Back to skooool...

Bidding for modules again. i hate this process... although it's good that i choose what i want to study but the process to get to it is so taxing.

new semester of the new year. hope i make more friends and be more sociable this time around.

result last sem was A-B+B-B-C+ CAP 3.5 not bad for my first semester considering that the modules which i thought is going to be the hardest got A- but ironically, the core module that i put in the most effort actually got me a C+...

this semester i'm taking up theatre studies wohoo. hope it's going to be fun ahah. i don't mind heavy workload as long as it is fun fun fun :D

i'm going to leave korean language level 1 to next semester because a) i don't have enough bidding points to shed some blood in the CORS website against those pesky seniors and b) one heavy workload module is enough for one semester haha

back to skool in a week! don't know how i should feel right now. reluctant or excited?

Lazy Sunday

back to the same ol' weekend routine. saturday bowling, sunday family day

have to go christmas shopping soon. haven't gotten any present yet. didn't manage to find anything interesting in Korea (maybe because i didn't shop much).

results are going to be out on Tuesday! i'm going to die from the anxiety... i don't think i will fail any module? but erm... i wanna get good grades so i can slack for the next semester :) thinking of taking up Korean Language but i heard the workload is as heavy as the recent christina aguerilla; plus, i don't know if i have enough points to compete with the rest of the K-enthusiasts. i think i dread bidding for modules more than receiving the results.. argh. time to plan my timetable soon...

dreading jj

Day 8 - D-Day

Forgot that my flight is on tues and not wednesday! so i had to rush to the supermarket to get all the korean snacks and stuff. wanted to try soju at night but there's no time! so i went to the supermarket at 10am and got myself a bottle of soju (only about $1.20). tried a sip and threw it away. tastes like ethanol can? although sweeter but i still don't like it.

Quick breakfast while walking to Sungkyunkwan University caramel machiatto and a hotdog bun

Sungkyunkwan scandal! loved that show haha. entrance of the university

must get off your horses here? i guess it's a no vehicle zone in those days

walking through the park trying to find the ginko tree where 红壁书 always hang out in the show haha. its supposed to be 700 yrs old? all the trees look 700 years old to me haha. and they all look the same without their leaves

maybe this was where the sacred note was hidden in the drama lol

i want a house just like this! a big wooden gate with overgrown bonsai tree in my front yard. eating watermelon during the summer and having charcoal bbq in the winter.. ahh...

jackson took me to this more-posh-than-usual korean restaurant to have a 99 course meal? lol. didnt count how many dishes there were but it was a lot. we couldn't finish most of it. first up, pumpkin porridge

then 4 cold dishes came. shellfish salad, chupjae?, tofu leek salad and something something haha

cold sashimi soup. i don't eat sashimi but this one is actually pretty nice! the raw fish is not the usual soft kind that i hate, it's sweet and firm

followed by hot seaweed seafood soup. the seaweed here is different from usual. it is like chinese 發菜 just that it doesn't grow in the desert. all the seafood in this bowl is so fresh and sweet. loved it

beef soup. extremely rich flavour. it's almost like drinking beef essence, if such a thing exists anyways haha. the soup was too rich for me but the beef itself is tender and the radish is juicy and has so much flavour to it

fried fish with chilli paste

bbq fish

last course to fill you up. kimchi and the usual suspects

together with brown rice? and seaweed soup (like those kind shown in korean drama where the mom always cook for their children's birthday)

i could barely move after the meal... such a waste that we didn't manage to finish everything though.

after waiting an hour before i could check-in, i walked around the airport and saw Kraze Burger at this food court. the black device is what most cafe and food court pass to you so that they can signal you when the food is ready to collect. i prefer to get a number tag and they serve it to me when it's ready. might be my prince-syndrome haha. but then again, there's no service charge so i'm not complaining

seriously? burger meal cost about $14.50. but i have no idea if it's because it's sold in the airport or are all fast food that expensive in korea. but in lotteria a set meal only cost about $6?

