As part of a huge ass plan to kick start 2013 and to make massive changes before i hit the big 30, i had made the decision to take a 3 week long leave in January, starting out with a trip to Seoul to do my eyes. I also brought my mum along, her Christmas present from me.
We flew on the 2nd January, and all that concerned me wasn't the surgery but the blistering cold. My Korean friend had already been giving me updates on the snow and the MINUS 15 DEGREES cold. So with completely mixed feelings, excitable for new eyes, to see snow for the first time and fear of pretty much everything else unknown, i was off to Seoul.
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| Mum and me |
And finally at 29 years of age, i see the first spot of snow upon landing! =)
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| This was taken from my S3 in a moving taxi!! |
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It takes 1.5 hours to get to the city from the airport, and we ended up lost because i have a preference to stay in small boutique hotels, and the one i chose to book is quite difficult to locate. PLUS we had an uncle for a taxi driver who was really sweet but old and didn't know how to use his GPS!
We stayed at Hotel The Designers, located at the Gangnam-gu area. It was really reasonable at less than SGD$150 a night. Plus every single room is designed differently. I also loved it that there was a coffee place at the hotel, for my daily needs of caffeine intake.
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| Mum outside the hotel |
I have to add a line or two here about coffee cafes/ places in Seoul. It's EVERYWHERE! You think Singapore has many, wait till you go to Seoul! And it's cheaper and the coffee is WAY better. I believe its the beans. And the fact that there is so much effort put into ensuring that every single cup of coffee is made right. RESPECT!
Which also brings me on to my Korean friend, Hyujin. He is really an angel. I met him once prior in Singapore through my brother, and he ended up being a more than amazing host to us in Seoul. He owns a chain of coffee cafes under the KONA brand in Seoul- a total of 11 cafes, with one of it co-owned with super pops K-pop band, Super Junior. We managed to do a visit there during this trip.
They also have plans this year to expand to do KONA PREMIUM with some of the best coffee beans worldwide. More a lifestyle coffee cafe.
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| Some of the Super Junior stuff at the cafe |
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| Mum, Hyujin and me outside KONA BEANS |
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| Me, Hyujin and Mum inside KONA BEANS |
So when we first arrived, we got lost. Or rather our taxi driver couldn't find the hotel. We ended up stopping to ask over 10 Koreans, of which many were hopelessly unhelpful. In the end, we dropped off at Burger King, in MINUS 15 DEGREES and had to call Hyujin who came to our rescue.
He not only rushed in 15 mins to meet us via train, he also lugged both our luggages to our hotel for us, down 3 blocks. This my friends, is a huge feat considering the weather, the snow, the weight of our luggages. And indeed a kind soul with a huge heart.
It is very seldom in life we meet such people. I always like to ponder a bit more when it comes to such things. Give it a little more thought and indulge in tiny doses of appreciation. Don't you think we wander through lives constantly in a rush, we often forget to be grateful?
I saw this as part of the decor in a store called A BRAND in Myeong Dong. And it was an entire wall of polaroid post-its. And this caught my eye.
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| DO EVERYTHING WITHOUT BITCHING x |
We whine so much about everything that we are dissatisfied with in life. The smallest discomfort and Singaporeans are the first to complain. It seems like its in our blood. Why don't we do EVERYTHING WITHOUT BITCHING?
So finally I was in Seoul. Having my first BULGOGI meal, and it became one of my favorite meals for the entire trip. I forget the name of the restaurant. But it was insanely YUMS for the TUMS! It was also a mini introduction to all the small side dishes plus the fact that in winter, Koreans drink CHILLED soup not hot soup. Hyujin was sharing with us that it stems from the history of how in the past, there was no such thing as refrigerators, so winter was perfect to have naturally chilled food.
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| Korean Beef BULGOGI style |
I was too greedy and hungry to take more pictures of the meal. So the one above was the only picture.
