Friday, May 29, 2009
290509
Couple of changes in my section now.. Instead of 5 peeps we are now downsized to 4 ppl in a team.. Which means more work less ppl = end work late = lesser Facebooking = lesser eat snake time...
Haha.. Anyway will cope with it somehow.. Went for a swim this evening after work.. Went to the newly-renovated ex-company's swimming pool.. Met some ex-colleagues on the way into the building.. The scenery up at the pool was good.. As parts of the walls had been replaced by glass instead, the view of Singapore History Museum was good..
Swim a bit and felt refreshed... Havent been swimming for a while.
After the swim, wanted to eat $0.99 sushi @ The Cathay but the crowd was too overwhelming.. Went to Priscep Street wanted to dine at The Alps, but no reservations.. Fully booked.. Ended at POMO (Previously call Paradiz Centre) and had Japanese Food.. It's a Japanese Foodcourt.. But it doesn't look like any foodcourt as the ambiance was more like a normal Japanese Restaurant.. Me and my company thought that it was a Jap Restaurant, already intending to spend like $20 or so each on fine dining.. Ended up it's a Jap Foodcourt.. Nice though..Had salmon of cos and salmon omu rice 蛋包饭 .. A pity that most of the food there were deep fried.. Had mango ice after tat.. Yummy!!
Had great company this evening.. Hope to continue more often..
Haha.. Anyway will cope with it somehow.. Went for a swim this evening after work.. Went to the newly-renovated ex-company's swimming pool.. Met some ex-colleagues on the way into the building.. The scenery up at the pool was good.. As parts of the walls had been replaced by glass instead, the view of Singapore History Museum was good..
Swim a bit and felt refreshed... Havent been swimming for a while.
After the swim, wanted to eat $0.99 sushi @ The Cathay but the crowd was too overwhelming.. Went to Priscep Street wanted to dine at The Alps, but no reservations.. Fully booked.. Ended at POMO (Previously call Paradiz Centre) and had Japanese Food.. It's a Japanese Foodcourt.. But it doesn't look like any foodcourt as the ambiance was more like a normal Japanese Restaurant.. Me and my company thought that it was a Jap Restaurant, already intending to spend like $20 or so each on fine dining.. Ended up it's a Jap Foodcourt.. Nice though..Had salmon of cos and salmon omu rice 蛋包饭 .. A pity that most of the food there were deep fried.. Had mango ice after tat.. Yummy!!
Had great company this evening.. Hope to continue more often..
Friday, May 22, 2009
South Korea 09/05/09 - 16/05/09
BLOGEES BEWARE! A long long entry with videos coming up! Photos viewing @ my Facebook.. Too heavy to load here le..
Took MC today.. Had spinning migraine.. So din wan go office.. Decided to give myself some rest..
Anyway, shall start on my 8D Korea Escapade...
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Day 1 & 2 Seoul
Day 1 was spent travelling there.. Onboard Asiana Airline @ Changi Airport Terminal 2... Met our tour leader from ASA Annie Bong.. She went wif us.. The whole group of 23 of us... My group has:
1) A group of 7 family members
2) 2 sets of couple (One newly married & one set of sexy momma and se peh peh)
3) 2 sets of family of 3 (One aunt travelling wif a niece and newphew, the other set of old married couple wif their mum)
4) Family of 4 (2 teenage daughters, one grad from NUS now wif Ministry of Trade & Industry, the other waiting to go into uni.. Their mum bragged abt it.. tat's how we know..)
5) Me and Kaisa
It's a 6 hours flight.. Time difference @ South Korea is 1hr ahead of Singapore.. Watched Bride Wars on flight.. We reached Seoul Incheon Airport at 6am Korea Time. Was welcomed by our tour guide Coco Han... She's a mixed (Father from China, Mother from Korea.. she's fluent in both languages) Had Dunkin Dounuts' muffin (I dun eat donuts.. so had muffins instead) and a cuppa hot coffee.. After light breakfast at the airport we stepped out ready to board our coach and start our tour.. We were cooly welcomed by the cool breeze that blew against our face.. Temperature at about 12 degrees I think... Cool and not freezing cold.. Shiok.. Like Genting...
1st stop we went, 大长金拍摄地点。。。 The whole culture valley was built up for the shooting.. And due to the popularity of the show, MBC the TV company decided to keep it and make it into a tourist spot.. We visited the kitchen where most of the shows was shot, a walk around and then we reached the villages... All nicely built up...
Lunch: Had Ginseng Chicken Soup with Abalone... Each of us got a 童子鸡.. The lunch I tot was a little too heavy.. A whole chicken to one self.. For me I cant finish it la.. Find a bit wasted.. But tried to finish the chicken.. Note: Upcoming words of '小菜' comprises of Kimchi, ikan bilis (anchovy), raddish, big beansprouts, steamed egg, toufu and fishcake...
Next stop we went Gyeongbok Palace, it's built in 1394 during the Chosun Dynasty. The Palace was built at a very good fengshui place, with a mountain which seemed to have eyes to look over the kingdom. However, some enemies got jealous and got it all burnt down, and the palace we went was a rebuilt one, only left some steps and fences were left from the burnings..
After the historic palace, we moved on to the modern world. Went to Dongdaemun Market 东大门.. Thought it was like a market.. But nonono.. It's a shopping place.. I'm not saying paradise cos most of the clothes doesnt really suit me.. Haha.. Well, we were given like 2hrs of shopping there.. So went Doota! (A more ex shopping mall) and Migliore (cheaper like Bugis Village).. Many things to see la.. but somewat similar.. All machiam in S or M size ones.. For me, I dun seem to find much clothes there.. Though some clothes were selling at 10,000 won (abt S$11.70)... Got a slightly more ex blouse for myself and sis..
