O Cherry Blossoms, Where Art Thou

I was super exhilarated about my April Korea trip because it was finally a 3 weeks long break away from work, and best of all, my trip was right amidst the blooming period of beautiful cherry blossoms.

Our arrival time in Incheon Airport was at 9.50pm, so we only expected to reach Seoul at around 12am after the immigrations clearance and luggage collection. As expected, the streets of Hongdae was quiet and empty when we finished our dosage of cider and fried chicken.

The day ended with me breathing the air in Seoul, smiling to myself as I head to bed.

Breakfast was bibim naengmyeon at a random shop outside Ewha Subway Station. The question below pops up once we stepped out of the restaurant. Haha. I wish I could describe to you how excited I was feeling.

Before embarking on my adventures, the first thing I had to do was to visit hair salon! I want to look good in all my pictures for my trip (or at least look decent).

I seriously have no idea how they manage to twist the ends of my hair so they curl inwards and rest so well on my chest. Awwwww~ This is a technique I really need to grasp.

We stopped by Beans’ Bins for some waffle and coffee after the long hours of hair maintenance.

My fate with cherry blossoms has always been thin like ice. I recalled on one of my trips to Taipei in April, my Taiwanese friend confidently told me he’d bring me to a place full of cherry blossoms. Skeptical yet choosing to believe in the fairytale story he painted, I went. We climbed a small mountain in the rain, instead of taking the sheltered train because we wanted to take good pictures of the cherry blossoms. To cut the story short, I didn’t see a single thing because they’ve all withered and died. I couldn’t catch a single glimpse in that weather. The rain washed away even the petals on the floor. That is my very sad story of encounter with(out) cherry blossoms. Naturally I was thrilled and eager to finally be able to see the so magical trees and flowers.

We travelled to Kyunghee University for this purpose as the school has pretty ancient looking buildings that you would expect a princess standing there waiting for her prince.

This is a library! If my school library was this nice, I’d be there everyday waiting for my prince charming (I will be the princess waiting for my prince charming, of course).


Yes, look closely at the pictures above. There are no cherry blossoms at all. Zero. Zilch. None. One week before our travel dates, the weather in Seoul suddenly turned warm. All the flowers decided to blossom a week earlier, before our arrival.

These are the only cherry blossoms I see. On the floor ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

I was standing at the above location, messaging my friend in Singapore who visited Korea a week earlier than me, whining about my non-existence fate with cherry blossoms. She sent me a picture taken 1 week earlier, at the exact same spot, full of cherry blossoms. So cruel. Sobs!

And so, we moved on.

After climbing a very very steep hill, we came to this magnificent building.

This Grand Auditorium also stages musicals and concerts at times.

Ending the post with a picture of me and my travel mate.  On a side note, I am so going to plan another April trip to see my cherry blossoms. (Roars)

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