Home, sweet home. But Seoul is definitely cooler (in terms of weather.) After spending that much time there, the humidity here is so obvious. Have to readjust to the weather.. hidung pon asyik tersumbat je.
Another thing that needs readjusting is.. the internet connection. In Seoul, the internet is at lightning speed. I never had to wait for a video to finish loading before i could watch it. Click, and watch. Heaven!!!! Nak tulis entry ni pon lama nak bukak page nye.. Adoi. I'm so sending my laptop to be reformatted tomorrow. Thinking of buying a new set of PC. Flat screen yg 29". Pergh!!!!
Nevertheless, Alhamdulillah. I'm safe at home. There is definitely no other place like home. :)
Monday, December 28, 2009
Dear Seoul
Seoul ah..
Naneun ulgoshipoh.. ㅠ.ㅠ
This is my last night.. Can't believe it has been a month since ive been with you. Time flew so fast because I had one helluva time.. I will not forget this experience ever. Truly, a month to remember. :)
The bittersweet (mostly sweet) memories we've created together will last for a lifetime. You have been so good to me. Your people is very unique. Warm (especially the ahjummas), stylish (the youngins), good-looking, TALL, rude (they dont say 'excuse me' or 'sorry' when they bump into you), crazy (the girls wearing a piece of cloth in winter), helpful (they never refuse when we asked for directions) and most of all, FUN!
If there's one thing that i would be tad unhappy of is the weather. It is HARSH. Even as Im writing this, my fingers are numb because of the cold..and im inside the house! hehe.. But, thank you for snowing so heavily on my 2nd last day here. I love love love snow! We went outside to build snow man on a -10 celcius night. That's how much I love snow. heheh..
I love you so much and thank you for making me feel right at home. You are clean, fascinating and beautiful! We'll meet sooner than you think. :)
xoxo,
Borgy
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Jjimjilbang
Last two days, Liyana (it's her first time here) and I went to a jjimjilbang (Korean sauna) in Yongsan. This is one of the biggest and most popular jjimjilbang in Seoul. It's called Dragon Hill Spa. It's right beside I'Park Mall. U couldn't miss it. ;)
I did go to one jjimjilbang in Silim with Nu'u and Hyekyung during our first week here. I gotta say this one trumps that. In terms of size and also experience. Understandably, when we went to the one in Silim, I was SO shy seeing naked ladies everywhere. We were so cautious of everything and it was night time. Jjimjilbang is also the place where the men go after drinking with their friends, not wanting to drive under influence or face their angry wives at home. hehe. So, we were a tad scared of what the drunken ahjussi's would do to us while we sleep. Oh yeah, we can sleep in there too.
Now, seeing another naked woman is.. alright. Not bad. :p
In front of the sauna. It's the one with the giant clock and blue dragon. The admission fee is 10 000 won (from 5am - 8pm). It's 12 000 won after that hours.
Liyana in front of the elevator to Women's section. Thank god for that. The one in Silim doesn't have a hall for women (we can lie down.. watch tv here) , only the bath section is especially for women. So, we can rest in peace after soaking in sweat in the hot room without interruption.
The infamous Korean Jjimjilbang Towel style. I made it myself. Seriously, I didn't learn from any tutorials. haha!
Us in the Charcoal Kiln room. Very comfortable although we were lying on woods. It's not hot nor cold. Just right. The second time we went in, there were this 1 young couple who couldn't take their hands off each other. Nyampah! After finishing our ice cream, we left. Seb baik x muntah ice cream tu.
My throne. Seriously, this is in the jjimjilbang. Haha! It's common for taping of shows to be done here.
The Winter Sonata pavilion - Yeap, although it hardly looks like it.. that's what they call this pathway.
Liyana even said that honeymoon here would be great. I agree. It has heated swimming pool.. arcade.. a lot of sauna rooms.. restaurant.. you can rest with your family and have fun at the same time, just in 1 building. Clever, right?
