Saturday, August 29, 2009

2nd update from Seoul

I am busier than expected in Seoul. Been eating, walking, and shopping till I drop dead. Imagine... shopping till wee morning 4.30am...

I have been watching My Fair Lady on Tv. Pretty good watching Tv with real time translator next to me for a change rather than reading the subs, not to mention have someone making comments with me as we watch it together.. Ha!

I went to do the local sauna and hot bath thingie at Yongsan today. Oh its soo fun! Unfortunately i couldnt take pictures inside so I wont be able to show u guys. However, it was kinda shocking for me when the elevator door open and my eyes are greeted by dozens of fully naked fair korean women walking all over. I was laughing and told hyun that i felt as if I step into the world of a porn set, without the act of course. Shocker! I was quite lost for the initial minutes....since there wasnt any english signs and i had to wander around, figuring my way and watch how the locals did it... Its a completely different experience from visiting the public baths and hotspring in Japan. Just uniquely different but I had fun.

Back to Sauna, they will give u 2 small towels and a set of clothes to change into. Initially I was wondering.. do i wear or take off like the bra and stuff since the sauna common area is unisex. It's really a personal choice but it seems none of the korean woman i saw were wearing it. There was open area where everyone can just lie down, watch some TV [big screen], and buy snack from the store there. I lierallt tried out the various sand, kiln room, traditional korean hot charcoal sauna and steam, plus the ice room. There were also rows of massage chairs for u to get a good massage.

After all the steaming and soaking in the various hot baths, I was all ready for the body scrub at 20,000won for 15mins, kinda like the turkey baths if u know what i mean... U lay on a bed, and the lady in her black undergarments will start to scrub you from face to toe, covering every inch. U get surprised at how much dead skin cell there is...... my skin never felt cleaner and smoother.... :P By the way, I did the funny towel head wrap with the 2 buns on each side thingie too. Very few koreans did it in real life, unlike what i saw in the drama.

At the snack bar, This little korean baby girl was soo cute, i was picking out my icecream and she started to follow me all over, and ever stealing mouthful of icecream from mine! I had to carry her all over hunting for her dad...it was quite funny since i dont speak korean and she doesnt seem to care. She didnt seem to mind strangers at all. I think it was the icecream lure.... haaa

Food wise, I am loving it. My korean friend was kinda surprised at how I took in all the food with gusto and actually enjoying it. Strange it may sound but some of the flavor actually tasted like my mum's cooking...eg like the aged old kimchee spicy soup, it actually tasted like my mum's sezchuan spicy soup!!! I love the spicy hot pot too. Yummy!!! I had korean-chinese cusine today. It was not authentic chinese. It was chinese food tailored to korean taste so it was pretty new experience. I love it though. We went to this shop at Namdaemum area and it was fab!

Ok... The pictures will come later when i get back...meanwhile....No drama updates still... till next week!

Tomorrow..everland it is! Water theme park and stuff... I hope I wont be too drained!

PS: Incidentally, I must this 'international' face or something because everyone thought I was korean till I open my mouth that is.... Hyun cannot see it, neither can I but apparently the salesgirls said I looked like Korean, and so did the local BBQ stall owner auntie... Hmmm...

Friday, August 28, 2009

Update from Seoul

Been in Korea for 2 days now. The weather hasnt exactly been most ideal with scattered rain showers and cloudy skies but i will make do.

It has been kinda rest and relax and I wasnt gunning all out to do all the touristy stuff. Been to the Gyeong Bok Gung palace and its alright. Not the most spectacular palace i have seen but its nice to see another culture as always. While we were there, it started to rain on and off and so hyun and I were like running from spot to spot seeking shelter under the narrow roof covers since we both forgot our brollies. Kinda pathetic but fun at the same time. He had to ban me from taking shots because each time i whip out my camera, the rain got heavier. When i kept it, the rain would lighten up...talk about super unco-operative weather.