Dinnertime! We had been arranged to sit and share the steamboat initially, however, as our side was rather cramped, Kaisa and myself had a whole steamboat to ourselves.. And Coco (our tour guide) kept asking if we wanted to add any more food.. Was telling her we need to add more ppl to help us eat! The veggies steamboat was ok, miso soup base and full of veggies. Main meat was 2 fried fishes.. But me and KS agreed that it had too many little bones and the meat was too tough to eat.. waste food again.. tsk tsk..
Check into our 6 star hotel JW Marriott! It's located in their 江南区, a place where the wealthier Koreans live.. If ppl say they live there, tat means they are rich la.. Anyway, the hotel was so fantastic.. The toilet was the best, with 2 doors opening into the toilet, i think the toilet is just as big as my bedroom at home le.. Let the video and pics do the talking.. We quickly do a little of unpacking (cos will be checking out the next day, so din unpacked all out).. As it was still quite early, the 2 of us decided to explore their 江南区.. Went walking around and found an expensive mall right behind our hotel. It's call Shinsegae and somewat like Taka.. International brands and all.. Coach, Longchamp, Gucci, Blurberry, MGM, YSL etc etc... Even one umbrella cost abt S$40 there.. We chop chop walked around and around 9pm they started 'chasing us out' of the mall le.. So went back to hotel loh..
Hit off the sack, a queen size bed and 6 pillows at around midnight.. Our wake up call comes at 6am...
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Day 3 Everland
Had breakfast, hot soya bean milk, 馒头, cabbage, ham, egg, fries, kimchi... Pretty mix mix sia.. Not chinese nor american nor korean... Anyway, just gobbled it down...
Reached Everland, it was raining. Coco explained that when she saw the weather broadcast tat it may rain, she had tried to think of arranging it to other days when we are in Seoul, but due to our very packed schedules and pre-arranged bookings of other venues, we are to stick to visit Everland on this rainy day. For that, we still accepted the fact that we are suay to have rainy seasons...
Nevertheless, we had been provided with white disposable raincoats, somewat looked like white ghosts all around.. All rides were included for us.. Depends on whether wan queue to play or not.. Me and KS went tried a few rides and the rest of the time spent photo taking.. We are the pair of camera whores.. For the rest in our tour group were the boring kind, and din take much photos..
1st ride we went was a safari bus ride into the bears and tigers enclosure.. We get upclose with them, but the animals were really tamed.. Some bears knew wat to do.. Did some tongue sticking out and praying actions.. and of cos, being rewarded with their treats.. For tigers and lions, they just busked themselves under the sun (not so hot sun) and laze their time away.. while the ppl on the safari bus snapped their pics.. There's a mix breed of tiger and lion, call Lie-ger.. Something like tat.. Looked like a clean shaven lion.. yet having some stripes.. Weird combi.. But interesting to know..
Next, we board on the Amazon Express Water Adventure. Covered with some canvas, the 8 of us (KS, me and other 6 tour mbrs) climbed into a round boat and grabbed hold of the rails and down a fast riding water adventure.. Quite fun, din managed to take photos cos sure will covered with water.. By now, our legs are soaked with water.. Glad that KS and me wore sandals while the rest were in track shoes.. Soaking wet sia.. After that we went on to watch a 4D show. Similar to the 4D adventure in Sentosa, we watched some actions by cute little bear bear fighting with big size wolves and saved some treasures and turned the big bad wolf into a stone statue. Though all in korean, glad that there were more actions than words..
It's Springtime at Everland Resort! They are having Flower Carnival from Mar to June, when over 1000 types of flowers from around the world are displayed, among them tulips, roses and cherry blossoms.. We felt as if we were in Holland... Or London.. Lalala...
As most signboards are in Korean and tat the English map were so packed with things that we dunno which to try, we decided to just follow our hearts and see wat's good.. Onboard a 'boat ride' with cute WaWa from all over the world.. Got England, Italy, Scotland, China, India, Japan, and of cos Korean.. The music was so easily hummed tat soon enough, I started to hum wif the music.. 'Lalala lalalala la la la lala...' It's just couple of lala.. but music was really cute..
Tried on some spinning rides.. Noticed the staff in Everland were so full of energy.. Kept singing and moving to the fast paced music..
Snapped a bit of photos at the souvenirs shop.. With the crazy me around, we tried on sexy bunny ears hair band (it's supposed to be cute, but I've posed till too cheesy le), blur spects.. Lotsa keychains and handphone straps.. But i insist not to get those, for it will be a waste.. so just take it as a 'virtual memory', snapped and go...
Travelled on our coach for 2hrs b4 we reached Daegu (Busan aka 釜山市）Had BBQ pork.. Need to wrap in a big veggie, put the meat in, add kimchi and beansprouts and other things you want, then wrapped up and put the whole thing in the mouth.. Quite delicious..
Checked in at The Grand Hotel @ Daegu, din explore the nearby as it was quite late by the time we reached the hotel..
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Day 4 BulguksaTemple + Cheomseongdae + Wine Tunnel + Jeju
Had international breakfast in the hotel. Still abit drizzling.. But the weather still as cooling.. We went Bulguksa Temple (佛国寺）. It's designated as a world cultural asset by UNESCO in 1995.. Took pics of the temple and the tower.. Tried some 吐含山 玉露水）, heard that can help to revive wellness and maintain youth.. 喝一口，年轻十岁. I poured away my mineral water and got my bottle full of 玉露水... Yumseng!
Next we visited the Cheomseongdae (瞻星台）, the oldest astronomical observatory in Asia. Constructed during the reign of Queen Seondeok, it was used for observing stars in order to forecast the weather. This stone structure is a beautiful combination of straight lines and curves, and was designated a national treasure in 1962. Saw a couple of wang lin.. mountain of tombs of emperors and some unknowns.. It was built into mountain shape so as to prevent robbers to steal the treasure buried together. Inside, it was built wif soil and cement and bricks, and that digging from the side seemed impossible, for the bricks will collapse down. The only way to dig into the treasure is from the top, but then it will be quite high up and pretty much obvious to see the diggers... Interesting to know...
