Seoul, South Korea Trip 2016 #케스한여 [PART 3]

HELLO PEEPS. The last part of my 2016 Korea trip is here~~ 

Day 6

So we went to Myeongdong again today in the morning to shop for MORE beauty products and other stuff before exploring Itaewon, which is only a stop away from our airbnb, before resting for the night!

Went to explore the LINE store Myeongdong branch for the gigantic Brown Bear!! 

For those who were wondering whether my friends and I were crazy wearing only sweater/hoodies in such a cold weather, no, we're not crazy. Apparently we got used to the cold :/ 

Just in case you're curious what was my ootd today, I wore a pair of jeans from Giordano, Converse by John Varvatos All-brown high-top sneakers (if I'm not wrong), a Uniqlo Ultra Warm HEATTECH thermal Long-sleeve (in black), a simple cotton shirt and a (fake) Stussy hoodie (in grey) that I bought from Myeongdong the previous day for only 15,000₩!! Brought my winter jacket just in case I feel cold at night but end up not wearing it anyway because the cold was tolerable.

We even got a taste of the local Korean BBQ at Itaewon! It's very delicious but very expensive too >< 

Didn't get to eat a lot of it due to our budget but thanks to that I don't have to worry about gaining a lot of weight HAHAH! Actually, to think about it, it felt as though I ate lesser than I usually do in Singapore. No wonder I lost weight instead... 

Day 7

Today, we visited Hongdae to shop and then to Tosokchon Village which is near Gyeongbukgong Palace and famous for their 삼계탕 (Ginseng Chicken Soup).

And no, we didn't visit YG Entertainment today because we completely forgot about it lol. Plus, it's a waste of time to travel here and there too.

Again, we're wearing only 3 layers again because we seriously got used to the cold, if I'm not wrong, it was around 3 degrees. Thank god it wasn't below zero though. It's funny how we were wearing lesser than the locals themselves, suddenly I feel like a superhuman 😂

By the way it was a very chillax day today because it's our last day in Seoul before preparing to go home tomorrow. Sighs, packing is the worst when travelling. I wonder how I'm gonna squeeze everything I bought into my luggage 😪

Day 8

Going home today!! Sighs, gonna miss Korea so much. Gonna miss the places, the (slight) language (barrier), the people, the food, the free gifts you get when you buy skincare products and mostly, the weather. I love the cold weather, even though it was freezing cold and all but I really liked it. In fact, the weather actually helped with my slight skin troubles, all my small bumps literally disappeared spending a week there lol amazing!! Maybe I was made for the cold weather... I was born in December anyways 😂😂

The amazing view from the plane while flying to KLIA Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Kinda reminds me of the anime Sword Art Online.

Was bored so I took out a book I prepared to read for awhile. Book name's 'Unhomed' by various authors/students/poets, published by Ethos Books Singapore.

Got home at around 8pm and look at all the stuff I got from our trip! Hahah! Amazing how it all managed to actually get inside my luggage right?? Bought heaps of masks that can probs last me for 3 years or more hahah!!

In conclusion, it was a very memorable and exciting trip for me. Although there were some arguments and disagreements here and there but it's bound to happen while travelling with friends because yknow, people have different opinions and they can't always agree with one another. I am actually really glad the dissatisfactions didn't affect us a whole lot during the trip.

Few weeks later... ((15th December 2016))

Still miss Korea, and really hope to go back soon... The people there are just amazing! Basically, the country itself is really fascinating and everyone should take some time off to visit it.

10 years since my last trip to Seoul and I guess things did change quite a lot. Suddenly there were tourists from all around the world, thanks to KPOP! You might think, of course there's gonna be tourists every now and then because it's no longer unusual for people to travel around the world nowadays, but honestly, there were a HUGE BUNCH OF THEM. Everywhere we go we see tourists (we're tourists too but oh well), mostly the Chinese. 👀

Anyways, these are just a few snapshots of my trip, so if you'd like to get to know more about my experience in Korea, please look out for our vlog on my YouTube channel!! Gonna upload it real soon!