Finally, there I was in Seoul, on the 2nd day of the new year, 2013 and in the heated comforts of my hotel room. The fear started to creep up on me. And the reality of my plastic surgery the next day.
I had been major gungho about doing it and my ultimate goal being double eyelids, i was fearless! PRETTY EYES baby! So the fear of the pain or the actual going under the knife never hit me till I was in Seoul. My consultation was scheduled for the next day at 2PM, and the surgery right after at 3PM. And i had to start starving myself from the morning with not even a drop of water from 9AM.
So when we found this tiny porridge place the next morning and my mum was happily digging in, it was sadness-ville for me. It looked so yummy and in the weather, it was the perfect breakfast meal.
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| Crab porridge with kim chi, seaweed and cold soup |
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| Mum tucking into the meal |
It was then time to hit the plastic surgery clinic. It is a 15 storey building. And the clinic is called BK Plastic Surgery Hospital. http://english.bkhospital.com/
I was very fortunate as Hyujin had already made all the arrangements for me. The clinic was completely efficient and thorough. I went through 3 rounds of consultation with Dr. Kim himself and a consultant before realizing that I had droopy eyes and I have been blinking with my forehead for all of my life.
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| Pre surgery in the robes |
And by right, i had to have my gel-lish nails removed, they need to see the color of your nails throughout the surgery, to make sure you don't suddenly stop breathing and die. (I'm exaggerating). But because my nails are so pretty, i couldn't bear to have them removed, i had the option of removing the 2nd toe nail on each foot. So that was what I was doing in the picture.
Anyway, instead of just a double eye lid cut. This was what was recommended to me for the best results and BIG EYES:
1. Cut open muscles above eyes
2. Cut inner
3. Cut outer
4. Remove eye bags
5. Cut double eyelids
There are obviously exact medical terms but I'm just simplifying everything. OK to cut the long story short, 1.5 hours later, i was in the operating theatre and i was terrified. Going to be put under local anesthesia and they gave me heads up that I would be told to open my eyes in the middle of the surgery so they could ensure that the cuts were even. It sounds madly scary. TRUST ME IT IS.
I was woken up 20 minutes towards the end of my surgery and it was hell. I was told to open my eyes, and straining so hard to open them, all i saw were the stark bright lights. Then i felt it- the needles in my eye. I can't even begin to describe the pain.
My relationship with pain has always been pretty amicable. At times, almost friendly. I have 18 tattoos on me, and I've enjoyed the journeys of each of them. But this pain, I will never ever want to experience again in the duration of my life. For the sake of beauty.
Don't judge me. We all choose to do what we want to do in life, it's my own choice. It might go down to some level of superficiality, but, so what? It's my eyes, my pain, my experience.
My surgery took 2 hours. And i took an hour to finally be able to be awake enough to get up. It's funny, all i remember after is a blur but one thing that was crystal clear was me drinking grape juice mum bought for me. I was so thirsty.
I initially had the intention to blog the whole surgery experience and healing with pictures. But I really looked horrible and I'm still swelling now as I blog about it, plus the fact that my brothers forbid me to even leave the house without my sunnies.
So moving on from the plastic surgery, i had to take extra care, ice packs, ointments and pills. I felt like i was punched by 10 people in my eyes. It didn't hurt post surgery, just felt really bruised. One other thing is sleeping almost sitting up- to ensure that the my eyes are always above my heart, for blood flow. This helps with preventing massive swelling and helps with the healing process.
You know how everyone says that when you are in Seoul, you can walk around post surgery with your bandages. I did. Then with sunglasses.
I was pretty upset i lost my appetite right after my surgery, but thank goodness i got it back when the anesthesia wore off at midnight, and i was walloping pumpkin porridge and pork with rice in the comforts of the hotel room.
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| Korean strawberries |
And I also had Korean strawberries everyday, they are one of the nicest things to eat in this world! It's really A CLASS ABOVE THE REST. We ended up buying home and hand carrying so much strawberries back.
