Thursday 4 September 2014

Busan, Korea: Itinery Day 1 (January 25, 2014)

After a lot of hoo-hah over getting winter attire and stuff, we are off for our Korea trip last January. The weather forecast were all about how cold it will be during our trip which is from 17 - 24 January. Undaunted, we set off and once we get off the plane, the first thing to do is to secure our Travel Card for all the trains and buses. We landed in Busan International Airport and the guy from the 7-11 recommended the XX Card to us with OnePiece design on it. LOL.

We started off from the airport to our hotel:
Comma Hotel
858-65 Beomcheon1-dong, 
Busanjin-gu,
Soemyeon/Busanjin-gu,
Busan, South Korea

The hotel is behind the main road, but it looked adorable even though surrounding it are some very garish (which I am sure will be nice inside) hotels (think love hotels with themes ;)..

The room we got for both times (the start of the trip when we came back from all the walking and sightseeing and for our last day) are wonderful.








Since it is still very early we left our bags there. They have locker for our bags with key and stuff (thumbs up!), and we left there with a cup of hot coffee *feels so loved*. I would say the service here is excellent, room clean and comfy. We stayed here on our first 3 days and the last day as well.  Soemyeon area is wonderful with lotsa shopping areas in the vicinity.

We made our way to Busan Aquariam and Haeundae Beach. All wrapped up and snug, the journey took a while only. A word of caution though, the bus drivers in Korea are mostly in a rush for time, so unless you managed to get a seat, hold on TIGHTLY or risk toppling over.  From there we made our way to Haedong Yonggungsa Temple (해동 용궁사) which is definitely worth a visit. Most temples in Korea are not built by the shorelines so this detail alone makes Haedong Yonggungsa unique. This temple was first built in 1376 by the great Buddhist teacher known as Naong during the Goryeo Dynasty and consisted of a few structures namely Haesu Gwaneum Daebul (Seawater Great Goddess Buddha), Daeungjeon Main Sanctuary, Yongwangdang Shrine, Gulbeop Buddhist Sanctum, and a three-story pagoda with four lions.
**Check out my post and photos about Busan Aquarium

Gwangalli Beach is next on the line. It took a while from the temple but instead of stopping at Beomnaegol Station, we got of Soemyeon to take in the sights and stopped at a side-stall, always shown in Korean dramas and such.
 

The famed staircase to heaven's bridge :)



Surprisingly, the food is good but more expensive than normal... It is pricier IMO to eat at such places as compared to eating in some restaurants in Korea. However, the experience is worth it! Even though the i-mo (auntie) who was manning the stall does not speak a word of English, through gestures and some fellow friendly patrons, we managed to order some stir-fried beef and dumplings. Each dish we ordered was accompanied by a free egg-based dish like SPAM with egg omelette and fried eggs. With a syoju as accompaniment, it is a pretty amazing experience.

[[This is a pretty half-hearted post it was supposed to be longer but it was left as a draft for so long that I might as well post it up..LOL]]

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Korea Trip 2014 - What to Prepare and Bring before the Trip in January / Winter

January has come and gone and even now as I am typing this,it is nearing the end of February... I returned from my much anticipated Korea trip in January just days before Chinese New Year and till now I haven't been able to muster myself to get up and post all about the trip. In fact, when I think about it, I rarely manage to complete a full trip's summary for all my vacation. I take my hats off to all the bloggers out there who so diligently listed and shared all about their trips each and every time they travel. People like me just have to click on their posts to know what to do and what to avoid. Anyway, maybe this time I will really finish telling all about my recent trip...before leaving for Darwin, Oz this March. Haha!

