Korean air: The flight was amazing! They treated all the passengers like royalty! They were all very kind and nice. All of the flight attendants went nuts for both the boys! Noah especially! One flight attendant inparticular kept sitting in the empty seat in front of us and turning around and playing with him about 6 different times. Honestly it got to be a bit much for us actually! Some other flight attendant got so excited that she actually grabbed Noah out of Noboru's arms and walked away carrying him into the galley to see the other flight attendants. Noboru told me, more then likely they were taking pictures of him! Sheesh! Even a guy flight attendant went crazy for him! And 2 more attendants as well! Now that's just nuts isn't it!
They brought out blankets right away for us to use without us even having to ask. Also the blankets were really nice plaid ones too. Unlike the plain thin material navy blue ones we usually get on NWA. Also sometimes the FA on NWA won't even give you a blanket unless you ask for one. Also the pillows were twice as fluffy compared to NWA. So even though we shouldn't say so, since my husband works for NWA, Korean Air was by far totally better!
Lotte Hotel: The Hotel we stayed at was top of the line. We stayed at the Lotte Hotel. The hotel was gorgeous, the concept of this hotel is travel accommodations and shopping and dining all under one roof. The shopping was amazing.
Korea itself: I thought Korea itself was absolutely amazing! I truly kept thinking....why hadn't we gone here before? What took us so long? Ha ha ha! As modern as Japan, without a doubt! And in many respects better then Japan. You see, Seoul is way more foreigner friendly compared to Japan! What I mean is, if I lived there or just travelling there on vacation, it is way easier then comparing a foreigner living in Japan hands down! Simply because availability of foreign stuff! Let me give you a run down of what they got.
They got....Outback Steakhouse (we saw 3 of them in just the short time we were there), Starbucks on every block practically. Mc Donald's and Burger King! Also Subway sandwich. And the difference is in Japan, the Japanese tend to change the menu *so* much that it doesn't even seem like the same damn restaurant anymore. Like Denny's in Japan, totally sucks when compared to Denny's in the US, which is why we went to Denny's in Japan once. And we won't go back, because it is terrible and ridiculously expensive for the menu they offer. Seriously how come they changed the Denny's menu *so* much that the only thing even remotely resembling an American Denny's is they have French toast in the mornings. Seriously they really should change the name to something else. LOL, it's like false advertizing or something. I wonder how many Americans in Japan walked in Denny's and got as disappointed, as I was when I went there? I bet a lot!!!! Same with Subway sandwich in Japan, because they tweaked the menu so freaking much, it barely seems worth going there ykwim? (depends how hard up, I am for a sandwich though lol) Like no meatball sandwich and no Italian BMT or many other things, that Subway Japan doesn't carry, plus the Subway in Japan costs an arm and a leg, just to buy some sandwiches for a meal for the family, meanwhile, it was more price comparable in Korea to the US for our sandwiches, go figure! Meanwhile what makes Korea so totally kick ass, is they don't change the menu at all! We went to Subway sandwich shop for lunch and the menu is exactly the same as in the states! I got my veggie and cheese sandwich. Branden got his Italian BMT and Noboru got to have his favorite usual meatball sandwich. Way to go Korea! Now that's what I'm talking about! Same with Burger King too.....one morning for breakfast I had a bacon, egg and cheese crossan'wich combo (or as they say in Japan ...a set lol). Pizza Hut everywhere too plus they have sit down Pizza Huts, which is totally not the case in Japan where they are just for delivery and the menu is so drastically changed too. I had that for dinner once night and the menu was exactly the same as the US and price comparable to the US. Totally unchanged. It was totally refreshing being there and much different then I thought it was going to be. I was so totally impressed being there!
Oh and Koreans speak a hell of a lot more English, then the Japanese do here in Japan. So while I muttered around trying to speak Korean. My English was fine to use anywhere! The people of Korea were all lovely and polite and wonderful to us. But we also, were very polite and respectful to them. But, let it be known, Koreans say whatever is on their mind. Like to give an example, a Japanese from Tokyo is far more polite and never quite says what they mean. Meanwhile an Osakagin will be more apt to say directly what they have on their mind. Koreans are the same way! Maybe even a bit more so! To be blunt, they are kind and wonderful. But they won't take shit from no one. And they are not afraid or nervous around westerners at all like they are in Japan. I spotted quite a few westerners while I was in Korea this week. And some Korean lady told two western women, who were looking at some of her stuff for sale at the big open air markets. "If you want it fine, then buy it, if not then give it back" The Korean lady then proceeded to grab the object the western women were looking at. You see the western women were conversing about if they should buy it or not and if they could get a better, cheaper deal elsewhere, they probably didn't think the old woman understood them. (they were both so shocked, meanwhile I was people watching at the time, so I saw the entire thing). Just be respectful and kind. Because, they take no gruff from anyone! And the gaijin card won't get you *anywhere* in Korea. Also like I said, they are all much more fluent in English, so watch what you say! So, if you go with an "I am superior type attitude, be prepared for a hellish time and to be taken down a notch!" I saw another couple (a western man and women who were behaving like two pompous asses humbled by another outspoken Korean, seriously). Meanwhile we went there with just our regular nice, friendly attitudes and spoke to everyone very respectfully and had a wonderful time and plan to go back soon! : )
They also have Krispy Kreme donuts! Man I love those and haven't eaten them since this summer when me and the boys were in the US. So we had Krispy Kreme Donuts. They also have Wal-Mart and Costco. Baskin Robbins everywhere and more. TGIFridays and Chili's restaurants (I love Chili's restaurants and we certainly don't got those in Japan lol). Oh and Bennigans. So Korea is *way* more foreigner friendly, then Japan is like I said. I was in heaven being there!
It probably doesn't sound like it but, I did eat a lot of Korean food too. I ate at a few street vendors as did Noboru. We had some delicious mochi in a *hot as hell* chili sauce. It was delicious! I had ginseng tea every morning. And ate some yummy tenjan chige (Korean miso kimchee soup) .
One night we ate and relaxed together at a restaurant as a family so that was nice. And the other night, we were all so tired from walking and sight seeing that we decided to do take-out, so N got some delicious Korean food to go and Branden and I did the same with the Pizza Hut and we all went back to the hotel and had a picnic of sorts in the hotel room watching TV.
What we brought back: We brought back kimchee (2 packs of it) and cucumber kimchee. Noboru brought some fish egg kimchee (yikes lol).
Wonderful Husband: Noboru bought me a brand new Prada wallet at the Lotte Duty Free where our hotel was. My Prada wallet, that I have been using is pretty old and has certainly seen brighter days. So when we walked passed the big Prada shop, I was all set to walking passed it. But he held my hand and pulled me towards the door and said "let's go in and get you a new wallet." We did and I found the one I really liked and he bought it for me. I'm lucky and really appreciate that I married such a thoughtful and generous man!
So, the trip was wonderful and I feel refreshed and relaxed. Going away and doing some killer shopping, eating yummy food and doing some amazing sight seeing really did the trick! : )
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