Day 2 ~ "a taste of Korean culture - thru food & living lifestyle"

Day 1 was over (since long long long time ago...) & if you still care to read then..haha
let’s move on to day 2

Breakfast was at hotel before we checked out, Western buffet style but no doubt kimchi was also one of the food options there..

Next we went up higher in altitude to Seoraksan Mountain where a temple was situated on top of it..

a snow mountain somewhere during the journey going up Seoraksan

*read from right to left

the temple upon reaching the mountain

Spent sometime sightseeing up there & it reached afternoon

Lunch was a ‘seafood hotpot’..*forgot to take pics of it..
But there was a whole half dead octopus inside, which the tour guide helped us slowly sliced its tentacles one by one in front of us so that it can be cooked thoroughly within the hotpot..other than the “octo” which kinda gave a ‘yucks’ feeling..the rest of the seafood made the soup tasted 鲜甜

*I recall once watching a tv programme where it showcased how Koreans had a unique manner of eating small octopus..well, simply eating it ALIVE…anytime with its tentacles getting stuck to the tongue..eew..luckily, they didn’t ask us to do the same thing..phew….

Done with lunch, they took us to another filming site, this time round, from the series, Autumn in My Heart by a little ferry across a port from one side to the other..
Nothing much to see really, the filming site has now become a mini market/store there..

somewhere at the port..


a day with a beautiful weather..

Just a short while later, we visited their local fish market (known as ‘大浦渔港’), of course they had fresh seafood as they had a coast near to the sea

the local fish market

There were stalls selling various kinds of delicacy, but mostly of the seafood type for instance cuttlefish or squid etc

Korean seaweed was another typical food they sold there..
the difference as compared the common Japanese seaweed?
They roast their seaweed with sesame oil, thus less dry than those from Japan..
They even have seaweeds developed with different flavours, e.g. kimchi or wasabi flavour..

Here’s what we tried at the fish market..

fresh scallops..very nice..

some fish..with its roe filled within..

After getting out of the ‘fishy’ market, it was already about evening by that time..
It’s time for dinner again..

Walked in the restaurant & apparently, what we saw were only tables of very low height & no chairs for proper dining in usual eating places..

Thus, we got to experience how real Koreans normally dine in for meals at home..just sitting down on the floorboard around the table with family..

It’s ‘squid & ‘烧肉’ BBQ style..
There were side dishes such as sweet potato & ‘煎秋刀鱼’ there..
Not forgetting their kimchi, preserved radish, taugeh, seaweed soup & their local Korean rice (always served in a cute little metal bowl for each person)

By the way, did I mention that for every meal, their cutlery/utensils used for eating had to be stainless steel chopsticks & spoons..just like what is used in most Korean restaurants..seriously, I find that it’s actually quite tiring to use those heavy metal cutleries after practicing with them for a whole week..

As we had our tummies filled, we hopped on to the tour bus to go back to the place where we spent the night – Daemyung Resort

It was a nice resort & it had a supermarket located downstairs where we can buy snacks or even food to be cooked in the resort rooms as well..

at the lobby

This place to stay was the most comfortable accommodation we had throughout the whole trip as it felt like a complete home & gave us a cozy feeling as well.

Even though there were no beds..same as Korean homes..where we had to put out a simple mattress & sleep on floorboards instead, but it was still fine as beneath their floorboards, heating system is installed to keep the ground warm during winter.

I’ll let the pictures tell the story here:

introductory ~ welcome to "our house"..*ignore the person..

living room


TV!! ..i watched Amazing Race Asia on AXN there..


bathroom..


home kitchen..


bedroom..*no beds..


the resort (no idea of its name)

if you have patience..wait up for day 3

Day 1 ~ "snow"

warning: long post ahead..

Time was an hour earlier in Korea compared to M’sia. As soon as everyone got ready & settled luggage stuff from the airport. It was 8 am in the morning.

The first thing I knew when we reached there was I felt sleepy & the tour was only just about to start..*sigh, there’s nothing more than rest I desired at that time..