Lunch at Korean Family Restaurant.. Buffet, we take wat we want eat.. At least, think wun waste much cos we only take wat we wanna eat..Not bad, tried the white rice sweet drink.. It's sweet.. haha..
Travelled for 2hrs and we reached Wine Tunnel, a deserted railway tunnel where its temperature is always at 15-16 degrees, perfect to store wine. The wine was made from persimmons (柿子). We each were given 2 glasses of wine inside the cool tunnel.. Yumseng and we snap snap photos..
At Busan Airport, waiting to go over to Jeju Island. We checked in early, saw that there's some internet access, I checked my yahoo and FB, and msn-ed a couple of peeps..
50mins of flight on Asiana Airlines and we've reached Jeju Island. For centuries, the city dwellers in Korea have flocked to Jeju Island for respite. Clean water and unpolluted air are hallmarks of the island, which is slightly bigger than Singapore and located south-west of the Korean Peninsula. Jeju, as informed by Coco, it's a coral island and a honeymoon island where it 有风有雨有太阳，no live volcanoes... Common surnames there includes 高,梁,傅.. And they are not to marry the same surname.. Hmm.. Interesting to know..
Dinner was fresh seafood steamboat. Really fresh that the poor octopus was still moving in the hot pot. Scary.. But tasty.. Our hotel is called Jeju The Hotel, yet again.. But this time round, has a casino in it. Only foreigners can enter the casino.. Still early, we explored the road stalls and shops nearby.. Saw Etude House and ppl inside spoke Chinese.. Mostly chinese, they managed to coax us in getting facial pdts from there.. Of which, it was really quite cheap, compared to Singapore... One mask there costing abt s$1+ as compared to S$3 in Sg.. Bought a couple and went back to the hotel, trying our luck at the casino.. Ended up losing 10,000 won at 大小 table.. SGD11.70.... Funny thing is that, they still use the chinese 大小 words.. Tot it will be written in korean.. but nope, similar to wat i saw in Genting casino..
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Day5 Yongduam Rock + Seongsan Sunrise Peak+ Submarine + horse riding + Teddy Bear + Mysterious Road + Nanta Show
Day 5 starts with breakfast at 恩近韩定食.. Buffet of scrambled eggs, kimchi, cabbage, bean sprouts, ham... and abalone porridge... sweet...
First stop we reached the Yongduam Rock (Dragon Head Rock 龙头岩), an unusual lava formation in the shape of a screaming dragon with its body submerged in the sea.. Must have imagination and creativity in order to see the formation. I preferred taking photos of the clear blue sea though... Took photos wif the 土地公公, their lucky charm there.. Said to have touch the nose of the 土地公公, you will have good luck and give birth to sons..
Next we were to gear up and climb the Seongsan Sunrise Peak.. It was risen from under the sea in a volcanic eruption about 100,000 years ago.. It will be a tedious and leg aching climb to get to the top, so as agreed with KS, we decided to go till half of the mountain, beautiful enuf to take photos will do. So we did, go up halfway, find a lesser ppl place, and started our cameras rolling (snapping away).. The place is beautiful, from 'half-mountain' view, saw little dots of colorful houses, the clear blue skies, many other mountains and the sea. We found some purple flowers blooming away, hence not wanting to waste it's growth, we almost lay down on the green grass and took pics..
Embarking on Submarine tour next. Took a boat ride to Cow Island and hop into the submarine.. We get to have a spectacular view of the ocean floor (as far as 30m undersea) through the little portholes in the submarine.. A diver wif fish food will swim past our portholes, having schools of little fishes for us to snap snap photos.. Redang snorkelling was better, for the 2 types of fishes may be a bit boring to see after a while..
On the way to lunch, we saw a whole field of yellow flowers. Coco requested the driver to stop and after getting permission from the farmer, we all jumped into the sea of 油菜花.. Beautiful...
Lunch was in a little barn-like hut in 青春庄.. Their houses had been requested by the government to maintain its roof top, not to rebuild.. So as to keep its cultural alive.. We had BBQ Pork ('Deiji Bre-Gor-gi' where 'deiji' refers to pork) and other 小菜s. After eating we took pics of little black boar.. Cute and yet had to face the fact that one day it will be 桌上美味佳肴...
Enjoyed Horse Riding next! Used to went onto camel in Perth, now in Korea, get to hop on a tamed horse.. It will follow the leader horse and will run if the leader runs.. Very very well tamed..
1hr coach journey and we reached Teddy Bear Museum. It the Must visit place and where the korean drama <<宫>> had some footage in it.. Lotsa bears inside, 3 floors of galleries.. We were so into photo taking that we did not have time to take the outdoor bears... A bit wasted..
The Mysterious Road up next. 神秘道路. Drive uphill with the engine off. How can that be? It is due to the fact that the volcanic eruptions in the past had caused the downward road became a uphill phenomenon.. Water poured onto the road seemed to flow upwards... Thought it was not so obvious... But still took photos of the cute monuments near it..
Dinner was Bibimbab (石锅拌饭）and veggies steamboat.. and more 小菜s...
After dinner we went to watch the NANTA Show.. 'NANTA' is a non-verbal performance of free rhythmical movements that dramatize customary Korean percussions in a strikingly comedic stage show. Integrating unique Korean traditional drumbeats in a western performance style, NANTA storms into a huge kitchen where four capricious cooks are preparing a wedding banquet. While cooking, they turn all kinds of kitchen items - pots, pans, dishes, knives, chopping boards, water bottles, brooms and even each other- into percussion instruments.
After the NANTA, we headed back to hotel, after a fun full day...
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Day6 Jeju back to Seoul + Strawberries + Phoenix Park
Day 6 International Breakfast in hotel.. We go on the flight back to Seoul.. Had 1.5hrs coach ride to our lunch makan place.. during which Coco taught us the 3 Bears song from Full House..
