Tuesday, July 1, 2014

First day at school

First day of school today. Woke up at 7am in the morning for a shower and breakfast before heading off at 8am to take the subway to school. I love walking out to our subway station everytime, there's really something about the fresh air and the nice view along the road that makes walking so enjoyable outside Konkuk University, where i reside for this summer.

The walk up hills in Hanyang was the killer though. Hoping for kpop legs at the end of the month! Hah!

Nice campus, two modules with the same professor and he basically repeated his introduction and jokes all over again to us so I was entirely burnt out by the time evening class started. (Morning class: 9am-12noon, evening class: 4-7pm, in between nothing to do, urgh)

Lunch - cheese ramyeon in the school shikdang (eatery)
 Met up with Huiyong and his engin friends after they finished their afternoon class before heading to business school for our last lesson in different classrooms. His friends went back to the dorm to cook, so Ju, YJ, HY and I went to the nearby streets looking for dinner.

Had the chicken and beer (chimek 치맥) combination for dinner, made famous by the korean drama My Love from the Stars.
So much fun today :D 

Monday, June 30, 2014

Ewha Women's University, Dongdaemun

Quick update on ytd -

Shopping with YJ at ewha while ju stayed at her dorm for her skype session with friends back in Singapore. I later decided to meet up with hy and his friends, which we did after ju joined yj and i during dinner. Window shopped a bit before meeting huiyong and his friends! Sat by the stream at dongdaemun for ages just chatting and taking photos, before heading back to dorm before the last train. Fun meet, looking forward to our soju meet next ;)



Orientation at Hanyang University + Seoul Tour

Had a long day today, in which we'd visited like loads of main attractions in Seoul - The N Seoul Tower, Hanok Village, Gyeongbukgung, a man-made stream in the middle of a CBD district that looked really similar to the one I'd hung out with HY and his friends yesterday at Dongdaemun.

Going on tour is really tiring and not what I'd call fun although I did get to learn so much more about the places we visited from the tour guide. We had only one hour to walk around for each destination and everything was so rushed I didn't manage to get many pictures of myself in the foreground or anything. The palaces were fascinating though. And I'd like to go back to N Seoul Tower, definitely, during night time.

Spent the day just lugging my really tired legs around - they're hurting real bad from all the walking we'd been doing for the past few days. Was separated from my friends today during the tour thing too, because of the allocation of tour buses by alphabetical order of our names... but I made a new friend from NTU biz school and she looks uncannily like my childhood obsession, Mickey Mouse - so that made things a little more ok haha. I love people with positive energy, it makes me feel more energetic too.

Ok maybe she doesn't really look like Mickey Mouse here but when she takes off her shades  she really does look like one okay, she said so herself too!

So anyway pics and less words for now, school is starting tmr and I have morning classes and evening classes - gotta turn early in tonight!

Orientation  

View from N Seoul Tower - amazing.

Hanok Village - Traditional Korean houses

 And also a collection of pictures of Gyeongbukgung - ok, just two for you guys this time:


 The stream in which I forgot what it was called:

Trekked around the CBD area and found a Chinese restaurant in some corner after leaving the tour with Bokbok and YJ - wanted to try jajangmyeon, finally found it! Supebig portion, and it was nice at first, but got a little overwhelming after two thirds of the bowl.

That's all for today, folks! Too tired to blog anymore, I haven't even filled in on yesterday, argh.

As always,
:)

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Out of Seoul - Gyeonggido, Nami Island

Initially I'd planned this really ambitious day trip in which involved going to two major tourism spots in Gyeonggido (a province that is right next to, or more accurately, one that surrounds Seoul), but ended up changing the plans instead because YJ and I needed some time to get some more supplies for our room. We headed to Paris Baguette near Konkuk University and had our breakfast there before going around the area for a mini get-to-know with our surroundings near our dorm, and let me exclaim here once more that breakfast was absolutely glorious! Loved my strawberry milk because for some reason I was reminded of Super Junior Eun Hyuk when I saw it - he loves strawberry milk to some crazy extent, fans would know), and also, I got a cheese walnut bread - I couldn't understand why my tastebuds are luckier than me to deserve such awesome things when all it does it taste food and mix them around and fun stuffs like that... Really that good!

Walked around exploring the area and also, using some of those really measly amount of korean language and basic english, we asked for directions to the nearest supermarket, and seriously, no one here knows where to find supermarkets wherever we were! Or at least, those two women we asked. One just pointed to Watsons to us. Hmm. So we wandered by ourselves into Lotte departmental store nearby and through our instinctive style of searching for places, we finally found the supermarket. There's really no need rely on locals at all so far, haha.

Finished shopping for fruits, snacks and clothes hangers etc. before heading back to the underground station area where we saw lots of really cool food stalls on the first day we walked past here and said wanted to try them for lunch. Brought back some Kimchi Kimbab (so good) to the dorm to eat while we waited for Juai to be done with her lunch and stuff and then to meet her at the subway station to head off to NAMI ISLAND...In which the journey there was so long and difficult involving many many subway train stops (took like forever), taxi and ferry to get there. It was worth the trip, albeit tiring. 

Nami Island became famous from being the shooting venue of a popular korean drama Winter Sonata (I'd never watched before though). It's absolutely phenomenal during winter, according to what I see on the Internet, of course. A little disappointed that it's summer now cos everything will still look green and not all whitish and romantic like what I saw on the internet. But still. Pretty good experience and a great reunion with nature - really fresh air and breeze. Told Juai that I really want to come back every season just to see the trees change shades. Also, the next time I go, hopefully with a boyfriend? An awfully romantic place to go there during winter definitely, although it's gonna take some good amount of walking.

