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Monica Alexandra

@monicasuma

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🇷🇴🇺🇸 Travel writer, editor, @lonelyplanet guidebook author

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Oops, I went shorter 🤭💇‍♀️ Once a year I get the urge to cut half my hair and it’s the reset I need ✨ @veres_magda is always there to assist me with any spontaneous ideas I have 🥰

Any autumn styles you’re tapping into this season? 🍁

#bobhaircut #newhair #autumnstyle #fallfashion #OOTD taken in Bucharest, Romania by @monicasuma

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4 days ago

If you ask me, Korea is best experienced through its food 🥢😋

If I would pick some favourites, I’d say don’t miss:

* Kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup)
* Kongguksu (cold soybean noodles)
* Soy marinated raw crabs 🦀
* Abalone porridge or hot stone pot rice
* Fresh seafood in Jeju’s markets (the same goes for Busan)
* Seafood ramyeon 🦐
* Seafood chive pancake (Haemul pajeon)
* Ginseng chicken soup (Samgyetang)
* Korean BBQ (I’m normally not a fan of Samgyeopsal i.e. pork belly, but it’s so much better here)
* Perilla oil buckwheat noodles

And the list could go on and on 🤤

#korea #foodie #kfood #streetfood #southkorea taken in South Korea by @monicasuma

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8 days ago

The end of the summer I was dreaming of 🧡 thank you September for the most beautiful memories and @jokerturf for your cinematic eye to spontaneously capture these moments with so much joy and care 🧸 I’m so grateful for these 🙏🫶 It’s not often I feel confused in expressing certain feelings, but when I look at some of these photos and what they represent, I’m at a loss for words. I was simply happy, feeling a sort of identity shift, melancholy at times, being at ease in locations I had never visited before 🏝️🪨

Quiet moments like these should never be left uncelebrated or unframed. I love photography for this reason, of immortalizing not only stunning landscapes but also different versions of oneself through time 🎞️

Some of the best trips are the unplanned ones - as was this time around in 🇰🇷 - that require simply following your instinct and passion, and figuring it out along the way 🐚✨

#jejuisland #mokpo #korea #travelphotography #southkorea taken in Jeju Island, South Korea 제주도 by @monicasuma

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17 days ago

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25 days ago

Jeju Island 🇰🇷 really is as beautiful as you see in k-dramas 🏝️🍊🤿 The black volcanic rocks, the UNESCO-inscribed Haenyeo culture, the pristine beaches, the abundance of tangerines, the incredible seafood and black pork, the variety of landscapes, waterfalls and hiking trails. It’s quite simply too hard to put into words 🩵

Thank you @nextstopkorea and @dony_koreamate for showing us the undisturbed beauty of this island and to @jokerturf for capturing these moments 🙏🥰 I most certainly will be back.

Also, it’s been so fun exploring with you girls @catharina.still.curious, @terry_sup22, @dijako78 & @brixmadsen 👯‍♀️

#jejuisland #jejutravel #southkorea #korea #haenyeo taken in Jeju Island, South Korea 제주도 by @monicasuma

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a month ago

Oh Jeju.. how we loved you 🩵🏝️🍊

Just got this beautiful edit from @jokerturf of our recent Jeju Island Trip and it took me right back into these wonderful days we had 🥹

Thank you to everyone who joined and made this trip as beautiful as it was! Miss you! 💕
And thank you to @busanmate_global and @dony_koreamate for always helping me bring my crazy ideas and wishes to life with these trips 🥹

PS: All the locations are in my Jeju Island Map - with all my personal saved spots, cafes, restaurants etc - available in my shop ♥️

#korea #jeju #jejuisland #haenyeo #grouptrip taken in Jeju Island, South Korea 제주도 by @monicasuma

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a month ago

Love at first sight 🇰🇷🫰🏝️ Joining a last-minute week-long trip to Jeju Island with @nextstopkorea and @dony_koreamate was the best decision I took at the end of this summer 🩵 It was one of the places I most wanted to see and early September is the perfect time to visit. Stay tuned for so many highlights from this magical place, known as South Korea’s Hawaii. The cinematic photos by @jokerturf are a delightful bonus, loving the k-drama vibes and stunning scenery 🎞️

📍Dodu-dong Rainbow Coastal Road 🎨

📍White Horse Lighthouse 🧲

#jejuisland #jejutravel #southkorea #korea #womenwhotravel taken in 제주도 Jeju Island by @monicasuma

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a month ago

📍Rafre Fruit Seongsu, Seoul 🇰🇷

Pure fruit heaven 🍑🥭🍨 My first time having Bingsu and it was worth the wait to have it at @rafre_fruit, the IT premium fruit store in Seoul! It’s a popular Korean shaved ice dessert with a snow-like base made out of thin milk ice flakes, with seasonal local fruit on top. I had a combined Jeju Apple Mango and Peach Bingsu, at their recommendation 🫠🫠🫠

The Jeju apple mangoes are honestly the best I’ve ever had … and it’s no surprise given it’s a highly prized variety of mango grown in the volcanic soil and warm climate of Jeju Island 🏝️ and the peaches are carefully selected from premium farms.