The original from Full House
But as our tour group belong to the sian type, no one seemed to be interested in the song singing.. Even ex-choir members like me and KS, we din sing. I din sing cos I was doing the video recording of Coco singing.. Haha..
Lunch was Tat Tori Tang (Potato + chicken soup).. and more 小菜s.. Had strawberries for dessert.. Wasnt in the itinerary but Coco brought us to have a buffet of strawberries.. I had never never eaten a whole strawberry before. It was really like my first time trying.. Previously only tried those strawberry pokky sticks or ice cream.. Fruit itself, first time. We go into this enclosure, and start to choose wat we want.. Actually each of us were entitled to 5 strawberries.. But I din eat much.. Took about 3 only.. Coco had given us one pack each as a gift to us..
2 hours coach ride and reached Phoenix Park Resort to enjoy the Blue Canyon Water Themepark. Blue Canyon’s indoor and outdoor facilities are designed with blue and white tones and it has other various water park rides. Including ‘Wave River,’ regularly continuing waves, and ‘Up Hill Slide,’ fifth floor height slide, there are many other popular facilities located indoor and outdoor..
After soaking in different jacuzzi and oozes of water pipes, all fresh from a good water massage, we explored the Phoenix Park Resort. Saw Sakura, sweet cherry blossoms... Temperature there was colder with temperatures falling to 9 degrees at night. We had dumpling steamboat.. After which, went to their Family Mart and got some ice cream, trying to enjoy the thrills of eating cold ice cream in cold weather. Did I mentioned that me and KS were the only ones without jackets and in T-shirts and berms while the rest were 'coated' with warmth wear?? Enjoyed the surge of cool breeze.. In our hotel there was some story abt the 秋天的童话.. So took pics with the life size posters.. Won Bin... Ahh...
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Day7 Presidental Blue House Chang Wadae+Ginseng + Faceshop+ Shinchon+Lotte World + JW Marriott
International Breakfast in the hotel.. Food wise, similar to the other hotels..
This morning we visited the Presidential Blue House.. And Chung Wadae (青瓦台）.. Took pics with the Seoul Police.. They were on roller blades.. Think in their NS only la.. Both looked young and blur.. Haha..
Stopped at the Korean Ginseng store, a place where passports must be shown to prove our identities. At there, we sampled some korean ginseng extracts and that's where pressure selling takes place. Salesperson started selling the most expensive stuff.. All things in USD.. Starting price USD400... All 23 of us in a small room with about 8 salespersons around.. I felt very uncomfortable and stepped out of the room to take photos of the ginseng instead.. The other tour group members were very satisfied with their purchases, buying up to USD5000.. Poor Candice can only oohh and ahh oogle at it... With or without ginseng, I will still survive.. Haahaa..
Next spree place is The Face Shop... That's where I really did a mini spree.. BB Cream, facial masks, eye cream.. I bought quite a bit of facial mask.. As a gift to mum, sis and friends.. and myself.. Happier here.. cos that's wat I wan to buy.. Unlike the ginseng place..
Lunch at Korean Restaurant, steamboat.. Next, we did some shopping at Shinchon Fashion Street.. 新春街.. Similar but cheaper than 东大门.. Also nothing much to shop.. We went snapping pics at a nearby Woman University..
Went Lotte World.. An indoor theme park connected with Lotte Hotel and Lotte Department Store, Lotte World is the Korean recreation center most frequently visited by foreigners. Lotte World consists of the indoor amusement park “Adventure” and an outdoor one as well, dubbed “Magic Island.” The outdoor Magic Island has numerous, thrill-packed attractions. Even the castle itself is an awesome background for photographs. At the indoor facility, “Adventure,” the Masquerade is held from 7:30 pm to 8 pm.. Took lotsa pics there..
Checked into JW Marriott Hotel again, our fave hotel.. Video recorded KS and my thoughts for the whole trip. We did once in Perth, so I requested that we do it again.. This time, in our large bathtub.. With both of us inside.. Packed our luggages and enjoy the last nite in Seoul...
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Day8 Amethyst Factory+Kimchi Making + Hanbok+ back to Singapore
Our last day @ South Korea. We visit the Amethyst factory where we see a wide range of purple rock craved into expensive jewelleries.. Same as the Korean Ginseng shop, lotsa salespersons there, doing pressure selling.. I snapped photos and waited outside.. Think this time round, not many ppl bought a lot from here.. Carrying a piece of expensive rock back? I rather spend on food and facial pdts...
We made our way to the Korea Traditional Cultural Centre where we learn to make kimchi and wear hanbok, the traditional Korean costume.. Took photos with the whole group for the first and last time also...
Proceed to the Local provision shop and did a last minute spree on local food such as ginseng sweets, chocolates, seaweed... Flew back via Asiana Airlines, watched Slumdog Millionnaire onboard.. reaching Singapore at 9.30pm Singapore time... Returned Singapore with great memories of South Korea...
Took MC today.. Had spinning migraine.. So din wan go office.. Decided to give myself some rest..
Anyway, shall start on my 8D Korea Escapade...
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Day 1 & 2 Seoul
Day 1 was spent travelling there.. Onboard Asiana Airline @ Changi Airport Terminal 2... Met our tour leader from ASA Annie Bong.. She went wif us.. The whole group of 23 of us... My group has:
1) A group of 7 family members
2) 2 sets of couple (One newly married & one set of sexy momma and se peh peh)
3) 2 sets of family of 3 (One aunt travelling wif a niece and newphew, the other set of old married couple wif their mum)
4) Family of 4 (2 teenage daughters, one grad from NUS now wif Ministry of Trade & Industry, the other waiting to go into uni.. Their mum bragged abt it.. tat's how we know..)
