Julianne and I headed out to dinner . . . and to 'get my birthday present' as Julianne put it. I had no idea what she was planning.
To mark the occasion I brought along my camera . . .
Julianne looking beautiful . . .
Sun setting as the taxi driver flies over a bridge . . .
And then we arrived at VIPS.
Julianne and I ordered steak dinners. You also get access to the salad buffet . . .
I was trying to order in Korean and our waiter, a guy in his early 20s, told me he could speak English. Okay . . . thing is, if you don't know what a "potato" is when I'm telling you my side dish selections you might not want to say that . . . lol.Just for fun I put my camera on the table with the timer on and took some random shots . . .
Steak . . . for $32.00 not bad.
Apparently Julianne likes to put a lot of cherries on her ice cream . . . lol. I went for chocolate syrup.
After VIPS Julianne got us into a taxi and took me to find my present . . . a love motel? Interesting . . . hehe.
The hallways in these places always make me laugh.
Julianne is such a romantic--I had no idea! She put rose petals all over the bed, and had a dozen roses for me too. Wow . . .
I really liked the backless couch in front of the bed. I considered posing "George-style" (think Seignfeld) but forgot to do it later.
Behind the bed were these cool screens that were also back lit.
Most love motels that charge more than 50 or 60 for a night have a big screen TV . . .
. . . Internet . . .
and other amenities like a heated toilet seat and bidet rig . . .
and the piece de resistance: A JACUZZI BATH TUB!!! Oh baby . . . !
Pretty much every foreign teacher that comes to Korea finds themselves without a bathtub in their apartment. It's something that, if you like to take baths, really sucks. I like baths. After being on my feet all day teaching, or walking a lot, it's nice to have a good hot soak.There are only two places a teacher can generally find a bath in Korea: a love motel, or a public bath house.
Let's just say it was a little surreal to find myself able to take a long hot soak on my birthday--Julianne's surprise was awesome.
In the corner next to the tub was also a shower.
Back in the bedroom I noticed the funky psychedelic multi-color glowing light in the ceiling above the bed . . . lol.
There was one in the jacuzzi tub room too . . . .Let's just say that Julianne's plan for my birthday really surprised me--and I'm NOT easy to surprise.
I'll finish this post with a pic that I really like because of the shadows and lighting . . .
Not a bad looking ol' geezer for 35, eh?J
The George pose would have been hysterical!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday!
Looks like a great motel and a great birthday.
ReplyDeleteHappy 35th!
happy birthday, Mr. VIP.
ReplyDeleteLOL!
ReplyDeleteI originally read the caption:
"Julianne looking beautiful . . ."
as if it applied to the picture of that bald guy in the glasses. ;-)
I was concerned on several levels.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday! Looks like you had a great time.
ReplyDeleteHappy belated birthday! Seems like it was a good one!
ReplyDeleteThe hotel you stayed at looks a lot like one I stayed at years ago in Pusan. I've been wishing I could remember the name, and wondering if it was a chain. I was looking online today at some place to stay in Seoul this coming weekend - and really what I'd like is a lush bed and a nice tub. Oh, and if it was reasonable that would be a bonus!
During that Pusan stay I mentioned, we spent a night at Lotte Hotel, a couple days at the Commodore and a night at the place that looked like where you and Julianne stayed. I thought it was the nicest of the three, and as I recall it was only about 60,000. The Commodore was double that.
Was your birthday hotel in Seoul>?
Happy birthday, old man. (oh, wait. You're younger than me.)
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, kid.
Oh, and those glowing orbs in the love motel ceilings are where they hide the cameras. Or at least that is what goes through my head when I stay in such places.
Having a jacuzzi bathtub is probably one of the best things about my apartment, even though I don't use it much any more. It is nice when the stress has built up to sit back in the tub and let the jets work their magic on the back.
It sounds like you had a wonderful birthday. Mine is in August. lens I guess I need to start dropping hints to my wife. lens.
(just in case she reads this) lens
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the b-day wishes.
I really should have done the George pose--would have been hysterical.
The hotel was pretty good--but the Busan hotel we stayed in during a vacation, Haeundai Hotel, had this bed with an UNBELIEVABLE mattress and sheets . . . I WANT that bed!
Joe--you've got a tub in your apartment? I hate you! LOL. lens lens lens lens lens . . . what KIND of lens--or does your wife already know? By the way there's a Sigma lens dealership I recently found in Seoul, let me know if you're interested in checking it out. I'm going to blog about it later this week.
Time to go in to work--2nd last day of 6 month program classes for me--woohhooooooo!
J
dang! that's a swanky love motel. But come on, you could have taken her to someplace nicer than VIPS!
ReplyDeleteUhm . . . . Sang-wook, you do know that it was MY birthday and not Julianne's, right?
ReplyDeleteAlso, name a better steak restaurant than VIPS that is in Chuncheon--seriously, is there one?
I don't think so.