Other Information:

Airbnb: JJ Guesthouse 

https://www.airbnb.com.sg/rooms/15000255?eluid=1&euid=03d60361-1ab6-11d1-4fc1-a012dca23734

YouTube channel: Daphne Chen 曾令绮

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCQ2jxEZMcpYgL-Y2E13L6Fw

 

Seoul, South Korea Trip 2016 #케스한여 [PART 2]

Back with Part 2 of my trip to Seoul with friends!! 

Day 3

Following our plan, we decided to go to COMMONGROUND (which is located at Konkuk Univ Station) in the morning before we explore the amazing shopping district, Dongdaemun!!

Here's us in the subway defying rules like the teenagers we are. 

Also, look at all the adorable penguins on display that day to commemorate Antarctica Penguin Day! #안타티카팬귄날다

Next we went to Dongdaemun and shopped till we drop. We didn't have any pictures taken there but it is indeed a shopping paradise and we had our shopping frenzy there. I believe I bought most of my clothes and things there because the price there is very reasonable. Even when it's not, you get to cut the price down to your desirable cost! Just like what you can do in a Pasar malam here in Singapore.

At night, we decided to try out another of Korea's delivery system, FRIED CHICKEN! They come in different flavours: soy sauce, original and spicy. Here below we have a set we ordered which consists of a box of soy sauce chicken and another of original-flavoured ones. It's considerably smaller compared to those we usually get in KFC in Singapore and also less oily, which makes it healthier too! On top of that, it is also very cheap. This set here cost us around 12,000₩, which is around S$14! Don't think you can get these at this price in Singapore!!

Day 4

On our 4th day, we went to Gangnam to explore their shopping centres, most specifically COEX Mall (arrive at Samseong Station because it's the nearest subway station).

We also got to see Seoul's 첫눈 (first snow)!! It wasn't really big but I'm still very happy to see it because it's my first time experiencing snow. If I were to describe snow for those who have yet to experience it, it would be as though bingsu or crushed ice is falling from the sky.

Portraits of EXO members in the COEX Artium SMTOWN cafe.

Coincidentally, it was SHINee's fan meet in COEX Mall. We didn't get to meet them however because the timing wasn't right. I believe they appeared when we were about to leave the mall. We also stopped by at the KAKAO Friends Store to buy a few gifts for my relatives and take a few shots with the characters. Aren't they just adorable?? 😝

We spent a whole day at COEX that day and went home.

Day 5

Since we didn't get to explore much of Gangnam on our 4th day, we decided to explore their streets today. We went to visit some of the entertainment companies today and also took pictures with the famous Gangnamdols before we head to Myeongdong in the afternoon to experience night shopping and delicious Korean street food!!

Sadly we didn't get to visit Bighit Entertainment because we weren't really sure where it is until we saw a sign board near the Gangnamdols and realised that it wasn't very far away from JYP Entertainment. Sighs. YG Entertainment is located at Hongdae(?) so we did not get to visit it.

Here are pictures of me posing with Gangnamdols of my Favourite idol groups, EXO and BTS.

Next we proceeded to Myeongdong and spent our whole night there. While we were there, we got the chance to taste the many types of street food famous in South Korea. Twisted potato with cheese, fried soft-shelled crabs, black pork kebabs and boiled fish cakes to name a few. 

We also went to the Adidas branch here to look for some shoes because we heard that they sell shoes here at a fairly cheaper price as compared to in Singapore. We went to take a look at the price difference and they weren't wrong! I bought these 2 pairs of shoes and saved nearly S$30!!! 헐!! ((Sorry I'm too lazy to take pictures of them so...))

TO BE CONTINUED...

((Please look out for part 3 of my trip!!))

Meeting GOT7 for the first time!! [+RANT]

Hey guys, just a short post to share with y'all about my first time "meeting" GOT7 before I get into my sweet slumber for the night. 

The story goes like this, it's just another Monday during a holiday and my friends and I were just like oh yknow, confirm won't have a lot of adults at Universal Studios Singapore (USS) cause they have work, only tourists and students BUT WE WERE WRONG. Queues were overflowing even at the ticketing counter but luckily there's this kind Indonesian tourist who decided to sell us her extra tickets at a lower price because her friends pangseh-ed her. Poor lady. 

 We eventually got the tickets from her and we entered USS, overflowing with excitement and happiness (which eventually faded away as the attractions become flooded with more people with time).