FUN day!!!!!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Today
I give up on blogging about the past days since I can't remember candidly what happened on that particular days. Maybe ill write smthg about our sight-seeing on week 1 and week 2 in Seoul and Gyeongju later. I wanna write about today.
Remember Yunhui, our 1st friend in Seoul.. our tourist-tour guide..? She invited me over to her place in Mapo for a lunch. She promised to cook us something but Nu'u has returned home so I'm reppin' on her behalf. (im in ghetto mood today. "reppin'"??!!! wtf. i make my self LOL) I woke up early today. Partly because we've promised to meet at 11am and also because it's that time of the month. The back pain and the moisture forced me to get up at 8.30am. ;p
We met at the World Cup Stadium station and it was effin' cold today. -8 degrees! We quickly took shelter inside Home Plus of the Stadium. Can u believe it, a shopping mall in a soccer
stadium. Imagine how big it is. I forgot to take pictures of it. darn. We did some shopping in the supermarket and walked back to Yunhui's apartment.
I love her apartment. It's on the 14th floor and the view is spectacular.
The magnificent view. Lucky her!
She's a good cook! I love her cooking. Pae bulloyo! (I'm full!)
(please excuse the images. i forgot to take pictures before we devour the good food. these are the leftovers. haha!)
Ken nip mandu - the insides is tofu, carrot and tuna. mashiketta!
The best steamed egg i've ever tasted.
We ate and talked till 2.45pm. I had to head home early because I planned to go to KBS and watch Music Bank with Amirah (Liyana's housemate) at 5.30pm. Yunhui had to go to Dongdaemun to buy a sleeping bag. She's going to Vietnam for a volunteer program on Sunday. She's an angel.
Me and Miss Yunhui
We said our last goodbye and we parted our ways at the Hapjeong station. I went back home and waited for Amirah to get ready. We left home at about 5.30pm. I was so excited that I'm finally going to the show I religiously watch everyweek. The show that made me go into fan-girl mode each time I watch it - MUSIC BANK!!! I can't wait to see the celebrities with my own eyes and finally, my trip here would be complete.
We arrived there around 6.10pm. Unfortunately the doors to the music hall was already closed. There was this one fierce guard-ahjussi manning the entrance. We just stood outside, in the cold waiting for him to let us in. There were 7 or 8 girls including us outside and all of us were putting on our best face so that the ahjussi would let us in. We watched 2 girls trying to get in but the ahjussi won't let them in.
I tried to sneak in when he wasn't looking but obviously, I wasn't fast enough for the 50-year-old granpa and he caught me by the arm. He just shoved me out the door, pushing me while shouting "No! No!" Seriously, it's not like I was going to kidnap the President of South Korea, DAMMIT! I was so frustrated and waited stubbornly outside with the hope that maybe he would let us in eventually. It won't hurt the show if he'd let 8 girls in and save us from the cold. But NOOOOOOO.. he stood on the other (warm) side of the door and didn't even look at us. For k-pop's sake, HAVE FUHREAKING MERCY! Finally, an officer in suit told us to get lost and to not wait anymore. I accepted my defeat and retreated. *sigh* I tried.
In the end, I took some pictures to show that I've been to KBS building..
In front of the radio studio. (is that what it's called?) It's supposed to be the place for Sukira where Eunhyuk and Leeteuk of Super Junior are the hosts. Their program is at 11pm. We'd be snow-women if we waited.
On the big stairs of KBS where the filming of 1 Night 2 Days is usually done.
I still love KBS after what happened. (still heartbroken tho)
Our smiling faces.. Tuhan je tahu betapa hampa nyer hati.. T.T
Thank God no 2PM performance scheduled for today. I would have cried right there and then.
