this guard exchange ceremony is held outside the deoksugung [palace] at designated time slots.
The last session which i caught is at 3.30pm. the whole session is longer than the clip i caught on my camera but i didnt have much space left on my memory card, so this is just a short clip towards the ending of the ceremony where the guards are heading back towards the palace. However, its pretty much the same thruout. There was some korean shouout going on but i have no idea what was said.
i think the only thing that kinda ruined the effect was the fact that it is smack right in the city landscape, so its just harder to get into it when a huge dunkin doughnut signboard is hovering right behind, and the modern vehicle zooming past without a care is rather contrasting. IF this had been done inside the palace compound rather than surrounded by the tall modern structures, i think the grandness or royal solemn impact would have been greater...
Showing posts with label Korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Korea. Show all posts
Monday, September 7, 2009
seoul photo slideshow
this is just a snippet of the photos i have taken since its impossible for me to upload everything...
Urban landscaping between Seoul and Singapore
in Seoul, I noticed there are alot of aged, old folks loitering around the parks. To top it off, they are almost all grumpy, sour looking and not exactly the sort of friendly gramps u have in mind unlike in Japan. I guess this is a sign of aging population issue world wide as well..
At least they show their identification card and they can get into the parks and palace for free. Though i wonder, how many times one will want to go into the empty and rather bland palace is beyond me. other wise, they will be sitting round the street stall, chatting and munching.. these are the lucky ones with enough spare cash.
One verdict I have concluded too. Amongst all the countries i have been to, Korean babes have the best legs, in Asia at least. Slim, toned, and generally shapely. While the Japanese girls have a funny twisted duck-walk and short legs which isnt attractive. In Korea, everywhere i turned, girls in mini-shirts have to die for legs. Not to mention, small feet. To them, my size 7 feet is monstrous and the shoe shop owner looked at me as if i am a freak in their hometown. I went everywhere and couldnt find any shoe my size. how depressing.
One verdict I have concluded too. Amongst all the countries i have been to, Korean babes have the best legs, in Asia at least. Slim, toned, and generally shapely. While the Japanese girls have a funny twisted duck-walk and short legs which isnt attractive. In Korea, everywhere i turned, girls in mini-shirts have to die for legs. Not to mention, small feet. To them, my size 7 feet is monstrous and the shoe shop owner looked at me as if i am a freak in their hometown. I went everywhere and couldnt find any shoe my size. how depressing.
Shopping and eating in korea is relatively cheap, well that is if u visit local eateries like i did. The best thing, I never ever have to wait to be seated. It is not an exaggeration.
I like their city concept of having the stream cutting thru the city, where the general public can rest their feet, sit and chit chat while children go off with their water play.
Decorated alongside, they have significant meaningful structures or art pieces to don the wall such as scenes of ancient burial procession, or wall of hope etc. While i cannot advocate korea is a great city to live in, yet they are in good direction i think to balance a hectic city with a good sense of creative artistic landscape. They too have developed the han river banks to be great spots for cycling, fishing and parks to walk along. U have to give the urban development credit for that. 
Its a pity singapore have to demolish the only greenery in orchard next to wisma and in its place, host a ghastly modern ''iconic'' mall and residence. Do we honestly need another mall, not really. But, should we aspire to carve out our niche of green spot to coexist with our concrete jungle, with the likes of NY's central park, UK's Hyde park, or Japan's Ueno park, or even Korean patches of greens, parks and stream -- yes we do and i would certainly like that. Botonical garden is too way out there...its not even easily accessible within short walking distance...
one of the greatest thing i like in seoul is the varied designs in modern buildings. They are not deadpan and boring like those in Singapore. While the old ones are equally block designs as any asia countries had in their founding years and emulating industrialisation plot as the west, I have to say they have very interesting buildings up and coming.
Singapore is still failing in its creative landscaping in many ways despite all the top-down call for more arty farty scene. By creativity, a simple illustration, a waiting seat in the train station as below. even the seat in the shopping area is cute with the little doll head, or a ''fake'' tree
In spite of all the grand intentions, the execution is not showing the ideals in singapore. Look at how a simple banpo bridge with the beautifical ligghts and water display transformed a common traffic brdige into a scenic spot in itself. So why didnt we think of this when we have out our benjamin sheares bridge / nicoll highway in singapore. is it that impossible to have our own light show.. seriously...
