Korean Hotel

Well, Chin-Hwa and I stayed in our first Korean hotel. The reason we had to leave home was that Chong-Suk, Chin-Hwa's mom, was in town and we had to travel 5 hours south to her parents' grave sites. (which is a normal Korean tradition--if you are back in Korea, you are supposed to go see the graves.)

Anyhoo, the hotel was unlike American hotels. For one, the building had a large Statue of Liberty affixed to the top. (I regret that I was unable to snap a photo of this.) It was as cheesy as you can imagine--trust me. The hotel room was, well, colorful and seedy, all at once. It was a strange mixture of luxurious and disgusting. Luxury items included a heated toilet seat and bed. Even more importantly, the room had its own karaoke system. We could not figure out how to work it properly, but we both sang into the mic just for kicks.

The disgusting part for me was the fact that all of the lotions, shampoos, conditioners, and even toothpastes were in economy-sized containers and had already been opened and used by other customers. They were veritable germ factories. Therefore, I avoided those products like the plague.

Look through the photos to get a better picture of the place:

Kids Cafe

*I didn't take any pictures at the kids cafe because it was crazy. I put up this pajama party picture as a contrast. We made them fake sleep. Don't they look quiet and innocent? Now think of the opposite. That's how they were at the kids cafe.*


Imagine having forty toddler to school age children and taking them to a glorified McDonald's indoor play area. Then, throw in good food, coffee, and beer. What you get is the Little Prince Kids Cafe.





I had the joy of experiencing this cafe on Friday, when my boss and I took 30 students there for a Flea Market party. The kids went crazy. They screamed as they went into the ball pit. They screamed as they went on the merry-go-round. They screamed as they purchased sugary drinks from the counter. And, they screamed as they pounded their candy. It was deafening and exhilarating all at once. If I had been 8 years old, I would be in little Jackie heaven. But as a 26 year old Jackie, I was strengthened in my resolve to wait a few more years before having a bundle of joy myself.





The best part of it all was imagining a group of mothers taking their kids to this cafe and letting the happy Little Prince workers watch their kids as they took in a few brews. (It reminded me of our parents poker games of yesteryear.) If I were a mother, I would relish in the chance to sit and chat while the kids went haywire. Nickie and I could catch up and drink while the kids bond and drool and consume mass quantities of sugar. Sounds like a plan!