but the burger is perfect. although the patty can be thicker, the rest was just heavenly as you can see from the picture. this is the Matiz if i'm not wrong. their homemade pickle has a tinge of cinnamon to it which makes the burger so different from the normal queasy burger

off to beijing in AirChina. seriously. i don't think the airline is bad. i just think that it's its passengers that make the whole flight experience excruciating... the row in front of me had 3 ah tiongs. the middle one happily on his iPad and started playing some Chinese movie with the sound on enough for me to understand what the movie is about... and to make it worse, the air stewardess past them 3 times before asking them to keep it. not because its loud and irritating. but because she said the table has to be stowed. wtf? they had their iPad on during takeoff. omg. i know i'm a typical kiasi singaporean but listen to announcement can? you don't fasten seatbelt is your problem. just don't have your made in china iPad 5 on during takeoff can?

this is probably one of the rare things i bought in Korea. and i actually got it in Busan haha. a mousepad. needed one and saw that this was cute haha. my previous mousepad is actually 2 years old and was also from korea. free gift from JBros, some random shop in Dongdaemun i think.

i had to transit in Beijing airport and guess what? i left my RMB in my luggage and it's checked in. haiz... asked the shop if they accept korean won they say no... so i went to the currency exchange and they say theres a 60yuan surcharge. i would've starved to death if not for the korean snacks that jackson bought for me before i left haha. the brownie was simply divine... i wonder if singaporea has it. i saw it in the supermarket in korea but i didn't buy it. now i'm regretting to the max... after 4 hours and 3 episodes of korean drama later, i was on my way back to homeland singapore!

weighed myself this morning when i got back. i did not gain any weight at all!?!? must be all the walking i did while i was eating there haha. i tend to walk a lot when i am alone because i have no direction that i am heading. whatever seems interesting, i will head towards that. and usually it's food haha.

after helping my sis today, i gained 1kg. oh my god. singapore food really stays in me... who asked me to have upsized chicken rice and 5 gyoza followed by a piece of Popeye's chicken breast and some fries... what is with me and overeating?

i have got to start running with yuda when school reopens and pick up tennis from louis. really need to pick up an outdoor sports since most people laugh when i told them my sports is bowling lol.. people just don't understand competitive bowling.

this post concludes my 8-daylong Solo Seoul Trip :D

how i feel about this trip in one sentence, "it is by far the most liberating and free 8 days of my life; i just have to think about how to spend my money and what to eat every single day." haha

-sporty pjj heading to bed-

*annyeong~

Day 7 - Chillin' in Seoul

Basically i didn't do much today. so tired because the auntie at the traditional house said breakfast is at 8am... felt tired the entire day because i woke up specially for this breakfast below... haiz... the fried ham was nice. the rest was, well, tasteless.

at breakfast, the other occupant at the korean house was a guy from switzerland. he talks funny and he's a REALLY happy guy. everything seems to be wonderful and cheerful in his life lol...
asked me to visit the hotel where he works in switzerland. 4000m above sea level. it's like asking me go tibet again... i can still rmb the altitude in tibet.. light-headedness and nose bleeds 24/7 zzz

wanted to eat here but the pictures didn't really attract me. i wanted to eat ramen and kimbap.

so i took a metro to dongdaemun to have my breakfast since i'm heading there today. saw this advert. to me, she's like the korean shu qi albeit much prettier, without the annoyingly thick lips. my 九尾狐 <3

Dongdaemun! i think guys would prefer shopping at dongdaemun while girls would prefer myeong dong. dongdaemun has tonnes of shopping mall; each like a platinium mall in bangkok.

the place where i had my breakfast :D

Kimbap! had to slowly place the kimbap properly before taking this picture haha

and ramen! how come they cook the maggi mee better than me??? must research on how to make the best ramen this holiday

typical street in Dongdaemun. selling jackets and stuff at low low prices. i think some hoodies are only around $11. but i have no need for them so i continued walking. visited 2 shopping malls but at 11am, all the shop owners are like so desperate for a sale. i was on the escalator going up and the moment my head pops up into their sight and they started talking to me in korean. i had to window shop with the corner of my eyes so the shop owner doesn't notice that i'm looking at their stuff lol. i'm a timid shopper