5) Me and Kaisa
It's a 6 hours flight.. Time difference @ South Korea is 1hr ahead of Singapore.. Watched Bride Wars on flight.. We reached Seoul Incheon Airport at 6am Korea Time. Was welcomed by our tour guide Coco Han... She's a mixed (Father from China, Mother from Korea.. she's fluent in both languages) Had Dunkin Dounuts' muffin (I dun eat donuts.. so had muffins instead) and a cuppa hot coffee.. After light breakfast at the airport we stepped out ready to board our coach and start our tour.. We were cooly welcomed by the cool breeze that blew against our face.. Temperature at about 12 degrees I think... Cool and not freezing cold.. Shiok.. Like Genting...
1st stop we went, 大长金拍摄地点。。。 The whole culture valley was built up for the shooting.. And due to the popularity of the show, MBC the TV company decided to keep it and make it into a tourist spot.. We visited the kitchen where most of the shows was shot, a walk around and then we reached the villages... All nicely built up...
Lunch: Had Ginseng Chicken Soup with Abalone... Each of us got a 童子鸡.. The lunch I tot was a little too heavy.. A whole chicken to one self.. For me I cant finish it la.. Find a bit wasted.. But tried to finish the chicken.. Note: Upcoming words of '小菜' comprises of Kimchi, ikan bilis (anchovy), raddish, big beansprouts, steamed egg, toufu and fishcake...
Next stop we went Gyeongbok Palace, it's built in 1394 during the Chosun Dynasty. The Palace was built at a very good fengshui place, with a mountain which seemed to have eyes to look over the kingdom. However, some enemies got jealous and got it all burnt down, and the palace we went was a rebuilt one, only left some steps and fences were left from the burnings..
After the historic palace, we moved on to the modern world. Went to Dongdaemun Market 东大门.. Thought it was like a market.. But nonono.. It's a shopping place.. I'm not saying paradise cos most of the clothes doesnt really suit me.. Haha.. Well, we were given like 2hrs of shopping there.. So went Doota! (A more ex shopping mall) and Migliore (cheaper like Bugis Village).. Many things to see la.. but somewat similar.. All machiam in S or M size ones.. For me, I dun seem to find much clothes there.. Though some clothes were selling at 10,000 won (abt S$11.70)... Got a slightly more ex blouse for myself and sis..
Dinnertime! We had been arranged to sit and share the steamboat initially, however, as our side was rather cramped, Kaisa and myself had a whole steamboat to ourselves.. And Coco (our tour guide) kept asking if we wanted to add any more food.. Was telling her we need to add more ppl to help us eat! The veggies steamboat was ok, miso soup base and full of veggies. Main meat was 2 fried fishes.. But me and KS agreed that it had too many little bones and the meat was too tough to eat.. waste food again.. tsk tsk..
Check into our 6 star hotel JW Marriott! It's located in their 江南区, a place where the wealthier Koreans live.. If ppl say they live there, tat means they are rich la.. Anyway, the hotel was so fantastic.. The toilet was the best, with 2 doors opening into the toilet, i think the toilet is just as big as my bedroom at home le.. Let the video and pics do the talking.. We quickly do a little of unpacking (cos will be checking out the next day, so din unpacked all out).. As it was still quite early, the 2 of us decided to explore their 江南区.. Went walking around and found an expensive mall right behind our hotel. It's call Shinsegae and somewat like Taka.. International brands and all.. Coach, Longchamp, Gucci, Blurberry, MGM, YSL etc etc... Even one umbrella cost abt S$40 there.. We chop chop walked around and around 9pm they started 'chasing us out' of the mall le.. So went back to hotel loh..
Hit off the sack, a queen size bed and 6 pillows at around midnight.. Our wake up call comes at 6am...
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Day 3 Everland
Had breakfast, hot soya bean milk, 馒头, cabbage, ham, egg, fries, kimchi... Pretty mix mix sia.. Not chinese nor american nor korean... Anyway, just gobbled it down...
Reached Everland, it was raining. Coco explained that when she saw the weather broadcast tat it may rain, she had tried to think of arranging it to other days when we are in Seoul, but due to our very packed schedules and pre-arranged bookings of other venues, we are to stick to visit Everland on this rainy day. For that, we still accepted the fact that we are suay to have rainy seasons...
Nevertheless, we had been provided with white disposable raincoats, somewat looked like white ghosts all around.. All rides were included for us.. Depends on whether wan queue to play or not.. Me and KS went tried a few rides and the rest of the time spent photo taking.. We are the pair of camera whores.. For the rest in our tour group were the boring kind, and din take much photos..
1st ride we went was a safari bus ride into the bears and tigers enclosure.. We get upclose with them, but the animals were really tamed.. Some bears knew wat to do.. Did some tongue sticking out and praying actions.. and of cos, being rewarded with their treats.. For tigers and lions, they just busked themselves under the sun (not so hot sun) and laze their time away.. while the ppl on the safari bus snapped their pics.. There's a mix breed of tiger and lion, call Lie-ger.. Something like tat.. Looked like a clean shaven lion.. yet having some stripes.. Weird combi.. But interesting to know..
Next, we board on the Amazon Express Water Adventure. Covered with some canvas, the 8 of us (KS, me and other 6 tour mbrs) climbed into a round boat and grabbed hold of the rails and down a fast riding water adventure.. Quite fun, din managed to take photos cos sure will covered with water.. By now, our legs are soaked with water.. Glad that KS and me wore sandals while the rest were in track shoes.. Soaking wet sia.. After that we went on to watch a 4D show. Similar to the 4D adventure in Sentosa, we watched some actions by cute little bear bear fighting with big size wolves and saved some treasures and turned the big bad wolf into a stone statue. Though all in korean, glad that there were more actions than words..
It's Springtime at Everland Resort! They are having Flower Carnival from Mar to June, when over 1000 types of flowers from around the world are displayed, among them tulips, roses and cherry blossoms.. We felt as if we were in Holland... Or London.. Lalala...
