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Restaurant Review- Meat Brown

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is how you say it in Korean

해피 발렌타인 데이 – haepi ballentain dei.

The Korean way to do Valentine's day is the women are the ones who buy chocolate for their lovers, while the men return the favor in March on something called White Day.

We did Valentine's Day the good old Canadian way, Hyper took me out to a restaurant after work and then we watched 50 First Dates, one of my favorite romantic comedies. 

The restaurant that he took me to was called Meat Brown. It's basically a Mongolian-style grill buffet. 

The tables are equipped with a grill in the center.. I want one of these for my home one day. BBQ indoors while sitting down.. Amazing! 

 Basically, you sit down at your table, the waiter brings you a place mat, a bowl of marinade, cups and a water carafe. Then he leaves and doesn't come back. In Canada, we are used to waiters checking on us every once in awhile, asking how everything is going and refilling our drinks. In Korea, they have a little button on the table that will bring the waiter to your table if you need something.
The utensils (chop sicks) are kept in a little box on the table , and you can get scissors and tongs from the meat counter if you choose to not touch the meat with your hands.


Another Korean custom is that you never pour your own drink, it's considered bad luck. The other people at your table are supposed to keep an eye on your cup and fill it before it hits empty. If you are drinking alcohol, the smart thing to do is keep your glass half full so you won't end up drinking more than you plan.  Whether you pour using one or both hands is important. If the person for whom you are pouring is older than you or of higher status, then you should pour holding the bottle with two hands, otherwise pour with one hand.

 This is what the bowl of marinade looks like. (Picture on the right) It has all sorts of yummy spices and veggies floating in a sweet/salty liquid. Sooo delicious!
This is how you eat at Meat Brown:
1- You go up to the buffet area where there is an assortment of fruit and vegetables to choose from as well as rice, sauces and soups. There is also a meat counter with many different cuts of chicken, pork and duck.
2- You choose your side dishes and meat cuts and go back to your table.
3- FIRE UP THE GRILL!! (see pictures below)
4- Munch on side dishes while you wait for the meat to cook
5- Nom nom nom nom nom
6- There's also a bread and jam bar near the entrance where you can get tea and coffee

The round pieces are duck! I really liked the
long green pieces on the edge of the plate. Yum!

The meat cooking *drools*

I have discovered that I like duck. This was my first time trying duck and it was fantastic!

Cheers! My first Soju experience.

I also tried the famous Korean alcohol Soju while we were at Meat Brown. It tastes similar to really watered down vodka. It wasn't that bad, for a drink that only costs a few dollars. It doesn't taste strong but once it settles inside you, there's definitely a strong kick to it.

Meat Brown is a restaurant I wouldn't mind revisiting. Good food, decent music and lovely decor. The only thing I didn't like was they had too many tables and chairs close together if the restaurant had been full it would have been uncomfortable to have people sitting so close to you.


I can't wait to try more local restaurants! 

Guide to Korean Groceries- Normal vs. Fake

Outside Emart

I've been in Korea for a few weeks now. I've visited two different markets- Emart and Lotte. Emart is about a 15-20 minute walk away from the apartment while Lotte is only 5 minutes away. 
I am used to Sobeys and the Atlantic Superstore, where I get lost if they rearrange the aisles suddenly, so navigating through markets where all the products and signs are in illegible characters is quite scary for me. 
It's especially frustrating to be foreign here because if you cannot find an item and ask for help, they don't understand you. You then spend the next 10 minutes playing a not-so-fun game of charades trying to explain what you need and not understanding a word that they say back to you. I've personally just given up on asking for help, it's much easier to go into huntress mode and hunt down the items for yourself.