Since my friends and I are majority KPOPPERs, we were aware of GOT7's very recent concert and fan meet in Singapore. However, we thought they would have gone back to Korea for their schedules because yknow BEING THE FAMOUS KPOP BOY GROUP THEY ARE, and we entered USS with no intention or hope to meet any celebrities today but WE WERE WRONG (again).

Twitter became flooded with tweets by iGOT7s happening to meet GOT7 members outside of USS and even inside. We became hopeful, of course, and thought we could grab a few autographs or pictures with them, but nope, we rather not! 

Having some of my friends being iGOT7s, we stopped queueing for rides at about 4.30pm and decided to start searching for some of the members to catch a glimpse of them or snap a few pictures/videos of them because we really don't want to follow them around with the mob and end up hurting the members, the fans and ourselves. It's best to stay clear of them tbh. I didn't take any pictures but these are screen captures of the videos I took when my friends and I coincidentally met Jinyoung the moment we decided to stop queueing for rides.

iGOT7s who are reading this, don't be mistaken, NO, I wasn't stalking him. It was purely coincidence so I hope y'all don't come bashing me for no reason. Before the video, Jinyoung was standing directly in front of me and apologising to an old man whom he bumped into while exiting the toilet and is now rushing away from other fans to join his members with his manager. Why was he rushing? Basically, these male fans (who are younger than me) followed him into the toilet. I don't know what they did inside but it is clearly unacceptable. Respect your idols man, they're human. 

For the next hour or so, we did not get to meet any other members other than, you guessed it, Jinyoung. Since we didn't have the mood to wait for 40min queues (literally every single ride was at least 40min), we decided to make our way to the exit and along the way, make our season pass which we wanted to. While doing so, surprisingly, we met the free roaming (no one was following him, not even his manager) Jinyoung once again, an empty Starbucks cup in one hand. These are more screen captures from my second video which can only be seen on my Instagram but it's private, oops.

And we thought this was gonna end nicely and calmly for GOT7 since they're going home but NO, WE WERE WRONG (AGAIN). Tens of (sasaeng) fans or probably just busybodies flock to the exit like headless chickens just snapping pictures of other GOT7 members who we didn't get to meet (Yugyeom, Bambam, Jaebum and Mark), crushing them in the process. It was indeed a shocking sight. This is my first time I get to see a fan mob in real life. The heat and annoyance the idols feel must be very unbearable. These are screen captures from the last video I took today of GOT7 before I end my day at USS too. The whole video can be seen on my Twitter.

This is honestly no joke. Do these girls even have a life? You came to USS just to take pictures of and follow your oppas around? Do you think money grow on trees? They seriously need to stop. USS is not a zoo and the idols aren't animals, you don't follow them and take pictures of them like they're the attractions!! If you were part of that mob, or any idol mob in general, really, cut it. You're not affecting your oppa's life, you're affecting everyone around the mob and it's unhealthy.

 Really, can y'all just take a look at how irritated and tired Bambam looked?

Is this really what y'all want your idols to feel about you? They make great music and performances for you all to enjoy and this is what they get in return? Yes, you may think, this is only a small situation, fan sites have done so much great things for them. Really? This affects their opinions about the country's fans too. Do you want other innocent fans to be unfairly treated just because of your selfish and childish behaviours? REFLECT MAN.

GOT7 was so excited to come to SG so I don't think this is a good way to bid them farewell on their last day here. I even remember them wanting to hold a bigger concert next year.

I personally think taking pictures of them is fine because the idols are trained to be used to these phenomenons. But crowding around and following them on their day off from work? NO. If I were a baker, I ain't making no cakes for you on my days off!! They need to rest too y'all know, they're people, human, living things. They need personal space sometimes. Let them rest for gods sake!

Just look at how happy and excited they are on the mummy ride!! Let's not make the idols' lives difficult alright? Even though I'm just a casual fan of their music and not very keen to meet them but I still hope they come again next year.

갓7, 파이팅! 

Seoul, South Korea Trip 2016 #케스한여 [PART 1]

Hey guys! It's been awhile since I actually posted a blog post, probs a year? Been writing posts for many events through out 2016 but never actually posted any cause I didn't finish the posts 😂 This just goes to show how lazy and inconsistent I am with blogging. Sighs. But fear not! This time I finally got my shit together to write a blog post 🤔😉

This is not my first trip to Korea though. Been to kimchi land once in 2006 and missed it a lot since then, so I decided to fly back to see how things have changed. 