We headed off to Emart which is a supermarket, and it was fun. When we first arrived at the basement, there was this korean woman started shouting something. My korean friend said 'oh this might be fun.' and grabbed me to stand in front of the stall. He started whipping out some 100won coins and ask me to get ready. There was this korean auntie next to me who asked if we have 200wons to spare so i gave it to her. Then the auntie started to explain to me that it was some crazy sale thingie. The sales woman will throw a limited quantity of products at each round, and we are suppose to grab as many as we want because those items will be at discounted rate to as low as 100won. Its stuff like lotion, makeup sun block and stuff.

So there I was, squashed amongst like 20 korean auntie and omg, these aunties meant business. They really shove and grab like it cost their life. I was kinda lost and amused and the korean auntie next to me thought i was losing out and she grabbed some for me. Then seeing i only have a face pack, she grabbed my hand towards the sale lady and 'requested' the sales to give me another pack, which the lady obliged. It was sooo funny and fun!!! So in the end, I walked about with a couple of face mask, 2 lipstick and lotion, all free of charge. I didnt bother to get those at 100won since i am so not use to 'fighting' for bargains things. Too much excitement...but Talk about local experience, this sure was a one in alifetime experience in korea. ha! My guy friend of course was edged out by all the aunties since he had no use for those stuff anyway.

When we were inside the supermarket, it was like from one sampling store to another. I swear I could skip dinner just from eating those chicken, bread, sauage etc... and these were really good too. Just when i was so stuff and commented to Hyun ' If only there is free drinks and it would complete this experience..' presto, a fruit drinks stall was right below me. It was really good too!
Of course we didnt just eat for free. The sweet potato bread was really superb so i grab a bag of 10 which half was gone by the end of our cab ride....

Today was raining pretty bad, so we ended up heading to Nadaemun for shopping at Doota. OMG! I have to say the korean fashion were really nice, some were going for like 7000won only. Dirt cheap. Good thing i have hyun to do the korean talking. Some allowed trying, some dont. However because i was foreigner, some were nice enough to make exception because hyun is korean as well i guess. so its kinda like favor thingie.

After scouring thru the basement, we went another level up. OMG, the things get better and better but the price also got more expensive. Some are about 25000 to 55000won, depending. But the design were pretty unique and nice, so I guess its reasonable. Even at taipei where they sell korean fashion, its different. Those sold here are really nice.

I discovered that I have giant feet in korea. None of the shoes i tried fit. Apparently at size 250, i am uncommon. Most of teh korean girls are only at 200 or 220 at most. The shop owners look at my feet as if i am a freak....imagine, i am a normal size 7 back home, and for once, i felt like i am Big Feet.....first country i find problembuying shoes....

We headed off to eat korean spicy rice cake. it was bloody spicy... but the seafood dumpling was nice. Strangely, the food place did not sell any beverage. Only food. They serve only free ice water. Very strange concept....

I tried the different ice blended choc and hot choc drink in seoul from different cafes and they are really nice. I am alittle surprise. I guess its only singapore where the cafe staff dont know how to make a choc drink which is not overly sweet - starbucks and coffee bean excepted.

Made an observation in Korea. They have 2 different class or rather categories of people. One is the polite and nice korean, the other is the loud, crass and rude korean who yell at people alot and shove them out of the way. Its kinda like those rude mainland people but just the korean version. I had equal share of both people. It works the same at the stall. Some are happy to serve foreigners, some look at you in disdain and my korean friend was abit miffed at the lousy attitude though I honestly dont give a damn.

The incident was biazzare. While finding our way out of the train station exit, hyun was grabbing me from heading the wrong direction and I accidently and LIGHTLY bumped an old korean man who was behind me. I turned around and said sorry but he started ranting in a barrage of korean in me. He was obviously pissed that I kinda bumped him. Mind you, it was more like my bag brushed against him but he just prob thought I was korean and went on and on. My friend apologised in korean but the old man couldnt lighten up. Honestly, if he was gonna be like that, I couldnt care less and started to walk off. Hyun was rather pissed and wanted to yell back at him since i was a toruist but i grabbed him and went off. No point getting into a verbal fight with an unreasonable person. Plus I dont understand him, so he was sprouting rubbish as far as i was concerned and didnt mind at all. My friend was still fuming and i had to calm him down. haaaa
So u see, there are nice but also very strange people who have a chip on their shoulder all over the world.