All the new singapore structures, malls etc are still reeking of too many controls, rules, boundaries or worse, trying to be overtly different with complete disregard to the landscape harmony with its surroundings [which is why i detest ion in principle]. somehow, the urban development private and gvt alike, simply cannot seem to inject any sense of creativity, imagination or out of the box concept into the new space... what we have, are still boring, safe designs. Nothing avant garde, nothing fancy, not even anything cute to say the least.
what other interesting focal point does singapore has got to offer for someone not living in the country besides its sentosa, and night safari...pretty much nothing else. In seoul, there are shopping areas that last thru till 4.30am, we have nothing of such. Its pretty pathetic if i must add...
In seoul, in every nooks and cranny, there will be something to catch one's eye, excluding the palace grounds. 
Hell, even the construction site barricades in seoul are designed so prettily that it blends into the landscape rather than becoming an eye sore. Just look at the 2 examples below.
Compared to singapore, the hideous paste-over-picture of 4 models at the construction site back when ION was building puts us to shame. Anyone else rem how ugly one of the model looked that she actually got defaced by someone with horns and devil tail, and that was the ''visually unappealing'' scene that greeted everyone walking out of orchard mrt station then. What a great ''comical'' sight..
my friend thinks i am over critical about the urband landscape in singapore, but i seriouslydont think its wrong to expect and have great aspirations for your own country when u know they have the ability to do it. Its just frustrating to hear all the talk but seeing nothing is happening...
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Unexpected cherished meeting in Seoul.
There are so much to write about my seoul trip that i dunno where to start.
Should I start off with my korean air flight, where i constantly encounter ladies who dun lock their toilet door and have me exposing them in the middle of their pee in mid air.... or should I try to share the immense korean jokes my friend had shared with me.
I think the best part of the trip, was actually to by luck, have a chance to catch a meal with my long time korean friend whom I have not seen for 19 long years. We met and became friends in Hokkaido on an exchange program back in Japan in high school then. We struck up a firm friendship despite our language barrier, and we embark on 19 long years of writing to and fro. From traditional snail post, we progress to emails. The intervals between each mail also progressively got longer after I started work, but in a way, we were always updated in each other's life.
We had once planned a korea-singapore trip back then, but SARs ruined our plan. So I never thot of visiting seoul ever without him, and him not to singapore either [ since its not exactly worlds most interesting spot on world's map]
Call it a strange hunch or instinct, I felt a strong need to write in my msn status that i was heading to seoul. I almost got lazy and didnt but i figured what the hell, if he sees it, he might find time to chat. It was definitely a good move because he left an email, telling me he has just moved back to seoul last week after finishing his phd in standford. He was gonna start work with samsung. what are the odds of that, our schedule coincide just like that. Destiny works in its funny ways. so after a long 19years, we finally get to meet again, unplanned.
It was definitely with great excitement, to see my old friend again. The funny and best thing was, seeing him, nothing has changed. I mean, it felt as if we were transported back to Japan. The warm smile and hug, really...nothing has changed. It didnt even feel like almost 2 decades have passed us by. Amazing.
It was one of those long over 4 hrs lunch chat. There wasnt alot of backlog catch up since we have been writing, so it was more like the gap from the time he left stanford, his new job and about seoul. He said i havent changed, to me, neither has he.
We talked about the japan exchange program trip, and what was it about me that had struck an impression on him and vice versa. I didnt rem, but accordingly to him, during the orientation introduction between students from different countries, I was the only one who went beyond the hi and where are u from. apparently, i had shown interest in seoul and asked him many questions, which he laughed and said that he freaked out as his english was limited. funny.
I told him i still have all the letters he sent, plus some of korean tapes and the coming of age present. unfortunately for him, some the presents i got him were rather sadly lost in mail [so much for postal service in the states]...or that he had moved and it got misplaced.
We talked about our parents. He said his folks still rem me till now as well as my mum rem him. while he is the 'korean' boy to my mum, i am the 'singapore girl' to his parents. Then we talked about his family, which i complimented him, a family of high achievers. His sister was the first woman to be the first law professor in seoul national uni, breaking the tradition of male dominated profession. That means something and an honor indeed because in korea, that is a feat by itself.
Time flows when one is having a good time.
I shall miss my dear friend, and of coz we joke that hopefully, it wont be another 19yrs before we meet again. seriously, this is the best reward for the whole trip and nothing can top this. this will be another memory to cherish for a long time.
truly. this is the best gift i can ever dream of.
Should I start off with my korean air flight, where i constantly encounter ladies who dun lock their toilet door and have me exposing them in the middle of their pee in mid air.... or should I try to share the immense korean jokes my friend had shared with me.
