Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Korea, day one


We managed to find a direct flight to Korea this time around, we flew out of Dallas and when we got off the plane we were in Korea, this was the happiest thing to happen to me in a long time.  I can't believe the blessing, on the way home when we have our new baby who has just met us and is grieving so much, we get on a plane one time and when we get off, we're home, no re-checking in and re-boarding in LA, no holding a baby on my lap on a domestic flight.



Last time I distinctly remember thinking, whew! I did it when we got to the US, but then I had to do it all over again and the flight from LA to Houston was terrible, there was so much less space and Jack was crying and I had to change his diaper and there was no place to do it anymore, and you get the idea.  So I'm very happy to have a direct flight home, even if Korean Air it required flying Korean Air, which heats their plane to 80 degrees, Koreans love heat, you can quote me on that.



After a night of multiple three hour naps and some melatonin, we got up and got to skype with the kids, which was so good for my heart.  I was already missing them terribly and wondering how I was ever going to spend eight days away from them.  They were so happy and having so much fun, hearing their "i love yous" was soothing and I was able to go off and enjoy my day.


This time our hotel included breakfast, which is another huge blessing, last time we were here we were on our own to find breakfast and an American breakfast is very hard to find, the best we could do was coffee and pastries, which is not the most filling or healthy way to start the day.  So we filled up, after all it was included in our rate and everything else we would eat that day would cost us :).




We then took the subway over to the COEX shopping mall, which is a very modern shopping mall, with a mix of stores selling traditional Korean gifts, along with typical mall stores, it also has a theatre, a aquarium, and probably more things we didn't have time to see.  We got several things purchased, our main mission this time (besides getting Chloe) is to buy a lot of things that we can give to the kids over the years that are unique to Korea, we want them to have decorations, toys, and collectibles that represent part of their identity.


After a long day of shopping we came back to our hotel to rest for a little while before heading off to see the show Nanta, which was really good and quite funny even though I couldn't understand everything, if you ever have the chance to see it (it travels all over the world), I highly recommend it.


By the time that show was over it was 7pm and I was kaput, my husband was not (of course).  How can I explain what traveling with Kyle is like, it's a little bit like Amazing Race.  There are a large number of activities that have to be accomplished each day, and they need to be done quickly, because we need to get in all of our activities.  So of course after the show was over he had made plans for meeting a friend we recently made that lives in Seoul.


Kyle's goal for this trip was to try and tone it down some and give me time to rest, because my idea of a vacation is basically staying as still as possible.  He's been trying really hard and the compromise we've been coming to is him doing something by himself at night while I rest, which he did the night we got in to Korea and also did after we saw Nanta, I spent the evening eating junk food in a robe and taking a bath, but y'all knew that.



I'm trying to remember to take more pictures this time and to blog about what we do each day so I have that record, so stay tuned.

5 comments:

everythingismeowsome said...

Yay! So glad to read about your day! You are keeping busy. Kyle sounds like my husband and you are like me. Maybe we should plan a Korean homeland trip when our kids are a little older and let the men go exploring while we sit around in our pjs!!! I'm so glad you got to see Nanta! We really wanted to do it, but just couldn't make it work. And the hotel looks awesome. Next time we will definitely do a hotel. That guest house was for the birds!!! Can't wait to read more!

Heather H said...

Yay! I love being able to 'hear' from you even when you are on the other side of the world!! And then you won't have to repeat it as many times when you get back! Also, beautiful photos!! So glad the flight was good. I can't wait to read more when you have time! God is so good all the time!!

Sue said...

i am so happy and so excited for you!! sounds like you are having a very enjoyable time so far in seoul.
your pictures and comments are bringing back so wonderful many memories. and when i scrolled down and saw the picture of your room...my heart skipped a beat - it looks EXACTLY like the room we stayed in. robe & slippers. yummy full american breakfast. are you at the fraser suites?!?!
enjoy this time...and every first moments with chloe!!

Jenny said...

sue you are right! it is awesome, so much nice than the one we stayed in last time we were here, it will make being here with Chloe for 2 days actually fun, instead of wanting to run to the plane! :)

Sue said...

oh, jenny!! i hope you are enjoying chasing chloe all over that suite!!!