NUS Gang in Korea Day 3 (30 March 2015)

Noryangjin Fish Market

We headed out around 1030 am towards Noryangjin Fish Market.  This vibrant market is connected to Noryangjin Subway Station via an overhead bridge.  It was a bit smelly but it was pretty intriguing to observe the happenings at this traditional fish market. We felt a bit bad having to pick out seafood (they were still alive) for our lunch.  But we figured its just one meal?  

We purchased salmon, one big crab, mini octopus and spoon worm (or more commonly known as 'penis fish') for 65, 000 Won. Bargain okay?  Its perfectly fine to check the prices at various stores first before finally negotiating with the sellers. There were usually ushers from restaurants who would lead you to their restaurants. These restaurants in the market can prepare your purchases into fresh seafood sashimi or stew or fried dishes.  Again, check prices first before following the ushers.

One of the restaurants helped us prepare our food into salmon sashimi and crab stew.  The octopus and spoon worms were cut into tiny pieces to be eaten raw with salt and sesame oil.  Lunch service including rice, makgeolli and side dishes for 6 of us set us back another 45,000 Won.  While it was definitely one of the most expensive meals we had in Korea (around 18,500 Won per pax), we thought it was pretty good deal considering fresh seafood would cost us at least 3 times more in Singapore.

How to get there: Noryangjin Station, Line 1, Exit 1 
                      (cross the overhead bridge & follow that fishy smell!)

Opening Hours: 01:30 am - 10:00 pm

The largest selection of fresh seafood in Korea - be prepared to face a full-on assault of your senses (smell, sight, taste, and touch if you are particularly feeling brave)

Our spread of fresh salmon sashimi, spoon worm and baby octopus (which were still squirming even after they were chopped up!)

The highlight of our meal: Korean-styled fresh crab stew

NUS Gang in Korea Day 2 (29 March 2015)

Day 2 was spent exploring the Gapyeong area. It is located outside Seoul city area and is most known for Nami Island, filming location of the drama Winter Sonata which started South Korea's soft power - Hallyu Wave. Both I and Mister had been there (3 times for me) and our companions didn't feel like there is much to see at Nami Island, so we visited Petite France and Garden of the Morning Calm instead. 

Petite France

What is it: a French cultural village set in the Korean countryside, which is dedicated to the Little Prince story. The village consists of 16 French-style buildings where visitors can lodge and enjoy French food, try on clothing and experience household culture (Credit: Visit Korea Website)

Why is it famous: Its picturesque surrounding paves way for it to be featured in numerous Korean variety shows and drama.  Most famous were Running Man (with guests from 2PM  - Nichkhun & Teacyeon), Beethoven Virus, Secret Garden & My Love from Another Star (where Do Min Jon & Cheon Song Yi shared a kiss).

How to get there:  
From Seoul: Take subway to Gapyeong Station or Cheongpyeong Station then take Gapyeong Circular Tour Bus (5,000 Won for one-day unlimited ride) or taxi.

Opening Hours: 9am - 6pm

Mr & Missy in Thailand

Hello everyone!

First of all, I'm so sorry for being MIA for the past 8 months! Life was hectic with some major changes happening to me.  My parents needed help and I wanted a change so the move to Yangon happened! I was having the so-called quarter life crisis and I needed to figure out what I want in life.  Plus, there was a big fuss about Myanmar being the last frontier and so forth. So why not see it for myself? 

With the slow internet speed back home & me settling into a new environment & constant travelling between me and Mister to maintain our long distance relationship , my blogging was put on hold for a while. 

Finally, I get to share about my Thailand trip which happened exactly a year ago! Such a long overdue post :D Better late than never yeah?

Can you believe Mister has never ever been to Thailand? Plus, we both love Thai food and I love love shopping there. So when Scoot has a promo to Bangkok, we snapped our tickets. 160 SGD for each return ticket with 15kg check-in luggage for Bangkok-Singapore. Quite a decent deal yeah? But a lot of people were surprised as it was at the height of protests and shootings in BKK's crowded areas. Mister's mom was trying to persuade us to cancel or postpone our trip till 10 days before our departure (6 March 2014). Fortunately for us, anti-government protestors decided to scale back their protests & vacate their rally sites just 3 days before our trip! Major PHEW! A sense of normality had returned and we were able to enjoy our trip to the max (:

Yes! Social Media is important in documenting all our exploits & trips & memories!

