Korea Town

All good things must end, and this trip is no different. I'm writing this post from the United States, struggling to stay awake against the insistent fierce doziness of jet lag. Our long flight from Korea (during which I consumed a marathon 3.75 movies, 7 t.v. shows and one lamentable hour mired in that wretched "Bookworm" game--- i now hate spellung ferever) ended in a surprise overnight stay in Detroit; just one more in a three and a half month blur of strange beds.

But it is great to be back. After only being home for a couple of hours, we immediately tackled the important task of eating pizza and fried chicken. How else would we know we had really arrived?



But back to the chronicling. Our last week of adventuring was extra special because we were suddenly not alone. We met up with Young's parents in Seoul, Korea and had a blast seeing sights, meeting family, and of course, eating lots of amazing Korean food.


YWL and his umoni contemplating the old ways at a restored royal palace.



Very cool public art in the heart of the city.



Lovely ladies in hanboks on parade for Buddha's Birthday.

We munched on toasted Ginkgo and Chestnuts during the parade.



Tough choice: Fish-o or Squidy?




Dak Boki- Steamy, chewy rice cakes and veggies in a tangy sauce. We ate it.



They love all derivations of the hot dog in Korea.


Above, various dried fishy items.

Okay, I know, a lot of food pictures. But eating was a really big part of what we enjoyed in the world's biggest, bestest K-town, and additionally, good eating with family is very Korean. Check out the below picture for the mad spread we were served at a cousin's house. I suspect there might have been more food lurking, but the table might have collapsed.


Here's me at the traditional Korean mansion that I like to pretend I own.

They should let me house sit.

(Posting delayed overnight by storm/blackout...)

I suppose that now that we are back home safely, I should try to come up with something profound to encapsulate what this grand tour has meant to us, but right now all my jet laggy brain can muster is some cliches about unforgettableness and the thrill of getting to really live life each day and it just aint cutting it. I can say I feel truly lucky to have had the chance to go on this adventure, and I'm sure that I will remember it as one of the best years of my life. Right now, I'm very anxious to see and talk to all the people I've been missing and dive back into life before the Backpack entered the picture. "Real life" is also it's own adventure, and I'm ready to return.