As most signboards are in Korean and tat the English map were so packed with things that we dunno which to try, we decided to just follow our hearts and see wat's good.. Onboard a 'boat ride' with cute WaWa from all over the world.. Got England, Italy, Scotland, China, India, Japan, and of cos Korean.. The music was so easily hummed tat soon enough, I started to hum wif the music.. 'Lalala lalalala la la la lala...' It's just couple of lala.. but music was really cute..
Tried on some spinning rides.. Noticed the staff in Everland were so full of energy.. Kept singing and moving to the fast paced music..
Snapped a bit of photos at the souvenirs shop.. With the crazy me around, we tried on sexy bunny ears hair band (it's supposed to be cute, but I've posed till too cheesy le), blur spects.. Lotsa keychains and handphone straps.. But i insist not to get those, for it will be a waste.. so just take it as a 'virtual memory', snapped and go...
Travelled on our coach for 2hrs b4 we reached Daegu (Busan aka 釜山市）Had BBQ pork.. Need to wrap in a big veggie, put the meat in, add kimchi and beansprouts and other things you want, then wrapped up and put the whole thing in the mouth.. Quite delicious..
Checked in at The Grand Hotel @ Daegu, din explore the nearby as it was quite late by the time we reached the hotel..
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Day 4 BulguksaTemple + Cheomseongdae + Wine Tunnel + Jeju
Had international breakfast in the hotel. Still abit drizzling.. But the weather still as cooling.. We went Bulguksa Temple (佛国寺）. It's designated as a world cultural asset by UNESCO in 1995.. Took pics of the temple and the tower.. Tried some 吐含山 玉露水）, heard that can help to revive wellness and maintain youth.. 喝一口，年轻十岁. I poured away my mineral water and got my bottle full of 玉露水... Yumseng!
Next we visited the Cheomseongdae (瞻星台）, the oldest astronomical observatory in Asia. Constructed during the reign of Queen Seondeok, it was used for observing stars in order to forecast the weather. This stone structure is a beautiful combination of straight lines and curves, and was designated a national treasure in 1962. Saw a couple of wang lin.. mountain of tombs of emperors and some unknowns.. It was built into mountain shape so as to prevent robbers to steal the treasure buried together. Inside, it was built wif soil and cement and bricks, and that digging from the side seemed impossible, for the bricks will collapse down. The only way to dig into the treasure is from the top, but then it will be quite high up and pretty much obvious to see the diggers... Interesting to know...
Lunch at Korean Family Restaurant.. Buffet, we take wat we want eat.. At least, think wun waste much cos we only take wat we wanna eat..Not bad, tried the white rice sweet drink.. It's sweet.. haha..
Travelled for 2hrs and we reached Wine Tunnel, a deserted railway tunnel where its temperature is always at 15-16 degrees, perfect to store wine. The wine was made from persimmons (柿子). We each were given 2 glasses of wine inside the cool tunnel.. Yumseng and we snap snap photos..
At Busan Airport, waiting to go over to Jeju Island. We checked in early, saw that there's some internet access, I checked my yahoo and FB, and msn-ed a couple of peeps..
50mins of flight on Asiana Airlines and we've reached Jeju Island. For centuries, the city dwellers in Korea have flocked to Jeju Island for respite. Clean water and unpolluted air are hallmarks of the island, which is slightly bigger than Singapore and located south-west of the Korean Peninsula. Jeju, as informed by Coco, it's a coral island and a honeymoon island where it 有风有雨有太阳，no live volcanoes... Common surnames there includes 高,梁,傅.. And they are not to marry the same surname.. Hmm.. Interesting to know..
Dinner was fresh seafood steamboat. Really fresh that the poor octopus was still moving in the hot pot. Scary.. But tasty.. Our hotel is called Jeju The Hotel, yet again.. But this time round, has a casino in it. Only foreigners can enter the casino.. Still early, we explored the road stalls and shops nearby.. Saw Etude House and ppl inside spoke Chinese.. Mostly chinese, they managed to coax us in getting facial pdts from there.. Of which, it was really quite cheap, compared to Singapore... One mask there costing abt s$1+ as compared to S$3 in Sg.. Bought a couple and went back to the hotel, trying our luck at the casino.. Ended up losing 10,000 won at 大小 table.. SGD11.70.... Funny thing is that, they still use the chinese 大小 words.. Tot it will be written in korean.. but nope, similar to wat i saw in Genting casino..
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Day5 Yongduam Rock + Seongsan Sunrise Peak+ Submarine + horse riding + Teddy Bear + Mysterious Road + Nanta Show
Day 5 starts with breakfast at 恩近韩定食.. Buffet of scrambled eggs, kimchi, cabbage, bean sprouts, ham... and abalone porridge... sweet...
First stop we reached the Yongduam Rock (Dragon Head Rock 龙头岩), an unusual lava formation in the shape of a screaming dragon with its body submerged in the sea.. Must have imagination and creativity in order to see the formation. I preferred taking photos of the clear blue sea though... Took photos wif the 土地公公, their lucky charm there.. Said to have touch the nose of the 土地公公, you will have good luck and give birth to sons..
Next we were to gear up and climb the Seongsan Sunrise Peak.. It was risen from under the sea in a volcanic eruption about 100,000 years ago.. It will be a tedious and leg aching climb to get to the top, so as agreed with KS, we decided to go till half of the mountain, beautiful enuf to take photos will do. So we did, go up halfway, find a lesser ppl place, and started our cameras rolling (snapping away).. The place is beautiful, from 'half-mountain' view, saw little dots of colorful houses, the clear blue skies, many other mountains and the sea. We found some purple flowers blooming away, hence not wanting to waste it's growth, we almost lay down on the green grass and took pics..
