25 March: After a train ride (very comfortable, fast and cheap!) from Pusan to Daegu and having checked into our hotel, the first thing we did was share this energy drink I had brought from Japan. Two shot glasses cost me $40! (I can't tell if it worked or not. I mean, we survived the tour...) |
26 March: Second day in Daegu. Dinner at the hotel restaurant before going to the venue in the early evening. Whatever you order in Korea, it comes with a selection of kimchi and other side dishes (middle). My main dish (left) is a hot (literaly) pot with tofu and seafood, Hanako's is Bibimbap, various vegetables & meat on rice. |
|
|
| 27 March: Lunchtime flight to Seoul. We had some (spicy) ramen noodles at the airport before departure. Our Seoul hotel was attached to a big underground shopping mall, with many restaurants and food courts inside. We hit one of them and had two cod set meals (grilled and steamed, both red and spicy), with the usual side dishes and condiments: 4 different kinds of kimichi, omlette slices with veg inside, seaweed soup. We also ordered a Pajon (not sure of the spelling), Korean pancake with squid and lots of spring onions, which turned out to be huge (over 12"!) and we couldn't finish it :-( This dinner came to about $20. | |
28 March: Back to the food court for lunch. I ordered a bibimbap set, which turned out to be 100% meet free! Lots of spicy daikon, green leaves, seaweed, etc. on rice, served with seafood hot pot, beansprout soup, and two kinds of kimichi (one not hot at all - very interesting.) This was about $5. Hanako had to try bulgogi, the korean barbeque, for $8, again with various side dishes. She said the meat was very tender and delicious. |
We then went to have a look at the Kimchi Field Museum, also inside the shopping mall, which was a very educational experience. Here Usako & Kousa are looking at wax models of different kinds of kimchi... |
...and learning about the process of kimchi making. |
They also had a small corner where you could sit down and take a photo next to this wax lady offering you a piece of daikon kimchi. |
On the way back to the hotel, we had a look in the nearby department store and convenience stores, looking for snacks and souvenirs to take home (food, of course!) As you can see from these well-dressed melons, presentations of food and other goods are similar to those in Japan. |
These "KGB" vodka drink (grapefruit and lemon flavours) are imported from New Zealand. |
29 March: Having said good-bye to the band & the crew, who left for China in the morning, we hit the food court yet again! (At no point during our trip were we really sure whether we had come to Korea for the food or for Deep Purple...) Mine was a cold noodle with a big salad on top of it, all in a sea of red, hot/sweet sauce ($4.50). It turned out to be completely meat-free, it was yummy and I was a happy girl once more :-) |
Sorry, this is not a food photo, but I had to include it here: Deep Purple autograph
session in the shopping mall on Saturday was full of cute young female fans (!!!), which I'd never,
ever witnessed anywhere else. Here are two of them proudly displaying the autographs they've
just secured...
Talking about cute, the bunnies were very popular among Korean girls - and women in general - too :-) |