USA Trip Day 1 - 4 Sep 2014 - Stonetown Galleria Mall

Wow finally The Epic Trip of Our Lives is here! It may not be the case for Mister since he grew up there, but I was pretty thrilled about this month-long trip to the States since it will be my very first foray outside of Asia. And honestly, how often do we get to indulge in one month of vacationing? Lucky us indeed :D

 First, let me indulge in good old Asian food of pork ribs soup, before I subject myself to Western food for a whole month! 

 Sunrise = Beginning of a new day, also a beautiful start to our journey (: 

Our 1 Month Journey in the Land of Liberty - USA Trip Itinerary

We have been planning this trip for an extremely long time!  Since both of us had never been on a month long holiday, just imagine how giddy we must had been :D  I was in between jobs and he had just completed his undergraduate studies so the timing was perfect! 

Departure from Singapore - 4 Sep 2014

Arrival back to Singapore - 5 Oct 2014

Total duration of the trip - 32 days

On the road / Travel days - 3 days

West Coast - 18 days (7 cities)

East Coast - 11 days (4 cities)

Day trip to Ayutthaya, Thailand (26 Sep 2015)

While I was in Bangkok recently for a business trip, we had some time for a little R&R and wondered where we could explore. It had to be somewhere near Bangkok as we only had 1 day. Since my mom didn't feel like being adventurous, day trips to tiger temple or River Kwai were ruled out.  Finally, we decided upon Ayutthaya.

Spring Break in Korea Day 15 (11 April 2015) - how to claim tax refund

Wow what a rush! Let me tell you, I have never in my life, had to cut this close to catch a plane. And its all thanks to the slow check-in counter & tedious tax refund process!!!  

We started our day on schedule. Although we had 5 luggages, my helpful sister was sending us off so she helped us with one luggage and we could take train from Seoul Station all the way to the Incheon Airport.  This convenient train journey only took about 45 minutes and we were at airport by 8:30am, almost 2.5 hours before departure time.  

Oh dear, the Vietnam Airlines check-in counter was extremely slow and inefficient, that we had to wait 1 hour to check in.   Arghhh

Anyway, if you purchase more than 30,000 Won in one single receipt, you can request for tax refund receipt, be it from cosmetic shops or shopping centre or even supermarkets. Thus, its advisable to combine your purchases with your friends' to hit that minimum 30,000 Won value.  However, there were different tax service providers so not all the businesses will be partners with the same company.  The most common were Global Blue Tax Free (Blue), Global Tax Free (Orange) and KT Tourist Reward (Red).

Spring Break in Korea Day 14 (10 April 2015) - Part II

The bus promptly dropped us off back at Seoul Station around noon and we walked back to our flat  for lunch. We went overboard buying food the previous night and didn’t even get around to tasting beef rib soup and rice ball.  With fresh Korean strawberries, Starbucks coffee and black bean milk, they made for an appetising lunch. 

Afterwards, we headed out to Yeouido Park for Seoul cherry blossom festival.  If you are armed with a great DSLR camera, you can also go there at night to enjoy over 1000 cheery trees lighted up to create a romantic ambience. After visiting both Yeouido area and Jinhae, I prefer Jinhae cherry festival though.  Nonetheless, Seoul has many places for you to catch these lovely flowers during their fleeting blossom season. For instance, at Namsan Mountain, the view of cherry trees must be stunning with N-Seoul Tower in the backdrop.

How to get there: Yeouinaru Station, Line 5, Exit 1 OR

                      National Assembly Station, Line 9, Exit 1 or 6

Spring Break in Korea Day 14 (10 April 2015) - Part I

SO EXCITED TO BE VISITING THE FILMING SET!!! Its not just any set, its THE set used in My Love From Another Star!! Remember the mysterious alien Do Min Joon & adorable actress Cheon Song Yi? That was definitely my favorite drama in 2014.  I even shared about it to Mister, friends and colleagues and they became fans too. Can you feel my excitement? I just couldn't stand still :D

Spring Break in Korea Day 13 (9 April 2015)

Today, we planned to meet my dear friend from my KU days as an exchange student.  As she was working near Samseong Station, we decided to grab lunch at COEX Mall around 12:30pm.  It was really really far from Seoul Station though.

Naeng Myeon

This is a special summer treat, unique to Korea. Fresh, handmade noodles were submerged in ice cold soup and served together with sliced cucumber and pear, to chase away sweltering heat of the summer.