 Okay so here is a walk-through of how to do groceries in Korea. After walking in and usually being greeted by a worker or two bowing politely and saying  안녕하세요 "annyeong haseyo" your next goal is to find a cart or basket. (Bowing is part of Korean culture. It's a sign of respect and is as normal to them as smiling or shaking hands is to Western society. Although Koreans are forgiving of foreigners breaking to bowing rules of etiquette, it's probably a good idea to smile and bow back. I always do.)
Back home, if you forget to grab a cart on your way into a store it's not a huge deal, you can always grab one that someone left behind in a aisle. In Korea, people always put things back in their place. There are no carts or baskets hiding in the aisles for you to take advantage of. 

In the picture below you will see what I have started calling the 'cart station'. The big blue box is a UV clean sterilizer system. They sterilize all the carts before the next person uses it. I think this is a great idea! A wonderful way to stop the spreading of seasonal colds and bugs that hit a community. You will also notice below little chains locking the carts together and beside the little chain is a slot to insert a coin. It's pretty self-explanatory, you insert a 100 won coin (about 9 cents Canadian) and it releases the cart. Your coin stays in the cart until you return it to the cart station and put the chain back into it's slot, then it gives you your coin back. This is an inventive way of keeping all of the carts sanitized. It makes sure they get put away and none are left in the middle of the parking lot.

Cart Station

If you happen to forget to bring a coin I have found that most times a Korean salesperson standing by the carts usually has a pocket full of them and is willing to lend one to you. Another option is using a basket. Baskets are green and can be found neatly stacked near the carts. 

I am a fan of the carts in this country this is why: 

LOOK NO HANDS!!! 

Markets have several floors. Instead of using elevators or stairs they use conveyor belts. It's much easier to maneuver a cart on a conveyor belt than an elevator or -God forbid- the stairs. My favorite part about these carts is that they magically (probably magnetically) attach themselves to the conveyor belt so you don't have to hold onto them (also so that rude people don't try to push their way past you and run you over). 

Speaking of rude people, if you plan on standing on an escalator or conveyor belt it's best to stand on the right hand side. The left side is generally used for people in a hurry that want to walk ahead. If you accidentally stand on the wrong side, you WILL get pushed out of the way. In Canada we are used to people saying "Excuse me" or "Pardon me" but in Korea they do not excuse themselves or apologize for anything. Their culture has a huge 'shame' factor and a Korean wouldn't be comfortable with apologizing especially for something as small as asking someone to move out of the way. 

I usually head right to the international section of the market. I am so happy that they have Heinz ketchup in South Korea, you have no idea. As you can see in the picture below, Americans and Mexicans mostly eat beans, pickles, peanut butter, ketchup, maple syrup and steak sauce. (That was sarcasm in case you missed that.) Surprisingly most items are priced the same as they would be back home. The only expensive item I've bought so far is Maple Syrup at that was around $20 Canadian. 

The products vary from week to week so it's hard to get a normal, easy grocery. One of the things that remain constantly available are eggs. 

Fun yellow chicken statue on egg display

The selection of fresh fruit and vegetables is considerably less than in the stores in Canada. Most of the things you will find won't even be that fresh and will spoil fast so I started freezing most of the food I buy.


 I have no idea why these apples and oranges and lemons are so expensive 89, 800 won is roughly $90 Canadian. Maybe they are made out of gold? Maybe it is because they are individually wrapped and look clean? Who knows? If you keep looking though, it's fairly easy to find a bag of apples for under 10,000 won ($10 CAD). The cheap apples may be a little bruised and dirty but come on.. I'm from a country that you can grow your own damn apples in your backyard if you feel like it, I'm not paying $90 for fancy fruit.



Hot dogs. What I wouldn't give for a good smoked, normal, hot dog. Here they are called 'Franks' or 'sausages'. As you can see in the picture, they are never made from 100% pork or beef. They are always a chicken/pork mixture. Package reads Classic pork franks then underneath the fine print reads made with chicken and pork. I've found that buying Bullseye BBQ sauce from the international aisle and adding it to the hot dogs gives it a smokier taste that can be more enjoyable. 

Cereal. Here's the part where I tell you that in Korea, they like to make fake versions of our beloved western food that taste horrible and are nothing like the versions that we love so dearly. 

