Angie Does

Hongdae is along the Northwest banks of the Han River in Seoul. It is notable for its many colleges and universities which creates a youthful vibe. Because it is so jammed packed with entertainment, it is possible to spend the whole day in Hongdae on foot and still make it back to Pyeongtaek in time for dinner.  Here's a look at my day in Hongdae (times are approximate): 9:00am - Pyeongtaek Station to  Yeongdungpo Station 10:00am - catch 761 bus at Kyobang Times Square, Shinsegae Department Store; get off at Seogyodong stop 10:30am - 943 King's Cross (Harry Potter themed cafe) Pro tip: arrive in the morning,  this place gets busy in the afternoon and a line starts to form out the door. 11:30am -  Kakao Friends Shop and Cafe and random shopping/wandering 12:30pm - Raccoon Cafe I am glad we did this as it made us appreciate the next animal cafe even more but if we did it over again we would skip it and do som...

Angie does Roller Skating I enlisted my friend with older kids to join me to avoid being the creepy adults there alone.  I haven't been roller skating in over 20 years. When I discovered there was a roller rink in the basement of the big triangle building near AK Plaza, I invited our friends and their children to join us for some fun on wheels. It was a perfect way to spend a cold Friday evening. The rink immediately brought back memories of roller skating in elementary and middle school. The roller rink was a place for me to have fun with my friends and practice flirting with boys. Alan and I went to the roller rink at 7:00pm on a Friday night with some friends and their two children. It was busy but not crowded. There were several families with young children, a group having a birthday party, and a handful of middle coeds, and even some adults that skated like professionals.  Remembering how to skate.  Once we remembered how...

My first experience in Cheonan was an adventure. The plan was to get lunch and then see the Cheonan City Chungnam National Orchestra performance at the Cheonan Museum. I stopped to eat at Eomeoni Bapsang. This is where the adventure began. Despite the language barrier, I ordered our lunch and enjoyed the baseball game that was on the TV. Once the meal arrived, the restauranteur realised that neither my husband nor I had any idea how to cook and eat the soup. He was very patient with us and showed us how to adjust the temperature, how to remove the bones from the fish, and gestured for us to wait to eat. Once we got the all clear, we dug into the most delicious fish soup I have ever eaten. I was not sure of all the ingredients and was hesitant to finish the meal. Before I got cold feet, the chef came out from the kitchen and offered an encouraging smile as I shovelled spoonful after spoonful into my mouth. I was unsure about an ingredient in the soup that resembled brain...

One of the things I love most about Pyeongtaek it the mix of urban and rural landscapes. I was fascinated by the rice fields that surround Pyeongtaek. I’ve always been interested in how things grow and develop. I’ve never had a green thumb but I love plants. I wish I could have a lush vegetable garden to sustain my family but nothing I plant ever grows. I love that I can see them from my apartment, alongside the highrises and cityscape. We moved to Pyeongtaek right at the start of the growing season so I have been fortunate to have been able to witness the entire growth process of the rice fields, something I had never known anything about before.  While I did not see the planting of the rice, it appears as though the rice is meticulously planted in neat rows of single plants. At the beginning of the lifecycle, it resembles tall grass.  As the rice matures, it begins to bud, much like wheat. The other day, while out for a morning jog, I was fort...