Let's Go, Jane!

Ninety days of travel finally caught up with me, and I went down for the count. I arrived in Seoul, South Korea on Monday afternoon and made my way to the hostel around 5 pm. Luckily I’d booked a private room, because I dropped my bags, fell into bed, and didn’t move for the next 15 hours—unless you count kicking my jeans off around midnight. When I tell you I was wiped out, that is an understatement. I then spent my first full day laying low in the room, watching Survivor reruns, going out only once for tissues, herbal tea, and a cup of ramen.

This week in Seoul has been humbling for sure. After being sick for two weeks, I really just wanted easy and familiar, not another currency and another subway system to decipher. On top of that, Google Maps doesn’t work here. No offline maps, no walking directions. It would literally tell you to take the subway to get to the coffee shop down the street. I tried using KaKaoMap, but what good is “Turn right on 삼계탕” when my brain processes the Korean alphabet like abstract art?

Despite all this, South Korea has felt like a warm embrace, a place to convalesce in my cozy little room with radiant floor heating (it was 23 degrees yesterday!) and a kettle that has kept my tea mug full and been a critical source of humidity to soothe my cough and sore throat. As we reach the end of the week I am finally starting to improve.

The fallout of all this convalescing is that I sorted through my camera roll looking for inspiration for this post and found that I have very little to share with you. As it turns out, when you spend half the week horizontal, your only options for content are a) cute animals and b) food pics. You’re welcome for choosing animals. If you thought the Japanese were into animal cafes, the Koreans put them to shame. So this week instead of temples and landscapes, I’m bringing you some cute animal photos from the two cafes I visited, including one where a fox jumped on my back.

I finally ventured out for food on my second day, and got to experience Korean barbecue. I’m happy to have tried it once before, because the server threw a bunch of meat on the grill, said “keep flipping,” and walked away without any further instruction. I pulled the pieces off when I thought they looked done and wrapped them in lettuce with rice and tasty condiments. Delicious.

One of the absolute highlights of my time in Seoul was going to the NANTA show, an interactive musical performance that combines comedy, acrobatics, and percussion. Think Blue Man Group, but with a kitchen theme. Four chefs try frantically to prepare a wedding banquet as the clock runs out. I even got pulled up on the stage at one point to assist a cast member who had “fallen” into a trash can and gotten stuck. It was silly and delightful and exactly what I needed.

I had an interesting experience as my trip to Seoul was approaching. I started to do some advance research about neighborhoods and experiences, to maximize my time in South Korea. I thought, what do I associate with Korea? And the immediate answer was skincare. Maybe I could indulge in some sort of beauty treatment during my visit. I fell into a deep rabbit hole full of Q-Switched lasers and aqua peels and micro needles. Medical skincare is a huge business here. And then, as if a spell had broken, I thought, “I love my face.” I’ve come by every wrinkle and sunspot honestly, and aging gracefully has always been my way. So I closed all those browser windows and happily moved on.

Last but not least, I did two walking tours this week, one of the vibrant Hongdae neighborhood, the birthplace of K-Pop, and one of the fancy and stylish Gangnam neighborhood. I appreciated having an easy fresh air option that didn’t require loads of research. As long as I was able to get outside once a day and see some sights, I didn’t mind that I spent so much time in my room. Seoul is not going anywhere, and I would definitely return in the future. I didn’t see everything, and I didn’t need to. Seoul gave me exactly what I needed: rest, warmth, and a reminder that there’s no ‘wrong’ way to travel.