REMINISCING KOREA - A JOURNEY MADE A YEAR AGO PART 5Saturday, November 2, 2013 |Comment(s)
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| Fredfredtan says... So, I've been missing for close to a month! I apologize for the lack of updates, I have been really busy with work and my other commitments. However, the long weekends are finally here! So here I am continuing with my post. Just before I start, just a little update of what I have been doing. I went on a business trip to Bangkok! Woohoo. And this time round, I stayed at Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit. I ventured out to eat as well such as SomTum and had fabulous mango sticky rice at Mango Tango. They are both found at Soi 5 of Siam Square. I think it is SO WORTH IT! I went for SHE Concert and had such a good time! They are all so cute (Ella has and always will be my fave! HEHE) Okay, without future a-do, I shall continue on my Korea post! Actually, the real reason I've been procrastinating is because I really miss Korea and looking at those pictures and writing this post just bring back all those wonderful memories. I really hope I was back there. BUT, I'm sure I will see Korea again in 2014. Wait for me. :D July 10,2012 Korea-Seoul Namiseom Island Namiseom Island, is an island that is close to Seoul. It is the filming location for many Korean dramas. It is made famous by the drama Winter Sonata. The leads - Bae Yong-Joon and Choi Ji-Woo filmed their romantic rendezvous at this island. As such, this island is known to be a romantic location for couples to take photoshoot as well. Getting there is pretty easy. You can take a shuttle bus to the ferry terminal. There are actually 2 shuttle bus services available, so you can choose which is more convenient for you! Please remember to call to book your seats. Shuttle Bus (From Seoul to Namiseom Island) * Bus Stop 1) Insa-dong (Jonggak Station, Subway Line 1, Exit 3): Next to Tapgol Park 2) Jamsil Station (Subway Line 2, Exit 4): In front of Lotte Mart * Shuttle Bus Schedule: Insa-dong, Jamsil Station → Namiseom Island: 09:30 Namiseom Island Namiseom Island → Insa-dong, Jamsil Station: 16:00 ※ Advanced reservation required. (Inquiries +82-2-753-1247)  
On board the ferry to Nami! It was an air-conditioned ferry! So a really comfortable ride to the island.
With my B <3
The Snowmen couple greeting us at the entrance to the lovely island.
   
The Famous Forest Trail!
     
The food street!
     We weren't in that pose actually, we were just seated and smiling, waiting excitedly for our drawing. :D (We actually observe all the artists drawing style and chose the one we liked the best! I think everyone was just going with the flow, that who ever is free. Hahhaha!) The picture is with B now!   And we met this group of really cute youngsters who were going round taking pictures with everyone for LG's latest campaign!  And we ended the night with a show from NANTA! We were deciding between JUMP! or NANTA, but NANTA won because of it's location and content. :D It was a really good show!
The Myeong Dong NANTA Theatre
Unesco Building 3F, 50-14, Myeong Dong 2 Ga, Jung Gu, Seoul
July 11,2012 Korea-Seoul DMZ
How could a trip to Seoul be complete without a trip to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)? It is at the 32 parallel divide between the South and North Korea. And the main reason we are there is to have a glimpse of the North Korea's capital Pyong Yang.
The Freedom Bridge
It was a rainy day which I think is so befitting the occasion. I was quite overwhelmed with emotions that day.
The way which bears the wishes of the South Koreans for a unification of Korea. Many of them still have family members in the North and they wish that they could see them again. :,( Imagine being separated from your love ones because of the border.
 
The train that used to run between the two Koreas.
All the necessary barb wires to prevent infiltration of spies from the North.
A better look of the train.
More Ribbons.
The only train service which is under the military watch that runs to PyongYang.
 
Look at how ridiculous I look beside the solder! And we had to dress up for the visit. No shorts, no short skirts, no slippers, no singlet. Basically, dress respectful.
 
