The title of today’s blog comes from the ‘The Walrus and the Carpenter’, a poem written by Lewis Carroll. Whenever I arrive at a time in my life when things are due to change in a large way, the opening line of this poem always comes to me.

And indeed, the time has come for things to change. These are to be my last two days here in South Korea. My journey here has finally come to an end, and it is time for me to head home.

With this in mind, my final two days do not take on a sense of urgency as one might expect, but rather they turn incredibly lackadaisical. I am in no hurry to go anywhere or do anything. I am not rushing to fit things in. My bags are pretty much packed; my route to the airport is planned. And so these final moments are about simply observing, absorbing, and taking things slowly.

And nothing says slow and relaxed like a two hour massage to start my day.

Before coming to Korea, totally out of the norm for me based on the rest of my life so far, I started taking an interest in the beauty industry, specifically the rather fascinating 10 step Korean skin care routine that is widely touted as the secret to the beautiful skin that many Koreans possess. Let me be clear, it isn’t. Koreans seem to generally have rather lovely skin based on their genetics and body composition and no matter how many steps you put into a beauty regimen, no matter how many products you smear over your face, it isn’t going to magically transform you into a beautiful Korean person.

But from personal experience, it does just make you feel a little better thinking that you are looking after yourself just a bit more than you used to.       

I don’t think it is a secret or generalisation to say that Koreans are rather obsessed with beauty and beautiful things. Walk down the streets of certain areas in Seoul and you will see nothing but building after building filled with cosmetic surgery doctors. A news article just came out this week indicating that Koreans spend the most of any population on luxury designer goods, with many people citing that it makes them feel good and feel they are seen in a better light by others by having these products.

With this said, while I don’t feel the need to have someone rearrange my face (though if someone wanted to pay for me to slightly get rid of some wrinkles I’d have a serious think about it), I am all game for any type of general beauty treatments and have always been a huge fan of having a massage.

So at the very last minute, on a whim, I try searching for somewhere to do this and am lucky to find a place with space available the day before I leave (a Sunday by the way), the ability to book via email (without the need for a Korean phone number), and someone who speaks moderate English to boot, which is helpful given my Korean skills didn’t quite reach ‘booking a massage’ level of study.

For anyone in the Jongno area (or further afield, they’re not far from a metro station) Lavish Spa gets a thumbs up from me. They can be found on Facebook with their English name (which is how I discovered them) or through Kakao Maps with their Korean name – 레비쉬스파.

The facilities at the spa were pleasant and clean, the massage room smelt nice and had relaxing music, and the masseuse was kind and helpful in explaining instructions for getting ready for my appointment.

I decided when I booked to actually go all out and have both a facial and a massage which I have never done before.

I had the massage first for an hour and, while it was a good experience overall, it was a smidge foolhardy on my part. My aching and injured ribs, which had just started to heal by this point, protested loudly to my ‘relaxing’ treatment and promptly reverted to being incredibly painful again, taking a further month to subside after I had returned home. Still, no regrets.  

For the facial, I picked the Heart of the Ocean treatment. This contained exciting sounding things like ‘marine collagen and elastin’ which I feel my face was obviously lacking in. Well, I have no clue what a facial was supposed to be like, but this was fricken awesome. It felt as if there were about 20 different stages to it; cleaning and cleansing my face multiple times, a thick smeared on face mask that smelt distinctly of seaweed followed by an actual face massage involving some nice warm oil, a second mask that was I don’t know what but smelled divine and was lovely and cool, and then another couple rounds of other things layered on my face to finish off. Additionally, unexpected but very welcome, while my face mask was resting and doing its thing, I was also given a foot massage to pass the time.

So yes, a really worthwhile experience in my opinion. I had ummed and ahhed over the price of it (all told the two hours was around $180), but in the end was happy I had spent the money as I came away refreshed and happy to tick off another experience – a beauty treatment in Seoul.

Just a final shout out about the spa – I have no idea what type of tea they served me afterwards, it was something distinctly fruity which I usually can’t stand, but it was absolutely delicious and I really wished I had asked them what it was cause it would have given my normal Tetley a run for its money (shock horror, right?). Also, as I was leaving they gave me the option of leaving a google review for them (happy to do so) and they gave me a small sample bottle of lotion in return – Pure Fiji hydrating body lotion with moringa infusion. Smells amazing. Now trying to track down something like this as it’s a very relaxing scent.

With no other plans for the day, I make my way back to my room at an ambling pace. I happen to pass this contraption along the way …

If you don’t know what this is, let me tell you. It is basically a massive fortune cookie. A wall of fortune, if you like. Or, more specifically, a wall of horoscopes. I have seen these scattered in a couple places around the city, but have always been too hesitant to walk up to one and use it, mostly because everything covering it is pure Korean, there is nothing about it to entice or encourage foreign visitors to use it. The first time I saw one, I had no clue what it was, but as time has gone on I have kept glancing at them and have eventually got the gist. As I am walking past today I am struck by that daredevil feeling that this could be my last chance to try a very obviously Korean ‘thing’. I am further emboldened by the young couple I see using it, which gives me a chance to understand exactly what I need to do without looking like a complete plum when I approach.

