2019 Sinchon Beer Festival

There isn't really a lot to blog about here, except for readers who might want to keep an eye open for next year's event.


Breweries (lots) and restaurants (a few) set up tents in the street over a couple of blocks near Yonsei University at Sinchon station on line 2. A typical 330 mL beer runs 5-6,000 W and there are some other activities, including music, boutique merchants and games of chance:


It looked a little sparse during the daylight hours, but the crowds really grew after dark as the beer started to flow like … um, winebeer.


Sinchon is a pretty trendy area with neat-o dining spots and just about the only tagging I've seen in Korea outside Itaewon:


Some beer:


The most outrageous food I saw was (drumroll, please) deep fried chicken skins!


Not technically a beer, but I topped off the night with a glass of mead:


Finally, the best photo op of the day:

What Did You Do During Chuseok?

… is the question I will ask every class this week as we return to school from the "Korean Thanksgiving" holiday.

What's that you say, Dear Reader? What did I do during Chuseok? Well, I'll tell you:

On Thursday I went to Gocheok Stadium with pal Adam to watch the Heroes Vs LG Twins.


It was a relatively even game, and the Heroes won 3 - 2 when the Twins pitcher walked the bases loaded, then walked in the winning run on the last pitch, described by Adam as (if you listen carefully to the video)"... in the dirt!"


Below the team is lining up to bow to the fans; afterwards, we sat outside a convenience store in the shadow of the skeleton baseball and shot the bull for a while.


Next, I met up with The Stumbler for some sidewalk beers before having lamb skewers (galbi this time, a new addition to the menu) at Sinjeongnaegeori. Bottle U, our occasional sam-cha, has been renamed "Oh-la-la".


On Sunday, I met up with the usual suspects for an FC Seoul game at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Sangam-dong.


The opponents were Incheon United, and though FCS outplayed them, they managed little penetration until the second half. Here's the PK to give our side the win at 2 - 1, though the team scored a third goal about two minutes into added time.


Finally, the scene while exiting the stadium is quite dramatic, even more so with flashing colors:


So, what did you do during Chuseok?

Some Airport Pics

Visitors to this blog might know that I do love a nice vacation, and I (as mentioned earlier) had a nice one in Cambodia recently. Typically, I share lots of tales, impressions and photos from my time in my chosen spot(s). Having done this for a decade or so (and not having taken along my Nikon and therefore relying on my iPhone camera), I have decided to share pics from the journey rather than the destination.

The photo above was taken at a recently-opened children's play area at Incheon with a Pororo theme. Before boarding a flight, I prefer to get liquored up to calm my nerves as an unenthusiastic flyer, and so I spend some time in the bars and smoking lounges to take the edge off. The first shot is a new instruction at Incheon, and the second is what you have to use to light up in Guangzhou (or any Chinese airport) as they take away your lighters in security. The third is the smoker's lounge at Phnom Penh:


On this trip, I had two long layovers in Guangzhou, which I put up with as it slashed my ticket price to $375 or so. One gets peckish with four hours of waiting time. Curiously, the only meat available seemed to be chicken. Even McDonald's only had chicken. I was a bit taken aback by the menu shots there--um, am I the only one that finds those chicken nuggets suggestively placed next to the tall drink glasses with helmet-shaped lids?


The other restaurant was something like "Dicos" which has a leg quarter that's more or less white meat:


Guangzhou's terminal 2, seemingly devoted to China Southern flights, is quite impressive, while Phnom Penh brags on an awesome public toilet:


Back in the day, your luggage would have a sticker like "MAD" for Madrid, "ATL" for Atlanta-Hartsfield, or "ORD" for O'Hare. Now it's a barcode. But just lately, I've been getting stickers on my bag saying "RFID" no matter what airport it is, and obviously those are for "radio frequency identification":


Mystery … well, not exactly solved, but close enough. Anyway, I'll be staying around Seoul for Chuseok. Happy travels!