The Blind Restaurant: Eating in the Dark

Over the weekend, my friends and I went to Seoul for my friend's birthday.  Saturday night we had dinner reservations at Blind Art Restaurant, which offers a very unique experience: eating in complete darkness.

When we arrived, we had to put all of our belongings in lockers.  No cell phones, watches, or anything that has the potential to produce light was allowed in the dining room.  We then had to wait in a dimly lit area, where we were lined-up single file with our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us.  A waiter (wearing night-vision goggles) led us into a pitch-black dining room and ushered us into a booth.  You literally could not see anything!  Sometimes when you're in a dark place, your eyes semi-adjust to the darkness and you can see some things...but not in this place.  I couldn't see my friends sitting beside or across from me, and I definitely couldn't see my food sitting right in front of me when it came out.

We were served a 5-course meal consisting of a mysterious appetizer that tasted something like bacon and bell peppers with a sauce, penne pasta with alfredo, salad, a grilled chicken breast with mashed potatoes and grilled veggies, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.  I could not see the food I was eating, so every bite was a bit of a surprise.  I had to (attempt) to cut my chicken breast blind, that was fun (note the sarcasm).  My friends and I were all thankful that we couldn't see each other eating because I'm sure it would have been embarrassing but funny: food missing our mouths, trying to feel around our plate, trying to scoop/stab your next bite onto your fork or spoon, and maybe dropping food in the process.  It has been said that when one sense is taken away, then the other four senses are heightened.  I don't know if my sense of taste was heightened at all during my hour-or-so of blindness, but the meal was quite good.

It was a very interesting experience.  I have found out since that there are other blind restaurants in other major cities around the world, including the US.  For more information on Blind Art Restaurant in Seoul and about the blind-dining experience, here's a link:  http://travel.cnn.com/seoul/eat/blind-art-restaurant

The Most Inappropriate Show on Earth

Before I went to Thailand, I had talked to a couple people who had visited there before and asked them what things they would recommend.  Well I quickly heard about the infamous Ping Pong Show.  So you may be thinking that the show is all about watching people smack a ball across a table with paddles, right?  WRONG!

Just a warning, it's about to get a little graphic here.




The Ping Pong Show involves naked/scantily-clad women, vaginas and an array of small objects.  My friend and I knew what we were getting ourselves into, but we had to see it with our own eyes.  After a Thai man came up to us on the street advertising the show (we were looking for one), we followed him upstairs to a dimly lit bar.  To be honest, the place was a bit sketchy, but there were other people there, including other foreigners, so we figured we were fine.  In the middle of the bar, there was a stage with about 6 women, some dressed in lingerie, some completely naked, some young, some old, some skinny, some not-as-skinny.  But no matter what they looked like, they all shared a special talent: the ability to shoot small objects out of their vaginas.

My friend and I ordered a beer, sat back and waited for the tricks to begin.  The first trick we saw was a lady shoot darts out of her vagina, which proceeded to hit a board with balloons and pop the balloons.  She popped about 4 balloons with darts shot from the lady-bit region.  One of the women came to the table where me and my friend were sitting and asked us to sign our names on a blank piece of paper.  We were skeptical at first and said no, but we were told everyone had to, so we wrote only our first names down.  A few minutes later, the same woman goes on stage and sticks a Sharpie marker inside her and squats and writes on a piece of paper; she then brought the paper back to us and it read "Kylee and Lauren, nice to meet you".  She wrote that with her vagina! I'd say that's talent!    

The grand finale was what we came to see: the ping pong show.  My friend and I were handed ping pong paddles and a lady shot ping pong balls at us and we had to defend ourselves with the paddles.  Picture this: you sit in a booth while a women sticks ping-pong balls into her vagina and then shoots them at you while you hit them back with a paddle...that was me and my friend.

After we saw what we came to see, we bolted out of that bar.  We only stayed about 25 minutes, but that was more than enough time.  I would never go see a Ping Pong Show again, but I am glad I went because I know if I hadn't of gone, I would've regretted it.  It was definitely interesting!  It really gave me new-found insight into what the vagina can do.  It was quite impressive actually, and it left me wondering just what kind of training those women go through to learn this trade.  So if you ever find yourself in Thailand, I would recommend the Ping Pong Show, but I think a one-time viewing is enough.  If you want more information on the show or you don't believe me, I'm sure you can Google it and maybe even find YouTube videos.  And if you found this article appalling, you can't say I didn't warn you.  

