Cat Cafe: Ycat (previously known as Gio Cat)

It's amazing how things change over the years, and that you can reflect on these nuances as time goes by. One such place is the well known cat cafe in Hongdae, which has been known as Gio Cat. I'm not sure when but they changed their name and I am guessing owner, some time ago. 

This renewed cat cafe is called Ycat or 천춘고양이, and is located in the same place as Gio Cat in case you need to find it.

There were a few notable changes since 2010, on my last visit. For one the space is opened up more, and you have to but a ticket from a vending machine as your admission. The ticket gets you a drink and a table to park yourself at. Also, it seemed there were a different set of cats and new places for them to climb on.

One such new fun place for the cats to enjoy was a ramp attached to the ceiling. I'm thinking this is an ingenious addition as it allows cats who want a break from the petting zoo to catch a few naps alone.

I found these cats to be friendly and gentle amongst the patrons, and didn't mind being the center of attention. You had a variety of short haired cats and a few "munchkin" types with incredibly short legs.

At our table one of the cats plopped itself down, gave itself a bath and began to enjoy a nap. No mind we were there!

I liked the layout of the back of the cafe, as they had a nice set up of their food and water. Along the back wall were plexiglass enclosures for kittens (or I don't know if this was a kennel set up). 

Unfortunately, it seems they have a litter box issue as some cats treated a back corner as a bathroom. I saw the staff getting frustrated over this, and assumed this was a daily occurrence. Litter boxes weren't in sight, and I think were behind a wall with a small opening. I think they will have to consider litter training a few of the cats better, which is hard to do.

All together the cafe was a nice place to hang out in on a rainy day in Seoul. However, it seems they need to freshen things up a bit more, but I think the cats have a good life there. 

So why not head to the cat cafe and have a unique experience in Korea? Follow the directions on my old post, and you should be fine. Generally, it is at the end of an alley near that artsy-crafts park and next to a Smoothie King on the University side of Hongdae. 

Some of those fur-balls were so cute, I wanted to take a few home with me! haha

A Little Guide to the Rain in Seoul

I'm sure all of us know how to use an umbrella and get around their town in the rain. You look out for puddles and wear proper gear. But it seems surviving the rainy streets of Seoul, can add on a few more challenges. I've come to realize these nuances over the course of living here four years, and thought I would share them with you. Not as a way to complain about life here, but just to divulge my observances. Here we go...

1. Puddles and Splashes:
I've noticed quite often that puddles seem to accumulate on one side of a sidewalk. When this happens you of course want to avoid them, and so end up trying to steer around them. Generally, I have come to see that puddles are random throughout the walking experience, and some can be surprisingly deeper than others.

Splashes can occur if you walk really close to the edge of the sidewalk where it meets the road. People driving their cars don't seem to really notice the big splash they make when they glide past the side walk. This causes whoever is standing there to get a soaking that can occur from knee down, depending on your height. Because I've noticed other people getting soaked and heard tales from colleagues, I've learned to stay closer to the other edge of the sidewalk. In addition to this, you might want to stay a few feet behind the edge of the sidewalk when waiting for the pedestrian light to turn green. Cars turning right certainly are closer to the edge and can't help but cause a splash.

2. Umbrella Etiquette:
In America, even when I lived in San Francisco, people tried their best to give you and your umbrella room. It's a tricky thing to walk down a crowded street with an umbrella hovering above your head that makes the width of you more round. Ever since living in Korea I have experienced the daunting challenge of trying not to get bashed in by other folk's umbrellas. I don't think they mean it intentionally, but people here certainly don't try to avoid you and your umbrella. Now, this is not all the time, as I do experience the occasional dodging of each other's umbrella.

But the typical case is that your umbrella will bump with others and you can sometimes be hit on the shoulder or head by the edge of them. Certainly, it's tricky business to have lots of people get through a crowded and narrow sidewalk, with umbrellas in hand and not have a few collisions.

My advice is to be hyper aware and cautious. Also think about your height and in this case I find being shorter than most people here to my advantage. I can just lower my umbrella a little and glide underneath everyone.

3. Footwear:
In the past year or so fancy-rain-footwear has become more prevalent in these parts. I'm talking about rain boots.

The fashion ladies of Seoul would probably have a hard time walking down the drenching streets in heels. So I think they have turned to cute or fashionable rain boots. I for one am starting to feel interested in getting my own pair.

Otherwise, it seems difficult to figure out a pair of shoes that will get you through the day without your feet getting soaked. It's not just the rain that falls down on them, the general sidewalk ends up being it's own mini-splash zone.  When it rains in the heat of the summer I usually just truck by, wearing sandals and dry off my feet once inside.

4. Bus and Taxi Embarking and Exiting:
As with the challenging umbrella dodging, getting on or off a bus can be tricky as well. As you know, busses in Korea don't wait for you to take your time folding up your umbrella or getting it ready for when you want to get off. You have to be quick, no matter what the weather is like. This means you often get a little soaked entering a bus or exiting it.

What I find also happens is that if you walk past a bus stop, and there happens to be a bus unloading people. That those people will pop open their umbrellas in your direction. So watch out!

Also I could add how it's tricky to keep your soaked umbrella from touching yourself or others while clinging on to the bus or train. Thankfully some places you visit along the way have plastic covers.

source

Let's hope the rain this summer won't be as drenching as last years (seen above). When no matter what umbrella or shoes you wore made a difference. However, I'm thinking Seoul is very prepared now just in case this happens again. 

Rain, Rain...go away...or stay...or linger...

Oh my! They took off their shoes.

"The road closures and sporadic public transportation made commuters late for work, and people took off their shoes and socks in offices to dry them."

