"Count the memories, not the calories"- Anonymous
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It was very cold inside the departure area of the airport. It was 10 o"clock in the evening and Delilah sat alone on an airport bench, with her purple suitcase on the floor beside her feet, her bright pink backpack beside her and her jacket on her lap.
On her hand was her mobile phone, where she was typing a short message to her friend, Trixxie. She was asking where Trixxie was, at the moment, since Delilah wanted to check-in.
"Will be there in a few mins. Otw now," came the reply from Trixxie.
Delilah sighed as she leaned back against the bench, swinging her legs. She pulled her jacket closer to her as it was getting colder.
At that time, Delilah was wearing a long and bright blue cowl neck sweater with a hem that reached her mid-thigh. She was also wearing a thin undershirt inside and a warm fleece lined thermal leggings. To complete the look, she wore her hair in a high ponytail and on her feet, she was wearing a brown mid calf boots.
That night, Delilah was flying off to South Korea, together with Trixxie. They had booked the midnight flight to go to the country with the travel time of 6 hours. Delilah had been planning for the trip for months now. It was her first time going to South Korea and Trixxie"s third time.
Because Trixxie had once stayed in South Korea for a year during her student exchange programme, Delilah thought she would be the best travel partner to go with. It was also because Trixxie loved foods as much as she does. Trixxie probably knows where to eat many delicious foods there, as well.
Delilah was excited about this trip. She had spent months saving her money, just for this trip. She had seen the pictures of the country and the one place that she wanted to go to would be Jinhae. Apparently, that was the best place for Cherry Blossom viewing during the spring. And it was not a coincidence that the two women had chosen the spring month to go to South Korea.
Shortly after Delilah was daydreaming about the places she wanted to go in South Korea, she saw Trixxie coming in from the airport entrance, wheeling in a large black suitcase. Trixxie was also carrying a large black backpack on her back.
For clothes, Trixxie was wearing a dark thick brown sweater with a black jeans and black sneakers. She was also wearing a cotton scarf around her neck, all prepared for the South Korea cool weather.
Trixxie was waving at Delilah as she rushed towards her. "Hey, sorry, I"m late! Ready to check-in?"
Delilah nodded.
The two of them went straight to the check-in counter, gave the immigration officers their suitcases to be placed in the cargo and grabbed their tickets.
Since the two women had nothing to do at the departure area, they decided to go straight to the terminal area to wait for boarding.
The two of them had a nice and long conversation. Its been awhile since they had met each other. So, there were a lot of things to catch up.
When the call for boarding was announced over the PA system, Delilah quickly sent a message to her family chat group to say that she was now boarding the plane.
Reading her family"s replies of "Take care", "Have a safe flight" and "Be sure to recite some prayers", brought a smile to her face.
It was a long journey to South Korea. Hence, Delilah decided to get some sleep on the plane.
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South Korea.
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It was a few minutes after 6 o"clock in the morning when the plane finally landed on South Korea soils.
After the pilot had announced that it was now safe to take off their safety belts as they have now landed, Delilah sleepily grabbed her backpack.
She took out her small bag from inside, which has her small vanity mirror, lip gloss, blusher and a comb. She held up her mirror and quickly freshen up.
Seeing the long queue to get out of the plane, Delilah and Trixxie quietly agreed that they will just wait for the queue to lessen.
After a short while, they finally got up from their seats and headed towards the plane exit.
As Delilah first step outside the plane, the cool air hits her face, startling her wide-awake. It felt cool and refreshing. Outside, the morning sun has just settled in, bringing a cool breeze with it. The sun just started to paint the dark sky into a bright blue sky, together with few clouds blanketing some areas of the sky.
Delilah"s eyes widened in amazement as she took in the sights that welcomes her as she stepped inside Incheon Airport. Everything looked so pretty and clean. There were a couple of potted plants by the side of the hallway, making the area more colourful.
There were people rushing here and there, all speaking in Korean language. There are also some cleaners who were driving a floor cleaning machine, marking the start of the day.
Delilah was still awe-struck as they wait in line to have their pa.s.sports checked. There were a long queue for the foreign pa.s.sports and it had taken them more than an hour to wait until their turn.
After the two women had done with the immigration and gotten their suitcases, they went in search for a telecommunications stands for a portable Wi-Fi. Apparently, they had to use a credit card for this. And luckily, Delilah had managed to sign up for a credit card before the trip.
Once they had settled with the portable Wi-Fi, Trixxie told Delilah to wait at the waiting area while she go look for the T-Kard store for their transportation card.