I think the best part of the trip, was actually to by luck, have a chance to catch a meal with my long time korean friend whom I have not seen for 19 long years. We met and became friends in Hokkaido on an exchange program back in Japan in high school then. We struck up a firm friendship despite our language barrier, and we embark on 19 long years of writing to and fro. From traditional snail post, we progress to emails. The intervals between each mail also progressively got longer after I started work, but in a way, we were always updated in each other's life.
We had once planned a korea-singapore trip back then, but SARs ruined our plan. So I never thot of visiting seoul ever without him, and him not to singapore either [ since its not exactly worlds most interesting spot on world's map]
Call it a strange hunch or instinct, I felt a strong need to write in my msn status that i was heading to seoul. I almost got lazy and didnt but i figured what the hell, if he sees it, he might find time to chat. It was definitely a good move because he left an email, telling me he has just moved back to seoul last week after finishing his phd in standford. He was gonna start work with samsung. what are the odds of that, our schedule coincide just like that. Destiny works in its funny ways. so after a long 19years, we finally get to meet again, unplanned.
It was definitely with great excitement, to see my old friend again. The funny and best thing was, seeing him, nothing has changed. I mean, it felt as if we were transported back to Japan. The warm smile and hug, really...nothing has changed. It didnt even feel like almost 2 decades have passed us by. Amazing.
It was one of those long over 4 hrs lunch chat. There wasnt alot of backlog catch up since we have been writing, so it was more like the gap from the time he left stanford, his new job and about seoul. He said i havent changed, to me, neither has he.
We talked about the japan exchange program trip, and what was it about me that had struck an impression on him and vice versa. I didnt rem, but accordingly to him, during the orientation introduction between students from different countries, I was the only one who went beyond the hi and where are u from. apparently, i had shown interest in seoul and asked him many questions, which he laughed and said that he freaked out as his english was limited. funny.
I told him i still have all the letters he sent, plus some of korean tapes and the coming of age present. unfortunately for him, some the presents i got him were rather sadly lost in mail [so much for postal service in the states]...or that he had moved and it got misplaced.
We talked about our parents. He said his folks still rem me till now as well as my mum rem him. while he is the 'korean' boy to my mum, i am the 'singapore girl' to his parents. Then we talked about his family, which i complimented him, a family of high achievers. His sister was the first woman to be the first law professor in seoul national uni, breaking the tradition of male dominated profession. That means something and an honor indeed because in korea, that is a feat by itself.
Time flows when one is having a good time.
I shall miss my dear friend, and of coz we joke that hopefully, it wont be another 19yrs before we meet again. seriously, this is the best reward for the whole trip and nothing can top this. this will be another memory to cherish for a long time.
truly. this is the best gift i can ever dream of.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Back from seoul
kinda tired after getting back from seoul because i hardly slept. the trip was really fun and on average, i dont get to bed till like 5am. sometimes its just late nights, some times its just chitchat... my skin is terrible due to late nites and all the zits are popping up left right center. disgusting...
back to seoul.
some of the cafe closed at midnite, while some places are 24hrs. so its pretty easy for time to passed by without one actually noticing it. i supposed it was better for me as i had a local friend to bring me around and check out the local haunts rather than tourist spots, for food at least.
truth be told, in terms of tourist spots like the palace, it is definitely not as spectacular as japan. then again to be fair, i didnt have chance to go on day trips outside seoul. however, the shopping and eating are pretty good for me. transport is also accessible to all places except i was a little taken back that korean people are not exactly a friendly bunch... compared to japanese, they are like heaven and earth. perhaps its my own fault to assume that korean nation will be a friendly, polite batch and hence have my expectation crushed... this statement esp applies to all the older korean folks. i really literally stayed out of their way [hair] because they sure looked grouchy to me perpetually, and always shoving people out of their way without saying anything...that's the bad thing about being mistaken as a korean i guess. i see that they dont do it to caucasians as much. sigh...
anycase, i went to Everland, and tried both the theme park as well as caribbean bay which is a water theme park. it was superbly fun. in fact, i didnt realised till belatedly that it was the same park that hyunjoong went in the show 'we got married', where he had to piggy back his wifey and also took the rollercoaster ride. speaking of the rollercoaster T-express... it was OMG. IT HAS THE STEEPEST DROP EVER. i have taken a lot of rides in my lifetime and normally i aint too excited, but this one, this one is marvelous. its almost like free fall down but it doesnt end there. the ride continues with 12 ripples of drops. it was hell of an amazing ride on the wooden structure. i will talk more when i post up the pixs.