I think I will just start off with what to prepare before the trip before moving on to a new post on my itinery and stuff!
During my visit, it was winter and after googling for a while before going, I could hardly find a lot of useful posts on what to prepare as most people tend to go during spring or summer and other *ehem* more favorable times. You probably will too, unless you are going there to see snow, like yours truly here. Hahaha! (Jakun)

1) Beanie/Woolen Cap
2) Winter Jacket
3) Long johns (Thermal Undies) :P
4) Long sleeves (Cotton or processed fleece)
5) Light Jacket (with wool or fleece layer inside)
6) Scarfs
7) Winter Socks
8) Gloves
9) Winter boots (Or if you can't manage it, just use sports shoes)
10) Face masks (Optional)
11) Moisturising Lotion and Lip-butter

Beanie/Woolen Cap
I think beanie and woolen cap of any brand and price range is OK as they just have to cover your head so you don't feel the chill. The ones with Heat-Tech or any other heat technology are just an extra something that shops come out with to promote their products. They work as well as any without, provided the ones you bought are not those decorative beanie with lotsa hole and gaps in them. Honestly, if they look thick and feel thick enough to cover your head, they will do. PS: if you don't want to mess up your hair, I would suggest getting a winter jacket with a lined hood. ;) Then just slip off the hood before your photo shoot.

Winter Jacket
For this, most of us wanna look good without catching a cold. I think warmth is important here. Some reputable brands will have thinner looking jacket with lots of insulation layer inside so you don't look like a Michelin tyre. However, no matter how hard you try, you will still look rather lumpy especially with the choices available in Malaysia. Therefore, just get something good and of quality here, and if you are vain enough, there are much cheaper options which can keep you warm in Korea. Think fashionable winter jackets for about RM200-350 (with those really big hoods so you don't mess up your hair). Most in Malaysia cost quite a bomb and they look really....bleahhh!

Long Johns
Ok, you might think this is weird but you basically need only ONE set. Why? You are gonna wear your normal inner wear inside first before these, so they are not so dirty. If you are pedantic and wanna have more, you may purchase as many as you like but they are just gonna weigh you down. Especially if you are planning to buy as many facial products as you can carry. Shopping in winter is not very fun cos most stuff on sale are just the winter wear which is not very ideal for our hot Malaysian weather...Well, unless you work in a very cold office and you would like a light jacket, then yes, it is very very good to buy during winter. Normal qq jackets are also very cheap here as compared to Malaysia but more about that later.

Long Sleeves
Again, you only need ONE set and maybe another extra as SPARE. This is because it is so cold there you will hardly sweat. Also, nobody can see what you are wearing inside unless you plan to brace the cold and open up all your outer jacket. But be warned, you will freeze...it is about -5 to -10 degrees there in Seoul in January and about 0 to 8 degrees in Busan. The spare is basically for you to change into IF you do sweat when u walk around in the malls/trains. Believe me, I brought 4 sets for 7 days and I totally regretted it.

Light Jacket
This is to wear inside your winter jacket. This can be your average everyday jacket if you have any which is less bulky and more body hugging. Otherwise, just get another one..they are usually very cheap near the end of the year. Think RM50, or maybe up to RM80 if you plan on getting better ones.

Scarfs
Scarfs are important so don't scrimp. Get a good woolen one and make sure you tie it around your neck there. They should be long enough to twist around at least twice. Do NOT buy the short decorative ones we see everywhere in Malaysia. Just get ONE. If you feel like looking different in your photos there, just get them from Korea. They are cheaper (than Malaysia) and prettier there. :P

Winter Socks
I would advise getting thicker socks and make sure they are higher than your ankles. Do NOT use the usual short socks we use with our sports shoes or other sneakers. It is not advisable to try using short socks as the chills WILL get in where your long pants/ jeans do not cover. Bring at least TWO pairs. The rest will depend on whether your feet smells or not LOLOL. Anyway, Korea are famous for their cheap socks. Winter socks will cost slightly more than normal socks but why bring so many expensive ones from Malaysia when you can buy them for about RM6 each there? The normal socks are about RM1.50 (500won) there, that's the cheapest I found.

Gloves
This is another issue I have before going. I got the winter gloves which are water repellent and stuff but honestly, this only serves me well when I wanna play with snow, which is only about I think 2-3 hours max throughout my whole trip. I would suggest getting a comfy thinner woolen gloves without those water repellent stuff so you can keep your hands warm and still mess around with people's shopping goods without taking them off each and every time you enter a shop. However, do get a water repellent gloves if you plan on playing with snow.