Nesquik has been mutated to tater-shapes and Froot Loops have become Froot Ring. See how close the boxes are to the Canadian version of the product? They taste nothing similar. 

Cheetos. Yup, they ruined them too. How can you screw up processed powder cheese? I don't know but Korea figured it out. The smell from this non-eaten bag of chips stunk up the whole apartment. The yellow (not even orange) sticks didn't even taste like cheese, they tasted sweetened. 

Korea is a very alcohol-friendly place. You can get alcohol at corner stores, grocery stores, or any restaurant on the street. Alcohol is extremely cheap, even the imported stuff. Alcohol is something they managed to not ruin. Corona (Korean version) tastes just as good as I remember. They also have my favorite Australian white wine here from Yellow Tail.

Evil spatula says "Mouha you burnt your food"

Yes, they do sell Smirnoff Ice here in Korea. They also have Smirnoff Black Ice, not sure what it is yet, I will have to try it and let you know. 
The most popular alcohol to drink in Korea is Soju, which I have yet to try.
(www.wikipedia.org)    

(hangul: 소주; hanja: 燒酒), a clear, slightly sweet distilled spirit, is by far the most popular Korean liquor. It is made from grain or sweet potatoes and is generally inexpensive. It typically has an alcohol content of 40 proof (20% alc. by volume). There is a version with top notch ingredients distilled using traditional methods that hails from the city of Andong that is 90 to 100 proof. This version has a government protection/regulation seal, as Andong has historically been known as a fine soju center among other things. While all soju in Korea are priced almost identically (inexpensively as previously mentioned), Andong soju commands more than 20 times that price. It is the cognac to commercial soju's vin du pays. In the late 20th century soju flavored with lemon or green tea became available. The Japanese version is called Shōchū.

Like many of the Superstore's from Atlantic Canada, Korean Emarts and Lotte marts have sections devoted to cutlery and dishes, clothing, beauty products, electronics, even a pet section. Shortly after arriving in Korea, we went kitchenware shopping to get a wok, some utensils, spatulas etc. There was an obscene amount of kitchenware devoted to Hello Kitty. I took a picture of this spatula because it made me happy. 

Sign right outside Emart

The picture to the right is a little blurry, I apologize, but it was supposed to be to show you what types of stores/restaurants that can be found inside an Emart. You can't read it but there is a Popey's Chicken, McDonalds and Starbucks on the sign. 

This Starbucks is located right outside the main entrance of Emart. I have yet to try the coffee. I am a little scared that it will be horrible and ruin Starbucks for me. I'm way too in love with Starbucks coffee to risk loosing it. Even if I were to go inside, could the Korean working really understand my order? Venti Triple Caramel Mochiado with extra drizzle? Especially when I had trouble finding a Korean worker who understood 'nail polish remover' with the help of my ever so clever charade skills. Hmm that's a thought I might just video tape my next charade session and post it here so you can see just how ridiculous one looks trying to communicate in a foreign land.

Right outside Emart

 Gracie Premium Chocolate Macadamia.. My favorite chocolate in Korea as of yet. Tastes like a homemade chocolate truffle with a crunchy interior. I have no idea where to buy it because it was a gift from one of Hyper's students but I want more!

Another one of my new Korean chocolate favorites is Pepero. It's so popular it even has it's own holiday, Pepero Day. It's similar to Valentine's day and held on November 11th (since 11/11 resembles four sticks). Couples give their crush or loved ones a box of Pepero. There are many different flavors but I've only tried two: Peanut and Almond.  The picture on the left is a box of the peanut Pepero sticks. It's very similar to the Japanese Pockey sticks and Japanese Pockey Day, but Pockey Day isn't as popular as Pepero Day.


If you are a fan of Banana-flavored products and happen to come to South Korea at some point. You may be temped to try their banana products. I have heard the banana milk is exquisite (this I will have to try out as well). The picture to the left... do not be tempted to buy it.  It can be found in the Emarts and Lottes around town and you are supposed to add a little tablet to milk for an instant banana treat. It's gross trust me.. just pain wrong.