Embarking on Submarine tour next. Took a boat ride to Cow Island and hop into the submarine.. We get to have a spectacular view of the ocean floor (as far as 30m undersea) through the little portholes in the submarine.. A diver wif fish food will swim past our portholes, having schools of little fishes for us to snap snap photos.. Redang snorkelling was better, for the 2 types of fishes may be a bit boring to see after a while..
On the way to lunch, we saw a whole field of yellow flowers. Coco requested the driver to stop and after getting permission from the farmer, we all jumped into the sea of 油菜花.. Beautiful...
Lunch was in a little barn-like hut in 青春庄.. Their houses had been requested by the government to maintain its roof top, not to rebuild.. So as to keep its cultural alive.. We had BBQ Pork ('Deiji Bre-Gor-gi' where 'deiji' refers to pork) and other 小菜s. After eating we took pics of little black boar.. Cute and yet had to face the fact that one day it will be 桌上美味佳肴...
Enjoyed Horse Riding next! Used to went onto camel in Perth, now in Korea, get to hop on a tamed horse.. It will follow the leader horse and will run if the leader runs.. Very very well tamed..
1hr coach journey and we reached Teddy Bear Museum. It the Must visit place and where the korean drama <<宫>> had some footage in it.. Lotsa bears inside, 3 floors of galleries.. We were so into photo taking that we did not have time to take the outdoor bears... A bit wasted..
The Mysterious Road up next. 神秘道路. Drive uphill with the engine off. How can that be? It is due to the fact that the volcanic eruptions in the past had caused the downward road became a uphill phenomenon.. Water poured onto the road seemed to flow upwards... Thought it was not so obvious... But still took photos of the cute monuments near it..
Dinner was Bibimbab (石锅拌饭）and veggies steamboat.. and more 小菜s...
After dinner we went to watch the NANTA Show.. 'NANTA' is a non-verbal performance of free rhythmical movements that dramatize customary Korean percussions in a strikingly comedic stage show. Integrating unique Korean traditional drumbeats in a western performance style, NANTA storms into a huge kitchen where four capricious cooks are preparing a wedding banquet. While cooking, they turn all kinds of kitchen items - pots, pans, dishes, knives, chopping boards, water bottles, brooms and even each other- into percussion instruments.
After the NANTA, we headed back to hotel, after a fun full day...
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Day6 Jeju back to Seoul + Strawberries + Phoenix Park
Day 6 International Breakfast in hotel.. We go on the flight back to Seoul.. Had 1.5hrs coach ride to our lunch makan place.. during which Coco taught us the 3 Bears song from Full House..
The original from Full House
But as our tour group belong to the sian type, no one seemed to be interested in the song singing.. Even ex-choir members like me and KS, we din sing. I din sing cos I was doing the video recording of Coco singing.. Haha..
Lunch was Tat Tori Tang (Potato + chicken soup).. and more 小菜s.. Had strawberries for dessert.. Wasnt in the itinerary but Coco brought us to have a buffet of strawberries.. I had never never eaten a whole strawberry before. It was really like my first time trying.. Previously only tried those strawberry pokky sticks or ice cream.. Fruit itself, first time. We go into this enclosure, and start to choose wat we want.. Actually each of us were entitled to 5 strawberries.. But I din eat much.. Took about 3 only.. Coco had given us one pack each as a gift to us..
2 hours coach ride and reached Phoenix Park Resort to enjoy the Blue Canyon Water Themepark. Blue Canyon’s indoor and outdoor facilities are designed with blue and white tones and it has other various water park rides. Including ‘Wave River,’ regularly continuing waves, and ‘Up Hill Slide,’ fifth floor height slide, there are many other popular facilities located indoor and outdoor..
After soaking in different jacuzzi and oozes of water pipes, all fresh from a good water massage, we explored the Phoenix Park Resort. Saw Sakura, sweet cherry blossoms... Temperature there was colder with temperatures falling to 9 degrees at night. We had dumpling steamboat.. After which, went to their Family Mart and got some ice cream, trying to enjoy the thrills of eating cold ice cream in cold weather. Did I mentioned that me and KS were the only ones without jackets and in T-shirts and berms while the rest were 'coated' with warmth wear?? Enjoyed the surge of cool breeze.. In our hotel there was some story abt the 秋天的童话.. So took pics with the life size posters.. Won Bin... Ahh...
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Day7 Presidental Blue House Chang Wadae+Ginseng + Faceshop+ Shinchon+Lotte World + JW Marriott
International Breakfast in the hotel.. Food wise, similar to the other hotels..
This morning we visited the Presidential Blue House.. And Chung Wadae (青瓦台）.. Took pics with the Seoul Police.. They were on roller blades.. Think in their NS only la.. Both looked young and blur.. Haha..
Stopped at the Korean Ginseng store, a place where passports must be shown to prove our identities. At there, we sampled some korean ginseng extracts and that's where pressure selling takes place. Salesperson started selling the most expensive stuff.. All things in USD.. Starting price USD400... All 23 of us in a small room with about 8 salespersons around.. I felt very uncomfortable and stepped out of the room to take photos of the ginseng instead.. The other tour group members were very satisfied with their purchases, buying up to USD5000.. Poor Candice can only oohh and ahh oogle at it... With or without ginseng, I will still survive.. Haahaa..
Next spree place is The Face Shop... That's where I really did a mini spree.. BB Cream, facial masks, eye cream.. I bought quite a bit of facial mask.. As a gift to mum, sis and friends.. and myself.. Happier here.. cos that's wat I wan to buy.. Unlike the ginseng place..
Lunch at Korean Restaurant, steamboat.. Next, we did some shopping at Shinchon Fashion Street.. 新春街.. Similar but cheaper than 东大门.. Also nothing much to shop.. We went snapping pics at a nearby Woman University..
