png

After licking the plate clean I decided to check out some shops as I didn't want to go home and sit by myself. Found a few clothes shops and really liked the fashion. Lots of knits, lace and pretty patterns. I'm going to be fine finding tops but all the jeans and skirts wouldn't have even fitted one of my legs. The large was a kiwi small! The girls are so tiny here. I saw a XXXXXS!

Found the body shop and spent a long time, spraying, smelling and spending my next pay check in my head. After spritzing with my new favourite fragrance "Cherry Blossom" I felt is was time to start the 20 minute walk home. It had got bitterly cold as the sun had disappeared so I pulled up my scarf, put on my gloves and with my head down battled the rush hour crowd.

All went smoothly for the first 10 minutes until I heard a shrieking high pitched whistle and looked up to be faced by lines and lines of police officers. Hundreds of armed men with shields and batons.

http://photo.phyang.org/image/seoul_riot_police.jpg

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera but this is basically what I was faced with.

They were lined up in army formation and were marching side by side in time to the leader. Up until now I had only seen the odd police officer here and there, so this was a huge surprise. I looked to the middle of the intersection and there were police directing traffic and along the sidewalks were buses upon buses that were labeled police.

So automatically my mind goes into overdraft, oh god its a war, a terrorist attack, omg all of the prime ministers are attending the Summit Nuclear Security conference down the road, has there been a bomb scare. North Korea is invading. Ok calm down. I look at the nearest person and ask what's happening. Stupid Sammie! this guy stares at me blankly obviously confused by my language. Shit I think to myself imagine if it is something big and no one can communicate to me what is happening. I suddenly realise that the general public are going on with their own business and do not look freaked out. I keep walking desperately searching for a white face who I can talk to. Keep walking. Bingo "Excuse me... what is happening? Should I be worried?" The American smiles and simply says Obama is just down the road Korea are putting up a huge Police presence so he feels safe.

 Well I'm glad you feel safe Obama because I nearly had a damn heart attack!

Somewhere over the rainbow

A little favourite of mine.

Well well well, never in my wildest dreams did I think I could be transported back in time to the sixties. Never did I think I could find a slice of wood stock in the heart of Seoul. Maybe it's the inner hippie in me but find a place to be myself I did find. Saturday night allowed me to free the bohemian flower child inside me. And no this doesn't mean that I rolled a joint and took a toke because anyone that knows me will know that I am very against drugs. I just love the tranquility of being close to others, sharing smiles and laying around on cushions relaxing and laughing, enjoying a moment of peace.

RAINBOW Bar  located in Gangnam is just amazing.

As you enter you are given a bag where you put your shoes and winter coats in.

You head to the bar where you order your drinks. (They are famous for their buckets)

This was a particularly delicious vodka and fruit punch concoction.

They offer over 40 flavours of hookah to enjoy with new friends.

The atmosphere is brilliant.

Rainbow is Korea’s most unpredictable Hookah/Cocktail lounge club located in the brisk heart of Seoul. Rainbow welcomes you with around 40 different hookah flavours and a wide range of cocktails, including our wondrous self-made ‘Rainbow Cocktails’ and the famous ‘Rainbow Buckets’ for those of you who would like to share the love along with our delicious munchies. We have fused an impressive variety of themes into Rainbow which gives the place its unique cultural character and its profound and mysterious vibe that will blow your mind as you walk downstairs on your visit. Those themes may include Indian, Jamaican, Hippie, Thai, Chinese, Western, and last but not least, Korean.

On weekdays, you are invited to sit back and relax enjoying the variety of Rainbow’s musical preferences such as reggae, folk, old school/modern rock, acoustic, pop and ethic. Yet on Friday and Saturday nights, we party it up with live performances by Korea’s Indie bands, followed by three DJ performances each night.

We are especially famous for things such as our top-class quality hookahs, Rainbow Buckets, live performances and the peaceful atmosphere. In the presence of all of this communal joy, we hope you can appreciate the idea of Rainbow that is to give everyone a good time. We believe it is a place you can come and chill with your friends, party, meet new people, spend time with your loved one or even enjoy some peaceful alone time. All that being said, we leave it upto you to find your own interpretation of our slogan:
LOVE & PEACE WITH RAINBOW. 

Copied from Rainbows facebook page.

Can you spot the didgeridoo?

Fantastic artwork and quotes plaster the walls

The rusta vibe definitely didn't go unnoticed.

If you want to find out more check out the facebook page.

St Paddy's Korean style

"Guys look! Wow now that's just spectacular"
"Shit whats that noise?"
"It's something on the bridge"

Everybody looks up and is momentarily frozen as we pass under the bridge that supports the subway. The noise is incredible as 20 plus cars clatter across the railway tracks directly above us. I scream out with excitement and joy. It's not everyday you sail under a bridge with 1000's of tonnes of train screaming along it while on a cruise boat along the Han River in Seoul.