Baking products. Oh the joy.. Not. I love cooking. It's one of my hobbies. Being unemployed here I have a lot of extra time to put into cooking which would be awesome if not for two factors. 1- I do not have a stove. 2- Korea lacks the basic baking products. I'm still on the hunt but I've had trouble finding things such as corn starch, baking soda, powdered sugar, and semi-sweet chocolate. The picture to the right is of 'baking chocolate'. They are mini-chips but not the semi-sweet like I was searching for, more like a sweet milk chocolate taste to them. They are still very tasty and I have used a whole bag already. I must mention I was extremely delighted to find powdered Cinnamon though! 

Another gift from Hyper's students was Taster's Choice Supremo instant coffee. It comes with sugar and whitener inside each individual packet. Thanks to a friend's advice from Canada, I have perfected my morning coffee routine. 

1- Put 3/4 milk, 1/4 water in coffee cup and microwave for 1 minute.
2- Add packet and stir
3- Sprinkle cinnamon and stir
4- Enjoy almost-cinnamon latte

Frozen Chicken Nuggets

 Frozen chicken nuggets can apparently be successfully cooked in a wok with corn oil. Ever been to Costco? Love the demo ladies that cook you food and explain the wonders of the product and how to cook it? Another reason why I wish I understood Korean; they have demo ladies here as well but I don't understand what I'm eating or how to cook it or how expensive it is. One lady knew enough English to say "Chicken Nugget? Good! Good! Try!" So we tried it and she motioned where they were located. We bought them because they were tasty and on sale, 3 bags taped together for the price of one. Not quite the same as Canadian nuggets, but pretty tasty nonetheless. 

 This is the milk we buy. They come in very small cartons so we usually end up buying 3 per week. Hyper likes it because it tastes like Baxter's skim milk. I like it because it's cute and pink. Come on, what's not to love about waking up in the morning and grabbing a super cute pink carton to help make your coffee? Yes, I'm such a girl.. shush 

Stick butter and margarine I have yet to see any signs of. I don't think butter is a very big thing in Asia. They tend to do most of the cooking with oils. However you can find good ole' American I can't believe it's not butter though. Gotta love fake butter!

Yes, that's a toy dispenser and
yes, it's full of Pokemon toys.

 In the Lotte by my apartment, there is a food court. It's located right by the main entrance right before you leave the building. Inside is a Japanese restaurant, a Korean restaurant, a Chinese restaurant, a burger place and a KFC. I've only ever tried the KFC and an ice cream from the burger place. At KFC there are two types of chicken; original and crispy hot. Not knowing they injected hot sauce into the crispy chicken I ordered it. It's different but still pretty tasty. I stick with the original now or the chicken tenders. 









Right outside the food court there is a huge fake food display to show you dishes from each restaurant (except the burger place and KFC). What you do is tell the person behind the counter what number plate you want and pay for it, then she goes into the food court and gets it for you to go. It's a handy system for take-out food. All the food looks strange to me so I haven't worked up the courage to actually order any yet. 

 As promised, here is a (blurry) picture of the cash registers. No difference in the way the lines work than in Canada. One way to save money at these stores is they have a points card and once in awhile they will point to the screen to show you you have enough points to get a discount. I'm not exactly sure how it's calculated or how it works but Hyper has one so we use it. If you picked up an item and the UPC code is malfunctioning they just put it aside and you don't get to buy it. They don't go out of their way to help you at all. Example: We picked up some potatoes at Lotte the other night and bagged them. When we went through the checkout, the lady said something in Korean, made an 'X' symbol with her arms and put them aside. The store was closing so we didn't get a chance to figure out what we did wrong and try to purchase different ones. Another thing that's different you have to ask for a bag (I do believe it costs extra) and they never ever bag it for you. It's a self bagging/boxing system. 