After awhile, they have finally done everything that they needed at the airport. It was kind of hectic but Delilah felt her adventure has just begin. She felt even more excited, thinking of what"s ahead.
With their suitcases in one hand and a mobile phone in the other hand, they went down to the subway lines.
Delilah was grinning ear-to-ear as her eyes took everything in sight with amazement. She loved that feeling of being in a new place in a country that she has never been.
Trixxie lead the way to the train, where the journey took an hour and a half to the station that they were headed to. Again, the two women took the chance to have a short nap.
When the train finally stopped at their station, the two women dragged their belongings out of the train. After minutes of walking and looking at the guide map of their hostel, they reached the exit of the station.
With a groan at the sight of the stairs, they grudgingly carried their suitcases up the stairs. It was tiring and Delilah was glad that she did not used her other large suitcase.
Once they were out of the station, the cool morning air hits them, making them feel colder than they were used to. Trixxie quickly grabbed her scarf and covered her lower face while Delilah pulled on her sweater higher up.
With the help of the portable Wi-Fi, it made things easier for Delilah and Trixxie to access the Internet and used the GPS. They clicked on the Google map and followed the directions to their hostel.
It was a long walk from the station and the two women had become more tired after walking for too long.
After a few misdirections, they finally found their hostel, hidden back in a small alley.
There was a small sign that reads "Peanut House", which was the name of their hostel. They tiredly walked towards the hostel, dragging their suitcases behind them.
The hostel was quite quaint, with a small wooden gate in front and plastic flowers that decorated neatly, framing the entrance doorframe. On the door itself, there was a mechanism that was actually a mechanical pa.s.sword door lock that prompted user to enter a pa.s.sword to get in.
Delilah quickly login to her email and searched for the pa.s.sword that had been sent to her a few hours ago.
She quickly punched in the numbers and a sound of "click" can be heard, indicating that the door was unlocked.
Delilah slowly opened the door, with Trixxie behind her. Opening the door revealed a homey hallway with doors aligned on the left and right. There were numbers plated on the doors, indicating their room numbers.
The place felt warm, where the heat probably came from the heater at the side of the hallway. The floor was covered with an artificial gra.s.s carpet and the walls were decorated with pictures of birds and flowers. There were also flowers painted on the wall and green vines painted on the ceiling, giving the appearance of being inside a forest. It was really beautiful.
Looking down at her phone, Delilah continued reading her email to find that the host of the hostel has also included their room number.
Walking past a couple of doors, they finally found their room and again, there was a mechanical pa.s.sword door lock on the door. Punching a different pa.s.sword code from the email, a "click" sound can be heard again.
Reading the sign that says to remove their shoes outside the room, the two women removed their shoes before pushing their suitcases in.
The room was quite small, with twin beds and a large television in front of the beds. The television more or less covered one wall. Next to the bed was a small dresser table with a bedside lamp. Just next to the door, there were another two doors, which leads to a small kitchen and the bathroom.
Peeking inside the kitchen, they saw a kitchen sink, a small fridge, a kettle, a small rubbish bin and also cupboards which held cooking and eating utensils.
Inside the bathroom, on the other hand, they saw a small washing machine, a small rubbish bin, a toilet, a shower and a sink. There was also a bath curtain that separates the shower and the sink from the others.
After touring the small room, the two women began to freshen up. Delilah sent a quick message to the family chat group, saying that she has arrived in South Korea and was now going to go out to sightsee.
Few minutes later, with a purple sling bag over one shoulder, Delilah was ready to go.
Delilah and Trixxie quickly double check their belongings, in case that they did not missed anything out. Once they were done, they went out of the hostel and headed towards the station.
"So, where are we headed to, first?" Delilah asked, her hands inside the front pockets of her jacket that she was wearing over her sweater.
Trixxie took out her mobile phone from her small sling bag and looked for her itinerary, which she had saved inside her phone. "Umm.. We will be going to Buchon Hanbok Village. But before that, are you hungry?" Trixxie asked, looking at Delilah.
Delilah frowned, giving her a look that says, "Like, duh?"
Trixxie laughed and grabbed Delilah"s hand. She pulled her towards the station and began to walk faster. "Then, lets go. I know this one place at the village. We will have such great breakfast there, you"d die!"
They quickly walked to the station, both women excited at the thought of foods. Finally, they get to eat something, other than plane foods.
Delilah followed Trixxie from behind, mimicking her moves of using the card and swiping here and there. With a mobile app that shows all the train routes in South Korea, it was convenient for Trixxie to know which trains to use and so forth. Especially when she was also fluent in Korean language.