We both agreed that Scoot was the best budget flight we have ever tried. The planes were huge, there was decent leg room, the flight attendants were polite, there wasn't any delay and overall, it was a smooth flight ^-^

Mr & Missy in Myanmar - Day 2 - 20 Dec 2013

Our day 2 was extremely tiring.  We reached Kalaw around 5 am and alighted in front of New Shine Hotel, which is situated along the expressway.  Our tour agency "Golden Express" arranged 2 rooms for 5 of us to rest till 730 am.  As soon as we stepped out of the air-conditioned bus, we were shivering! It was so freaking cold, definitely lower than 10C. It is thus not surprising that Kalaw was one of the hilly retreats for British officials during the hot summer months [during the colonial era]. 

New Shine Hotel, where we rested for a few hours

Mr & Missy in Myanmar - Day 1 - 19 Dec 2013

Nothing much happened on Day 1.

We left Singapore with an afternoon flight and landed in Yangon around 3 pm local time (after a 3-hour journey).  I don't really like taking early morning flights since I have this phobia of missing my flight if I can't wake up hehe :D

Mr & Missy in Bali Day 1

We were so very excited to be visiting this famed paradise - Bali!  Our flight departure time was 1020 am and we were done with check-in by 9 am.  It helped that we didn't have any check-in luggage. Since it was just a 3D2N trip, we were just going with our cabin luggage.  Besides, the focus is not on shopping, its more on sightseeing and relaxing.

Off we go!

Landed in Bali right on time around 1 pm!

Mr & Missy in Bali

Hotel stays should be a norm for people in Singapore, considering how much we love to travel. But staying at a private villa with a pool just for your own usage is not! We were very lucky to be blessed with a 2-night stay at the  Khayangan Dreams Villa Kerobokan for SGD 351 (Normal rate for 2 nights stay at a one-bedroom pool villa is about SGD 600).  Amazing 42% discount! So just to enjoy this pool villa stay, we planned our trip to Bali! 

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 14 (29 May 2013)

My last day in Korea T.T

We met at Sinchon only around 10 am to give me enough time to pack everything.  Then, we walked over to Slow Garden for brunch.  It's actually just 5 minute walk away form Yonsei's SK Global House and 3 minute walk away from Ewha Women University's back gate.  If you are in the area, you should consider going there! I love the cozy, comfortable atmosphere and food there was great!!!

Some selfies while waiting for our brunch

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 13 (28 May 2013)

Rainy weather continued :(

Oh well, what to do? We gotta do what we gotta do! I was determined to find all the photo spots in Bukchon Hanok Village today haha Bukchon refers to the area between Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace featuring well-preserved traditional Korean Hanok houses. During the Joseon era, this village was populated by royal family members and aristocrats. Today, it is a popular spot for shooting films and TV dramas (Personal Taste, 2Days1Night).

Relying on the "Pleasant Tour of Seoul on Foot" Map (courtesy of Seoul City), we started our walk from Exit 3 of Anguk Station, Line 3. 

http://www.visitseoul.net/en/article/article.do?_method=view&art_id=58509&lang=en&m=0004004004001&p=04

Tada! We found our first spot! It offers a very nice view of the Changdeokgung Palace.

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 12 (27 May 2013)

As our flight back to Seoul is at 8:40 am, we wanted to be at the airport by 8 am.  So we checked out from our hotel at 7 am.  We stayed very near to the airport but we had to look for a gas station to refill the Mini's tank. When we collected the car, it was with full tank so we had to return it in the same condition. Plus, we had to drop of the car to the car rental company's parking lot.  They would need to check everything was fine with the car before they send us to the airport with shuttle bus. Yeah, so that was why we needed to set out about 1 hour earlier. Plus, its easier to get lost inside a city than on a expressway right?  

