Acupuncture

This whole week, I went daily to acupuncture. I go to acupuncture in the states but I wanted to see what it was like in the east. For one thing, it's cheap! It's about 11 dollars per visit and with insurance, it's 4 dollars per visit.
When I first went in, Dr. Moon felt my pulse for a good five minutes. Throughout that time he jotted down notes, closed his eyes, jotted down notes etc. He was able to tell a lot much of my medical history and dictated it to Alice. I told him I wanted to know why I have so much trouble sleeping. He told me my nervous system was not regular and there was a major imbalance. So all week, I laid down on the granite hot bed, got a needle to help balance my nervous system out and a "ddeum" on my arm which is infused with wormwood. During the treatments I felt dizzy and tired. He wants me to come back to Korea so he can see me again...I guess I'm a challenging patient!

Markets

Today Alice took me to a couple different markets. The first one was Namdaemun Market which was bustling with tons of people. There they sell clothes, toys, pig heads, wholesale accessories and a variety of other black market goods. This is the largest traditional market in Korea.

After that, we went to the Dongdaemun Market which sells both wholesale and retail. There we went to the world's largest market of fabrics and clothing materials. It was huge and I got some super cute fabric that I can't wait to turn into a skirt...!!

Tea Therapy

After a long day of walking all over Seoul, Alice and I decided to go to this tea store for some tea therapy.
If you go and purchase tea, you can use the foot baths for free...so that's what we decided to do.
To figure out what type of tea best suits you, they give you a flow chart starting with, "I am either fleshy or sturdily built." Then you answer yes or no and continue along until you have found your tea. I ordered one to help me sleep while Alice ordered one to help relax her shoulders. My tea was really good and came with little snacks and a timer to inform me when my tea was ready. It was a relaxing end to a long day...we will see how well the tea works...:)

Korean style Shabu Shabu

I am eating my way through this city. Having a friend who knows all the good places to eat makes a world of difference when you're traveling.
Yesterday we went to have Korean style Shabu Shabu. It was amazing!
Basically, everyone has their own hot plate filled with broth and you monitor the temperature. Then, they bring you a plate of veggies, noodles, dumplings and raw meat and you cook it in the boiling broth. Then, you remove and mix with the sauce. When you finish, they bring you the porridge which is rice, shredded beef, seaweed, Japanese pumpkins (Kabocha pumpkins), kimchi and green onions. The mix it all together and ta-da! Deliciousness.

South Korea: Good for the Seoul

Korea! I can't believe I'm here! I've wanted to travel here for so long. After a long flight, I arrived at Incheon around 7:00 PM local time which was 3 am Ca time. Once I got to Alice's, I went straight to bed and slept for a good 11 hours. This is one of the first trips where I haven't struggled with jet lag! Yay!
Monday we walked all over Gangnam where she lives. We went out and had Traditional Bibimbab...so good!! I can't get over the food.
We also visited her acupuncturist and he felt my pulse and figured out my whole medical history...kinda crazy.
Later on we went to the spa and got massages and went to the mineral baths...so relaxing!
One thing that's amusing are the number of plastic surgery clinics...I've counted scores. I didn't know it was so popular here...yikes! At first I thought that all the women wearing masks was for flu prevention or allergies. Nope! :)
More later...