Author Archives: Meagan & Dave | HappilyEverExpat.com

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About Meagan & Dave | HappilyEverExpat.com

Meagan is from Texas and Dave is Australia. They met and fell in love with South Korea. They've continued living the nomadic expat lifestyle and are currently residing in Kazakhstan.

A year in photos – Day 202

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Friday, September 14

Joni and I spent almost 24 hours en route to the US, but because of the time zone, I actually arrived in Texas on September 13th. My mom picked me up from the airport. It was such an exhausting journey. My brain never works right for the first few days after the trip back home. Jet lag kills me!

Aside from the 8 hour layover in Japan, the flight was pretty painless. We were on a night flight so it was nice and quiet and most people slept. I drifted in and out of sleep, but I have a difficulty sleeping in airplanes. We were really fortunate… we asked to be put on a wait list for closer seats and we ended up being bumped up into the first row of economy so we had ample leg room.

So you get a bonus picture because I technically took that picture on the 13th due to the international date line.

I had lunch with my mom and Nana on Friday and then my mom took me to pick up my rental car afterwards. The women working there weren’t overly friendly or helpful. They just gave me the keys to the car and said I could find it by pushing the lock button and listening for the horn. They didn’t inspect the car with me or anything. When I got to the car, the inside was dirty. There was grass all in the floorboards. I knew I could have complained then and there, but I really liked the car they gave me so I figured I could put up with the grass.

A year in photos – Day 201

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Thursday, September 13

You might remember I posted a blog a while back called Back in Texas! It talked about how I kept a big surprise from Joni. Thursday was the day I revealed the surprise to Joni. Here’s a bit of the post to refresh your memory.

I’ve been keeping a secret from Joni for a while now and she finally found out the morning Dave and I took her to the airport. We left the apartment at 5am and I brought a pillow with me in the car. When we got to Gimhae Airport to drop her off, I was still holding my pillow. She laughed and said, “You’re taking your pillow in?” I opened the trunk and said, “That’s not all I’m taking in!” and pulled out my giant fuchsia suitcase. Dave had secretly loaded it that morning before she woke up. She had no idea that I was flying back with her. She was so surprised and so happy!

I had such a great time with Joni in Korea. It was so exhausting, but I loved being able to show one of my very best friends this place I call home. At the airport we exchanged some money so I ended up walking around with 3 different currencies.

A year in photos – Day 200

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Wednesday, September 12

Day 9

We spent most of the day relaxing. It was Joni’s last day in Korea. We did venture out a few times that day. We got our nails done one last time and Joni finally tried 팥빙수 (patbingsu), a popular dessert shaved ice and red bean dessert that Koreans eat during the summer months.

A year in photos – Day 199

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Tuesday, September 11

Day 8

We flew back to the mainland on Monday night and headed out for a little road trip on Tuesday morning. We drove to a city about an hour away called Gyeongju. Gyeongju was the capital of Korea for almost a thousand years back in the BC days. It’s a beautiful city and it’s a nice place to visit because of all of the historical sites. It also has an incredibly beautiful Buddhist temple. By day 8 we started to get tired and didn’t take many photos, but I do love this photo of the 3 of us at Bulguksa Temple.

Trick Art Museum – Jeju Island, South Korea

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Monday, September 10

Day 7

Our last day on Jeju Island was a busy one. We knocked out two “theme parks” in one day. First, we went to the Trick Art Museum. It’s a great little place where you can become part of the art. I went to an exhibit when I first got to Busan back in February 2011 (click HERE for the photos from that trip) and Joni loved my photos so I knew if she ever visited I’d have to take her to the permanent museum they have on Jeju.

After the Trick Art Museum, we went to Locadio World. It’s a place where you can play dress up! I think it’s basically a TV show museum and they have different sets and allow you to dress up and take photos. You walk yourself through so we just kind of had to figure it all out as we went along. After the Korean section, they have an international section, too. It was a lot of fun!

If you click on the first photo, you can easily scroll through the entire set. Or you can click on photos individually.

Don’t forget to LIKE US on Facebook for more about life in Korea. 

Day 197 – NOT SAFE FOR WORK!

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A year in photos – Day 197

I’m baaaaaaaaack!

Sorry (again) for the delay. My photos from Joni’s trip, Texas, Hawaii and everything after are spread out between two phones and about 5 memory cards from 2 different cameras. I think I’ve finally gotten all of my photos on my computer and organized so… it’s time to tell you about Day 6 of my dear friend Joni’s visit to South Korea.

Sunday, September 9

Day 6

If you’re easily offended (or at work right now), you may want to skip this post.