I rem my friend once told me when he was in korea and took the bus, he sat on a priority seat and this old korean woman started to whack him with her walking cane yelling and scolding him in korean. I think she was scolding himfor taking teh senior citizen seat. My poor friend was horrified!!! Because he had told me the story before, so the cranky old man [ahem* bastard* ahem] today was of no surprise to me.

Well, hopefully the weather holds tomorrow so that i can finish rest of the palace. Still havent got to see namsam yet.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

BUZZER BEAT episode 7

the video is out...and i was screaming my head off towards the ending... i soooooo wanna die..i mean the picture below..need i say more. haaaaaa haaaaa.

well, i have been complaining that naoki lack of expression is killing the mood, well, he sure made a come back this week..adrenaline rush for me... [more]

buzzer beat episode 8 summary [more]

rambling before flight

pretty excited, will be heading to seoul tomorrow. totally, utterly unprepared..haaaa haaaa.

went to check in via korean air website today...all i can say is that it is super confusing. i had to click a few places to try to figure out hpw to book my seat. the interface needs to be more navigational friendly man...other than that, its great, i can actually select my seat like 90days in advance. cool. that is better than cathay.

had to go to 2 banks today to get some won changed. i guess not many banks want to hold on to large amount of korea currency with all the changes in rates.
the thing i hate about summer apart from the heat is the disgusting insects that keep biting my legs. they are not the typical mosquitoes i get from singapore or sydney, these buggers are terribly toxic. they sting u and then leave a swollen red mark which can get itchy. the red angry sore will then stay on my leg for weeks. the last bites i got are like 3 weeks old now and while the redness has subside, the mark itself hasnt.


today while waiting for the mini bus, i got bitten again...because i forgot to apply insect repellant. damn. i had to dash to pharmacy to buy the tube of mopiko-s tube. the one made in japan that specifically stop itch and reduce red swelling if u catch the bite in time. By far, this tube is the most effective anti itch ointment i have found. It works tons better than the original mopiko green tube. I often find the original formula to be weak and doesnt stop the itch. i have another mopoki version which is liquid based, that is pretty good too but not effective in reducing the red swollen nature of the bite. so this tube is definitely worth the buy.

hyun is telling me to consider missha's facial sunscreen. i have tried his tube at home when i went swimming and my face hasnt reacted badly to it. worth the thought but i am so lazy. he was nagging at me just the other day because i didnt have the habit of sunblock, nor apply any compact powder... sometimes i forget if he's the bloke or i am.... ;]
had lunch at sen ryo again. its the more premium range from genki sushi. While i think very little of genki sushi, senryo was a complete surprise. I had been avoiding conveyor belt chain in general in hk because of freshness issue but the other day, i saw their menu on otoro and i thought what the hell....u know what...that is the BEST chain japanese store i have patronised as far. Their otoro and chu-toro are marvellous and fresh... the portion are fair and price justifed. i wont say its dirt cheap at HK48 for 2 slices of otoro sushi, HK40 for 2 chutoro sushi, but it sure beats the price of a japanese restaurant at HK60 per slice. Plus the quality is considerably good, so it has been my fav lunch place for the month now. Its the best alternative as far to eating fatty tuna sushi in japan.
went to wet market and damn, i really miss those taiwan mangoes. Prob due to the typhoon damage, all fresh fruits from taiwan has ceased for weeks now. I loved those jumbo mangoes and lychees man...used to have them every other nite when they were in full stock. Now all i can pick from are the philippino mangoes. not interested. too small and not as sweet.
alrite. i better get to bed. need to finish my jap homework before i fly off.
i hope the weather in seoul will be good.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

rental viewing

was rental apartment hunting, just to check out the current rates and corresponding floor space etc. there was this building near our current place which i had set my eyes on, for the private location and the fact it is single tower only. so came weekend and we arrange to have a viewing.

as my agent was describing the complex being built by singapore company [which explains the unexplainable familiar kinship and liking for me..haaa ], then he went on to say the hk celebrity artist eason has a unit here on xx floor.

wait a min. this sounds familiar.
i rem my gf told me once that when she was staying with her bf's parents in hk, they had eason as their neighbor and she bumped into him while he was have a quick puff downstairs. could it be its the same building...

then the agent continue to inform me that our sg ambassador was also staying there on the whole xx floor. oh ok. yah its the same building alrite since that's J's parents alrite... talk about small city...sigh.

the building has a lovely view but its freaking hot with all the glass panel. of course, from there, i had the whole view of all the ridiculous huge bungalows and had a private intro of which billionare and whose mistress, 2nd-4th wives are staying in which buildings... talk about hk tabloids and gossips first hand.

