#but also i should probably take a nap I've spent the last 3 days pretty much just digging out and reading through my books

[somelazyassartist]

Sometimes you just don't sleep for 3 days because you're too busy weeping over the fact that a 111 year old mail ship at the bottom of the Atlantic will probably completely erode within your lifetime. for fun

[some-far-far-away-land]

Current Status

It's been a while since I posted an update.

So 2023 has been off to a good start so far. Crazy that it's already the 2nd week of March. The year is going much better than how things went down at the beginning of last year. As a reminder, a part of our ceiling broke due to water damage in mid-January after a big snowstorm came through, and then a few days later I flooded our apartment which had us living in our bedroom since we didn't have flooring until the first week of April. Glad that's all behind us, though we were $10,000 richer, I would NOT want to go through that again.

This year we plan on taking our first trip since COVID and of course, we are planning on going back to Seoul since we haven't stopped thinking about going back since we last went in Nov. 2019. Since we're both making more money than we did in 2019, we're planning on splurging for the trip so we've started saving from the get-go. When we last went we spent like $5k on flights, accommodations, food, day trips, and activities. This time we're probably looking at $10k-$11k for the 14 days we'll be there.

The plan is to go back in November again, we're thinking Nov. 4th - 19th. We are monitoring plane ticket pricing but we've already made a reservation at this amazing-looking 5-star hotel in Dongdaemun, which is pretty much at the centre of Seoul. We didn't really explore this area the last time we were there. Last time we stayed in a private room at a hostel in Myeongdong for the first 5 days to save us money, and then for the rest of the trip we stayed in an Airbnb in Hongdae which was super fun since the nightlife and shopping there was 10/10.

We mainly stayed in Seoul for our first trip and we are leaning towards staying there again for most of the trip but maybe doing 3 days in Busan before we head home. We'll see where we end up going as we're in the early planning stages. I feel like there is still so much to explore in Seoul but I do feel like we should try and see other parts of Korea too.

On this trip, we will mainly be exploring cafes, eating good food, and checking out luxury shopping. We did a lot of the tourist attractions when we last went so we're being picky about what we plan on doing this time around. We're also going a week earlier compared to our last trip so we're hoping to catch more of the fall foliage when we go. We want to visit Nami Island again, but maybe this time hiring a private car to take us. Definitely want to have a photographer come with us too to take photos. I'm also interested in going to Mt. Seorak and exploring that area for a day. Closer to Incheon Airport we also want to go to Paradise City where they filmed Singles Inferno.

In Seoul, we'll also spend a lot more time exploring Gangnam, Apujeong, and Seongsu. We didn't even go to Starfield COEX Mall last time and we even skipped out on Lotte World. We did buy tickets to go but it was on the last day of our trip and we were exhausted by then. So yea definitely planning on a more jam-packed itinerary and caffeinating myself so we take fewer naps this time around. We will have 2-3 days that will be more relaxed and not filled with activities so we can also enjoy our hotel and have a few days where we can see where the wind takes us. The last time we were there it rained a few times so if we have some buffer days we can potentially move days around if the weather isn't very good.

Either way, I'm really excited to travel again and to go back to Seoul. In the 4 years since our trip, I've definitely tried more Korean food and have upped my spice tolerance. I've also fallen in love with coffee/espresso drinks which is why I'm so excited to cafe hop! Of course, I'll be vlogging and taking lots of luxury content for the gram.

Will do another update on planning when we've bought our tickets. One of our bigger concerns at this time is figuring out where Corgsworth is going to be staying while we're out. I'm thinking with my parents but they are also planning on going on a trip at the end of October and it looks like they're gonna fly back on the 5th of November. My sister might not be joining them so she might be able to watch him but we'll see since my parents told her that they'd pay for half her costs if she wanted to come.

Thats it for now!