The Quarantined Life: Are We There Yet?

From where I am, the airplanes landing on the nearest airport are only sweeper flights from other airports to bring home the stranded locals. And I won't even dare visit the closest airport even if it's just 20 minutes away.😱

This pandemic has turned 2020 into a really bad year for the travel and tourism industries because no one wants to move around, much less fly.

It's summer, and this time last year, everyone was on a plane, a bus, a car, a ship and a train headed to another adventure.

Just like you, I have wondered when I would be able to fly to another place to discover new culture, learn interesting heritage and most important, try new and yummy flavors and cuisines again. 😍

Whenever I was on a plane on a journey to discover new places, I would constantly check the TV screen for the flight details such as the distance and expected time to arrive at our destination, like these photos I took of the in-flight information showing the our plane's route and our flight's estimated time to arrive on one of my flights.

But in these difficult times, we could hardly tell the expected time all these would blow over so we could fly and travel again.

But until then, we can just helplessly ask, "Are we there yet?" 😢

And to all the pilots, flight attendants, ground staff, mechanics and maintenance team, food and catering staff, luggage handling, and everyone in the airline industry, hang in there. We will be flying with you soon! 😎

Summer Breeze....

"Summer breeze....makes me feel fine...blowing through the jasmine in my mind..."

That Seals and Crofts classic would probably also ring in your head when you're sitting comfortably by a huge fish pond in the countryside with the cool late afternoon breezes blowing around you.

This is why I enjoy being out in the countryside: the freshest air, the most serene of surroundings and the closeness to nature, where the only sounds you can hear are the birds singing and the leaves' swaying with the breeze.

In the Negros island, aside from the endless vistas of haciendas full of green sugarcane plants, the cool places where you can relax are the fish ponds, usually located far from the highway and hidden within the sugar plantations.

These fish ponds in boxes of water where thousands of fish are being grown provide a relaxing atmosphere that city folks would envy any day.

And here I am, thanks to a few titos and tita, lazily sitting on a bench right in the middle of a few quadrants of fish ponds under the blue tropical skies and with the cool, late afternoon breezes blowing from the north, and presented with a table full of barbecue, bread and a cold bottle of Coke! 

And as I take my first bite of the warm pork barbecue, we just let the summer breeze cool our spot, allowing it to waft the aroma of our merienda and "blow the jasmine of my mind".   

A Lazy, Long Weekend...

              (Traffic-less Itaewon!)

Most Seoulites were eager to travel to the provinces after the President declared Friday a holiday before the Liberation Day. It was a three-day weekend and most locals would want to wander to the neighboring provinces. And just like the effect of long weekends, the traffic going to and coming back to Seoul was always bad on the first and last days.

Since I have 'been there, done that', so to speak, I decided to stay put and spend the tail end of the summer in the neighborhood.

                    (Grand Hyatt Hotel's swimming pool)

At the Grand Hyatt Hotel at Namsan, kids, their parents, and couples were all at the poolside cooling themselves, perhaps for one last weekend before school starts. 

Kids could hardly contain their excitement around the pool, while adults were just busy laying under the sun and soaking it in before the cool months arrive.

        (That's The Terrace's green tea, mango,         strawberry and chocolate ice cream!)

                                       (My dessert plates!)

And at The Terrace of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, I was able to catch up with friends Marissa and Adrian, whom I haven't seen in five years. I had to temporarily forget my diet over the yummy array of choices The Terrace offered on their buffet table that day. (Thanks to Marissa and Adrian for the treat, and welcome back to Seoul!)

I figured the extra poundage I gained that day could just be burned off after an hour or two at the tennis courts. I don't count calories; I count blessings. Ha-ha-ha!

                (A room with a view: 
   Hannam-dong in the foreground and         the Gangnam buildings seen from afar)

So, how was your long weekend? The next long weekend will be during the chuseok holidays next month. With more holidays this time, perhaps I should try going farther than the boundaries of my neighborhood. Hmm... 

The Couple of the Seoul Summer!

Among the hundreds of people enjoying the water slide yesterday at Yonsei-ro in Sinchon in the Dongdaemun District in Seoul, I chanced upon this couple walking along the assembled water park. They must have just finished their slide down the ramp and were now making their way out.

With their blue inflatables and happy faces, they definitely were having a good time, enjoying their time cooling off at the water slide. They are the couple of the Seoul summer.

Enjoy your summer, everyone!

Tae Keuk Dang: My Favorite Bakery In Town

I have never been impressed with these local chains of bakeries in Seoul. Since they seem to copy each other's products, once you've tasted one, you've tasted all. And their ridiculously priced cakes are just colored icing and glazed fruits, and nothing more. None of their cakes could match the cakes at home.

             (The view from the Hannam-dong crossing)

                             (This head...turns heads)

But there's this bakery in Seoul. It's actually a walking distance from my Hannam-dong neighborhood in the Yongsan District; it's just located on the other side of the mountain. Nam-san, that is, and on another district. This bakery is different from those copycat chains and has been baking for decades.

So, one weekend, when it wasn't that scorching outdoors, I took a hike, literally.

            (An exercise park next to the Hannam tennis courts)

                 (Going into the tunnel at the Yongsan-gu side 
                      and coming out at the Jung-gu side)

Although I could have just taken the Blue Bus 420 from the Hannam Bridge bus stop all the way to the Jangchung-dong bus stop next to the bakery, which would have taken less than ten minutes, I decided to walk so as to lose a few calories before I consume a lot more when I get there. And I could have taken that route along the National Theater of Korea and the Jangchung tennis courts, but that busy thoroughfare has narrow sidewalks with speeding buses and cars blowing their tailwinds to all pedestrians walking on the side. I find it scary!