Friday, December 11, 2009
South Korea Trip - Day 3 - Ewha University, Hongik University
On this day, we had no particular plans. Since we're meeting a new friend, Jin Kang in Hongik University (Hongdae, for short) for dinner, we decided to explore the university's vaccinity. Before we head to Hongdae, we went to Ewha Womans University (Edae) to just take a look around. It's like we're on a mission to check out all the universities in 1 day. haha. Edae is just a few stations away so, we thought.. what the heck, let's go.
Getting out from the subway station, we proceeded to the Wedding Street. It's res ipsa loquitor. The whole street is heaven for brides and grooms-to-be. There are shops selling hanbok (traditional clothing wore on special occasions for example, a wedding) and modern dresses. On the other side of the road is a small portion dedicated to suits for men. Churches can be found on the street too. The street is so convenient for gun-shot wedding. Buy a dress in 1 shop, cross the street, pick up a suit, go to the church next door and done!
Strolling down the Wedding Street, a single lady preying for potential grooms. But as u can see from the picture, nobody's to be found. Darn.
The Wedding Street
I love these.
After we woke up from fantasizing about our dream wedding, we finally went to Ewha Womans University. It was beautiful! Very unique indeed. The buildings are very futuristic and the university compound is opened to public, unlike certain local universities that stops every single car that's entering the campus.
A lot of statues. Failing my fierce pose.
Pretty much the front part of the uni.
In front of the uni, on the streets.
After spending 3 good, hours exploring that part of the city.. we finally make our way to our destination - Hongdae. We were there by 4.30pm and to kill time, another round of exploration. Actually, we wanted to just hang out at a coffee shop till it's dinner time. What happened was, i thought i saw a sign saying that a cuppa would cost around 2000 won. Little did i know, that that price is impossible in Hongdae. We walked inside this pretty underground coffee shop and on the menu it says : Espresso - 5000won. Dayyum. Eventhough we had already sat down, we quietly gathered our stuffs and went out without ordering. Hahaha. We kept walking to find the cheapest coffee shop and in the same time exploring the area too but we ended up getting lost. Finally, we settled with the first coffee shop we saw when we regained our bearing. The price is still ridiculous but our feet won't let us walk anymore.
The view from the coffee shop
While enjoying our caffe latte (that we shared), Jin Kang texted us to say that he's gonna be 1 hour late. I remembered a friend, Yujin who was supposed to meet us yesterday but she had to cancel. I called her up and she said that she could meet us for coffee (again) in Hongdae. We settled our bill and head out to meet her at the subway exit. While waiting for her to come, our handphone rang and it was Hyekyung calling us.
Hyekyung : Hi Nurul!
Me: Hi! How are you?
Hyekyung : Good. Are you, by any chance, in Hongdae right now? I think I saw u just now.
Me: Yeah. Im right in front of the subway exit. Where are you?
Hyekyung: Wait, Ill come to u. This is amazing. Haha!
Mind you that Ive never seen Hyekyung before and she only saw my picture on Couchsurfing. She said that it was so easy to spot us as we're the only ones wearing hijab in the sea of people in Hongdae. We chitchatted by the roadside for awhile and at the same time, Yujin arrived. Hyekyung left and Yujin brought us to this precious tea shop at some back alley. It is surprising to find a neat shop at that kind of place. ;) So, this is our second coffee (tea) shop for the day.
Nu'u and her teapot.
Pretty, pretty tea shop. The owner even has a certificate of making tea. (or whatever it is called.)
After hanging out with Yujin for 1 hour, it's time to meet Jin Kang. (phew. lots of new friends in 1 day). We told him earlier that we wanted to try sashimi so he brought us to this 1 huge sashimi restaurant.
The fishes were surprisingly chewy and very fresh. I like it but once is enough. I cannot eat this everyday. Nu'u could.
With Jin Kang in Hongik University. A quick walk around the campus to digest our food.
Next stop, coffee shop! We chatted about a lot of things. Jin Kang had some serious questions about Islam and we gladly answered him in the best possible way. We did not try to preach, just enlightening him on the true facts about Islam. From what I can see, there are still misconceptions about Islam be it because of what the media portrayed or out of sheer ignorance. Nevertheless, it was satisfying to have been able to clear some confusions even if it is only 1 person.
