Even though Taiwan is technically 1/4 of my nationality, it feels almost completely foreign to be back in this country.

Usually when I come back to visit I lead a sheltered life of being transported around. Now I am having to start from zero and get to learn the roads and how to take public transport. Afterall, one cannot constantly travel around on taxi and private chauffeur service (aka dad).

Taxis. Cultural difference #1. Why is it that EVERY single taxi driver asks you the question: 'do you have a boyfriend?', and if unfortunately you receive a phonecall on the cab they will continue to probe: 'oh so your boyfriend is calling you', followed by: 'is your bf waiting at the destination?'. I understand the culture of making chit chats in Taiwan, but is this the standard question to be expected?

Korea

Seoul
Namsam – seeing 大長今a la teddy bear style in the teddy museum, gazing at the hundreds of love locks on the fences below the tower.

Myeong Dong shopping – Hanskin BB cream and face mask. Actually after walking the entire area I only managed to purchase clothes from one shop. And I thought it is easy to shop in Korea.

Traditional Korean tea and teahouse – Tae’s little guidebook for Korean people took us to 壽山硯房, truly the best Korean tea place experienced. All menus are in Korean which reflected the lack of tourist influence and added to the authenticity of the teahouse. I love the décor; the old-day atmosphere allows one to sample teas in peace and tranquility. The tea house poetically named ‘the moon birds do not always miss the moon’ in Insadong featured little birds living in cages right next to the tables, albeit the selection and taste was less inspiring than壽山硯房.
Me trying五味茶 and Tae梨子茶

Traditional houses – having two people squeezed in to a 3mx2m space is a first. Shun had to jump around killing mosquitoes, and half way through the night I woke with the thought that given we cannot lock our doors ghost can readily come in…scary…but it is an interesting experience to stay in a room made essentially with wooden paper doors.

Best beef sashimi – to be found in restaurant 古宮situated in Insadong.

牌盃 at Gyeongbokgung and Chengdokgung – quite specific to Korean palaces I thought, not usually seen in Chinese architecture. The guidebooks are really very good, detailed and standardized in the same format across all the national palaces. The guides are free throughout South Korea, an excellent stimulus to allow tourist to have a more in-depth understanding of their culture, which brings my thoughts to:

Korean hospitality – swear to god South Korean are the nicest race of people to foreigners. They are always thoughtful, polite but not to an exaggerated extent that makes one feel uncomfortable or sense a slight edge of insincerity. In Gyeong-ju private one day hire, we wanted to add extra sights to our places of visit – most drivers would probably start complaining of extra petrol spenditure or the steer away from original itinerary, but our driver was happy to drive around exploring, asking people for directions, getting slightly off track but determined to take us to the places we wanted to see. He also gave us half of this lunch so we could try more different dishes (not that it is possible to finish what is in front of us anyway). On our way to Busan station, due to the Korean banking system we were not able to withdrawal cash readily and for the first time in my life we ran out of cash in the taxi!! And as we embarrassingly asked whether we could pay him using Japanese yen, he only smiled and accepted the foreign currency gracefully and waved us goodbye.

DMZ – South Korean soldiers are pretty cute! According to Tae they station all the good looking kids there so the tourist can have some eye candy haha. The conflict revolving around the tunnel and looking at the propaganda villages at the north/south border really brought to light the idiocy of North Korean policy. I stamped my passport with the stamps at the Dorasan train station, only to see the person standing at the counter shaking their head. Apparently an American tourist did the same and was later refused entry back into US on the basis that immigration thought he had been to North Korea. Ooops…

W hotel lounge bar – I love W hotel and its interior décor. I love W candles. I love W hotel lounge bar overlooking the Han river. I love the power B-52 shot that is essentially three shots in one. I love my best friend Tae!

Busan
Power suites – on the way to the fish market came across a really nice Korean cloth shop, apparently popular to news readers and celebrities. Tried on a few power suits which looked real good, but was surprised the price tag came in at around 350GBP, enough to buy an Armani! Luckily Shun stopped my impulse buy.

Playing with Shun’s 10mm lense at Busan tower – it is the coolest lense for taking wide angle shots! Feel like a pro haha! It’s great for him given he loves going to towers and taking panoramic view of cities.

Neon lights by the sea – it was really a surreal sight. In Europe I am used to watching the calm sea with an equally calming surrounding. Rarely do I see sky scrapers and flashing rainbow lights right by the sea. It was really nice to be able to just sit by the sea with one of your best friends and chat into the night, jokingly complaining about each other’s company and the lack of potential in one’s life; and asking silly Q&As and realizing he knows me better than I thought.

Best breakfast at Novotel hotel – Japanese sukiyaki, Chinese dumpling, Korean Kimchi, Fresh juices, Continental breakfast, English full breakfast, salad…you name it, they have it!

Gyeongju
Various stone Buddha – Ones with stone on its head, ones with detailed clothing carvings ones carved onto cliff face, ones made of marble and surrounded by disciples.

The moats signifying significant burial ground

Life has become a journey

After 16 years of being in England, having undergo metamorphosis to becoming more British than Taiwanese, I am now moving my present and future back to Asia.

The main reason? Quarter life crisis coupled with the Confucian filial ideals.

This is the first time in my life where I have unwillingly surrendered to external pressure. Dealing with constant conflict of family and friends, I have made this uncertain decision of returning. It is hard to imagine what life would be like, nor whether I will remain the happy person surrounded by the friends I cherish.