I would consider Korea to be a pretty conservative country. Teenage pregnancies aren’t rarely heard of here, showing cleavage is a huge taboo and some people even get offended by women wearing tank tops or smoking in public. That’s why it’s so surprising to know that Korea has not one, but several “theme parks” dedicated to… sex. Jeju Island is the home of Loveland, Korea’s most famous sex themed theme park. It’s full of large statues and works of art that are X rated.

Before I put up the pictures of Loveland, I’ll post pics of our “Happy Hour” that we had at the hotel afterwards.

We were lucky enough to be able to access the free happy hour at the hotel so that meant we could enjoy the view and enjoy complimentary drinks and dessert. We all sat around and chatted, and Joni was finally able to challenge Dave to a game of chess.

After happy hour was over, we went downstairs to have a few more drinks. As it turns out, the hotel had a drink of the month and if you ordered that drink, you got a free stuffed dinosaur. It was actually pretty funny because at first we didn’t know why they were bringing us stuffed animals with our drinks. We had to ask. But the drinks were fruity and delicious and as you can see, we enjoyed several of them. 😉

If you’d like to continue to the risqué part of this blog post, click to continue.

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Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak – Jeju Island, Korea

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Saturday, September 8

Day 5 of Joni’s visit

Saturday was our first day on Jeju Island. We woke up at 4am to travel to the other side of the island to see the sunset. What we didn’t realize was that once we got there, we’d have to climb to the top of a dormant volcano to see the view. We sent Dave ahead and Joni and I took our time on the 8 bajillion steps to the top. None of us were prepared for a hike, Joni more so than the rest of us. She was wearing a long dress and sandals. Oh… and did I mention it was raining? Yep. All that work and we couldn’t even see the sunrise anyway.

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Joni took a tumble. She was okay.

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A year in photos – Day 195

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Friday, September 7

Day 4

We started our day out with breakfast at the hotel.

Then Joni and I went down to the beach. She did a quick snorkel and then we looked around for shells. She was amazed by the air hoses that the hotels provide to get sand off of your feet.

While we waited for Dave to meet up with us, we had drinks at the hotel. I ordered a cherry-ade and it came in this adorable glass. Now I am obsessed with it and want a set of my very own.

When Dave got to Busan, we headed to Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. It’s a stunning Buddhist temple that is right next to the sea. On the walk to the temple there are lots of vendors and statues. Dave and I are posing next to our year sign statues. I’m a rat and he’s an ox.

I love this picture!

We brought two jars of coins to throw into the wishing well.

I’ve heard that if you make it into the turtle’s bowl you get 1 wish and if you make it into the upper level you will get 2 wishes. I made it into the turtle and my coin bounced out of the bowl on the upper level.

This temple is gorgeous and is always busy. I love coming here and I was happy I got to show Joni around!

After the temple, we headed to the airport and flew to Jeju Island. More on that tomorrow!

A year in photos – Day 194

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Thursday, September 6

Day 3

We started our morning out by taking a taxi to McDonald’s for breakfast. Joni was really impressed by the delivery scooters.

We decided to walk back to the hotel.

We later took a walk around Haeundae to see the sights.

We took the subway to Shinsegae, the world’s largest department store.

We ate lunch in the food court.

Joni got a crepe filled with strawberries, cheesecake and ice cream for dessert.

We met up with my Busan friends for dinner. We ate shabu shabu. It was so amazing! I definitely have to go to this place again.

After dinner we all went to norebang. That makes 3 days in a row for Joni and I!

I got so excited when I saw this guy selling cocktails in a bag. Jamie and I were the only ones up for it. They were really good and the guy working there was really nice.

A year in photos – Day 193

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Wednesday, September 5

Day 2

It rained all night, but the skies cleared up by morning. This was the view of Haeundae Beach from our hotel room in Busan.

We started the morning out with breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. Joni tried bubble tea for the first time.

Then she took her first subway ride!

We took the subway to a stop called Suwon, then walked through the outdoor street market. Joni wasn’t too impressed and the smells of the oriental spices made her sick to her stomach. We continued walking and came across a museum. Joni’s short legs had a difficult time on the big steps.

Next, I took Joni to my favorite place in Busan. (Fun fact: Dave’s Australian computer thinks I spelled favorite wrong… I went over the spelling so many times in my head before I figured out what was wrong)

After the fun at Dongnae Eupsong Fortress, we went to PNU for some Korean BBQ. Joni didn’t like it, but she gets a little weirded out by meat sometimes. I love Korean BBQ and I am sad because I have no one to eat it with.

After lunch we went to another norebang (Korean singing room). This one gives you a score based on your performance. OF COURSE I was the first one to get a 100!

By the time we got to the singing room, Joni was starting to feel pretty awful. I think it was a combination of the heat and jet lag. We cooled down there and then headed back to the hotel. We stopped for some “Blue Lemonade Vodca” first. Yum!