Well anyway, whilst all thought it to be warm & hot inside the airport, the cold winter weather (with temperature approximately -12 degree celcius) welcomed us thereafter

From the “very hot la” in the airport to “speechless…..” (getting frozen) outside, yet it felt refreshing away from the heat in our ‘beloved’ tropical country…..INITIALLY…

I’d say the cool weather is rather acceptable except when there’s the cold wind/breeze giving the real chill that ‘kills’..otherwise, it’s a great escape from the heat we experience in M’sia..but for sure, one definitely couldn’t stand it if you stayed outdoors for too long…

The tour guide is Mr. Lee, a ½ Chinese ½ Korean, so he was rather fluent speaking mandarin & of course he knows Korean as well. There was also another assistant (Joon? Not sure how it spells but that’s how we call him though) who accompanied with him the whole trip (actually a professional photographer) & he is purely Korean, not forgetting another Korean driver (don’t know what his name is..hehe)

*ignore every other person in the pic..
i'm just showing you who's mr. tour guide (the one holding a flag obviously)..

My 1st view of snow was there in Korea. The scenery along the roadside was pretty much covered with nice white snow..

After not-sure-how-many-minutes drive from the airport..
Our first stop:
Breakfast at this place here --> Udon noodles

why eat udon in korea? (thinking udon is a japanese thing)
well, i don't know..haha

Next up, we went to visit an observatory tower at which the tour guide explained where the border that signifies the territory between North Korea & South Korea respectively lies.

Apparently, it’s quite sympathetic that we heard there may be family members who’re separated from each other just by that ‘line’ marked on the map.

North Koreans are not allowed to cross over to South Korea & vice versa due to a ‘resting period’ in war against each other. So, they are now as though remaining as 2 distinct countries, with difference in culture since they’re under various influences from other strong countries in previous times during world war. Despite South Korea being an advanced country, North Korea on the other hand does not have such a positive outlook, economy wise, from what we learnt of from the tour guide...

The Bridge of Freedom actually links North & South Korea, yet it was impossible for Koreans from both regions to meet each other even when there’s such a short distance which parts between them. The attempt to unite North & South Korea was unsuccessful till now and there is The Bell of Peace located within the nearby area..

see the Bell of Peace?


at the Bridge of Freedom with observatory tower at the back
(from left: ???, ???, me, ???)

Hmm, we were lucky enough as it did snow lightly on that very 1st day itself when we came out of the observatory tower. It was really a fortunate event since the next few days onwards, the weather was still cold but it got relatively warmer especially when our plan of route went from an outskirt, more countryside area before moving on to the city of Seoul.

Coming up was lunch time, what had been served?
None other than their Ginseng Chicken soup/stew of course…

Personally, I don’t quite like the smell of Ginseng but the taste of it was not so strong such that it became overpowering. Thus, it was fine anyways coz it only had a light Ginseng flavour to it.

ginseng chicken...good thing there's no nose bleeding after eating that 'heaty' meal..

After lunch, we were driven to a port where we took a short ‘ferry’? ride to a place called Naminara (or in short – Nami) Island.

Can u guess what made it a popular tourist attraction?

It is actually taken as a filming site for the once hit Korean series, which I think all of u would know – Winter Sonata

it reads "winter sonata"

The scenery there was picturesque, just like shown in the movies, especially when we reach there during sunset hours & in this winter season..

there was a kimchi house as well..
**FST students, you can try recall what you've learnt in class & imagine how these kimchi could normally be kept underground


no kimchi inside the house actually..

the lake behind had frozen to form an icy surface..


yea, i didn't make that fella..it was right there when i saw it..
if i made 1, it wouldn't look that miserable i guess..


lonely..*sigh

Took enough pictures & we said bye bye to the island & then towards a restaurant to have our dinner.
Today’s special is …….

**Teppanyaki chicken [铁板鸡] with some cabbage, sweet potato, 年糕

It was later mixed with rice & seaweed

All these things were served together with lettuce, seaweed soup, along with the non-neglectable KIMCHI & some soft drinks for beverage

piping hot steam coming out..

yum..it was delicious & most importantly, kept us warm enough for the winter night

Night activity was not over yet, as we went downstairs from the restaurant located on the 2nd floor & we were given some free time to walk around the streets of Myung Dong area (繁华区) where the ChunCheon Market was located..

McD!! somewhere along the street..they have 'bulgogi burger' there..hmm, a korean twist..

Erm..how to explain this? well the best way to describe I suppose is saying it’s like a ‘pasar malam’ in Korea..