shopping at dongdaemun is too intense and stressful so i headed to myeong-dong. wanted to visit seoul tower but jackson said he would bring me to the world cup park so i thought i would visit it another time. in the end i did not go up to seoul tower because i forgot my flight is today and my plan to visit seoul tower and the han river cruise was destroyed... oh well. seoul tower will probably be like busan tower. go up see the whole of seoul with tiny buildings and people

stopped at cafe gurunaru for a cuppa coffee. breakfast was disappointing but the coffee here was fantastic. my second favourite in korea :)

looooove the tiramisu cake. must be the overload of mascarpone :D)

met up with jackson and he drove us to the world cup park. this place used to be a wasteland but now, it has turned into an eco-friendly park that is HUGE. there are 4 parts to this park i think. we went to the sunset park. i think running man was filmed here. the episode where ji hyo was the queen and she had a river taxi where she picks the team member up along the han river.

the tents at the bottom is where running man filmed with Kang Daesung. the park where they have to watch the bbq of top grade beef without swallowing their saliva haha

i bet the view here would be breathtaking during the autumn

at the top of the park, there were people making real snow for kids to play with sleigh

looks damn familiar cause i think daesung hid below that tap during running man haha

knowing my addiction over waffle and sweet treats, jackson brought me to a waffle place. homecooked waffle is the best! and the whipped cream is just heavenly.

too much caffine in me (coffee in the morning and tea with the waffles) so i ordered myself a Green Tea Tomccino back at Hyehwa after jackson left. i think you can get wifi almost everywhere in seoul because every single cafe has free wifi lol. i shouldn't have applied for dataroaming here

after the green tea at tom & toms', i was feeling hungry again. i blame the cold weather for making me constantly hungry. i went past this bbq place yesterday and i just knew i have to give it a try. i went in and asked for a table of one. and like usual, people were looking at me like, "oh my... one person?" i asked the owner if i can order just one set but he says minimum 2 pax serving again. but it's bbq so i have no problem finishing 2 people's share haha. order a serving of pork belly and a serving of beef short ribs (yum!)

*sizzle sizzle*

they gave me pig's skin!!!! omg so happy can? i've been looking for it since i got here in seoul. the mushroom was a good addition too :D

the place where i had lonesome bbq. after bbq, i felt so lethargic so i decided to go to a zzimjilbang again to have a bathe. bathing bakc in the korean house is just too cold even though they have hot water supply... i feel so relaxed after the shower. at least there isnt many wrinkly grandpas at this kind of hour at hyehwa. it's a young district afterall.

tteokpokki at 1am? decided i can still eat because i weighed myself at the zzimjilbang and i still weigh the same as before i came to seoul!! but can't be sure because i have to use the weighing scale i used at home to confirm haha. got myself a stick of oden too. a guy beside me took a stick of oden and after finishing it, he poke a piece of rice cake for himself and the uncle didnt care at all. i should've done the same because i couldnt finish the whole plate of rice cake.

back at the house was when i realised that this is my last night here and started to panic. if i've known i would've go back earlier and have an early night. because there's still a few things i haven't do here in seoul. ahhhh!!

-homebound soon-

Day 6 - Bu-bye Busan~

the night before leaving busan, i saw this traditional performance along the street near my motel. in the background is Nickhun's ad lol

the walkway in my motel. it's like the walk of shame. sleazy ttm

metro ticket to Busan station! the ticket is different from those in Seoul. Seoul is like ez-link while the ones in Busan are disposable

<3<3<3 song ji hyo :D

Busan Station. Looks awfully similiar to Seoul Station

my breakfast place in the station

had a bibimbap with ox bone soup on the left side. thank god i did not order the whole serving of ox bone soup. the tense was too.... intense? lol

straight after breakfast, i didn't want to wait in the cold departure hall so i sat down and had a cup of coffee and a slice of Souffle Cheese cake - NAISE :))

it's funny how they phrase it. but they really do not check your ticket in the train. at least for both trips to and from busan, i did not see any train conductors. you can just hop on and off the train whenever you like and no one would care (i guess) just as long as you do not sit in other people's pre-booked seats