And a glimpse of Pyongyang! There is a farm area at the demilitarized zone called the Freedom Village which are people from South Korea.
 And we went to walk one of the tunnels that the North dug towards the South to attack them, but was discovered before any harm could be done. No photos there for security purposes. BUT IT WAS SO CLAUSTROPHOBIC!      Our tour dropped us at some random part of Seoul after. We have no idea where we were, so we just walked around, searching for food, ginseng chicken, in particular! Hahah.  
And we went back to Hotel to concuss as we were so tired from the whole DMZ tour. We actually woke up really early for the tour! We set of at night to Dongdaemun! Some Bonchon fried chicken with Hite Beer for dinner!
  The next post shall be my last post on Korea. I will be blogging about Changdeokgung Palace, Insadong Ssamziegil, Coffee Prince Cafe & N Seoul Tower. Stay Tuned! :D Labels: Bonchon Chicken, Couple, DMZ, Dongdaemun, Ginseng Chicken, Hite Beer, Korea, Namiseom Island, NANTA, Pyongyang, Seoul REMINISCING KOREA - A JOURNEY MADE A YEAR AGO PART 4Friday, October 4, 2013 |Comment(s) Fredfredtan says... Before I go straight into my Korea journey, let me do a quick update. I've been missing on this platform for a while, I apologize if you have been the few who still came by to look for updates. Thank you for not forsaking this little blog over here. Last weekend, there was a sale at Etude house! Woohoo. Being a member I have an additional 10% on top of the 30% discount to public. Took advantage of the sale to get some items like the Foundation Brushes. Will do a beauty buys post soon too. Hopefully this weekend. :D I've also gotten an EOS1100D in red. But there are some problem with the lens or the body's contact, hence they can't read each other- the Error 1. The puzzling thing is that the problem only occur when I'm in the Manual/AV/A Dep mode. So I'm making a trip down to Canon Service Center. *Please Please Please SOLVE THE ERROR* T^T And on the other note, I'M GOING FOR MY FIRST EVER BUSINESS TRIP! :D Even though it is just to the land of smiles, but I'm still so excited! Flying by SQ and staying at Sheraton. A little intimidating, as it will be a solo trip, but I'm going to make the most out of it! July 8, 2012 Korea-Jeju It is our last day in Jeju before flying off to Seoul. We decided to just have a relaxing day, absorbing nature before we board our flight to Seoul. Jeju is a rather sleepy town, so getting breakfast in the morning is really quite a challenge! However, we managed to find this Ramen store near the Seogwipo bus terminal. And they serve Kimbap too. I actually stood outside the store rather long trying to figure out what they were selling. They didn't have a picture menu so it was just words. So I was trying my best to figure out what they were selling by pronouncing each word carefully. 
Look at my happy face when I see food.
And we saw a cute dog during our relaxing stroll.
B wanted to see the Oedolgae Rocks so we made our way to see them! There were so many tourists around and crowding out the place. The PRCs were so rough and shoving you around. But a very nice pair of Korean ladies offered to help us take a picture. :,) That is why I love the Koreans so much. Always so helpful throughout our entire trip!
   
Oh man, I miss this pair of loafers. They were so comfy and I even scale a mountain with it!
 
Look at how scenic is Jeju! Doing all these posts only make me miss Jeju so much!
And on our way back to our hotel, we saw this Baseball machine! If you are an avid fan of Korean Dramas and Variety Shows, this would not be unfamiliar to you. The Koreans are really crazy fans of baseball and every year there is a Baseball league. So these arcades are built to feed on the craze and let everyone has a feel of smacking the baseball. All you have to do is to insert a coin into the machine and press a button to release the first ball. Subsequently, the balls will just shoot out on its own and you will just do your very best to back it. each ball you hit out will account for 1 point! :D It was so fun!
I don't think anyone else will attempt this while wearing a skirt! Hahaha
I have such a good pose! But I remembered performing really badly. I either hit too fast or too slow!
And an ending pose! :D
B's turn!
And we head to the airport to catch our flight to Seoul. We ended our stay in Jeju by getting Couple Tumblers from Starbucks! (But mine had since cracked and I'm really sad about it.) Really love the tumbler as it was a cute illustration of the island of Jeju. B initially chose another tumbler, but in the end, he decided to get the same one as me. (He chose the Calligraphy one, obviously mine is nicer! MUAHAHA)
  So So So Seoul! Hahah. After spending a few days in Seoul, we felt so lost in the big city. I really feel that I was a village kid and trying to take in all the hustle and bustle that was happening in this big city with all the skyscrapers. We decided to head to Hongdae- Edae- Sinchon for the first day. Hongdae is at the the Hongik train station. The place is named after the Hongik University, one of the best Arts colleges in Korea. As such, the area is like the hippy arts place in Seoul with many hip cafes and a strong club culture.  As we were famished, our first stop would be to find a good eatery. Somehow a cold noodle store on the 2nd floor caught our eye and we decided to head there to eat. IT IS THE SPICIEST NOODLES I HAVE EVER EATEN. 
B took the cold soupy version while I took the dry cold noodles with hot pepper paste.
They came with a huge serving of meat! Actually, the noodles wasn't that spicy initially, so I took this spicy sauce on the table and added in. There was a warning on the bottle that indicated that it was their specialty spicy sauce and add sparingly. I added a few drops and thought it wasn't that bad, so I added more. OMG. BURN T^T But I still slurp them down and my stomach had to bear with it the whole day. So worth it, like a shiok!
And I wanted to go the 1st shop of Prince Cafe. But to my dismay it was closed that day! I was so sad, because the cafe was located quite a distance away and the weather was so terrible. :,( I remember B was rather irritated that we couldn't visit the Cafe after going out of the way to find it. I was so upset and angry. Guys, they just don't understand... :'( But he made up by buying ice cream! Haha (And.. he brought me back another day too, yay!)
 
Some lovely shops that we see along the way too.
 
And we retreated into a small cafe to rest and recharge.
 Oh ya, before I forget, you should get a T-Money when you are over there. We bought the Seoul CityPass type of T-Money, but there were a few other types. We went with the easiest choice. It was bought from a vending machine with the help of a few high school girls, who struggled to communicate with us in English but were still so enthusiastic. :) 
And off we went to Ewha University! It is Korea's Top All-Girls school. Only Korean girls can apply, however, the school is open for foreign exchange students! I bet many guys would love to apply to here for exchange to be surrounded by so many pretty Korean girls!
  
We ended up in Sinchon to satisfy our hungry tummies! Sinchon is near Yonsei University, one of the top 3 University in Korea! I really love the fact that they have shopping streets and cafes built around their Universities. If only NTU was like that too.
  Labels: Baseball, Cafes, Edae, Ewha, Hongdae, Jeju, Korea, Oedolgae Rocks, Seogwipo, Seoul, Sinchon |