Saying bye to our Mini of 72 hours

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 9 (24 May 2013)

SUPER EXCITED to be finally touring JEJU ISLAND!!!!!!!!!!!! WOO HOOOOOOO

We left December Hotel around 8:30 am. Since the hotel was located in the central location of Jeju City, there was no problem with getting a cab to the airport. It was pretty near that cab fare was just 2,000-3,000 Won only. 

We had to take a shuttle bus from the airport to the car rental company's parking lot. As we we were walking to the shuttle bus, we saw cameramen getting ready to film at the airport! I wanted to stay around and see which celebrities will be filming but Mister reminded me about our packed schedule to see Jeju :( And I so very reluctantly got on to the shuttle bus which brought us to the parking lot of the KT Car Rental.

Mister was confirming our reservation and making payment. Did I mention that he booked a MINI COOPER for us??!!! I WAS HAPPY EXCITED AMAZED RESTLESS ECSTATIC EUPHORIC haha you get the idea. 

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 8 (23 May 2013)

We only met at 11am at Sinchon Subway station. We had such a late start today because we would be leaving for Jeju with 7:55pm flight and I needed to pack ALL my belongings, check out of my guesthouse and leave all my luggage at the reception before starting my day. 

Thursday is Mister's fast food day.  He is pretty strict with eating junk food so he allowed himself to eat fast food just ONCE a week.  As there is no Taco Bell in Singapore and he loves Mexican food, we had our lunch there.  I love my cheese quesadilla! 

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 7 (22 May 2013)

Mister came to Sinchon Station around 10:30am to bring me to his hostel so that we could eat lunch together. I planned to edit our trip photos and arrange them in chronological order while he attends his afternoon classes 1-3pm.

Along the road to SK Global House

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 6 (21 May 2013)

Since we couldn't take our Hanbok photos the day before, we had to go back to the Korean Tourism Organization at M plaza Level 5.  We reached there around 1030am and didn't have to wait long for our turn.  Each group is given 10 minutes to take photos. 

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 5 (20 May 2013)

The next day was Monday and Mister had to attend classes till 1pm. He came over to Sinchon Station around 1:15pm to meet me for lunch.  Since it was a bit warm, we decided to try cold noodles (Naeng Myeon  냉면) and dumpling (mandu 만두 )! 

Noodle in ice-cold water! Perfect summer food haha :D 

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 4 (19 May 2013)

Thanks to our Hanok owner, we knew we needed to change our bus ticket so we checked out from Seonunjae Inn pretty early, around 730 am.  Since we have to go back to Jeonju to take our shuttle bus back to Seoul, we left our luggage at the Seonunjae Inn. Of course, we remembered to take pictures at our beautiful Hanok before we left.

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 3 (18 May 2013)

Thanks to Korea's efforts to promote tourism, there is a free shuttle bus to Jeonju for foreigners - http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FU/FU_EN_15.jsp?cid=1797480 . Since there is only one bus per day, we need to book early though. I met Mister at Sinchon Subway station at 7:15am as the bus would depart at 8am from Donghwa Duty Free parking lot.  Donghwa Duty Free parking lot is just 1-2 min walk away from the exit 6 of Gwanhwamun Station (Line 5). 

Since I will be staying in Jeonju for one night, I checked out of my room and left my luggage at the guesthouse's reception counter.

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 2 (17 May 2013)

I met Mister at Sinchon Subway at 7:30am since we planned to go to Nami Island and the Garden of the Morning Calm. Such an early start! So I just had a simple breakfast of Korean strawberries and yogurt. Strawberries were pretty sweet and not too sour!

Mr & Missy in Korea Day 1 (16 May 2013)

I was a bit unsure about flying with China Eastern Airline as I have never heard of it and didn't know many people who have flied with China Eastern Airline.  But to my surprise, it departed from Changi Airport Terminal 3!  

Third Trip to My Favorite City "Seoul"

For about 6 months, from mid Nov 2013 to mid May 2013, things weren't going very well for me and I really needed a break.  And when Mister suggested that I visit him (he is an exchange student at the Yonsei University Seoul for one semester), I immediately agreed and started planning to go to Korea!

I was there for 14 days from 16 May 2013 to 29 May 2013. And that's one of the reasons why I haven't been blogging :D But I did upload a few photos on Instragram (@missynandar) during the trip!

Instragram Hashtags for my trip photos