Went Lotte World.. An indoor theme park connected with Lotte Hotel and Lotte Department Store, Lotte World is the Korean recreation center most frequently visited by foreigners. Lotte World consists of the indoor amusement park “Adventure” and an outdoor one as well, dubbed “Magic Island.” The outdoor Magic Island has numerous, thrill-packed attractions. Even the castle itself is an awesome background for photographs. At the indoor facility, “Adventure,” the Masquerade is held from 7:30 pm to 8 pm.. Took lotsa pics there..
Checked into JW Marriott Hotel again, our fave hotel.. Video recorded KS and my thoughts for the whole trip. We did once in Perth, so I requested that we do it again.. This time, in our large bathtub.. With both of us inside.. Packed our luggages and enjoy the last nite in Seoul...
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Day8 Amethyst Factory+Kimchi Making + Hanbok+ back to Singapore
Our last day @ South Korea. We visit the Amethyst factory where we see a wide range of purple rock craved into expensive jewelleries.. Same as the Korean Ginseng shop, lotsa salespersons there, doing pressure selling.. I snapped photos and waited outside.. Think this time round, not many ppl bought a lot from here.. Carrying a piece of expensive rock back? I rather spend on food and facial pdts...
We made our way to the Korea Traditional Cultural Centre where we learn to make kimchi and wear hanbok, the traditional Korean costume.. Took photos with the whole group for the first and last time also...
Proceed to the Local provision shop and did a last minute spree on local food such as ginseng sweets, chocolates, seaweed... Flew back via Asiana Airlines, watched Slumdog Millionnaire onboard.. reaching Singapore at 9.30pm Singapore time... Returned Singapore with great memories of South Korea...
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
120509
Am at Busan... Waiting for domestic flight to Jeju... Few days spent in Seoul had been great... Will update more when back...
Meanwhile, here's a few photos.. =)
Monday, May 04, 2009
050409
People, do take care.. H1N1 (aka Swine Flu aka Influenza A aka Mexico Flu and watever crap they decided to name the disease) is spreading to the whole world.. Some said it is worse than SARS. Great relief that currently Asia isn't been most affected.. My overseas trip should still proceed as planned..
Today our big big boss had a last min briefing abt the H1N1.. Mentioned that should we visit the affected countries, we gotta do home quarantine for 7 days. Cos the country i'm going has a suspected case, which means that after my trip I had to be home quarantined??!!! Plus, it will be deducted from my AL.. Sianz.. May as well go for some wisdom tooth extraction and had MC, dun waste my AL.. I was like, the country only got one suspected case, and the country isnt as small as Singapore loh, why make a NN big fuss abt home quarantine? For 7 days (5 working days affected). My work will be affected, my colleagues will be affected cos need to cover my work.. But my sup say need not to be home quarantined.. Unless I really went Mexico la.. So.. to listen to who leh.. we'll see..
I can't think of what will happen should I be home quarantined.. Means can't step out of the house at all?? But, I did/will come into contact with my family members who will go out.. Then how leh? Let me cast a scenario of what I will be doing should I be quarantined for 7 days...
Day 1: Happily reminiscing abt the trip.. One day after my happy travelling.. Unpack luggage, wash up clothes, look at those hundreds of photos taken, telling stories abt my trip to family.. Fully utilised!
Day 2: Still reminiscing.. Resizing photos, ready to upload and share.. Check yahoo mails (not able to check office emails @ home so totally no work stuff for me), FB...
Day 3: Clear 8days+ worth of newspapers + i-mag... FB...
Day 4: Read newspapers.. FB...
Day 5: Halfway stoning already.. FB..
Day 6: Is that a cobweb on my hair? Too oily hair? FB...
Day 7: Rotten liao.. Nua till can't nua..
Haha.. That is a scenario nia.. of cos, in real, it may be somewat similar.. but may change due to unforeseen circumstances.. But I can't stay at home for so long one..
Really, if there is no internet, how life could be.. Perhaps catch up with some reading.. My DB collections.. Hmm...
Well, hopefully this episode will end off soon.. This year.. Tough year... The only thing I'm looking forward too, of cos, 4 more days to the TAKEOFF!
Today our big big boss had a last min briefing abt the H1N1.. Mentioned that should we visit the affected countries, we gotta do home quarantine for 7 days. Cos the country i'm going has a suspected case, which means that after my trip I had to be home quarantined??!!! Plus, it will be deducted from my AL.. Sianz.. May as well go for some wisdom tooth extraction and had MC, dun waste my AL.. I was like, the country only got one suspected case, and the country isnt as small as Singapore loh, why make a NN big fuss abt home quarantine? For 7 days (5 working days affected). My work will be affected, my colleagues will be affected cos need to cover my work.. But my sup say need not to be home quarantined.. Unless I really went Mexico la.. So.. to listen to who leh.. we'll see..
I can't think of what will happen should I be home quarantined.. Means can't step out of the house at all?? But, I did/will come into contact with my family members who will go out.. Then how leh? Let me cast a scenario of what I will be doing should I be quarantined for 7 days...
Day 1: Happily reminiscing abt the trip.. One day after my happy travelling.. Unpack luggage, wash up clothes, look at those hundreds of photos taken, telling stories abt my trip to family.. Fully utilised!
Day 2: Still reminiscing.. Resizing photos, ready to upload and share.. Check yahoo mails (not able to check office emails @ home so totally no work stuff for me), FB...
Day 3: Clear 8days+ worth of newspapers + i-mag... FB...
Day 4: Read newspapers.. FB...
Day 5: Halfway stoning already.. FB..
Day 6: Is that a cobweb on my hair? Too oily hair? FB...
Day 7: Rotten liao.. Nua till can't nua..
Haha.. That is a scenario nia.. of cos, in real, it may be somewat similar.. but may change due to unforeseen circumstances.. But I can't stay at home for so long one..
Really, if there is no internet, how life could be.. Perhaps catch up with some reading.. My DB collections.. Hmm...
Well, hopefully this episode will end off soon.. This year.. Tough year... The only thing I'm looking forward too, of cos, 4 more days to the TAKEOFF!