The whole thing is highly refreshing, the fruits are so juicy, and despite the added creamy white sauce (condensed milk) and red bean paste it’s served with, it never felt too sweet to me, quite the opposite. It’s so big you can easily share one between two people.

🌳 This was at the Seoul Forest location and it’s just perfect after a stroll in the park, on a late summer humid day. 10/10

#seoul #southkorea #bingsu #seongsu #seoulforest taken in 라프레플루트 - Rafre fruit by @monicasuma

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2 months ago

✍🏻 Influencing is nice, but have you written books in a foreign language? 😜📚 Adding to my collection of published books I co-authored, thanks to last summer’s work I did for @lonelyplanet covering Bucharest 🇷🇴 at length. First up, the newly updated (and longer) Romania & Bulgaria guidebook with new sections I wrote/ curated (included few pages here as a sneak peek), as well as the Orient Express journey 🚞 from Paris to Istanbul - my favourite LP booklet so far - so chic and retro inspired, with excellent paper quality and DIY itineraries for a bespoke adventure 🔖

I have to say … it’s nice to run out of shelf space due to the many books and magazines I’ve worked on lately 🤓🌍 Happy reading!

#lonelyplanet #travelwriting #bucharest #romania #orientexpress taken in Bucharest, Romania by @monicasuma

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2 months ago

More than simply the best concert ever!🫰🎇 I didn’t know much about @bts.bighitofficial prior to March, aside from two or three popular songs. For me, it really started out of curiosity, watching the Netflix comeback in the same Seoul 🇰🇷 square I had been in one year prior, then getting hooked on the Arirang 📀 which surprised me how cool and badass it is, while also soft with incredible lyricism, then seeing their documentary & wanting to find out more about these seven guys, from the lens of a Korean culture enthusiast.

What impressed me was how normal they act, how they carry themselves with great responsibility for the message they convey in songs, their incredible work ethic and how supportive they are of each other - no battle of egos here. Plus, it helps they’re all part-time comedians. You can really tell from their content how funny and ridiculous they are at any given time, including on stage. Pure entertainment 😂

You’d think one or two shines more, but no, every single one is brilliant in their own way 🌟 RM the leader is a bookworm & art nerd, Jin & JK are great cooks, dance leader j-hope is highly meticulous & a fashionista, Suga is a genius producer and Jimin is Jimin🫅And they all stopped everything to serve 18 months of hard military life! 😱 So rare. Having not followed them before, I resonated with their more mature era: this 2.0 version found me at the right time.

Vocals & performance aside, they are great role models for today’s youngsters, while genuinely appealing to any age. I’ve seen people from all walks of life, from all over the world. Last year, I was craving to go to a big concert I actually cared for, so attending two of the biggest ever in one go was so rewarding 🔥 The production is next level, and the 360-degree stage means that anywhere you are seated on the stadium, you have a good view. More than 180,000 people in two days! 🏟️ Loved both, but the second day felt like an entirely different concert. A record attendance of 92,000 souls, a more vibrant, moving atmosphere & sitting in Tribune Officielle. A priceless experience in my favourite European capital 🇫🇷💜

#bts #btsparis #arirang #btsarmy #bts_worldtour_arirang taken in Stade de France by @monicasuma

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3 months ago

Paris D2 🇫🇷 full ending 🎆
Seven ‘Normal’ boys from Korea made a record 92,000 people very happy last night on @stadefrance, and I was one of them 🥺💜 Thank you @bts.bighitofficial for these very special memories🫰

#bts #btsparis #btsarmy #arirang #bts_worldtour_arirang taken in Saint Denis, Stade De France by @monicasuma

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3 months ago

I’d like my coffee with a side of Art Nouveau, please! ✨

I returned to Oradea after 9 years with @hisky.aero and fell for it even harder this time around 💛 there is not enough space for all the photos and videos I took …

Besides the gorgeous Art Nouveau heritage Oradea is known for, I loved both the lively energy and the relaxed vibe the city gives off. So much going on, yet so chill and put together. I did a lot here during the 3-day @medievalfestivaloradea 🏰 weekend, but I already wowed to come back for a restorative spa holiday thanks to its thermal springs 🧖‍♀️

Thank you for having me @visit_oradea @astoriaoradea and shoutout to Paula @__paula.b__ , you rock! ✌️🙏

#VisitOradea #OradeaHeritage #ArtNouveau #Romania #citybreak taken in Oradea, România by @monicasuma

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3 months ago