Instead, I walked through the Beotigogae and Yaksu neighborhoods. I have passed these areas while riding a bus;  this time, I thought, I'd be able to see the area at street level.

                        (I crossed the border from Yongsan-gu to 
                                  the Jung-gu district)

                                          (Apartments on a hill)

Since it was a Sunday, there wasn't much going on in these neighborhoods. From Hannam-dong, my route led me through the main highway, the Hannam tennis courts, Beotigogae Station until the Yaksu Station. From there, a left turn towards the direction of the Dongkuk University Station. 

Small shops, family-owned restaurants, small groceries, a motel next to a church, apartment buildings and a few situated on a hill completed the make-up of the neighborhood. A typical residential village in Seoul.

I forgot how long it took me to reach my destination. With all the walking and taking photographs, it must have been less than an hour. But when I did reach its location, its building looked ordinary and unassuming. Maybe because it's been there for a long time and that its reputation doesn't need those fancy entrances or flashing lights on its doors.

Tae Geuk Dang, the bakery, was established in 1946. That's even before the Korean War. I wonder how many thousands of customers have enjoyed its bread and other baked goodies since.

              (The Yellow Namsan bus en route to NSeoul Tower)

                      (Traffic enforcers at the Yaksu intersection)

            (Jangchung Gymnasium undergoing renovation)

But that day, 68 years since it opened, I was there for something it's really famous for: ice cream sandwiches!

And in this hot weather, I wasn't the only one lining up to get those cold goodies. Taekeukdang has two kinds of sandwiches, actually. The rectangular ice cream wafer is W1,500 each; the round one sells for W2,000 each. Of course, I got both to eat on the spot and bought a few more to bring home!

                (The intersection next to Dongguk University)

                                    (A church with a coffee shop)

                                 (The bakery's building)

The bakery has a seating area with tables for those who want coffee with their bread or patpingsu, or those who simply want to enjoy their ice cream. Their interiors are made of wood and really looked vintage. They have an 'old Seoul' atmosphere to it, the one you cannot find in any new fancy bakery-slash-cafe, where the mark-up for an overpriced loaf of bread must have included the new cushioned sofa or the white-painted interiors. Ha-ha-ha!

I promised myself to go back again to Taekeukdang. Perhaps, not on foot, but on a bus or through subway. Other than their sandwich ice cream, I will definitely bring home some of their other baked products. I'm actually eyeing that raisin bread. 

                                         (Tae Keuk Dang entrance)

                        (Its interiors look more inviting than any 
                                   fancy bakery out there)

                      (Their bestsellers in the freezer)

By the way, the almond bread I got from Taekeukdang was the snack I brought with me to the Beatification Mass. 

       (Re-stocking their easily sold out ice cream sandwiches)

Taekeukdang is just right outside Exit 2 of the Dongkuk University Station of Line No. 3, and is actually a couple of bus stops from the Dongdaemun Culture and History Park area.

                (Enjoying their ice cream sandwiches on the spot!)

                    (All the walking was definitely worth it!)

T.G.I.P.! Thank God It's Patpingsu!

No, it's not 'Thank God, it's Pri-day'! (Although it's Friday today!).

It's....'Thank God it's patpingsu!

The summer is in full swing in Korea, and everyone melting in this heat just wanted something cold to cool things down.

I discovered Dongbinggo's famous patpingsu last summer. And this year, I rediscovered it again! Luckily, Ichon-dong is just a bus ride or in today's case, just a short drive away! My good friend Seung-ho, who happened to be in the neighborhood, was kind enough to drive me to Ichon-dong during a noon-time break and let me enjoy a bowl of Dongbinggo's patpingsu!

(They gave us 2 spoons, but I only needed one. 

It's all mine!)

(A couple of tteok squares, nut powder and a mound of red bean paste sitting on top of snowy, milky, crushed ice)

During weekend, I heard the lines are long outside this shop. People from the neighborhood, and many a lot more from outside the Yongsan District drive over to Ichon-dong to taste Dongbinggo's famous patpingsu. A few times, I noticed a few foreigners (and one even today!) getting a table and ordering from the variety of patpingsu menu.

Me? As long as it's sweetened red bean with milky ice shavings on a bowl, I'm a happy, thankful human being.

         (Yes, it's all for me! When it comes to my desserts, 
                              I'm selfish! Ha-ha-ha!)

Thankful for this patpingsu, and happy to enjoy it!  So, are you also getting your bowl of icy patpingsu today? And do you actually think of sharing it? Ha-ha-ha!

Here's my last year's blog on Dongbinggo for directions and more...icy pictures!

              (They use 100% locally grown adzuki beans.)

Summer In Seoul! Everyone Is In The Pool!

 No wonder the mall is always full these days. Before classes resume in a few weeks, kids and their moms are flocking to playgrounds and malls, and these days, to swimming pools around Seoul to play, cool off and enjoy their vacation!

Today, on swimming pools I saw at I-Park Mall in the Yongsan District, kids and their moms are busy soaking in the cool waters while the temperatures are sizzling at above 30'C. They'd rather be inside the pool, than be at the neighborhood park or at home.

With lifeguards looking after them (their babysitters for the day, I guess), all these kids want to do is to have fun in the pool and on the slides with the rest of their friends.

Now, I wonder if the pool is open to grown-ups at night? Ha-ha-ha!