seoul
My dad was in town in April, we spent a few days cheering on NZ at the 7s, to great success in both the mens and the womens. Got in plenty of hiking and view spots, and the obligatory amount of dumplings.
I also headed back to Seoul for the first time since I was 18, remembering very little it felt like being there for the first time. I spent the first weekend there with my friend who lives in Jeju and her baby, mostly wandering and eating and catching up during nap time. I then stayed solo in Itaewon for a few days working during the day and eating yummy Korean treats at night. Then R turned up to celebrate his birthday together, with a baseball game (great fun!), K-BBQ, and a very fancy tasting menu type restaurant. We also did lots of exploring including a great hike up an old wall for some very nice views of Seoul. Then he tapped out and the girls arrived, 8 of us for a long weekend let loose on the city. Two of the crew used to live in Seoul so while they reminisced we enjoyed having tour guides to traipse around behind. We checked out palaces and old villages within the city, ate insane amounts of good food, took over the tunes at their old favourite bar (while the women behind the bar and I also enjoyed watching some volleyball together while discussing the games merits with signing and facial expressions). I really loved Seoul, lots of gritty and interesting HK type vibes, access to nature, so much good food, easy public transport and the weather in May was pretty perfect!
