"The beauty of memory... the power to revive again in our minds those moments which after imprinting have disappeared, or have been laid aside out of sight in time."
I remember myself lamenting about how Korea was average and boring after my last trip ... and now on my second return i have to take everything back because it was so much fun! Amazing how 2 months difference and a change of weather really determines the experience. I've been to Spring, I've been to Winter (more than twice) and I've had too much Summer all year round - this is my (our) first Autumn and we're already planning for many more! We didn't visit at the peak of season since we were there to attend Bee's gig at KBS. Nonetheless, we've been treated just as splendidly by what it has to offer; Autumn's ahhh-mazing and Korea's definitely back on my to-Go list next year (;
Day 1...
Arrived in Seoul at around 4pm and did all the checking in and all. By the time we got ready to leave the hotel it was already dinner time! Yippee! My itinerary was planned for day2 onwards so we decided to explore the nearby eateries. It can be quite a trouble cus there are so many identical joints around and you don't wanna end up having a bad start to an anticipated holiday.. but lucky us, we found a gem and *pat on my back* I was spot-on (:
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| Our first meal (dinner) at an awesome BBQ pork house we stumbled upon across our hotel (Lotte City Hotel, Mapo). |
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| Mummy's pleasantly surprised by the aplenty selection of authentic Korean sides they offered (all free flow, we just paid for meat and beer) and the meat were to die for! |
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| Turned out this was one of the more popular BBQ houses in the area and we really got ourselves a good start for our first meal in Seoul! They even have a Mandarin Speaking waitress! Super polite, very helpful... Big Plus! |
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| We loved it there so much we decided to make it our finale dining place on our last night -- which we did! |
Day 2:
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| The famous Yong Yang Ginseng Chicken in Myeong Dong! Why is it delish, you ask? Well, for those who aren't fans of the bitter after taste of Ginseng (like myself), this one is perfect cus the ingredient isn't overkill and you will love the thick flavour of the soup...especially on a cool autumn day (: |
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I ordered the fried Spring chicken set that was absolutely yummers. The skin wasn't fatty at all and it was crisping away with every bite... oddly enough though, I found the butter roll incredibly tasty too. LOL.
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Brought the parents and little sis for some sight-seeing before Bee's performance at night.
This must be the third time I stepped in the KyungBok Goong, and i'm sorry I have no recollection of any part of its historical past. gahhh....apart from the fact that it was largely rebuilt. Ask me about the Versailles, maybe?
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| this is what happens when you're away from your bf. Look up only when necessary. LOL. |
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| Been here twice and I only learnt on my third time that the net below the roofs were installed for over a 100 years. |
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| ..when they say a certain place looks like a painting...it's so true! |
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| Look at the colorful shadows imprinted on the lake! So.damn.pretty. |
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***OMG. At this point i wana digress and say something. I nearly passed out and died cus I thought I clicked something accidentally and the whole freaking post got deleted. KUDOS TO BLOGSPOT FOR THE AUTOSAVE FEATURE!!!!! OMGOMGOMGx10000000. *** |
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| Anyways, nobody's happier than my mum who absolutely adores plants. I said plants not nature cus' it's really just plants (: |
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| We can totally print this and hang it somewhere in the house! |
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| When you're surrounded by lush greenery and bursts of Autumn tones...you pose and you pose and you POSE for photos. |
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| Everybody's gotta take one with the trees cus y'know, they look different from the ones in Singapore..? LOL. |
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| No one does it better than Mr Lau... If he doesn't own an offshore engineering company, he has got to be a photographer. He can just take on the whole world with his Panasonic Digi-cam. Anytime. |
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| My personal candid creation with unsuspecting models (; |
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End of palace tour: mummy tryna act cute with my shades and ferts looking obviously disturbed. hahahaa.
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So we went back to the hotel to freshen up for the BIG night at KBS. Can't begin to say how proud I am of what he has done so far... we may be very far from real success in the things we do but we're trying everything and everyway to get there. People might not see how hardworking he is and he might come across as a dreamer but they don't know him...in fact, they don't know success. They don't know what it's made of and the long dreadful process leading up to it, which everyone tries to avoid. Anyhoots, this has got to be one of the biggest milestones for him and for us (: I'm just posting what i have on my side so for more updates on his ABU journey please checkout his website!