i also went to the cafe where they filmed coffee prince. it was a nice spot though they had a rather grumpy male serving staff...sigh. it was some effort before i found the place actually because it was not in the map and the cafe had no name so to speak. i had to go to four seasons house, a place where they had all the drama set of winter sonata etc to ask for directions.
the weirdest thing i must admit in korea, is how little english is spoken and used in seoul, despite all the grand effort to promite its tourism. without my friend, it would have been impossible to know which bus stop to go to grab what number bus, or where to stop. nothing was in english....
initially it was a little challenging. then to my surprise, i realised that i actually got on better speaking in japanese rather than in english. odds are, someone on the street and in restaurants will understand japanese more than english. talk about bizarre....
ok...i am trying to sort out the pictures but i have to settle down after coming back first. so many things to do, trying to work out rental renewal etc...our landlord isnt exactly the most accomodating people and its getting annoying. still wondering if we should move to elsewhere but that would mean to be stuck with a new contract for another 14months and that is shitty if we decide to return to sg earlier. Then there is 2 trips to plan etc. i always hate the period around here coz things would jam up back to back.
its so bloody hot in hk compared to seoul, where korea is a nice 22-26 degrees. coming back to bloody hot 30 degree in hk is a nitemare. I cannot go anywhere without my hat and shades now because its too scorching and glaring. The good thing is at least here in HK, wearin hat is a norm and i wont be treated with funny looks as in singapore.
ok laterz. need to go collect my flight tickets from post office.
jya mata ne.
back to seoul.
some of the cafe closed at midnite, while some places are 24hrs. so its pretty easy for time to passed by without one actually noticing it. i supposed it was better for me as i had a local friend to bring me around and check out the local haunts rather than tourist spots, for food at least.
truth be told, in terms of tourist spots like the palace, it is definitely not as spectacular as japan. then again to be fair, i didnt have chance to go on day trips outside seoul. however, the shopping and eating are pretty good for me. transport is also accessible to all places except i was a little taken back that korean people are not exactly a friendly bunch... compared to japanese, they are like heaven and earth. perhaps its my own fault to assume that korean nation will be a friendly, polite batch and hence have my expectation crushed... this statement esp applies to all the older korean folks. i really literally stayed out of their way [hair] because they sure looked grouchy to me perpetually, and always shoving people out of their way without saying anything...that's the bad thing about being mistaken as a korean i guess. i see that they dont do it to caucasians as much. sigh...
anycase, i went to Everland, and tried both the theme park as well as caribbean bay which is a water theme park. it was superbly fun. in fact, i didnt realised till belatedly that it was the same park that hyunjoong went in the show 'we got married', where he had to piggy back his wifey and also took the rollercoaster ride. speaking of the rollercoaster T-express... it was OMG. IT HAS THE STEEPEST DROP EVER. i have taken a lot of rides in my lifetime and normally i aint too excited, but this one, this one is marvelous. its almost like free fall down but it doesnt end there. the ride continues with 12 ripples of drops. it was hell of an amazing ride on the wooden structure. i will talk more when i post up the pixs.
i also went to the cafe where they filmed coffee prince. it was a nice spot though they had a rather grumpy male serving staff...sigh. it was some effort before i found the place actually because it was not in the map and the cafe had no name so to speak. i had to go to four seasons house, a place where they had all the drama set of winter sonata etc to ask for directions.
the weirdest thing i must admit in korea, is how little english is spoken and used in seoul, despite all the grand effort to promite its tourism. without my friend, it would have been impossible to know which bus stop to go to grab what number bus, or where to stop. nothing was in english....
initially it was a little challenging. then to my surprise, i realised that i actually got on better speaking in japanese rather than in english. odds are, someone on the street and in restaurants will understand japanese more than english. talk about bizarre....
ok...i am trying to sort out the pictures but i have to settle down after coming back first. so many things to do, trying to work out rental renewal etc...our landlord isnt exactly the most accomodating people and its getting annoying. still wondering if we should move to elsewhere but that would mean to be stuck with a new contract for another 14months and that is shitty if we decide to return to sg earlier. Then there is 2 trips to plan etc. i always hate the period around here coz things would jam up back to back.
its so bloody hot in hk compared to seoul, where korea is a nice 22-26 degrees. coming back to bloody hot 30 degree in hk is a nitemare. I cannot go anywhere without my hat and shades now because its too scorching and glaring. The good thing is at least here in HK, wearin hat is a norm and i wont be treated with funny looks as in singapore.
ok laterz. need to go collect my flight tickets from post office.
jya mata ne.
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...
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.
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.
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