Packed up my box.. like a boss

This is the boxing station! My favorite part of grocery shopping in Korea. So basically, you bring your food over to the counter, choose a size-appropriate box and box it up like a Christmas package. If you look to the picture on the right, the yellow circle items are the tape rollers (empty because it was near closing time). They have scissors (red) attached by chains to the counter to keep them from being stolen or misplaced. These scissors are very dull and are my personal nemesis. Once you have fought with the tape and the scissors, you have the option to tie a rope around it for easier carrying. Most Korean's I see use the rope option but I have yet to figure it out.. One day though.. -.- It shall be mine.

Taxi

The picture to the right is of the taxi ride home from Emart. As you will see after Saturday, the custom here is to pack your groceries in a box not a bag so carrying huge boxes full of food for 20 minutes isn't such an easy task so we take a taxi home from Emart. In Japan and most other eastern countries, they drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. In Korea, it is the same as Canada, driver's seat is on the left and you drive on the right side of the road. I'm not sure if it's the same in all taxis but in this one there was a little video screen with a Korean television program playing with an older lady using one of those old belt machines in her closet to lose weight. I was very amused. 

Exercise machine from the taxi ride TV

The taxis here are very cheap the ride from Emart back to the apartment only costs 2900 won (just under $3 CAD) so it's worth the $3 to get a ride back then awkwardly carrying boxes for 20 minutes across town. 




Thus ends the marvelous adventure that is Korean groceries! 

That's Right I'm a Time Traveler! -Part 2

Flying into Vancouver .. So beautiful!

I landed in Vancouver only to find out that my plane left without me because we were 3 hours late.


They re-routed me on another plane to Tokyo, Japan, then a connecting flight to Incheon. 
Yup, Friday the 13th strikes again! I'm going to get to Korea 5-6 hours later than planned and that's only if the next two planes stay on schedule.  


At the Vancouver airport, I had like an hour and a half layover so I grabbed some more Starbucks which drained the rest of my gift card. I also grabbed some A&W, probably going to be a long time before I eat A&W again. The burger sucked. The onion rings were burnt. Not really what I had in mind for my last Canadian meal.. 

Not my plane, this one was smaller

After boarding the plane to Tokyo, I met Jillian, a girl living in Japan taking language at a university there. We talked for awhile until the seat belt sign came off, then we moved towards the back of the plane to get roomier seats for the long trip ahead. We were allowed to do this because the plane wasn't even close to being full. 
She told me all about hiking in Japan, and the mountains as well as some Japanese theaters that she likes to go to. Japan sounds like a fun place, I can't wait to visit there! 
Jillian was very nice to offer to help me find my connecting flight in Japan because she knows a little Japanese. 
We're going to exchange contact information so I can meet up with her if I end up going to Japan. Maybe the delay in flights had a purpose so that I could make a new friend? Who knows? 

This plane is so much higher than the last two.. My whole body feels so weird!! 


I am absolutely loving the service from Air Canada. They brought me a meal of chicken and rice, white wine and a brownie with a bottle of water. 
After my meal, I was talking to one of the flight attendants and she suggested I try the Merlot red wine with orange juice and apple juice on the rocks. She gave me a bottle of each to mix together... for free! 

I was entertained for the next half hour by mixing drinks, I felt like a master chemist. Apparently I looked intense while doing so, because Jillian commented on me having fun mixing the drinks.
Mmhmm soo yummy! I'm not even a huge red wine fan but this is delicious! 


There has been a lot of turbulence all throughout my voyage. Surprisingly, it doesn't really bother me that much, I'm not scared at all, it just feels weird. 


I hope they don't lose my luggage that's about the only thing I'm stressed about right now. I will be so pissed if they lost all my clothes and deodorant!!!

I ate my brownie (which was delicious in it's chocolatey-goodness) and watched 'Real Steel' starring Hugh Jackman and that chick from lost. It was a pretty good movie, I'd watch it again.


