Springtime with Mom

Korean BBQ. Because we looked a little lost, one of the women working at the restaurant showed us how to do it. Basically, just cut up the meat and grill, then dip in various sauces and eat with lettuce, garlic and green peppers. Delish!








Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures in Korea. The first day it rained. We met up with Dave and went to an indoor amusement park. But the attractions were either really expensive or had long waits, so we ended up just getting ice cream. That night we got more meat and kimochi (kimochi, spicy pickled cabbage, is literally served with everything, and though it's okay, I definitely don't need to eat it 3 times a day). Then we went to a fun bar and tried to drink shu-jo, the Korean equivalent to sake. It was pretty harsh and I didn't fare very well (interpret that as you will). The first half of the second day mom and I spent in the most kick ass spa ever! We tried 3 different saunas (hot, hotter, eucalyptus) and several different baths (milk, orange, ginseng, mudwork, bubble), got a thorough exfoliating scrub-down from Korean women dressed in black lingerie (the scrubbing was borderline painful, but I've never looked more like a spring chicken than after those Korean women were done with me), painted ourselves with mud, had our hair washed and got an oil massage. Then after that we headed to the hotel for a much needed lie-down. All that pampering can really wear you out. Later on, we made it to a really cool market and did some shopping. All the stuff being sold was handmade. That night we met with Ron, who lived in Koga for 6 months, for dinner. We got some kind of fire-chicken and cheese dish that was spicy and conducive to beer drinking.

Sakura (cherry blossoms) in Ueno Park, Tokyo.
Mom in Ueno Park.