Thailand: Land of 1000 Smiles and Tuk-tuks

I know I've been M.I.A. lately, but I've just recently gotten back to Korea from a wonderful two-week vacation around Thailand and Cambodia (but more on Cambodia in a different post).  It was really nice to have a break from teaching, school, and Korea for a little bit.  My friend and travel-partner Lauren and I left on January 18 and made our way to Thailand, where we spent the next 8 days.  We left from the Seoul/Incheon airport, had a layover in Shanghai, China, and finally landed in Phuket, Thailand around 2:30am.  (Side note: Phuket is pronounced "Poo-ket", NOT "Fuck-it" like some people may read it)  During our stay in Thailand, we visited Phuket and Krabi (coastal cities), various islands including Koh Phi Phi, and then spent the last couple days in Bangkok.

We booked almost no accommodation in advance and just found places to stay as we went along, and it worked great that way.  Some places we stayed were as cheap as $10/night, and they were very decent too.  Overall Thailand was pretty cheap, and you could barter prices with people.  Our very first day, we ate at a traditional Thai buffett for $2!

                                     Where is Thailand exactly?  It's a part of Southeast Asia.

       I started in the southern city of Phuket, traveled to Koh Phi Phi Island, Krabi, and then made it up north to Bangkok.

I could go on-and-on about how wonderful Thailand was, but I'll just make bullet points of some interesting things we came across during our trip.

• As a whole, Asian people have been the nicest people I've ever met.  They are extremely friendly and will offer to help you with most anything, even if you don't ask for it.  Thai people took friendliness to new heights.  They are hands-down the nicest strangers I've ever come across.  During one part of our trip, Lauren and I were trying to catch a taxi to a particular place and we stopped and asked a family who owned a street-food stand for help.  They not only called us a taxi, but fed us free water and snacks while we waited.  
• We quickly learned that in southern Thailand there are no designated taxis.  Typically, taxis are easy to spot because the cars have a big, flashing "TAXI" sign on the top of the car.  In southern Thailand, this is not the case.  Anyone who spoke English was a taxi, and the best way to catch one was to ask someone at a local business for a taxi and they would immediately call their "friend" who would conveniently come pick us up.  So basically you get in the car with a random person who happens to speak some level of English and hope they take you to where you want to go.  Dangerous? Maybe...but what else do you do??  You can't walk everywhere..
• We also hitched a couple rides on motorbikes, which are probably the most common form of transportation in Thailand, along with tuk-tuks
• Thailand isn't a rich country, but it's not third world either.  Tourism is booming there. 
• Schools were really fancy-looking.  They were surrounded by gates and had very cool architecture and statues/gardens in the yards.
• The Thai Royal family is EVERYTHING.  People say that tourists can usually get away with a lot in Thailand, but if you should NOT speak one bad word about the royal family.  Every business has a portrait hanging up of the king and queen.
• Saw various islands, but the most well-known were James Bond Island (the movie "The Man with the Golden Gun" was filmed here), Rai Leh, and Koh Phi Phi Island.
• The LadyBoys: Thailand has many drag shows in which ladyboys perform.  A ladyboy is the Thai name for men who dress up and perform as women.  Lauren and I saw a ladyboy cabaret show in Phuket and if I hadn't of known better, I seriously would've thought they were legit women.  Some even performed in bikinis, and they looked damn good in them too.  The only bad part was after the show you could get your picture with them, but then they hounded you for tips (in their deep voices).
• We did soooo many animal-related things! 
• We went to a fish spa, where you put your feet in a tank of water and the fish eat the dead-skin off of them.  Yummy!
• We rode elephants and then fed them pineapple!  Their trunks are stronger than they look.  We also saw a random elephant walking around the street with its owner one night.
• We held pythons around our necks at a marketplace. 
• We petted and walked tigers at a tiger temple which was run by monks.
• We got up close and personal with wild monkeys on an island.  
• Thai food was delicious, and cheap, fresh fruit was everywhere.  The best snack was Mango Sticky Rice: slices of mango, rice, and coconut milk!
• We went to a floating marketplace, where most all vendors sit in canoe-like boats advertising and selling food, homemade goods, or souvenirs---all on a tiny river!
• Markets are everywhere and you can find some random things.  We saw a sign advertising things like prescription drugs (Valium, Viagra, etc.) and forged diplomas/licenses (all illegally of course, but out in the open for people to buy!)
• We took a canoe ride with our own private canoe driver.  He took us through caves and at some points we had to lay down in the boat to get through the entrances.