The last two planes were pretty cold and I needed a sweater on at all times,  but for whatever reason this one is soooo warm!  

Beginning of the sunset. I took this picture as I was entering tomorrow's time zone... Isn't Time Travel Beautiful?

I just want to roll around in these clouds!

Somewhere's over the Pacific Ocean

 As everyone else on the plane was sleeping or watching movies or being generally boring, I kept opening my blinds to take in the beautiful view of the setting sun. I was listening to my Blue October playlist and I wanted to share this song with you, because it pretty much sums up how my heart was soaring up above the clouds for the first time. Flying was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had in my life, and I'm so grateful that I got to see the sun set from above the clouds at least once in my life.

Sunset (3am back home)

Big, fluffy, sheep-like clouds.

After 20 hours of travelling and only one hour of sleep, I was regretting all the caffeine I consumed. I kept staring out the window at the sheep-clouds and kept hoping if I count enough of them that I would fall asleep.. nope didn't happen.   
I feel bad for the guy behind me, I kept tossing and turning and moving my chair back and forth.. I'm a bad co-passenger!!


The pressure in the plane and the uncomfortable warmth made it hard to breathe on the plane. I like flying but after 20 hours of this, my body is screaming for some fresh air.


I managed to slip off into sand land for a couple hours then awoke to eat my second meal. We had beef and barley (the chicken and rice was better). 

Narita Airport, Japan

 Finally arrived at the Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan. Actually, it's not even in Tokyo, it's like 2 hours out of the city. I am sad to be losing Jillian at this point, having a travel companion and someone to talk to was fun. 


I was told by the Air Canada people that someone would be waiting when we got off the plane to escort us to the next plane so there wouldn't be any mix-ups that would make us miss the Incheon plane. Unfortunately, the Japanese airport workers are useless. 


Instead of rushing us onto the plane, they spent and hour shuffling around papers and looking terrified and confused. They had to order, no organization, not to mention they were completely ignoring the passengers and our questions. Arggg!! They re-booked us for a flight leaving in the morning and now I am staying overnight at the International Garden Hotel in Narita.

Outside Narita Airport 

They don't know where my baggage is. It could be in Incheon, it could be in Japan, or it could be on it's way back to Canada. Thank god I packed extra clothes in my carry-on!




I couldn't connect to wifi at the airport, so hopefully the hotel has some sort of internet so I can send a message to Hyper before he leaves on the train to pick me up at the airport. They were gracious enough to include a free dinner and breakfast at the hotel's restaurant and my flight to Korea leaves at 9:45 am. 

Notice the driver on the LEFT s

I had to take a shuttle bus to the hotel, that I had to find on my own by asking questions and trying to figure out signs. It's weird driving on the wrong side of the road. Especially with a driver that obviously doesn't know how to drive. Are there no driving rules in Japan? Seriously, I almost died several times on this bus.




I made it to the hotel, and the receptionist spoke very little English but enough to check me in and give me my meal cards.

Evil keyboard!! 

Chains and locks aren't even necessary

The hotel didn't offer WiFi and the free computers in the computer area were from the stone age. It wouldn't even load Facebook on Internet explorer because it was so outdated. To even be able to contact anyone, I had to do a little upgrading. I downloaded the newest Google Chrome and deleted some useless stuff they had on the desktop. It worked a lot better after that. 
Lol, you are welcome Japanese hotel! (So much for Japanese people being all tech-savvy.. pfftt!!). The keyboard was all strange and caps lock kept getting stuck. What really made me laugh, was that they had the whole fail computer system pad locked so nobody would steal it. 
Thank God I finally got in touch with Hyper, unfortunately it was only as he was arriving at the Incheon Airport to pick me up that he got my message.

Lobby at the International Garden Hotel 

The hotel was surprisingly normal. It would be considered a dive in Canada but the bed was comfy and they had complimentary shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes,etc available. They even had kimonos in the room.