What's special about this trip that really got myself to pick my ass up where I left it in blogspot and share with all of you is the fact that this is the first trip I have ever planned and managed with my friends, totally no parents' help! All by ourselves! 대박~ 😆 We're all extremely excited cause some of us haven't been to Korea before and we look forward to how our planned trip goes. And we're definitely accepting any challenges that come our way 🤔

Day 1

At Changi Airport with our beloved giraffe who couldn't make it for the trip with us 😔

Time check. It's 0445hrs and I'm stuck legit freezing in the plane from KL, Malaysia to Incheon, Korea. Never been on a night flight in my life and this is a very terrible first experience, okay maybe not. Luckily I have my face mask ready, if not I might or might not have suffered an on-plane asthma Attack from the cold air lol. 

In addition, can you believe I'm actually writing a blogpost whilst freezing to death? Amazing! 🙄😂 At least I finally have the determination to write a few paragraphs. Not even sure whether I slept at all, just kept dozing off and waking up, feels as though I didn't get any rest 😪

GOOD NEWS IS we're reaching real soon!! In 3h 😂😂😂 well, that's long af... But it's alright, I can't sleep anymore so I'm just gonna stay up to read books, continue writing and HOPEFULLYYY get to see the sunrise 🌅 

비행기에서 엄마와 함게 아침😘 (오전 5시)

아침 밥 😛 (Nasi Lemak)

A scenery that looks like the art piece in BTS WINGS #2 LIE (오전 6시)

Afterwards, our beloved Airbnb host booked us a private cab and sent us to the neighbourhood, where we'll be living at for the week, to leave our luggages. It was extremely cold while exploring the neighbourhood, -3 degrees. None of us could get used to it. So we decided to stop by the nearest convenient store to get some hot drinks before we die of the cold weather. 

While waiting for our host to finish preparing the house, we took a look around the neighbourhood, we even found a beautiful scenery viewing the Namsan Tower! (Quick fact: our neighbourhood is surrounded by Namsan, Myeongdong and Itaewon, making it easy for us to get around tourist spots)

Also, not to forget this delicious 붕어빵 (fish-shaped pastry with red bean filling) we found around the corner! It is super tasty and cheap! 

Once the house was prepared, we went back and got to know our host, Jey Hong! He's very friendly and welcoming. He even ordered Chinese food and we ate dinner together on the first night. So fulfilling!

Day 2

Second day and we're excited to be able to go with our plans!! We woke up early to prepare breakfast for everyone.

3 girls making a delicious meal in the kitchen at 8am (:

For our second day, we plan to go to Lotte World which is located at Jamsil Station, further south-east of Seoul and then to N Seoul Tower. This means we get to ride the Seoul subway for the first time!

Not to forget the picturesque scenery from our neighbourhood to the Subway station!

Very amazed at how subway stations are always filled with full length mirrors. Would be great if MRT stations in SG have them too, that way we won't need to be so self-conscious about our appearances all the time since we get to check them even on the rush.

The subway not only travels at a very fast rate but also provides many eye catching sceneries to look at too! Not long, we reached Jamsil station. LOTTE WORLD, HERE WE COME!!

We kids spent our day at the theme park playing the rides while the laobu-s (mothers) went on a short shopping spree around its joint shopping mall. It is indeed a place for everyone's satisfaction and pleasure! A pity we didn't take a lot of pictures there, but we did take some neoprints!! 

In the evening, we proceeded to N Seoul Tower through a series of transportations, including the city bus. YAY FIRST BUS RIDE! It was also amazingly cold that evening, -SIX DEGREES? You kidding me? NO WAY. Our hands were freezing until we got into the bus but I guess all's worth it when you see this view right?

There's also a Hello Kitty shop too! Went in to take a look and bought some items because why not right?? IT'S HELLO KITTY!! 

Only 2 days worth of pictures and already so long lol. Guess I'll have to make this into parts. Part 2 will be posted real soon! Please look forward to it 많이 기다려주세요!!