Last month, I took a trip of a lifetime. I flew 10 thousand kilometers to Seoul, Korea where I stayed 8 sunny days.
Before the trip
Before taking this trip, I was pretty exhausted. There was a big project deadline, and feelings of guilt for taking time off at this time, despite having booked the trip early in the year, were haunting me. However, I had worked intensely for months, and there was nothing I could do other than to go and enjoy the trip.
My vacation started right before my 30th birthday. On that day, I sung and danced by myself at home. I had the most genuine fun ever, I didn’t even care for neighbors. I lit a Byredo candle, packed my bag and just cherished my home. At night, I cooked a meal for loved ones and blew candles on the cake. Reflecting on turning 30, everything felt right. I felt a lot of gratitude for my life and for being allowed time to appreciate it.
The trip
The trip started with a 6am flight, quite possibly the worst time to fly because you can sleep, but you can’t really. And I’m just appalled at how much you pay for so little in Economy (Lufthansa, what a disappointment). It was, however, a thrill to see us flying over Russia, the Aral Sea, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and China all the way to the other side of the world.
Arriving to Seoul was magical. I was instantly surprised by the scale—the city was bigger and more crowded than I expected. The weather was warm and dry, perfect to start walking. Koreans were different. They behave differently, think differently, live differently and that was really interesting to witness.
We walked around mostly by bus, where it’s possible to get a feeling of the city and its people. I was particularly drawn to more quiet areas like Bukchon Hanok Village (a hanok is a traditonal Korean house) or Gangnam.
We ate a lot of kimchi, a lot of Korean BBQ, gimbap and bibimbap. I’ve learned that Koreans eat normal food for breakfast, sometimes dinner leftovers, so finding spots that served anything close to the concept of western breakfast was impossible.
I left Seoul with my heart full. Despite our tired feet and legs, we had enough time to see plenty. I was happy to be back.
After the trip
September is often warm and rarely has wind. It’s a quiet, reflective month to me. Apt for new beginnings.
As I sit here today sipping bits of tea in my cute Korean mug, something feels different. Suddenly, my Instagram feed felt noisy, uninteresting, I find myself wrinkling my nose at things I used to want to see or read. I want to unsubsribe to email newsletters and unfollow accounts. I want to make things, dream, create. And to continue discovering, going to places, observing.
I feel refreshed.