The Road to 40 Day 176/365: The Long Goodbye to Seoul 2025

It’s our last full day in Korea, and it was time for one long goodbye to this country abd our vacation.

Heading out to Seongsu was no longer going to be an early expedition, as the adults had a long last night in Korea. Some still had to pack, and no one was expected to wake up super early.

Once everyone was up, we all agreed to have brunch at Ott in Seongsu. It’s a nice western brunch place the girls went to during their last trip here in April.

Most people are missing non-Korean food, and I could understand how they feel. Personally, I didn’t mind. Even JP was asking if I fulfilled a bucket list dish on this trip, because we talked about my desire to try some authentic dishes at least once on my trips.

For this trip, I guess it was gukbap. I’m happy that what I tasted in Vietnam and Singapore were close to the dishes I tasted in Korea.

Ott was the last time we were all going to be together, as the gang was heading back, while we were still going to explore a bit of Seongsu with the sisters.

We had tight hugs and sincere goodbyes on this awesome trip. I guess we could have spent more time out together, but in my heart, I’d always be a dad. I’m always going to be thinking what Vino is up to if I’m out with the guys during the couple of opportunities that I could have joined them.

I appreciate that they didn’t hold it against me for choosing to be me.

After the gang left, the sisters went to an attraction in Seongsu called Real World. It’s like an interactive escape room. It was included in their Discover Seoul Pass, so they wanted to try it.

Instead of paying for the three of us, we left Vino in the care of Kaloi, Elle, Ten, and Tia while we went out on a double-date walk with Kathreen and JP.

While they live in Korea, the Yangs don’t really go around Seoul much, so it was a fresh experience for them seeing Seongsu. Honestly, it was kinda new for me too, seeing that much people walking the neighborhood.

The last time we were here, the streets were practically empty. There were maybe a couple of hipster shops that were very popular and crowded, but that’s basically it. Now, there was practically no space for cars to drive on.

We dropped by Tir Tir, an emerging beauty care brand. Che and Kathreen were looking for the right shade for their skin, so JP and I hung out at the photo zone where we could sit down for a bit.

After we got that done, we met up with the others, who completed their mission in the escape room.

We were heading out to Coex to see the aquarium, which was also part of the DSP choices. I had to go to the toilet, and when I came out, Che said we could walk together first.

She said Vino wanted to go in there with me. Vino and I have frequented museums, aquariums, and the like whenever we travel. There are some learnings, but there are times that it’s just to be silly. I guess he also feels it’s kind of our thing.

However, Che told him we were going on a date. If there’s anything that would trump my desire to be a dad, it’s being a husband to my wife. So while I would have wanted to be with Vino in the aquarium, I was happy to get a chance to squeeze in a quick date with my wife.

It’s also nice to know that Vino can still do his silly things even if I’m not around to play around with him.

We went around to look for one of her favorite brands, Studio Tomboy. Unfortunately, they had their winter collection going, so we weren’t too interested in getting any of them. There was one, but we thought it was too expensive for just a piece of clothing.

We got a couple of kopi buns and sat outside as we planned our next move. We were looking to drop by Lotte because we still had gift certificates to spend there.

To make our move quick, we took a cab to a nearby branch. After getting something that was out of stock in a previous shop, we tried to make our way back to the others as we had a dinner reservation in Gangnam.

It was quite difficult to get a ride from where we were, so we agreed to just meet at the dinner place. While waiting to pass time a bit, went to Olive Young for a couple of things. But the best buy we had was the Jeju oranges right outside.

They were selling it for cheap at 6,000KRW per box that felt like at least 2 kilograms. For context, I can get the same sized oranges in Singapore for SGD5 – but maybe eight pieces at the most.

We had a quick Daiso run before heading to Zoosindang in Gangnam.

It was a hidden bar concept that the girls also went to last April. They visited a different branch, but this one allowed kids, so this is where we went.

Vino was so amazed from the entrance all the way to our seats. I’m happy that he got to experience this kind of bar that’s usually reserved for adults.

We got food for everyone to share. It didn’t look like much, but we all enjoyed it well. Vino loved the oil-based pasta, but all the rest of the dishes also had beautiful flavors. All our plates were cleaned up.

The bar had specialty drinks for Chinese zodiacs. We decided to get a drink each for the years we were born. For duplicates – snake for Ten and JP, and monkey for the twins – we decided to get a different drink just to get a taste of everything.

Every cocktail had a story – as it should be when drinking at a cocktail bar. The server did her best to communicate it to us, but she enjoyed that we had sounds for every animal.

When we’re with the sisters in a cocktail bar, we always do a carousel where everyone gets a sip of everything. It’s not the most sanitary and definitely a risk for spreading viruses, but that’s family, I guess.

Everyone agreed that the Horse was not too special. It’s a play on an Old Fashioned, so it’s a familiar taste. The Pig was too sweet. The best among them was the Tiger, Dragon, and the Rabbit.

We wanted to go for another round, maybe in Myeongdong, but we ended up in the room with beer, cheongha, and snacks.

JP brought these amazing grapes that were super sweet. He also got us persimmons. Personally, I don’t like it too much, but that’s because I generally don’t eat fruits. However, apart from it being in season, I remember that it’s the first food he offered to us.

They had a persimmon tree in the boarding house where he and Kathreen first met. We noticed it and expressed our curiosity, because we haven’t tried it at all. He graciously picked one for us and let us try it.

So I feel that anytime he brings persimmons, I will always take a bite of it.

The oranges we got were surprisingly nice, so it was an incredible value for money.

We drank, talked, and binged Physical 100 before calling it a night. The fatigue was also hitting me already, and I was falling asleep while watching, but I wanted closure.

We are going to be picked up at 8:30am, so the chill night was just right to close out our long trip to Korea.