Love to Travel, Hate to Pack ..............................and Stray Kids breaking another record!

As the title clearly says, I hate packing. When I was younger, this was easier. I didn't have to pack a variety of meds. I kid you not, planning, obtaining and figuring out what meds to take with me to Korea took a day and a half. 

I have my daily meds which are easy. Then, what if my BP spikes? What if my knees are sore? What if I need stomach protectors because of spicy food? What if my vertigo strikes? 😧I have a huge bag of meds and I am not even done. Sigh... 

When I visit the US, I shop like crazy because I am a size 16-18 nowadays and clothing is inexpensive and plentiful in those sizes. In Korea, US size 12 is XXL. So, I must plan what to pack very carefully. I cannot just go out and buy something if I need it. 

I hope, I will find out their secret to be so skinny. If I do, I will surely share that with you guys.😉

Many people are raving about beauty products and skin care and telling me to shop for such products. LOL! I do not wear makeup and I am terrible in using skin care products. I usually toss creams and lotions just because I cannot remember when I have purchased them and come to the conclusion that they must have expired. 

I am watching Vlogs on YouTube and all those people are talking about food, hip cafes and shopping expensive brand name products. Nobody is talking about museums, art or history. Come to think of it, it must be an age thing. Vloggers are young people who are not interested very much in things that I am.

Well, I looked up museums, historical sites and planned some activities. I also purchased a ticket to a show called The Painters. There is also another show called Nanta that I am interested. 

So on my list are a few palaces, a few museums and a pottery place. My plans are not rigid. I studied the map and tried to bundle a few things close to each other. By grouping activities with regards to location will make it easier for me to navigate the city. Or at least, I hope so. 

One of my classmates in my Korean Class said that she managed the subway really well but had a hard time with the buses. Keeping that in mind I will try to be more careful. 

I am getting excited about this trip. I hope, everything will go smoothly and I will enjoy this as much as I hope to. 

I had been to Taiwan twice for work back in 1997(?) for just a few days so other than those short trips, this is the first time I shall be in an Asian country all by myself. I now can speak Korean a little bit and I am not a shy person so, I hope I will be able to communicate with people.

Last night I went to bed without completing this post and as usual I woke up to Nature's call around 5 in the morning. As a bad habit, I checked my phone and I happily found out that my lovely Stray Kids broke their own record. In 70 years of Billboard History, they are the only artist (act) (not only Korean but globally) that debuted at Number 1 with 7 consecutive albums. I am so proud as if I am their real aunt. They have already received 4 awards in less than two weeks since the release of their album KARMA but Billboard is more of a global achievement. They also sell physical albums like crazy in this age of digital streaming. More and more parents and grandparents are becoming their fans and enjoying their music. 

https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/k-pop/20250901/stray-kids-billboard

Sometimes I think the Marketing lesson I took at university was a joke when I see these groups timing their albums, creating a scarcity with their merchandise, releasing several versions of their albums, members becoming brand ambassadors and etc. This industry is huge and actually quite cruel for the artists. They are working harder than anybody I have known. Well, one day may be I will talk about this in detail just to summarize my opinion on this and gather my thoughts. 

Wishing everybody a great week!