On Phi Phi Island....the bluest waters I've ever seen.

Introducing The Ladyboys...yes, they're men!

Riding elephants!  Her name is Kahmoon.

Boating tour of islands.

Fish Spa getting our dead-skin cells eaten off.

Floating market

Tiger Temple

James Bond Island

Floating Village

Canoe ride...Watch you head!!

Simply put, Thailand was AMAZING!!  I hope I can go back one day.

Stay-tuned for my blog about the Thailand Ping Pong Show which was so inappropriately shocking and hilarious that it warrants its own post.  Trust me, you'll want to read it!

The Infamous Pet Cafes

To say Korea has a lot of cafes is an understatement.  There are cafes and coffee shops everywhere, and I don't know how any of them make any money with all the competition in such close proximity.  However, there are some cafes that take a very different approach to draw in customers.  The cafes I'm talking about are pet cafes.  The most popular ones are dog cafes and cat cafes.  These cafes are just like regular coffee shops but there are animals to greet you and keep you company while you relax and enjoy your hot beverage.  The cafes I have seen have animal toys and beds laying around so that the animals can take a break from all their visitors.  From what I've heard, the animals are owned and cared for by the cafes in which they belong.  These pet cafes are all over Korea and Japan.  There is a dog cafe and a cat cafe in the city where I live.  I have yet to experience the cat cafe, but I have been to the dog cafe, Story Dog.  When I went, there were about 7 small dogs there of all different breeds.  All of them were friendly, except a loud, obnoxious pomeranian.  The pet cafes are great for people like me, who are really missing their pets from back home (I miss you Abbey, Velma and Daphne!!!)  It's nice to cuddle up with some furry friends while sipping some hot tea.  I really think the U.S. should start the pet cafe trend, as there are so many animals that need adopting!

The dog cafe in my city

Inside of the cafe; it was really clean!

This past weekend I discovered a new kind of pet cafe: a sheep cafe!  Well actually my friend in Seoul discovered it, but we checked it out together.  The cafe had 2 sheep; and they were in a pin right outside the cafe.  The cafe serves as their home during the winter months, and during the summer they go back to their farm.  Their owner, also the owner of the cafe, told us their names were Happy and Merry, which stand for "Happy New Year" and "Merry Christmas".  Lucky for us, they were quite photogenic!  

Happy and Merry

Another popular trend here is dying your pet's hair.  I have seen so many animals here with pink rosy cheeks or bright green ears.  For some reason, pet owners here love to add a pop of color to their pets' manes.  As I like to say, "only in Korea"...

               See what I mean about the dyed animals?? 

 

           

Where I've Been

Just trying to conquer the world one place at a time...

Within the United States

Countries Conquered

Countries Visited:

• Austria
• Bahamas
• Cambodia
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Korea, South
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Spain
• Switzerland
• Thailand
• Turkey
• UK
• USA
• Vietnam
• Vatican City

Notable Places:

• Athens, 
• Bangkok, 
• Bath, 
• Cebu,
• Chicago, 
• Detroit, 
• Dublin, 
• Hanoi
• Heidelberg, 
• Hollywood, 
• Istanbul, 
• Kuala Lumpur,
• Las Vegas, 
• Los Angeles
• London, 
• Madrid, 
• Munich, 
• New Orleans, 
• Paris, 
• Phuket, 
• Rome, 
• Salzburg, 
• Seoul,  
• Siem Reap, 
• Singapore,
• Southampton, 
• Stonehenge, 
• Vatican City, 
• Zurich

Beware of the Dong-chim!