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| Looking like a fangirl seeing Bee for the first time since we touched down. Sounds like forever but was really just 2 days. |
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| Prepping for stage. I have no idea what runs through his brains. How can he still be so composed?! I would have peed in my pants a little. lol. |
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| Seated with the VIPs (: We've got connections...and his name is Jae Ang. haahaa... |
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....and he opens for the night!
Honestly, I feel like it was a dream come true for him. I remember how we always randomly muse about how awesome it is if he could just be able to perform on a big stage like Korea, where people are more accepting and supportive of music... and there he was standing right under the beaming lights, before a Korean Live band and a thousand-strong audience even kpop fangirls, no doubt it wasn't his solo gig. It was surreal, at least for me. And I know it will be a moment we'll all remember for a long time (: |
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| The last Guest performance that night was by SHINEE. But i really just wana talk about Kim Bum Soo (who sang the OST for 'Stairway to Heaven' which i didn't watch)... He sang 'BOGOSHIPDA' so damn well my hair was standing throughout (please go Youtube it if you can)! |
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| Shinee lip-synced for both songs...not that i'm blaming them for it, how could i? I can only imagine what little breaths they'd be left with from the vigorous dance routine... I could totally tell from the way they were gasping at the end of it. hahaha. anyways, i'm really not a big fan (I think i'm gonna receive threat mails for saying this if i were staying in Korea.... ) BUT, we had first-hand encounter of the legendary crazy fan-girl antics. haahahaa... i don't know how they do it, they weren't really screaming, they weren't really crying..it's an uncomfortable combination of wailing and grunts.... whatever you call that, it's extremely disturbing. |
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| The night ended with a prize presentation ceremony for the winning compositions. Cliche as it sounds, it's really not always about winning (: Besides, we already won the Singapore leg! |
Day 3: Everland!
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| My Outfit of the Day for Everland! Comfy boots are so important for an entire day of walking about (: |
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| The queue took forever...luckily the weather was nice and cool so we didn't complain! And we wondered if it was the school holidays in Korea cus there were so many people :/ |
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| The deadly Coaster. My dad got his eyes set on it the moment he saw it. and YES, the men conquered the world's highest wooden coaster. |
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| Ferts . is . too . happy. |
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| look who's the kid! |
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| Here's my very spastic face for you to laugh at. |
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| Pumpkins, anyone? |
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| Ice cream still in his hand, my cute daddy... |
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| Sorry bee, but the kid does it better :P |
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| Changed my mind. lol. |
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| Herrow...Imma Oompa-Loompa! |
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| my personal fave (: |
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| Can you spot them flying down the tracks? |
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| A finale photo for Everland!...and I forgot what this was all about. |
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| This is where we had the most ahhhh-mazing dinner Evveerrrrrr.... |
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| Roooarrrrrrrr!!! A must-try in Seoul if you're on a Free & Easy Trip! This one we went to is apparently a famous one in Gangnam district. PM me if you're interested to know the address (; |
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| How can anyone resist a huge pot of giant shells?!?! Totally Yummers max! |
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| Sides were delish max too! |
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| We couldn't get enough of the shells so the friendly (and also mandarin-speaking) waitress recommended a popular fave in the restaurant! |
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| This has got to be the highlight of it all! The soup essence from cooking all the freshest shells in the pot left over are used to cook these chewy-dewy glass noodles. It was mad yummers! |
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| A toast to an awesome-pawsome day complete with a great dinner to end the night! |
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| ...and his expression says it all.. |
More updates on our freaky encounter with an eccentric tour guide for our Mount Sorak trip, and visit to Namsan Tower so stay tuned y'all (:
Also, we are having our
Collections Clearance SALE for
Chichi Entourage from now till Sunday, 28th October. Please support by helping me to share this with all your friends and family on Facebook! Will really appreciate the support (: We're trying to clear out the last few pieces of stocks from our previous collections. If you were deciding on certain designs before, you might just find them at a really good bargain in the SALE (: Do PM me on Facebook if you like anything!
A small update here: You may be wondering why we aren't launching new collections on a weekly basis recently, do not worry...we're still slogging hard for the business and we're working on something fun for you guys in conjunction with our future launches so please be patient! I'm really blessed to receive a lot of encouragement and support from everyone (friends and family alike). We are more than determined to work harder for this (:
Till then, have a lovely week ahead y'all!