Apparently, aaron kwok jogs often at the hk jockey club track too, and so does several other artists. my agent was saying how of course aaron will cover his face with those shade mask thingie but isnt that the same as attracting attention....hmm..i guess he just doesnt want people to see his sweaty face. i would have expect him to have his own personal gym seriously. maybe he just like the fresh polluted hk air. ha.

overall the rents are still high and just marginally lower than when we first sign on. there really isnt much to choose from in causeway bay really. we went to check out bel air new phases and its really small. the one which is soooo hyped about being designed by norman foster is frankly nothing to crow about. granted it has a huge kitchen, with an island top, but the rooms are narrow and small. as for the other phase 4, its also very crammed though i have to say their club house is fabulous.... damn i miss a good lap pool.

went to my hyun;s place at tung chung, they had a fking gianormous pool and i had such fun frolicking in it, and doing my laps. i could camp there man. if it wasnt that inconvenient for my hubby, i honestly wont mind living there esp rent is a fraction of what we are paying now. sigh.
oh well. let's pray my landlord will not ask for too much.

buzzer beat episode 6 review and summary


I should be excited about this episode, afterall they finally kissed but somehow I am not feeling it and wasnt overly gushing in hysterical. I wasnt sure if it was the awkward falling over, combined with lack of expression on Naoki when kissed that kinda taken the climax away. not too good acting skills can do that for me, dulling my senses.... however, the actress playing riko is perfect. she did every expression and mood really well. come on naoki... what on earth are u waiting for..
no matter, i really really love the violin track played by riko... think i will pop out to buy the ost since its already out.
violin track - 彼女の夏 [sample play]
作曲/編曲:日向敏文/演奏:日向敏文/演奏:牧山純子
summary

The episode started with Riko and Naoki hugging following from last week. Then for some reason, RiKO kinda lost balance and fell ontop in an awkward position on top of Naoki. They gazed into each other and i suppose lost in the moment but i didnt feel it. maybe this scene would have been better for me if it was included last week because i felt the momentum was lost somehow but its just me.

anyway, riko's mobile alarm went off and broke the spell and the two split themselves apart. naoki asked if riko want to go see the coach but she declined saying that she didnt have makeup on etc and said she has to leave for her job anycase. riko asked naoki again what happened and he explained it was just a case of hurt pride and nothing else. riko then told naoki that they are just friends, and she is just his fan. why she have to say that outloud is kinda beyond me but then that's the script.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

i want to murder those brats

today is one of those days where i really had to hold my hand back from slapping the head of this stupid bratty hk boy.

In the supermarket, I was checking some products on the shelves when these 2 fucking stupid devel spawn push me from behind with the fucking shopping basket and cut my leg while he ran off. The 2 fucking moronic monkey bastards did not even stop to apologise and continue to run laughing. i was almost on the verge of catching up to those 2 fucking twerps and rattle them silly and fuck him in their face. I dont give a shit who their parents are who are obviously missing and not giving a damn shit leaving their 2 fucking offsprings to terrorise everyone else in the suerpmarket.

i had to count to 10 to cool myself down. My murderous intent was very very very very hard to rein in. while i generally dont like those shitty brats, i have never ever thought of inflicting physical pain on them until today, until those 2 fucking bastards. So I did the unthinkable. I hunted that fucking monkey down, and he was obviously still a running menance in the supermarket.He was also bending over the frozen food section and pressin on all the products, damaging the boxes, i really had a good mind not to just push him and topple him over.

