Surprise! I have two blogs! If you want to see what I’ve gotten up to on my last 5 trips to Japan, check it out here!
Osaka
Kyoto
Kanazawa
Kobe
Naoshima
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So Long, South Korea
Even though I have been in Japan for over a week and I left Daejeon 2 weeks ago, I’m still very sensitive about this whole “leaving Korea” nonsense. However, I was fortunate enough to be able to show my parents around KAIST in Daejeon. While I’m more sad about leaving the people than the dorm room I shared with 3 years worth of dust and hair, it was still hard to close my dorm room for the last time and not have to think about whether I remembered my card key or not. My mum being my mum made me stand in front of my bike and insisted on taking photos of everything from bird nests to street signs. I’m glad she did because now I think we have enough photos of KAIST to throw together a VR walking tour for future exchange students.
Goodbye, shitty bike I used 6 times and left unlocked outside W6 for any unfortunate thief to steal.
Goodbye, adorable sign that makes no sense because why wouldn’t you want the cat to come in?
Goodbye, bike racks and all of my memories of running late to class
Goodbye, steps we used to get ramen at 1:30 am
Goodbye, bird nest I saw for the first time on my last day at KAIST. It’s the circle of life really.
Goodbye, window drawing I did in the summer and forgot about
I went to the DDP for the 500th time
Border between the two Koreas
Snow in Seoul / Gyeongbokgung + MMCA
Mama Quinn looking very cold and VERY excited to look at some Korean Palaces
This dude looks so sad. I hope they’re paying you right and giving you regular breaks my good sir. I’m sorry to post you looking like this on my blog but I’m really digging all of the action going on in the photo. Best wishes xx
Yah, there is a mountain under all of that fog. Pretty cool how you can’t see it.
So this was my first time being in snow thick enough to create snow life. I’ll be honest, I attempted to make a snowman before this and I got VERY frustrated that it was looking more like a snow pancake than a man and I kicked and stomped all over it in a fuss like a literal toddler. However, I calmed down, devised a strategy of attack and gave it another go. I can’t describe to you how happy building this snowman made me. Running around to collect the sticks and leaf eyes and rolling around in snow made me forget just how freezing cold it was outside. I hope my snow dude is coping and that…ah right he probably melted. I saw Frozen like 12…120 times. I know how science works. Ha.
Here we see snowmen who were built 12,000 years ago and have now fossilised into stone sculptures with their features perfectly in tact.
We got over the novelty of the snow pretty quickly and took shelter in the Museum of Modern and Conte..Modern Museum of Contemp.. we took shelter in the MMCA and looked at a wall of Olympic posters and ate overpriced salads. What a perfect DAY!
Enjoy your stay at the Style Nanda Pink Hotel
Visiting the Style Nanda Pink Hotel in Myeongdong was like entering the magical Barbie dream house that I never owned as a child. Perhaps this was more like the Barbie dream house Wes Anderson might give to his children. Unlike regular hotels, this Style Nanda store was warm, bright PINK and inviting. The attention to detail here was phenomenal from room keys hanging up in every corner to gorgeous golden room numbers, faucets and lighting and we won’t even get started on the laundry level. It was like Andy Warhol’s ghost was hovering over the interior designers as they were creating it. Despite being too overwhelmed to absorb the clothing and the products that were for sale, I highly recommend checking out this store in Seoul if you happen to be frolicking in that neighbourhood!
Address:Â 37-8 Myeongdong 8-gil, Chungmuro 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
So long, Daejeon
I said goodbye to the brown, dry wintery leaves of Daejeon on Saturday. I’m sure if there is ever an all you can eat fried kimchi competition being held ONLY in Daejeon, I’ll return to this lukewarm city but for now, it is farewell.
In all seriousness, this city is the perfect side dish for KAIST. It’s a great way to escape the stress and feelings of inferiority among your peers. I would love to return here to do post-graduate study but that will just have to depend on how important GPAs are… because…and this is real talk here, my GPA is not looking too schmick these days (or any days).
Now I’m moving onto Seoul, then Osaka and lastly Tokyo for the New Years festivities. Thank you, Daejeon, for being the place I call home for the last four months. I’ve done a lot of growing, friendship building, falling in love-ing and challenge over-coming in my Industrial Design course. It has been a blast and I’m excited to see what my Korean future holds!
KAIST in Autumn
Go back a few hundred photos ago to when I first posted about KAIST in the Summer!! Unlike my beloved home city Melbourne, Korea actually has seasons! It’s super obvious when the seasons change here and I finally understand why they use a Fall Semester / Spring Semester system here. If we had a “Summer Semester” and an “Autumn Semester” at RMIT, I’m pretty sure nobody would know when university begins and ends. Here are some photos from campus, I will be sure to take plenty more photos before I leave in a month (sob).
Oh HEY, it’s me! In a JUMPER?
Oh HEY! It’s Lucas! On a CHAIR?
HEY Tyler! In a FOREST?
HEY Industrial Design building! Looking all lush and innovative in Autumn. 
Hey LU! Your hair matches the leaves!
Gyeongju
Hello, loyal fans. I’m afraid you’ll have to get creative with the captions for this post because I’ve just about reached my blogging threshold. A few weekends ago, we drove to Gyeongju which is one of the most historical sites to visit in Korea. Historical in the sense that there are lots of historical landmarks and UNESCO World Heritage sites. I’m pretty sure these photos are out of order but enjoy the autumn colours and the good times.
