Last year, I had the opportunity to travel to South Korea for business. My initial feeling was "Ooh! I get to catch Farfetch'd on Pokemon Go! Fuck yeah!" For those who do not play or have stopped playing, there are certain Pokemon that are specific to a geographical region. Farfetch'd is exclusive to Japan and South Korea. So, about a week and a half into my trip, I'm taking a piss in a men's room, and *poof* there he is! That may have been the most productive thing I did on that trip.
Have you ever flown to Asia from North America? In coach? Wow. Fuck. Imagine being pressed against a wall sitting in a wheelchair that isn't made for you for 14 hours unable to move your hips or shoulders. I wasn't able to sleep the entire time. I was a zombie for 3 days afterward. Because of the curvature of the Earth and the direction of the wind gusts, the fastest way to get to South Korea was to go up and around Alaska. The screens in the headboard in front of every seat were able to show the temperature outside. Fucking -75 Fahrenheit. Above all, I didn't realize until right before the flight that we were flying in the opposite direction as the Earth's rotation. Do you know what that means? THE SUN WOULD NEVER SET! Sun in the day, sun in the night, no sleep! For the return trip, I seriously considered paying the extra $1500 upgrade fee to get a first class seat with one of those chairs that folds backwards into a cot. They call it a bed, but if it as wide as a toddler bed but long enough for an adult, I'm calling it a cot.
I like some Korean food. The barbecue is really good. Korean barbecue is not like American barbecue. One person on our trip did not know that before we went out to lunch. A lot of us ordered a barbecue beef entree. She stared at it for about five minutes before trying to pick out the beef. Come on. Bean sprouts are not that bad. They're in egg rolls. And seriously, did you really think that it would be same thing as, say, brisket? Of everything I had there, I'd recommend the Korean barbecue to my family because I think it will freak them out the least. I also had bibimbap. I liked that too. The 3 times I had it, it was with beef, egg, and spicy octopus. Wow, do they like spicy food. Also liked bulgogi, which is a thinly sliced marinated beef.
Korean breakfast is not like breakfast in the western hemisphere. They tend to eat the same food every meal of the day, including kimchi. Kimchi is a brined vegetable, usually cabbage, that comes as a side dish for every meal. Every meal. Since I was raised in the US, I never considered cabbage swimming in vinegar as part of a balanced breakfast. Was never exposed to it. After 2 weeks, I'm sad to say I lost my taste for it.
One weekend, I found a Domino's and ordered a pizza. Dollar for dollar, it was a little more expensive than back in the states, but I didn't care. You know what they serve as a side for the pizza? Pickles. When I brought it up, some of the Koreans said "What? You don't get pickles with your pizza?" You should look up some of the different pizza topping combos available in Korea. The only ones I recognize is cheese and pepperoni.
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