Korean students are like any other students and enjoy playing jokes on one another.  During my time here, I've become accustomed to the students' rough-housing.  They put each other in headlocks, wrestle one another to the ground and will physically hurt their friends; but they're just playing.  It really shocked me at first, but after I noticed that none of the Korean teachers take any notice to this, I began to get used to it.

Well, there's a special move that Korean kids (boys and girls both) like to use when joking around with friends.  It's called the dong-chim.  Luckily, I have not experienced the dong-chim yet, and nor do I want to.  It literally translates as "poop needle".  The dreaded dong-chim is when Korean kids clasp their hands together into the shape of a gun, run up to an unsuspecting victim and poke his/her butt-hole, and yell "Dong-chim!".  Yes, you heard that right...  Kids stick their gun-shaped fingers into the crack of the victim.  They think it's absolutely hilarious!  (Which it is, as long as you're NOT the one getting fingers to your butt).

You might assume that adults are immune to this childish act because kids would never do that to their teacher, parent, etc, right??  NOT TRUE!  Young or old, boy or girl,  you can fall victim to the dong-chim.  You constantly have to watch your back (I mean ass..) because you are a target if you are not paying attention and you happen to bend over or turn your back.  I have witnessed the dong-chim on a few occasions, and it looks as unpleasant as it sounds.  I'm trying to avoid it at all costs.      

The Dong-chim stance

A comic of the dong-chim being performed

Thanksgiving in Korea

Thanksgiving was different this year.  This was the first year I wasn't home for Thanksgiving.  I've never missed a family holiday before, so this was new for me.

This year, I had to work on Thanksgiving.  It was just a regular day here in Korea.  I was at school, teaching lessons as usual.  There was no Black Friday shopping.  There was no turkey.  There was no decorations around my city or school.  While my mom was talking about Thanksgiving preparations and the family's plans, I had to remind myself that I wasn't going to be there.  It was a little sad, but I reminded myself of how lucky I am to be experiencing this life in Korea.

Since I have other American friends here in Jecheon, all of which were in my same situation, we decided to throw our own Thanksgiving dinner.  Most traditional Thanksgiving food/ingredients we were able to find easily at a local supermarket.  Other things were impossible  to get.  For one, turkey is near impossible to get here; it can be found in big cities like Seoul or Busan, but if you can find it, you better be prepared to pay a hefty price for it.  Therefore, turkey was nixed from our Thanksgiving list.  Instead, we had roasted chicken, which wasn't a bad substitute at all.  Other items we were able to make for our Thanksgiving meal (with no problem) were: mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, rolls, corn, fried chicken, salad, banana cream pie, apple crisp, sangria (wine) and pumpkin soup.

The substitute turkey: roasted chicken!

Things which took a lot of effort and/or outside help to get/make:

• green beans (my friend had a can of these which she saved up for months)
• corn bread (my friend had a packet of mix which she also was saving for this occasion)
• stuffing (had to be legit homemade, no boxes of stuffing here)
• macaroni and cheese (had to be homemade / cheese had to be bought in Seoul at the foreign food market)
• gravy (had to be homemade, no canned gravy here...Koreans have no idea what gravy even is...)
• **pumpkin pie puree cannot be found here, so unfortunately we had no pumpkin pie

Even though it was a lot of work, we successfully pulled off a real Thanksgiving dinner in Korea.  We were working with limited space (a studio apartment) and a small oven (no huge American ovens here).  We all stuffed ourselves, and had tons of leftovers, so the next day we heated everything up and finished it off.  It was amazing!!  I was soooo proud of all of us!  It seemed impossible to do, but we made it happen.  

My friend's apartment and the space we had to work with.  Limited counter space and the oven is the white square on top of the refrigerator.

My plate, filled to the max!

The finished product!

We did it!!!

After our Thanksgiving, I went back to my apartment to Skype my family.  Even though I couldn't be there physically, I was there through Skype (on both occasions...for the Souders' Thanksgiving and the Holland Thanksgiving).  I got to "see" and talk with all my family and it was the next best thing besides being there in person!!  During family holidays, my mom goes picture crazy, and we always get a family picture.  This year was no exception....we still managed to get one! Check it out below!

Annual family Thanksgiving photo! Love you guys!