The day finally ended & we set the night off back in a hotel to get some well-deserved rest..after touring in ½ zombie status from sleepless hours in the plane…ZzZzz

evil plan - achieved :

The hotel room had a double bed & 1 single bed..sharing room with my bro, i chased my him off & reserved the big comfy double bed for myself..he complained to mum but she just said “never mind la, it’s just for 1 night, if it’s the same tomorrow, you can switch alternatively..” (but it was only the 1st night) ..hehe.. 反对无效 & so I get to take the big bed afterall.. leaving him sleeping in the poor little single bed..wahahaha =P

CNY MIA revealed..

Wasn’t around for the 1st week of cny

Instead, I spent my ‘summer holidays’ somewhere else with winter on a planned family vacation trip..

Give you real easy clues & you can quickly guess where I went actually:

1. The land where Kimchi originated
2. Famous for its Ginseng
3. Or simply a country where its characters are made up of circles, some squares and straight/curved lines weirdly combined together

Do all these click immediately?
Yeap, that’s it..

Ann Yeong Ha Sye Yo ; Greetings from K-O-R-E-A

Let’s start with the flight experience:

First off, the plane flight was at 0:50 a.m. & scheduled to take around 4/5 hours or so..

You must have thought it’d be a great time to take a rest & sleep while the plane’s flying in the middle of the sky during that midnight..

Too bad it was a rather different ordeal for me as my biological clock pattern was not properly adjusted that time. Getting stuck being ‘nocturnal’, I was not feeling sleepy at all & stayed awake about the whole time.

I tried everything there could be to keep myself occupied.

Plug in their overhead audio system to watch movie..but it was not an interesting one, so occasionally switched to listening to their music on radio instead.

Flip & read through..

Newspaper
All the In-flight magazines
Even the safety instructions manual

Still, time was ticking so slowly..it seems that when I looked around, only lights for reading on my seat was on, because almost everyone I think had fallen asleep.

What made it worse was I had a glass of beer & now I’m think vampires favour blood the best..coz they cant tolerate well with alcohol. What am I saying here..just kidding really, I am NOT a vampire..the side effect of the drink made me feel nauseous.. XD

Just when I decided to give up, attempted to take a nap as I Finally started feeling better & a lil tired, guess what?!

Lights were on & they woke us up, greeted us “Good morning”, at 4:00 a.m. & fed us with breakfast…haha T_T perfect! I wished they said “Good night” instead..

Not long after that...

we arrived at Incheon Int’l Airport upon reaching Korea..

That’s all for now folks..

Hopefully, if I don’t feel too lazy & you’re kinda bored or slightly interested, then I ask for your patience to wait up for the series of the bits & pieces from my trip to korea..
Have a nice day!! =)

more movies to go..

i find another option for entertainment back in my hometown & that is to go to the cinema to watch movie..nothing new actually but when boredom strives in, it's not such a bad idea after all..since it's rather more affordable than in sunway, even though back there..i try to sneak in anyway..here's why:

the rates are as follows:

normal rate is RM 7
monday - ladies day (RM 5)
tuesday - gentlemen day (RM 5)
wednesday - movie day (RM 5)
Happy Hour (Monday to Friday before 6 p.m.) - RM 6
**child/senior citizens/students (all movies) - RM 5

there goes..if one just compromise a little with the quality of the cinema in comparison with other cinemas considering it's the movie you wanna watch, one can actually watch 2 movies compared to only 1 movie (which already costs RM 10 on normal rate) in TGV..which makes me think it to be kinda expensive..even the student rate would cost RM 8 there..

what more, for the same combo sets of popcorn & drinks, they are sold at a cheaper price & their regular drink i ordered was actually the size of a 'large' one in TGV..haha..

watched 3 movies so far..

red cliff 2 (missed some parts actually cos i think i dozed off a little since it was a midnight show)
bride wars
inkheart

guess will go watch & catch up with some more movies soon since there's not much to do during holidays..good way to get rid of time as well back in hometown..hehe

p/s:
i think i'm becoming a potato (couch potato that is) since i watch tv quite frequent at home already..lol..saying that, please don't label me another nickname of 'potato'..thank you..
a random question:
*is that why mr. potato's a lovable snack while enjoying shows from an idiot box? anyway, don't think it's related..