Delilah? The only few Korean words that she knows were "Annyonghaesayo", "Saranghaeyo" and "Meoggo Sippeo" [1]
Inside the train, it was not so crowded with few people inside. They seems to be minding their own businesses as every one of them were either on their phones, reading with their earpiece on or sleeping or playing games and so forth. Apparently, it was not a busy morning or perhaps, the rush hour has ended earlier.
Delilah smiled. "So, this is probably how everyday is like, in South Korea," she thought to herself. It was different from her own country. Not only that most people in her country have their own transportation, it was also doubtful that they would have rode a public transportation like here. Seeing this with her own eyes, it was refreshing and Delilah savored this kind of experience.
After a couple of stops, they finally reached their designated station. They quickly got off the train and went out of the station.
Looking down at the map, they searched for the restaurant that Trixxie suggested earlier. After a few minutes of walking straight, Trixxie felt that they might be lost again.
Delilah then suggested, "Why don"t we ask them where it is?" pointing at a Korean man, wearing a tourist guide uniform.
Delilah and Trixxie walked towards the man and asked for help.
The man then said, with a smile, "You only have to walk straight ahead for another 15 minutes and then you will reached the village."
The two women said their thanks and followed his directions. Once they were out of guide"s earshot, they both laughed out loud.
"Only 15 minutes, he said," Delilah said, rolling her eyes with a smirk. "It felt like an hour walk, though."
Trixxie laughed, nodding in agreement.
Minutes later after pa.s.sing many buildings, they finally saw a group of people wearing Korean traditional dresses, walking around. Seeing them, Delilah and Trixxie were confident that they definitely have arrived at the right place.
However, instead of going to the dress rental shop, Delilah and Trixxie decided to look for the restaurant.
Another few minutes of walking, they saw a white little shop with a green and yellow canopy. A cute but huge sign above the shop reads, "Egg Drops". There was also a small chalkboard stand outside the shop, showing the menu.
Delilah and Trixxie immediately went up and check out the menu.
Thank G.o.d for pictures and English words. Because if the menu was in Korean, Delilah would have trouble ordering what she wants. It does not help if the employees themselves do not speak English too.
Trixxie would have no problem but then again, there were times Trixxie was even confused with the language.
Before Delilah, there was another customer in front of her. Delilah watched as the customer was reading the menu off a machine. It was a ticket machine for ordering food. Customer would choose what they want to order and insert their money in the machine. Once they were done, a ticket will be printed. And all the customer has to do was to pa.s.s the ticket to the vendor and they will process the orders.
Delilah"s eyes widened at this contraption. It seems complicated but interesting, at the same time. It made her more eager to try.
Once it was Delilah"s turn, she followed what the previous customer had done, except she had chosen a different food and drink.
She then pa.s.sed her ticket to the vendor and waited inside the restaurant. She found an empty table and sat down. As she sat down, she also removed her jacket and placed it on her lap, while waiting for her order.
Shortly after, Trixxie joined her, taking a seat next to her. The two women fell into a comfortable silence, each waiting for their orders to be called.
Just then, a beeping sound can be heard. Apparently, both of their orders were ready to pick up.
Delilah offered to get Trixxie"s order as well and then placed the tray, which carries their foods and drinks on the table.
Both Delilah and Trixxie had ordered omelette sandwich with hot chocolates.
Delilah picked up her sandwich and took a bite. The b.u.t.tery brioche toast was soft and warm, which melts easily in her mouth. The egg itself was creamy, succulent and slightly fluffy as well. When Delilah took another bite with the egg, she felt like she was in Heaven. The egg sauce dripped down the sandwich and onto the white packaging. The egg sauce was mixed beautifully with the cream sauce, making it thicker and smoother. The parsley on top added more kick to the taste of the sandwich.
Delilah wolfed down her food, licking her lips in bliss as she savoured the taste in her mouth. This was the best Egg sandwich she had ever had! DEE-licious!
Delilah grinned at Trixxie, who was also enjoying her sandwich. "This is really good! The best, even!" she exclaimed.
Trixxie nodded in agreement. "It sure is!"
Just then, something caught her eye on a paper that was placed on the tray. Evidently, it was a list of foods that were in the menu with their calories count.
Trixxie tapped Delilah on the shoulder and then pointed at the paper. "Hey, hey. Look. How nice. It shows the calories count of what we are eating here."
Delilah rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her hot chocolate. "Calories. Malories. Who cares? After all the walking we have done this morning, who cares about calories. All I care is about enjoying the food here and making great memories."
Trixxie laughed. "So true!"