Winter Boots/Sports Shoes
Here there's some pros and cons. If you get a winter boots, you're prolly gonna use it once, maybe twice...in fact, if it happens you're gonna go to a wintery place, maybe your winter shoes is too old for you to consider using it...unless you are staying in a four seasons' country. As for sports shoes, if there are heavy snow, you WILL get wet (feet wise, of course) but if that do happen, you can either get a new pair of winter boots there (which is again, very cheap in comparison) or just stomp your feet often enough that the snow din get to melt on your sports shoes. Hahaha!

Face mask
This I would suggest buying from Malaysia itself. The surgical mask thing would suffice but if you want to look good, get one in Korea for about RM3-6. This will keep your face warm but if you would rather not, then just use your scraf~

Moisturising Lotion and Lip butter
I kenot stress how important these are but you are gonna need them. Keep yourself moisturised! Or face the cracks sooner than you think. :P

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Delivery Man Review

This comedy has been on my to-watch list for a while now since I saw the contest for the free screening a while back. But I didn't join as I was too lazy and also out of ideas for the contest so here's to watching it out of my own pocket, or rather his (thanks baby!).

I LOVE this movie! It's hilarious and takes our mind off the stresses at work and life for a short 1plus hour. A family feel good movie for sure. 

It circles around this guy Peter who basically does weird things in life and gets by (just barely) in everything. He found out that his sperm donation gave him 533 kids with one more on the way and now all of them wanna know their real father. With all the hoo-hah going on, his gf is pregnant and he has to figure a way to show her he's ready to be a father and to be the father he's never been to not one but all 533 of his kids. 

Add the media to the fray and you've got the mastubator! (A nick coined for him). All the same it is very sweet that for all that name-calling and seemingly irresponsible donations, he just did it to buy his whole family and his dying mum a trip to Italy...

A good movie to watch and get ready those popcorn! (Provided you eat them with ur mouth closed :P)

Tuesday 7 January 2014

Best Tauhua in KL

Tauhua, one of my fave Chinese dessert!

According to definition in Wikipedia Douhua (Chinese: 豆花, dòuhuā) or doufuhua (Chinese: 豆腐花, dòufuhuā) is a Chinese dessert made with very soft tofu. It is also referred to as tofu pudding and soybean pudding.

With the impending increase in everything  across the country from electricity bills to personal taxes, one of the best kept secret cheap eats would probably be this stall selling tauhua in KL. For as cheap as RM1, you get a full bowl of delicious tofu pudding served with exactly one tiny tin ladle of syrup (either brown one-from red sugar or white one). I personally prefer the brown one. The soya bean milk here is also excellent and available for the same price: RM1!

The directions to this place is probably vague but I will try my best.


Point A is Neroteca, a quite famous Italian restaurant in KL and the tauhua stall is at the small lane perpendicular to it (the first one).

If you can't find it, just look out for the uncle as shown below:


This is not my best shot but it is kind of hard to focus with the amount of people bustling around. Haha

The tauhua is deliciously soft and silky, better than most franchise place in malls.

Monday 6 January 2014

Person that I'm most grateful of in life

The one person that I thought of first is my mother. Without her, I wouldn't be who I am today. She gave me life, brought me up and taught me when I was small. She cooked and cared for me without asking for anything in return. She comforted me when I cried and was bullied in school, and she patched me up when I fell. The amounts of things she has done for me throughout my life cannot be summed up simply by words alone. Although this is a blogpost done with regards to the Digizens Thank You Sale Contest with prizes like smartphone and tablet up for grabs in their year end sale, this is a perfect opportunity to talk about my gratitude to my very own superwoman! There is nobody else in the world like my Mum and even though she has moved on, I believe that she is always looking out for me still in heaven. I love you Mummy!!!

The Digizens Thank You Sale deets are as follows:




http://bit.ly/1aNyx6y

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