I usually watch this in English

Took a hot shower, tried on the Kimono
 and drank some tea

The TV was all in Japanese, of course, so I watched a little bit of Chuck in Japanese, that was hilarious. CNN was the only English channel so I settled for some Japan MTV. Japanese music videos are so strange!


The room was pretty interesting, there was a slot to put your key card in that made the electricity turn on in the room. No key= no electricity. You probably shouldn't lose your key in this hotel. Another cool feature was the bedside tables. They had a built-in clock and wake-up alarm. The tables were even equipped with a do not disturb button that changes a light outside the door red instead of green. I wish I had remembered to take more  pictures of the room for the blog! *face palm*

Breakfast Bar at hotel

Because of the fail computer situation, I didn't make it to the restaurant in time for the Dinner serving, but I was up in time for Breakfast. 
If you look to the picture on the right you can see what looks to be an espresso machine on the counter. It's not an espresso machine, it's a toast-belt. You put the bread on it and it goes in the machine on a belt and loops out the other side. I call it the lazy toaster. 
Breakfast was terrible. The toast was only toasted on one side, the bacon was raw, and who eats pickled fish and rice for breakfast? Lol I think this foreign food thing is going to be harder than I thought! 

Sitting in the lobby, waiting
for the shuttle bus to bring
me back to the airport.

I am starting to get the strange looks I think it's cause I'm a white person and I'm wearing a tank top. People here are all cold and wearing big fluffy jackets even though it's like 3 degrees Celsius.  

Sayounara Japan! 

The Narita Airport was sooo confusing. Thankfully, after asking many Japanese people, I found my way. The airport personnel told me to fill out a form before immigration, but when I read the form it was for re-entry of Japan residents. Fail Japan fail. There was a cute old British couple that were filling out the wrong form as well so I told them not to bother. They were very thankful and we conversed for a bit while waiting in immigration line. I think that on every flight you should have a guide to walk around the airport and help foreign people find their way. It would be so easy to get lost and miss your flight in big airports like this. Japan felt so different, it's like the color was drained from the country. I never noticed how colorful Canada was until I seen a country that looked like someone edited it with a sepia button. 

Japan

No Color!

See?

 Japanese planes are made for small people. I am not a large person. I find myself to be average weight and average height. The chairs on the plane were  digging into my sides and the ceiling hit my head. 

The Lunch on the plane from Japan to Incheon was yummy, I even used chop sticks.. Like a boss! I tried the roe and seafood noodles.. Tammy would be proud of me. It was gross but at least I tried it right?

 See the picture to the right to see if you can identify in the picture above what I was eating!

Flying above the Sea of Japan

This is a short video I took of the flight.. it's lame and not long but I'm FLYING!!!

Phone!

Atari remote!

The coolest thing I've seen on a plane thus far.. A phone/credit card reader/radio/remote control/Atari controller :o I played Atari games while flying over Japan, XD how awesome is that?

Coast line of South Korea

Korea

Korea

On the Japanese airplanes they sell name brand articles like mont blanc, Chanel, Dior, etc. It's really smart actually, you are literally STUCK on a plane with salespeople.. for hours.. with very attractive Japanese sales people. Excellent business skill Japan! *Thumbs up*

Lots of mountains

Korea

Korea

Finally start the decent into Incheon, Korea, only to be denied landing permission. We got to circle around a couple of times before landing. Haha, of course something else would screw up! I should just be thankful that I made it at all at this point. Thank God my plane didn't crash, that would have sucked.
One thing about Asia traveling that I found interesting is that upon entering the country, you have to scan your index fingers and do a retina scan. I had to do it in Japan as well as Korea.  

Starting the decent into Incheon, Korea! YAY I'm finally here!

Hyper met me at the airport, my luggage was there waiting there for me. It all went very smoothly.. for once! We took an underground train from the airport to the apartment. That was pretty cool. It's so strange not being able to read any of the signs or understand anything that's being said around you. I'm sure it's something I'll get used to. Wish me luck!!