Met Jackson at Seoul station and he led me to my accomodation. it's not as close as they said in the map haha. at least 10 mins walk from the metro station. The entrance of my Hanok, traditional Korean house. it's located on Sungkyunkwan-ro! and Sungkyunkwan Palace is just around the corner where i stay! i thought that it was a fictional place haha. i will give it a visit tomorrow when i have the time :D

Jackson brought me to another BBQ place to have Sam Gyup Sal which is like very thick bacon but not at all salty like bacon.

looks damn fat right? but after bbq-ing them, you would praise the lord for creating such a wonderful animal...

jigae and the simply fantastic steamed egg

a mouthful of heaven. juicy meat plus melt in your mouth fats oh.my.god. ordered another serving because i just couldn't have enough of it :D

fragrant fried garlic in sesame oil

After the bbq, jackson ordered a anchovy-broth noodle. sounds weird but amazingly delicious. actually i like any noodle just as long as it does not have any kimchi in it or if it's cold.

waffle treat :D what is with my addiction with desserts recently... tennis and running when school reopens

after jackson left, i continued on my hunt for food haha. even though i was uber full with all the wonderful stuff in my stomach, i still could take more Korea in me. haha. 4 X red bean fishes

red bean and cinnamon really should marry each other. they go together soooo well with anything

the smell of roasted squid just lured me into having one.

i can't believe i'm still eating at this point... i could only finish half of it not because i was too full. my jaw was cramped from all the chewing. i could not open my jaw wide after i stopped eating it

walked around a bit to digest and saw these posters. omg. all the ads in Korea all so nice can. haha. because it has all the people i like in it. there's woo young, eunjung, and taecyeon!! basically the whole of t-ara and 2pm

was determined to stop eating and left the street of alluring scent. but on my way back, i saw this old uncle selling roasted chestnut and corn. wah... wood roasted corn sounds sooo nice right?

authentic musky smell of burning wood

in the end, i was disappointed. couldn't eat it after the first bite. it was as dry as the brand, Superdry? haha. i thought i would be juicy but i think the corn that was roasted before was left chilling in the dry wind for damn long...

went to this cosy little cafe near where i stayed and had a cup of Maple Cinnamon Latte. the whole ambience of the cafe just makes me feel so warm and comfy with 4 little cushions around me. wanted to sit at the table above me but it was taken... it's like the top of a double-decked bed and with a small table and kneeling down (traditional korean-style), that would've been wonderful...

instead, i chose the second best table. it has this tea cup light just a little distance away from my head. the whole "booth" is so enclosed and conducive to continue reading my book - 'One Day'. i heard the movie is nice so i decided to read the book first. but it's kinda complicated? they keep jumping here and there lol. maybe i just don't have the 料to be reading books. this is the first book i'm reading since... secondary 2? omg.. that's almost 10 years ago..

back to my little korean house. Friends House. the name of the place haha. would be nice to have a cup of soju and have a bbq at the yard in the Spring..

the entrance to my room. it's a small door that is shorter than i am. i've knocked my head twice so far. the first layer of door is a pair of glass doors which i can lock and the second layer of door is the traditional sliding wooden door with rice paper. it's damn hard to slide open. i'm afraid i'll spoil it everytime i open/close it.. since i'm notorious for spoiling things easily.

the most comfortable bed i've slept in korea so far. the hostel's bed was terrible and the pillow and bed in busan was far too hard.. only the floor is heated so i have to lie down in order to keep myself warm. after bathing, i raced through the icy yard and back into my room and wrapped myself up like a kimbap. after 10 mins, i need to go to the toilet; this feeling is the worst. i contemplated for about an hour till i decided that i really had to go lol.. although the toilet is about 15metres away, it's the longest 15m of my life. don't you just hate it when you return to your bed and it's cold again? argh...

the other corner of my small little room. although it's small, it's about 50% bigger than the hostel i stayed in. the white wire dangling from the ceiling is the switch for the light.

i'm starting to miss Busan. it has more christmas feel and where i stayed, everything is accessible by foot. in seoul, i have to take a train everywhere i go.

bu-hoo. busan. bu-bye.