Cough Recovery
YESTERDAY:
- got back a day earlier than we left
- forgot about this weird timezone quirk
- took a Lyft from airport back to Mountain View
- 20 minute ride cost more than double the 1 hour ride in Seoul
- got to sleep around 2 am?
- woke up at a ‘normal time’
- Jackie’s cough got worse actually :(
- scheduled a virtual doctor call for the evening
- ran a few errands
- picked up groceries from Costco
- Jackie had a shoe to pick up
- dropped by pharmacist
- had rotisserie chicken for lunch
- tried to get in a bit of work
- took a nap around 4 pm
- chicken rice soup for dinner
- with leftover rotisserie chicken bits
- watched the 2nd finale of My Hero Academy
Depart Seoul
YESTERDAY:
- went to the samgyetang place again for lunch!
- Jackie had the white one and I had the black one this time
- chicken seemed drier than yesterday
- dropped the pharmacy
- Jackie got some meds from the nice English speaking lady
- walked around to visit a few shops
- Jackie went to Olive Young
- very fragrant
- dropped by two stationary stores?
- picked up some fun gifts
- head back to take a nap
- Jackie headed to a market to find Norigae
- asked the receptionist where to find them
- she recommended Nainsadong by bus
- Jackie went to the metro station to reload her card
- this requires cash or a Korean credit card
- had to drop by an ATM
- convenient store (GS25) can reload cards instead
- Jackie took the wrong bus
- hopped off the bus at Seoul station
- got onto another bus
- store mentioned on TikTok was closed
- ended up a gift shop and found some hairpins, fans, and norigae
- food market was next to the textiles area
- head back to station
- took metro to Nainsadong
- lots of calligraphy brushes for sale
- went to dinner
- found a little restaurant with Korean bbq
- beef tips were so-so
- kalbi was delicious
- rice soup was actually rice on the side and a kimchi stew
- head back to sleep
Seoul in May
YESTERDAY:
- head to airport
- got there pretty quickly
- added a luggage for check-in
- got into a queue that took almost an hour to check-in luggage?
- still made it to flight 5 mins before boarding began, but … a bit tight
- took taxi from airport to hotel
- dropped off bags at the hotel
- hotel lady recommended a chicken soup place nearby
- very tasty actually
- chicken comes with rice inside
- soup is light and brothy
- you can add salt and pepper as desired to make the chicken more flavorful
- wandered around the huge palace
- lots of folks dressed up in Hanbok costumes
- bunch of rental shops nearby catering to these
- back to hotel to rest
- passed out
- Jackie went out to explore the area
- Jackie brought me back a fancy fish soup noodle from a convenient store
Haribo
YESTERDAY:
- woke up around noon
- head to a haircut salon
- they had immediate availability
- Jackie got a fancy cut
- they gave me a basic trim but it relieved my headache
- wandered around looking for lunch places
- the one on my list was closed
- ended up asking the salon receptionist for a recommendation
- she suggested a mandu/noodle soup place down the road
- massive quantities and pretty delicious
- like the black pepper soup flavor
- head back to hotel to rest
- went to a CU convenient store for dinner
- Jackie got 5 omelettes (actually pastries)
- I got a nice instant ramen with beef bone broth
- rest
Jeju
YESTERDAY:
- woke up a bit late
- head to airport with Jackie’s mom
- this car was finally free of smoke!
- driver recognized my Peak Design bag
- apparently he’s an amateur photographer
- got Jackie’s mom into a lounge
- noodle soup was nice
- flight back to HK went smoothly
- traded seats so that two ladies could sit together
- parted ways with Jackie’s mom in HK
- passed security heading back into international terminal
- they got a bit concerned with the tire sensor samples
- somehow, pointing out that I have a wife waiting for me helped …?