It's been pouring cats and dogs and other large animals for the past 24 hours and a lot of the news is covering the flooded streets of Seoul. Sadly people have lost their lives to landslides due to all this rain. Amidst the news wast that quote above, from the Korea Times and to me it was a bit funny. I don't even bother with shoes or socks and just go out in my sandals. But I think it is interesting that this sort of social aspect was even mentioned amongst the other disasters of the day.

Anyways, I hope people are going to be a bit more cautious tomorrow as the rain doesn't look like it is going to stop.

Tom Plus Rain Doesn't Mix

Tom: Meooowwwwwwwww Open the door! I want to go out Mom......meoooooooow
Me: Awe you want to go outside. Ok let me open the door for you.
Tom: o.O
Tom: (Look on face): What the hell is this?
Me: Oh....it's raining Tom.
Tom: Make it stop!

Seoul Rain a Video

It's a little poetic and on the short side, but I like it! If you like it too why not share it with your pals. But really this video captures how the rain can make you contemplate life and all it's wonders.

Hongdae: Board Game Cafe

As you can see I went to Hongdae with a good pal of mine last weekend, and we tromped around the area doing all sorts of fun things. One of those items was visiting a board game cafe that we cam upon randomly. At first I was looking for a cafe to eat some patbingsu, but the rain was coming down really hard.

We came around to the main street where Taco Bell and Starbucks is and saw a sign, in Korean, that read "Board-uh Game-uh Cafe." Taking the chance, we went inside and up to the 4th floor where we entered the cafe.

The space inside was huge with many tables all about, which reminded me of a classic diner from back home.

Except, here you aren't being served burgers and milkshakes but rather board games and coffee. The deal was that you pay per hour and also should buy a drink. Although I am not sure if it was mandatory to buy a drink. However, the price per hour was per person and cost around 3,500 won each. Any time over the extra is 500won an hour.

They had a really great selection of games and many with English. I suppose if you are feeling brave you could try out your hand at a Korean language game.

We weren't really in the mood for a boardgame, so I suggested we play "SET." I thought it was a good choice since it isn't time consuming and also is fun. Unfortunately, I was the looser but we'll see next time!

I am guessing this place gets crowded in the later hours and folks find themselves having lots of fun. Those red things are like plastic hammers that you can bang someone with if they do something wrong during the game.

View from the window...

As you can see this place is right across from KB bank, so I don't think you will have a hard time finding it. It made a great rainy day activity in Hongdae.

Tom in the Sun

The sun was out last Tuesday, as opposed to these last soggy days, and Tom seemed to enjoy the rays.

 I put a bell on him when he goes out front so that people passing by don't think he is a trash-cat. But as soon as he is back inside he manages to take it off.

Today the sun was peaking behind a mighty cloud and thought it nice to take photos, meanwhile Tom poked around the area.

I don't know about you folks, but it feels like this June has been the soggiest I have ever had in Korea. But I don't mind it! Of course my feet get soaked and parts of my clothes too, but again I would rather be soaked in the rain then frozen in the snow.

Looks like things are going to get sunnier again, which means it will be hot and muggy!

The Great Vacation: The Wharf

Christmas Eve was spent resting well in the hotel, which was good because we were up and ready Christmas day. I was a little worried that there would be too much closed for the holiday. However, I found this great neighborhood diner to eat at. It was called the Taylor Street Coffee Shop, and had a great menu of breakfast and lunch items. I had pancakes and JH had a Barbeque burger for breakfast.

One fun thing about this restaurant was a map on the wall that featured pins locating places people have traveled from.

 Looks like a lot of South Korean travelers made it through these parts...

The day turned out to be cold, windy and soggy. However, we made the most of it for as long as we could by going down to Fisherman's Wharf, otherwise known as Pier 39.

To me this was a real touristy place, but was perfect for JH. He remarked how it looked like an amusement park with all the little shops.

Again JH looked for the "Golden Bridge" but alas the fog was covering it up.

We stopped to see the Sea Lions, but there were just a few of them. I recall a few years ago a report of how they vanished and went off to find a large school of fish. I think when we were there it was a seasonal thing.

After checking out the wharf we walked over to a street area where there were many touristy shops, but most importantly was the Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum. We got our tickets and toured around the museum. 

 It was just like I had remembered it as a kid. Oddball things inside display cases spread out amongst an indoor maze. Although, I kind of realized that the museum was really kind of a joke, but we played along anyways.

 There was the Seoul Olympic torch, of all things.

 The following was made from matchsticks...

We enjoyed this portrait made out of pins...

Then there was a fun walkway with something spinning around it, which when you walked through made you feel really dizzy. JH liked it but I had a hard time and had to close my eyes when I went through.

We made it through the rest of the museum then thought about heading over to the Ghiredelli Chocolate factory, but gave up as the wind and rain picked up. So we headed back to the hotel to rest as I figured JH was feeling jet lagged.

Later on we grabbed a bite to eat a sushi boat restaurant that was in the neighborhood.

JH doesn't really like sushi, even in Korea we never go out to eat it. But I told him how sushi in California is completely different and a heck of lot better than sushi in Korea. I chose pieces off of the sushi boat train and JH ordered fried chicken off the menu. All of which was very satisfying. I could tell he was adjusting to the American restaurant experience. For example, the waitress coming back and asking "How are you?" and refilling our water. We had a good discussion about tipping and whether it made sense or not. haha

After dinner we meandered around Union Square and admired the Christmas tree.

We even found out that there was a skating rink, here too. 

I know you are probably thinking we are the most boring couple in the world for not going to a bar or some night-club place. But we were tired and I knew we had another full day ahead of us, so we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.

Current update: JH is still here and at my parent's house. He is shipping back to Korea Wednesday so we are at the end of his trip. :( But I think I have shown him many great things and he has fallen in love with America...so stay tuned!