Korea ay?

1. Kimchi may taste good the first few hundred times you eat it, but soon the 24hr sounds of a scuba-diver in your guts will be enough to give it a haunting taste. Same thing with whole chillis - they may seem like a good idea at the time, but...

2. Jay-walking is a no-no. Robotic, uniformed, mono-expression walking is a yes-yes and a great way to fit in with the 44million other people, until you look in a mirror.

3. Why are our public transport not as good? A 3 minute wait for a subway train is something we should all be taking for granted.

4. Who needs street names? Just tell the taxi driver a department stores name and you will get home. Or to somewhere out in the whops. Yet no street names doesn't stop every car having a GPS road-guide thingy.

5. James is not the person to stay with if you want to recover from 40hrs of traveling. We managed to live on NZ time - sleep at sunrise for 4hrs then repeat the previous evenings antics. It takes stamina and mild insanity to keep up with that boy. But there is no better way to be completely immersed in Korea. It is amazing that after only 9 months, a boy from a small town at the bottom of the world has a massive loyal following of Korean alcoholics.

6. Soju, $1

7. The toilets empty before they fill, so be careful not to overflow before you flush.

8. WiFi kicks arse and leaves to rest of the work to shame.

9. When catching a train from Daegu to Seoul, and the helpful attendant at the ticketing touchscreen computer repeats cautiously 'Dongdaegu, Seoul', don't be surprised when you find yourself sitting at an empty train station in the middle of whops and playing the role of 'lonely-honkie'. And to answer your question, Roper, yes, yes they do check your ticket. They will check your ticket if they notice you are in a seat that should be empty, since you were meant to get off at Dongdaegu to transfer to Seoul, and not simply sit and wait to magically appear in Seoul. But fear not, simply use distressed expressions and flailing sign-language and the ticket-master will scribble all over your ticket in Korean and you will not have to pay for any tickets to get you back on track for the next KTX. A 2hr journey can easily turn into a 7hr journey which cuts very close to the 12am train station closing time, but you get to learn some great Korean on the way.

10. Printing your own business cards in Korea is possible without knowing how to speak fluently. You just need a couple of hours and some patient and lonely helpers in a 24hr print shop deep in the heart of the city.

11. Tuesday night can be chaos and carnage if you just try. Bar staff are always willing to join in the fun if the bar is empty. But be warned, it is near impossible to find a bar in Daegu that can play Concord Dawn, Scribe or Shapeshifter even if you scribble the words all over your arm.

12. Karaoke. There is so much you must experience ONLY in Korea. It is incomprehensible. Finding a closet with a kangaroo suit in it made Roper a living legend in seconds. Anyone can pretend they are famous when in one of the front glass-walled rooms in the massive five-storey Karaoke doll's house in the centre of Seoul. A great place to watch the sun rise.

13. Need a lighter, power drill, lingerie, pokemon alarm clock, gum or some anonymous pills? 1,000WAN in a street crane-game, highly addictive. Yes... I won a lighter, and yes I nearly set Roper's flat on fire. I'm guessing proper lighters aren't filled with cotton wool?

14. Every girl has the same size feet. Size 8.5 max. Never 9.

15. Strangers WILL come up to you on the train or street to practice their English. I now know the ages and hobbies of nearly 30 random Koreans.

16. I forgot to call Carrot when with James - sorry!

17. I felt like a poor excuse for a female. Korean girls have mastered the art of looking gorgeous all the time, with ridiculous heels, mini skirts and meticulous hair and make-up. Not all of them, but enough to send the guys into blinding dizzy-spells of disbelief. Funky indie fashion makes them the cool cats of Asia for sure.

18. There is a pie-guy. Koreans are confused by the concept of a 'pie', but that didn't stop Brian, who lived in Timaru for one year, from returning to Seoul to open his own pie-cart. Kiwis are regulars here.

19. So hot and so cold! 25 degree days (even with the thick warm cozy haze of smog) but 5 degree nights.

20. Korean Air/Asiana Airlines rocks with its touch screen TVs on every chair, over 40 movies to watch whenever you want, games and credit card phones! Its not jet-lag when you choose not too sleep because of movies.