It’s pretty simple, take your won note, plug it in, the machine gives you some coins in return. The horoscopes are based on the lunar calendar zodiac signs, so you need to find the case with the animal that corresponds with your birth year (I happen to be the monkey), pop in your coin, rotate the handle, and out pops one of these…

Koreans obviously take their horoscope security seriously because this is no easy twist top Kinder egg surprise. Nope. But helpfully they provide you with the tools for the job…

And yes, the horoscope inside is written entirely in Korean. It’s divided into sections like work, health, love etc. and I used Papago Translator for a fairly decent translation. All told, a pretty fun thing to do just before I leave and with New Year’s just around the corner.     

I have made plans to spend my last evening in Korea with a bit of company, Andrew and I have arranged to meet up for one last round of Korean BBQ; and I couldn’t think of a better last supper to have. With neither one of us having a clue about the good restaurants around Jongno, I do a simple Kakao Maps search and find one just around the corner from me with decent reviews, so we bite the bullet and try out Gwangju House – 광주집.

And the food was fantastic. I’m not just saying this because I cooked it or anything (but I totally took charge and grilled the meat, gone are the days of being BBQ clueless!), it was really good meat and banchan overall. So much so in fact, we had eaten it all before I remembered to take a photo.

Andrew and I had a really good chat about my travels around Korea; he was interested to hear about all the national parks (because he is into hiking as well), my driving experiences, and my thoughts on applying to come back and teach. He told me about his plans to branch out into other climes and is considering Japan as his next destination to teach, leaving Korea after a few years here. Parting ways at the end of the evening, I felt glad that I had made a new friend here halfway around the world and am sure I’ll be checking in on him from time to time to see how he’s getting on.

Well, this is it. My last night here. Almost time for bed, but there is time for one final…

My flight today doesn’t actually depart until 11pm this evening. Technically, that means I have a whole day left to spend here in Seoul. I toyed with several options on how to spend my precious time. I considered heading over to Incheon in the morning to go have a look at that part of Seoul and take a final walk around the big park there, but I just started to get myself into a bit of a knot logistically with my bags and everything, given I am supposed to check out this morning at 11am.

And while my landlady deserves a massive shout out right now coming to the rescue at the last moment, for she very kindly allowed me to leave my bags safely in my room until 2pm (that’s what you get for staying in a place twice and keeping it clean!), I decided I didn’t want the hassle of any complicated plans.

So I simply went and did what I really felt I wanted to – I walked down to the DDP where there is a Megabox cinema and went to watch a film. Yup, I spent my last hours in central Seoul watching The Night Owl. And once again, no regrets. I picked this film for two reasons; it had gotten really good reviews and been really popular in Korea staying at the top spot for a fair few weeks, and the main lead in it is Ryoo Joon-Yeol, who I completely adored in Reply 1988 which I happen to have been watching during my travels.  

The plot of the film is interesting; it is a historical thriller set in the Joseon era with the main character being a blind acupuncturist, though he actually has a condition that renders him blind in the light but he can see when the environment around him is dark. He witnesses the murder of the crown prince and the story is what follows on from this. As with the other film I watched, I did read about the plot but not full spoilers, so I did still have a lot of guess work to do as I went. There was a lot of speech that went over my head, but the actual acting and plot were good enough I got to the end having felt all the right feels in all the right places. I liked it enough I plan to watch it again when I am home and it is available with subtitles so I get the entire plot fully.

Leaving the cinema, there is really only one place left for me to say goodbye to, the place where I first started my adventures when I arrived in Seoul.

I will miss walking along my stream.

Fully loaded with a massive canvas bag on my back, a suitcase with dodgy wheel at my side, and a huge carry bag filled with pottery, I make my way through the stares of Seoulites to board the metro that will ferry me over to Incheon Airport.

By 5pm I am wandering the main hall of the airport looking for a place to plonk myself until I can unload my bags at check-in and head to the Lounge to really kick back (that’s what travelling first class gets you).

And here now it has come time to declare my one and only regret while here in Korea, taking place 5 hours before I am due to leave the country.

While I’m upstairs in the departure area making new friends and enjoying new beverages (and whatever the crunchy bits throughout it are, they are amazing)…       

This is what is happening downstairs in the arrivals area…

Yup. That Sehun. From EXO. He’s just arrived from Egypt after a Dior fashion event. He’s literally walking around below my feet and I have no clue, until I open my Instagram 2 hours after he’s left.

And there you have it. My once and perfect opportunity to see a member of EXO, live and no tickets needed, I just needed to walk down the stairs. And I missed it. My one Korean regret.

To get over my obvious guttedness, I console myself with a few last bites of good food and watch as the night draws in at the airport.

As I board the plane, I’m feeling…oddly nothing. I’m not sad, I’m not happy, there are no worries, no anxiety, no excitement. Really, it actually just seems surreal to be leaving. I think I have hit a point where I am just totally shocked and overwhelmed by the fact that this trip happened. And not only did it happen, but that it was perfect in every way possible.

And I don’t mean that there weren’t a couple tiny bumps along the way, of course there were, but any issues were so small and able to be dealt with and were a learning experience for me, that having them also contributed to a perfect trip. I can truthfully say, everything I desperately wanted to do, I did. Everything I did was fully worth the time, money, and effort I put into it. I had unexpected surprises of meeting people, of stumbling across things I didn’t expect, and so many instances of kindness that really rocked me to my core. I experienced moments of sheer happiness and contentment that I have never before had. And every day I returned home safe.

I am so thankful for all of this. More thankful than I have ever been in my life.  And that really is the only thought in my head as the plane climbs high and I look down to see my final view of Seoul, watching it until it finally blinks out of sight.

Thank you South Korea, for truly being the most perfect three months of my life.