Photo from 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Seoul-Han.River-Yeoido-Bridge-01.jpg

Photo from

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/cms/resource/07/216207_image2_1.jpg

In saying that it's not been an average day in Korea either. Infact for the majority of the day I've felt like I've been transported back to home, well home with a load of Americans and crazy Irish men.

It is after all March the 17th and that means its St Paddys day and there was no way that I was going to let the fact that I live in Korea stop me from celebrating this festive occasion.

My fellow kiwis were keen to join me in celebrating so they traveled to my place in Gangnam. First mission was to pick up a mattress for Rob to sleep on so we jumped in a taxi and asked the driver to take us to Emart. I was so excited, it was my first time to visit the store that claims to be a supermarket, plus clothes mart, plus everything else you need mart! And blow me was it amazing.

Bedroll $5.00, beer cheap as! The hugest pizza I had ever seen for $11.00 and we were on our way back to my apartment to get ready for a mean day out!

This pic does not do it justice, it was massive

Kiwi Rob with his kiwi beer that was only $3.

Us all greened up, with our home made stickers ready to hit the festivities.

(Cass, Korean beer which you can get at the supermarket for $3.60 for 2 liters!)

We had heard that there was a huge festival happening across town so we braved the subways and soon arrived at our destination, Sindorim. One of Seoul’s most popular and widely participated cultural events will continue to be hosted in the city – it wouldn’t be March if Ireland’s national day, Saint Patrick’s Day, wasn’t being celebrated.

Yep drinking in public is accepted here!

Subway was packed and a hot sweaty mess. I was lucky to grab a seat but soon regretted it as I realised the seat was heated and I was sweating up a storm.

We arrived in Sindorim and what we saw literally took my breathe away. 100's of foreigners, white people, talking English and doing things that only Westerners do! It felt like I had been transported home, up until now I had only seen a sprinkling of my kind through the city of Seoul. It felt weird for a few minutes but it also felt great that no longer was I the different one, no longer was I the one that was stared at.

We found a place in the packed outdoor stadium and begun to laugh and drink and people watch and talk to new people while watching Korean bands play Irish songs and drunk westerners Irish dancing. The atmosphere was alive with happiness and good spirited fun and we did the right Irish thing and drunk the afternoon away.

We reluctantly left the festivities at 4.30 because we had a boat to catch in an hour and at $60 a ticket we didn't want to miss it.

Riding the subway and transferring between lines while you are quite rightly intoxicated is hilarious! It is just so freaking busy here that it felt like I was swimming through a sea of people. Had to down a bottle of water before we walked to the docks to board our St Paddys day booze cruise!

On the way down by the river we found some interesting sculptures.

I bet in summer this place is beautiful.

The rest of the night was wonderful cruising down the Han river on a boat full to capacity with 600 people. Free beer all night. $2 spirits and a pig on the spit.

A night spent drinking and being merry with new friends was a perfect way to spend St Paddy's I guess it could only have been better if my NZ friends and family had joined us to.

Oh and did I mention the green beer! It was disgusting lol

Wanderlust

I couldn't decide which one I liked better, I just love this word and its meaning

I guess...

Oh now here's a book I would love to read, it is my birthday soon lol!

I did buy a book yesterday.

I want to learn as much as I can about this fabulous country.

"The land of Miracles"

Winter Wonderland

I have a memory from a long time ago, where a family friend bought over a video one night. I remember she handed it to me and said the girl on the cover looked like me, as I had long blonde hair and was wearing a blue dress. That memory is never far from my mind because secretly I think I am Alice in Wonderland.

At home, in New Zealand, I always knew there was more to me, more to Sammi,  but it was as if I was restricted, as if the culture and social standards inhibited my inner most desire. The most important desire, that of freedom, to be free to think what you like, say what you like, wear what you like and express yourself in anyway you feel fit.In Korea that desire has been released. I can say that I officially feel liberated and at peace.

At this point in, only 3 weeks. I am yet to officially decide whether it is actually this land of Korea that has allowed me to be at peace, or if it is just being in a new place and actually having to survive. I guess time will tell. What I do know though is that I am very fond of the Korean culture that I have experienced so far. I love how meals are all shared and generally are all eaten off one plate. I love the closeness, Koreans hold hands and hug and show affection a lot. I love how alive every part of the day and night is and how busy and festive every place is. And I especially love that I can nurture the children at my preschool with hugs and kisses (on the cheek)  and pick them up and swing them around. It just feels so natural.

I wonder if 'just like Alice and Wonderland" I will wake up at some point and realise that I just fell down a rabbit hole? I don't think so to be honest!

And did I mention I love, love, love the food here. It is amazing and my Korean work mates are always telling me to eat more!

And just because I'm feeling sentimental....

and this one is for my girls