After zeroing in on the culprit, I took my trolley and RAM it to that fucking shithead from the back really hard with the same intensity that he hit me with. Then I walked up to him and tersely told him off, that he had better learn his lessons and that the next time he hit someone while behaving like an animal, he should apologise minimally. That worked and gave me much satisfaction.... it took alot of human decency not torture him. In fact, i was really thirsting to see some deep bruise on that shitface.He deserve it in my books. Why should i put up with fucking ill bred stock like him just because i am older. The world is not his playground. Just because he is a tyrant over his desperate trailing maid behind doesnt mean he is entitled to abuse everyone else around him as well.

My logic is, if you dont want people like me to swear and abuse your kid, then dont let your fucking offsprings run wild like baboons in the suerpmarket and knocking people off, without manners to apologise. i dont fucking care if they are young or just kids, to me they are no different from beasts if they cannot be raised and act like human beings. Even a pet dog has better manners than these 2 screaming shitheads. when will parents learn that supermarket is not a playground for your kids to roam free and wild.

why do people have kids to torture other people. if u want to have kids, be my guest, but keep your ill bred species within short leash before one day they get ran over or beaten up by someone else with even lesser patience than me.

heading to seoul

Its kinda amazing whenever I look back and realise that it has only been a month since i got to know hyunji, for the fact that we really click very well together. My husband was laughing at the fact that hyun and I are stuck at hips these days spending our free time hanging out.

One of the best things that drew us together was of course korean music and drama. We were just sharing yesterday about how when we first met to do lunch together, neither of us ever thought that we would hit off so well. Even both our partners are surprised really... haaa haaaa.

well, heading to seoul next week for hols.
its probably kinda strange if i tell people that i am going korea with my husband's 2male friends without my husband...haaa haa. well technically, hyun is more my friend now. haaaa People will probably frown upon the idea..until maybe if i explain that the couple is gay.

HMMmmm...To travel with my husband's friend will be a first, to live with gay couple for a week will be a first, to travel in korea air will be a first, to live in service apartment will be a first, to be in korea will also be a first. wow, pretty much alot of first in one go.

have always thought about going to korea but the fact that i cannot speak korean kinda made me shelve the plan. Previously had planned the trip with my other korean friend but SARS hit asia and we had to abort the plan.

this time with hyunji to bring me around, now that would be a completely different matter together. He's definitely more excited than i am, already checking off his list of things to see and buy from korea. he hasnt really settle down mentally in hk yet, in the sense there is always this immediate comparison how different things are in seoul etc and how he only trust his country's products. Not that i blame him, been there done that.

alrite, that's all the update for now.
time to go wipe those moulds and milddew off the bedroom walls and all the furniture. these fungus are mushrooming everywhere in the guest room due to the water condensation from the summer heat. looks really gross if u ask me. one moment they are not there, next moment they are everywhere when u are not looking. super tiring to wipe them off, not to mention getting to the ceiling. my neighbor upstairs must be really cranking up their aircon to freezing point for it to form water droplets on my room ceiling if i dont have my aircon on as well. sigh. why do i have such CHEAPSKATE landlord who doesnt even use anti fungus paint.

i really wish for summer to be over soon.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Buzzer Beat Ep 4 Review

ahh...i love episode 4 of buzzer beat...

generally its a pretty good episode. i simply love riko, she is so adorable here esp the part when she went ''oh i forgot my bra'' and her excited girl look when she realised that it was naoki's mobile she picked up...hilarious.
when she tried to convince herself that she doesnt like Naoki, and went muttering ''Í DONT LIKE HIM'' continously, i was like...no no no, like him like him....he is YOURS...
buzzer beat episode 4 summary

the scene starts at the beach, where riko excitedly shared with mami her discovery, that naoki is the guy whose mobile they had returned and he was the guy they had seen running after the bus. riko started to say it was destiny, and mami agreed it was indeed destiny, but that naoki is the cupid that brought riko and the coach together. that said, it dampened riko's mood as that obviously was not what she had in mind. mami noticed the visible change in her expression, expressed in shock that riko wasnt thinking that naoki is the ''destined man '' did she? riko of course immediately denied thinking so [ though her downcast expression states otherwise].