ok..that's all again..those STILL having holidays..continue to relax la..haha..

i'm lost

not literally referring to being uncertain of where i am at an unknown location of course..

but yes..

i lost track of day & date nowadays..

i am wondering what i am doing recently..
i almost forgot i am still a student..coz it feels like i'm a graduate (well, in fact only 1/2 graduate or an unqualified undergraduate) who's unemployed having unoccupied time waiting for a job or something..how sad..

haa..result of having long holidays
yet, memories of endless headache-inducing assignments & school days are keeping me from getting eager to go back to the starting of another new sem..

well, how's holiday at home been?
erm, nothing special..note some random things here:

occasionally feed the cat (neighbour's) that come over my house

play with the dog a little (the same neighbour's)

fyi, mum's against pets at home..she disallows any animals around the house..she chases them away but my dad seems to feed them sometimes that they tend to wander to areas within our home most of the time..

see how mum's totally opposite with dad? the dog & cat from the same neighbour actually stay in peace & live harmoniously..the dog doesn't fight nor bark at the cat..

yet, i think it's mum's & dad's character which are like cats vs dogs whenever they quarrel..well, i can't help much or do anything which aid to stop their arguments, so i'll just leave it as it is..afterall, those quarrels won't last very long..& they'll be fine in the end..such adults..*sigh

greet the small kid (from next door) who happens to only say "bye bye" & ..... nothing else

getting disconnected from cyber space coz the com at home is not working

my hp battery (kinda 'puffed up' a bit [sorry, i don't know how to describe]) so couldn't use it anymore..

what else is there then? the only faithful friend (electronic devise) which can entertain me?
yeap -- the TV (brilliant invention.. *salute to the inventor really)
tv programmes to kill time from day to night & continue the next day
i think i can watch tv all day long..even though i'd say i'm still not addicted to it
most of the time, it ends up with what i call as a 'channel fight' when i fight with bro over which channel to watch..with 1 astro & me pressing from upstairs while bro keeps switching channels from downstairs...hmmph..

reading panda's post on medical check-up & suzz's blog on detailed information about various medical stuff which pretty much includes blood..

actually went for a simple blood test as well

the process was as usual, took a longer time for my case compared to others & a little tedious coz my veins are like "hidden" underneath & it's always harder to find mine..

the lab technologist tried to feel if the vein was 'superficial' (learnt this term in suzz's blog) on my right hand -- where is it where is it? nope, can't feel it

so, next was to go for left elbow..can slightly feel it..
ok..so she poked the needle thru..

hmm, tinge of blood coming out, then after that no more blood..heh? what happen?
the thing is i held on too hard..so blood couldn't flow out haha...what was i thinking..maybe i was reluctant to let my 'precious' blood be drawn out..

ok..let off a bit..then she was poking the needle elsewhere within underneath my skin..then she asked a couple of times "is it painful" ?

hehe, twice i replied smiling: hmm, a little..cos it's still inside & i can feel exactly where the needle was 'venturing' inside several parts until it found the right vein that the blood may ooze out..

& i looked at it..it took quite a while..coz the blood was flowing only at a sloowww rate..practically watching her pumping the syringe up & down just to allow blood to be drained..sigh..

she ended with "you will see a blue-black spot there after this.." & there it was..haha..
i've come to a conclusion that i absolutely make a bad candidate for blood donation..for many reasons..seriously..

*recently, not sure why, my mum called me a '吸血鬼' as well..*sigh, no energy to talk back already..

oh well, forget that, still on random mode;

i finally c my cousin's baby..
note how clever she is,
she grabbed one of the containers filled with snack (usual chinese new year treats)
happily passes it to me..i'm delighted..but that comes with the intention that i will help to open it, get some for myself & at the same time, hoping that i could feed her a little as well..haha

kids to me will always mean "little monsters"..very naughty & tricky..

by the way, have not collected much ang pows this year, u will noe..if i have the determination and/or if u have the patience to wait upon some delayed posts..

great..how perfect..just noticed that it's the 2nd last day of cny & pocket's still empty..no chance to get more ang pows...*sob..anybody generous enough to give me? you're most welcomed..anyway, happy chap goh mei then..