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| Checking out at the food market- all the STRAWBERRIES! |
We also went to check out Myeong Dong, The Galleria, and we walked the streets of Garosugil. Both mum and me loved Garosugil the most, lined with small stores and amazingly pretty cafes, it reminds me much of Omotesando in Tokyo.
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| Blueberry Cheesecake and Earl Grey Cake at Coco Bruni |
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| Coco Bruni along Garosugil |
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| Mummy |
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| The Lego Electricity Box |
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| The Galleria |
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| Giant Snow Globe- i think we can do one for Zouk's Christmas 2013! |
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| Beef tofu soup at The Galleria Food hall |
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| Grilled FIsh at The Galleria Food Hall |
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| The Butcher at The Galleria |
The food hall at The Galleria is quite something. Mum went a bit ape shit. We walked through the meats, the butcher, the pasties, the bread, the cookies, it was INSANE!
Of course we continued eating and eating, and it was AWESOME. How can anyone be anorexic?? I don't get it!! It's a pleasure to be able to enjoy eating! Here's food spam pictures of some of the meals we had!!
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| Grilled octopus in some super spicy sauce. We were recommended this small eatery in one of the tiny lanes in Garosugil. It took us 10 people and a kind old man to finally get to this! |
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| The whole table of food and brown rice to go along. YUMS FOR THE TUMS! |
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| Kim Chi noodles with Tempura and Cold noodles- It was SGD$10!! At DOOTA in Dong Dae Mun |
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| Octopus and Oxtail Soup |
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| Oxtail Soup at this eatery very near our hotel |
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| Korean dumplings at this max famous noodle place at MYEONG DONG |
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| Dumpling noodles at the famous noodle shop at MYEONG DONG. It is way yummier than it looks! |
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| Seaweed roll with octopus |
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| Seaweed roll with Octopus close up. |
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| Hyujin and the Seaweed rolls |
So these seaweed rolls is a popular snack in Myeong Dong. And you eat it with the octopus and the soup. It's just something you have to try, like roti prata for us in Singapore I guess. We ate the dumplings, the noodles and then the seaweed rolls. I ate because i was greedy, not because i was hungry!
Myeong Dong was quite an experience, it's one of the main shopping areas in Seoul. You walk down all these roads where cars can't drive by. It's filled with people. And we did quite a few tourist shots. It was good fun, and we also popped into a cat cafe after seeing the garfield mascot promoting it!
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| Mum and Garfield! Kawaiii! |
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| The Myeong Dong Theatre- tourist shot |
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| I made mum pose HAHA AGAIN! |
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| At Myeong Dong Cross Roads! |
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| At the Cat Cafe- left shortly after because Hyujin is allergic!! |
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| SEE the Seoul Tower behind!! |
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| Tired of posing, so many shots! |
Now, i have to share this life changing experience- PANCAKES. Celeste said i had to try these pancakes. BUTTERFINGER PANCAKES. I mean seriously, how good can a pancake taste? i did a bit of googling, and mum and me went to check it out. We had to wait for 20 mins before getting our table.
And true to what Celeste said, the pancakes are OUT OF THIS WORLD. So was the chicken and I mean they damn hell know how to make a pancake!! I have been having cravings since i got back.
Even CNN Travel talked about it 2 years back!! http://travel.cnn.com/seoul/eat/butterfinger-pancakes
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| We debated on whether to get 2 glasses or a pitcher of FRESH OJ. Mum decided the pitcher was more worth it at SGD$13 vs. $8 per glass. |
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| Blueberry Pancakes with Banana compote and butter that wasn't really butter. INSANELY GOOD |
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| The strip fried chicken with oatmeal sauce, mashed potato, cheese sticks and biscuit. It was ALL CRAZILY GOOD. Mum kept going on about how good the biscuit was. It's like the one that Popeyes serves, but the Popeyes one is really shit after you have this one. |
If anyone goes to Seoul, you MUST GO TO BUTTERFINGER PANCAKES. It will change your life. Forever.
