Blondes have more fun!

...which is why I went back to it!  I've been thinking about how much I miss my blonde hair for a while now, so yesterday during my lunch break, I called and made an appointment with Gill's Korean hair dresser (Young Na)...

He is practically famous among foreigners in Busan; especially blondes, for being able to do highlights without turning his clients hair orange (or in my case bright yellow!  Remember that time?)!  He worked, and did his training, in London for 2 years, and has been back in Busan for the past 10 years!  He's probably the only hair dresser in Busan who had training with foreigners, which makes him a HOT COMODITY around here!  In fact, 90% of his clients are foreign, and unless you have an appointment, you can forget about it!  He's always fully booked!

This is his new place!  His salon is located upstairs in the ARK building... 

...and downstairs on the first floor, he built a hip and stunningly charming and art deco-ish cafe and bar for salon customer! 

Young Na met me at the door and welcomed me in with a smile!  We chatted for a little bit about what I wanted, and then he quickly got to work!  It's been a long time since I've had foils and bleach in my hair...

I had lots of time to relax while the bleach set in... but instead of sitting in an uncomfortable salon chair, I sat in the lounge area of his salon, where there's free wifi, ENGLISH gossip magazines, and all the comforts of home!   He handed me a menu while I was waiting and said, "drinks are on me this time, because it's your first time here!"   Ooooo!  So, I graciously obliged and ordered an iced caramel mocha, which was absolutely heavenly delicious!

After I was finished, Young Na gave me the grand tour of his new place!  It's such an amazing salon, which I recommend to EVERYONE living in Korea!  Granted, it's uber expensive, but completely worth it in my opinion!  You're paying for the hair, experience, and pampering, right?!

3 hours later, I said my goodbyes and headed home as a blonde! 

Tah dah!

Next time I'm gonna go even more blonde! Woot woot!

The Hair by Young Na

Busan Suyeong-gu Namcheon-dong 45-21

Tel. 051.612.8770

mobile. 010.4859.8770

e-mail. ben8770@hanmail.net

Why are you yelling?!

For the most part, my new apartment is nice and quiet, despite the fact that I'm literally right above a busy restaurant!  But sometimes, the fruit truck (similar to the ice cream truck in America) comes at a snail's pace, down my street, roaring it's pre-recorded-audio-sales-pitch, from loud speakers atop the truck!  It comes so often, I nearly have the pitch memorized!

Once in a while, I'll hear men yelling outside my window, while walking up and down my street!  It's the kind of yelling you would hear from the "Get your popcorn!!" guy at the major league baseball games!  I've always wondered what they're selling, so tonight, I opened my window, stuck my head out, looked down, and inspected the situation. 

I got caught inspecting when he looked right up at me!  I spoke to him in Korean, asking what he was selling and how much it was.  I was just curious, but the next thing I knew, he was walking toward's my apartment's entrance and coming up the stairs to my apartment.  I opened the door with my wallet in hand, feeling terrible that I had led him to believe that I ACTUALLY wanted what he was selling!
Luckily though, he was selling Korean traditional rice cakes, which I happen to like!  These are a rare (and more expensive) type because they are more sticky, served cold, and individually wrapped in banana leaves!

How could I resist a darling little box of rice cakes...

... from a man at my door, who had been yelling outside my window just minutes before!  Chalk that one up to a funny Korean experience and the first time I've ever bought something from a man yelling outside my window!