Loved loved loved the air and the breeze. I don't think I can mention this enough. Wish I could just catch the wind and upload here for all you readers to enjoy. 










These photos were not all, but I think I'll leave some out for the sake of secrecy and mystique, or trying to act like it.

My standard full body shot again. Don't question me why but I like how I just stand straight right smack in the middle of my photos.

Dinner was this really huge hot plate Dal Kalbi (Chicken hot pot kind of thing). It was delicious, only a little spicy and best eaten wrapped between the pieces of veggies that came along with some of their many side dishes. Scrumptious.

This was before it was being cooked:
 After:

It was a long day, YJ was almost tired throughout I know, and Juai and I were just crazily snapping away with our cameras. I with my phone, at least. 

Again, ending off with me again.

And also, there was couple of people standing around to wait for me to finish taking with the Winter Sonata poster, and after I stood up, this Korean man totally said to me "O, BEAUTIFUL." 

Which reminded me how ytd, while entering this leather bag shop Juai was in and talking to this lady shopkeeper, she looked at me and pointed at me to Juai, asking in Korean: "Your chingu?" Which means friend in korean. Juai didn't understand her so I said "Neh, chingu". Yes, friend. She was like, ohhh, and then she exclaimed to Juai "Your friend nomu yeppo!" 

Sorry, I know this is too silly to talk about, but I'm just that overjoyed that in this beautiful land of too many other beautiful people, they actually complimented me! I really don't get that all the time, so I really really appreciate that, and these people totally made my day.

Days, actually. One per day in the two days I've been here.

My oh my do I love this kimchiland.

Myeong Dong

First day in Seoul was incredible!
Hadn't gotten the time to blog much yesterday since YJ and I hadn't figured out how to access internet from our dorm...We'd been relying illegitimately on one of the nearby cafe's wifi that we could connect to from our dorm room, but of course it wasn't that stable compared to the dorm wifi in which we finally got connected to today... good thing.

First impressions of Korea after stepping out of the airport: The weather is AMAZING. Comparatively to Singapore, of course. Summer here is really just autumn to me - nice breeze follow us wherever we go when outdoors, and together with the nice warmth of the Sun, it was almost unfair that everyone living in the equator don't get such fantastic conditions all year round. Men wear suits on streets here. FULL SUITS, come on. And I doubt anyone gets grumpy due to hot weather here in Korea (which definitely happens oh-too-often in Singapore), because their summer is like paradise. But then I stress again - in comparison... A New York Asian I'd met during dorm check-in was like fanning herself and saying how hot it was here though it was like natural air-conditioning here to me. Well. Lucky you, New Yorker!

 After splitting of with Juai (she headed for Sunny House residence with Hanyang's pick-up service), YJ and I went off to take the express subway from Incheon Int'l airport to Seoul Station, then stopping to take a cab straight to our dormitory. Fastest and cheapest way to town from airport!
 Our dorm at Konkuk University. Really homey, I personally like it here a lot :)
View of a lake outside our dorm in which we're going to pass by everyday to and from our dorm to, say, the subway station.

And so after settling in and everything, YJ and I contacted Ju and we met at the subway station...in which all my worries for Juai escalated because Chaos Ensued. 

Day 1 itinerary was pretty simple, just to check in, settle and head to Myeong Dong for some facial products and essentials shopping. I think I just squealed and jumped about for an entire minute because I'd been searching Myeong Dong so much on Internet during itinerary planning, it was just SO AMAZING to see it real life. It was so overwhelming, I swear, it's not just the contents in the shops but the sheer number of shops around that is jaw-dropping, one day there is definitely not enough. Street food, facial products, clothes, shoes...you name it! Not just girls' but guys' too!



 Dinner. Mul Neng Myeong - some kind of soupy cold noodle. Doesn't look like much, but it was really good, I like it!
And of course a photo of ME to end off Day 1 blog post (really rushed one, because Lazy and I'm finding it hard to blog now although I kind of said I would try to document everyday. SO I AM TRYING.)


Thursday, June 26, 2014

Departure!

Met up with my #SeoulSistahs at Changi T2. Apparently I'd bought the wrong Jonathan Drink that Juai requested... sorry juai!!!

Brought along an illegal traveller with me too...guess who ;)

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Luggageception

How to Pack Smart 1101... By chucking all the clothes and essentials into the extra handcarry, and then chucking that into my suitcase. Luggage within luggage. 

#Luggageception

Extra bag is a must. I reckon I would need it when I come back from Korea, because Shopaholic.

I still can't believe I'm leaving Singapore tomorrow midnight already. It still feels totally surreal.

Tomorrow.

Don't forget me, all you dearest in Singapore.


Sunday, June 22, 2014

Summer Exchange Travelogue: Korea

안녕하세요 여러분! (Ahn-nyeong-ha-se-yo Yo-ro-boon)
Hello everyone!

Here's where I start all the usual introductory post kinda thing. Cliche but mandatory? Hee. Decided to start up a separate Blogger site here specially for this summer in Korea rather than keeping to Tumblr because of the Tumblr Photo and Text Sharing Technical Limitations. I can't insert texts in between photos as easily using Tumblr, in which I foresee I would be doing in my travel posts in the very near future. Good thing I still have my blogger account here.

Feeling super hyped up and excited about the trip there to kimchiland and counting down to about five more days to our flight this Thursday. I love Kimchi! I'll be blogging as often as I can while I'm there though things might start getting busy once the summer semester starts. 

Also started testing out simple vlogging whenever possible these few days and the results really prove to be ridiculously amateur. 

Nonetheless, stay tuned, I'll be updating as much as I can!