Our third coffee shop of the day!
Crowded subway.
All in all, it was a fun day.. Meeting new friends, trying new food, exploring new territories by ourselves. Im proud of my newfound adventurous side. Hehe. Because of the overload of caffeine I slept at 5.30am. It helped me to write new entries. Thanks, coffees.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
South Korea Trip - Insadong, Cheonggyecheon Stream and Han River
First of all.. I'm now in Guro-gu, at Liyana's (my junior from high school) place, to be exact. She's having an exam tomorrow so I am now using her laptop to prevent her from straying into Facebook from her revision. Focus, Liyana, focus! ;p
Let's pick up where I left off. After the sight-seeing at Namsan tower, we had 2 friends from Meteor Club that would help us navigate through the city and brought us to the important tourists spots. Meteor Club is a club where it's members are students from various colleges and universities in Seoul and it provides FREE tour guides around the city. Well, we felt that they are more than just tour guides.. they are our new friends! ^^ We set the meeting at 5pm at Anguk Station.
We met them at the agreed point and we headed to Insadong to enjoy some good 'ol Korean dinner. It was very, very tasty to say the least. Enjoy the feast for your eyes. hehe.
Voila! Ready-to-eat bibimbap. To those Full House fans, this is the "dog food" that Rain mentioned in the drama. It was faaaarrrr from tasting like one. haha! Delish.
I forgot this dish's name. Let's just call it Fried Seafood. In case you feel like u've seen this somewhere.. Yes, this is Hyori's special dish in Family Outing.
해물 따전 (haemul pajeon) - Seafood Pancake. Also made popular by Family Outing. It tasted like jemput2 udang but better. hehe. It was on the house. Indeed, generous Korean restaurants.
After the sumptuous dinner, we head to the streets of Insadong. I don't know the name of this bazaar. It was full of cute shops that sells artsy stuffs like intricates, fusion hanbok and even traditional instruments. We can't afford any of it so window shopping is fulfilling enough.
Yunhui, our new friend and the bazaar at Insadong.
WithYongwoo and Yunhui in front of steel trays that had drawings on it. creative.
After we digested our food by window shopping around Insadong, we made our way to Cheonggyecheon stream. The stream was actually hidden under concrete roads and it was reclaimed by the government. The project to break the concrete and retrieve the stream costs USD 900 million. It was opened to public in 2005.
Our tourist-tour guide got lost. Haha!
Laser show at the stream bank.
Another impressive laser show.
Nu'ur under an overhead bridge.
Breath-taking waterfall. The stream was totally dry before, so 120 000 tons of water had to be pumped daily. Yeap, it has chlorine, just like our tap water.
Done with the romantic stroll along Cheonggyecheon stream and up to Sejong plaza, we went to Han River to ride on the river cruise. It set us back us 11 000 won (RM33).
Our tourist-tour guides maps. It was hand-written and they couldn't read their own map. Haha! Our funny friends.
It was Yunhui's first time to ride the cruise. It is true that we take for granted our local attractions, thinking that we would have time later to visit it. Instead of acting like our tour guides, they were more like our Korean friends who are exploring their city with us.
It was cold enough on land but on the cruise with the wind it was COLD times 4000. Despite that, we still got out to the front of the boat and enjoyed the view from the deck. They asked me to sing something. I was thinking, belting 'Without You' by Mariah Carey on a cruise, on 1 degree Celsius night would be ridiculous so I started to sing a Korean Christmas carol randomly. We ended up singing and dancing to 'We wish you a merry christmas.." on the deck. It was only 1st December but the festive mood was really fun! Good times, eyh? ^^
Along Han River at night. Nomu yeppuda!
Time to take the subway and go home..
We got lost on our back home. It's our 2nd night in town and we hardly ever get lost again. InsyaAllah.
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