Every city has its charms, its beauties and the tiny things that make it different from any other part of the world.
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| Latte from Zoo Coffee |
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| Keith Haring lights at DOOTA, Dong Dae Mun |
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| Mum and me outside DOOTA. The mall closes at 430AM. |
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| Small Korean boy posing for me at Kona Beans |
Amidst all the amazing food, the shopping, the lights of Seoul, the
buzz of the city, i had a meal that literally almost killed me.
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| Abalone Ginseng Chicken Soup |
This post is really long so I'm going to try to keep the story really short. When in Korea, you have to eat Ginseng Chicken soup. So we did. Hyujin took us to this 24 hour place and the soup was so good. We also had wild mushroom porridge.
10 minutes into the meal, my throat closed up. My nose blocked up completely. I felt an internal itch rising up my throat and i started swelling. My face and my palms. I had a food allergy attack.
I started itching so badly, Hyujin drove me to his parent's pharmacy about 15 mins away. I took an anti histamine and it didn't work. At that point in time, i was completely itching like a mother fucking fool. I had to go to the toilet, strip and scratch like crazy. But what was worse was the fact that I couldn't breathe.
I hardly remember any of that 30 mins. Just that i was going to die. I was admitted to the ER at a military hospital. Put on drip for 2 hours with 2 massive anti allergy jabs. And throughout it all, my mum was taking pictures of me, whatsapping my brothers, while i was a shivering mess. -.-
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| My name in Korean in black |
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| The form filled up at the hospital |
I left the hospital after almost 3 hours on drip, feeling so grateful for my mum being there and for Hyujin.
When we were leaving the hospital, this old woman came up to Hyujin, asking for a ride to the train station. She was probably in her 70s. We found out later she was on government assistance and had come to the hospital for stomach ulcer pains. Hyujin not only drove her home, he even stopped by a convenience store to buy her food. He took her up all the way to her door step.
He didn't know this lady, he didn't have to send her all the way home or buy her food. We don't have to be kind to the people that need our help, but if we are, it is only because of the goodness of our hearts. I don't think I could express anymore how good a guy he is. And it really is my blessing to have made a friend like him.
This blog post has taken me 4 hours to put together, and I have some final touches to add. My mum being the food lover and amazing chef she is, insisted that we go to the wholesale market. Wanting to buy back Korean beef, strawberries, Kim chi, etc. So Hyujin took us. I wasn't particularly interested. I just love to eat, while my mum cooks up storms every day. So i took ONE PICTURE. Of this expensive fish. It's freaking more than SGD $100 for one strip of fish.
We also did some minor sight seeing. Hyujin was really kind to drive us to see this traditional Korean house and the president hang out- like the Istana i guess.
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| They keep kim chi in these pots |
On my final day in Seoul, i had to remove my upper lid stitches, so it was back to the clinic. IT WAS HELL. =( =( the pain is..... i never ever want to go through it.
On a lighter note, we had a really good final meal with Hujin. We had grilled intestines, stomach, heart and beef. And I am still amazed at their suction system. All their grill restaurants have this thing that sucks the air from the grill so you never leave the restaurant stinky.
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| The suction thingee |
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| Kim Chi Fried Rice with Tripe- one of my favorite dishes from the entire trip |
I love Seoul for all its uncouthness, the tastes and diversity of its food and the unnatural beauty wandering the streets. It's such rawness that gives it soul. I also found true friendship, and spent bonding time with my mum. I have new eyelids and bigger eyes, though its now still healing, and most importantly, i got to stay in a military hospital!
Special shout out and big love to Hyujin for going out of the way to
take care of us and taking us to have such good food. Forever grateful.
Till we meet again, Seoul. xx
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