- also needed convincing that they weren’t rechargeable
- hung out in the Kyra lounge again
- didn’t realize there was a back section with phone booths
- took a call with Sunjay
- head to a different lounge
- actually better food, but a bit more bustly
- didn’t realize the train stops running after 1 am
- ended up scrambling to walk to a bus stop
- then arrived just as the bus departed …
- still ended up at the gate on time
- arrived in Jeju around 6:30 am
Hangzhou
YESTERDAY: *took a train to visit another city called Hangzhou
- 2 hour train ride with stops
- checked into a fancy hotel
- only 4 stories, but it hovers diagonally over a mall
- had a delicious lunch at a place called Shanghai Impressions
- beautiful restaurant
- delicious sticky rice dishes
- head to Xiwu lake (west lake)
- super touristy area
- waited 40 minutes to get a good view of the water lightshow
- pretty neat! like the bellagio but only once per night and 4 songs in a row
- wandered around a bit
- found a public Chinese opera performance
- they were in the window of a bridge between two high rises
- dinner at a little restaurant
- turns out they had a back area which was much fancier
- dongbei pork was pretty tasty
- vinegar fish was tasty too
- head back to hotel
Manufacturer Visit
YESTERDAY:
- woke up early to head to mfg
- dropped by the free breakfast to get water
- they gave me boiling hot water to put in a metal bottle …
- super fancy minivan
- appreciated the built-in q-charger system
- took almost 2 hours to get to destination
- massive rush hour traffic in a busy tunnel
- did see a sedan do a u-turn and get hit by a truck
- looked like a low impact graze but still a bit shocking
- mfg facility visit was fascinating
- guide took me to a taiwanese place for lunch
- eel was tasty and boneless
- finished facility visit around 5:30 pm
- head to Jackie’s cousin’s place for dinner
- also took an hour with traffic
- her two kids didn’t recognize me
- one of them was the flower girl at our wedding!
- Jackie brought me a change of clothes
- delicious food
- played games with the kids into the evening
- Jackie’s mom stayed at the hotel to recover from cough
- head back to hotel
Shanghai
YESTERDAY:
- turns out lunch plans with Grandma were cancelled
- ended up heading to Sha Tin for a sushi lunch with the cousins
- took us about 1.5 hours to get there
- very confusing mall layout
- sushi was pretty tasty though
- head back to Tai Koo to hang out with my Dad
- dropped by an Ikea
- did some clothing shopping for Jackie
- head to grandma’s birthday party!
- met my mom’s old friend
- also met some relatives I haven’t seen in ages
- Jackie wasn’t feeling too well
- took a taxi back
Lily Birthday
YESTERDAY:
- Jackie’s auntie Michelle showed us how to take the minibus to Chai Wan
- from there we got on an MTR to Tai Koo
- dropped by a McDonald’s so Jackie could have a $2 USD fish fillet sandwich
- ended up a few minutes late for lunch with grandma
- caught up with uncles, aunties, and cousins
- head to grandma’s to keep her company for a bit
- paid my respects to grandpa
- ran into Lucia, Alex, and Charlotte at the Muji
- head to Causeway Bay together to roam around
- ran into Uncle Johnson randomly a shoe store
- Jackie got an ice cream in Times Square from a shop next to the grocery store
- headed to a mall in Mong Kok for dinner
- got there a few minutes early
- AYCE beef hot pot
- Japanese curry was pretty tasty
- also they scallops were great
- headed back to Island line with Uncle Johnson
- took the minibus back to Jackie’s auntie’s place
- had a sync with Sara
- she got the Rivian internship!
- got to sleep before midnight
Shenzhen Massages
YESTERDAY:
- long flight
- got served some dairy free meals before everybody else
- Jackie wanted to watch Chainsaw Man movie
- fell asleep halfway through
- played and lost a few games of chess
- Kasparov app gets pretty tough quickly
- so many counters to my london system techniques
- got some decent sleep in
- needed to use two blankets to stay warm enough to stop coughing
- arrived at 6 am Hong Kong time