Torn

"They say follow your heart..

but when your heart is broken into two..

which way am I to follow?"

Three Girls in The Kimchi World

The Seoul!

Last week me and two of my girlfriends went on holiday to Korea. Why Korea?
Those of you who are Korean drama freak must knew the reason. My friend who (i assumed) watched Korean drama more than Korean people itself asked me to go to Korea on Lebaran* holiday. She said she fell in love with what she saw in the drama; the style and fashion, the language (she keep saying iputta, which then I found out that it means cute), the oppa (she hopes to meet cute young men she could call him oppa like in the movie), and of course the food. I watched Korean drama too ages ago when I still in highschool and it was nice. So I thought why don't we go and see the real lifestyle up there.

So we started to look for tickets and hotels. If you must know, this happened in March. So we already busy looking for plane tickets 6 months before D-day. We decided to go on our own and not join holiday tour because we thought it would be much fun this way. Besides we could escape the boring Ginseng and Limestone or other stone museum and go shopping instead, right?

The plane ticket is quite expensive at Lebaran. We could get a cheap flight by using Jetstar but the journey itself will drive us mad:

Jakarta – Singapore (Jetstar) at around 10 pm and then wait in Singapore airport waiting for Singapore – Hongkong flight at 6 am. Then we have to take another flight by using Cathay Pacific which goes from HK to Korea regulary. The total cost this way would be around US$750 return. The downside is we waste too much time in the journey.

So instead we chose Cathay Pacific Airlanes from Jakarta to Seoul. Since all Cathay flights have to transit in Hongkong, we could stop by in Hongkong free of charges *Horay*. The flight cost US$930 return.

Sept 18,
Flew to Hongkong early in the morning and the plane landed at 2 pm. HK’s weather is too hot. It was around 33 deg C, even in the afternoon. Blah!
Since Hongkong is on the list of the most expensive city to live for, we didn't want to waste our money by using a Taxi to go to our hotel. We decided to use a public transport. Choices are MTR (subway) or public bus. Hm.. which way to go? how to buy the ticket? Thank God the tourist information center in Hongkong is right in front of the exit hall, founding one is a piece of cake.

After we arrived at the hotel which located strategically right in the middle of Hongkong island, my aunt pick us up for dinner. We took the MTR, walked briskly from one mall to other malls, which magically interconnected through the basement. Then we arrived at Causeway bay where we took pictures of beautiful view of buildings filled with neon signs along the bay. Shopping? Nah, I save my money for Seoul =).

Sept 19,
Woke up as early as I can then hunt for breakfast. We originally wanted to eat dimsum but cannot find any L (I know! Hongkong supposed to be full of chinese restaurant selling dimsum but we really cannot find any, well maybe we just can't read the sign ha-ha).

We grabbed a quick breakfast, which is pork with vermicelli + egg + toast + coffee (it was a quick breakfast, trust me) then we went straight away to DISNEYLAND. Wohoo!

There is a special train that goes to Disneyland only. The train is fully decorated with Disney pictures and product, just looking at it makes me want to jump in joy. I and my friend straight away busy taking pictures of the train, and ourself – of course. Even the hand handle have a shape of Mickey Mouse’s head. Cute!

The theme is Halloween, so there are few rides and ghost houses which are freakin’ scary. Other than that there were Golden Mickey show, Lion King show, and Disney 3D Movie which are very recommended. "The Land" wasn't very busy that day, so I had a chance to took pictures with disney character such as Mickey, Mini, Goofy, and Mulan with only 5 minutes queue. =)

HK’s Disneyland is not as big as the one in Japan and America but it took us the whole day to finish. We got there at 11 am and went back at 10 pm just after fireworks up on the castle.

The day was not offer yet. After Disneyland we rushed our way to Mongkok where we had dinner in Modern Toilet’s restaurant. The restaurant's décor is inspired by bathroom. The table is made of bathtub (I think they are real bathtubs) and the chair is made of toilets. Even the plate and bowl is in toilet design. Lucky that the food taste good, it wasn’t disgusting at all.

FYI, the shops in Mongkok opens until 12 am on Saturday. Guess Hongkong’s never sleeps.

Sept 20,
Early flight to Incheon, Seoul.
The flight from HK to Seoul took only 3 hours. I had a reservation at Dongdaemun Hotel in Dongdaemun market. There are airport buses which took us from Airport to Dongdamun and it cost 9,000 won per person. Tania, my sweetest dearest friend who took flight from Melbourne has arrived and met us in the hotel. It was good to see her after a year separated by ocean. We went to eat Korean BBQ for dinner. We also ordered Soju (Korean spirit) to celebrate the start of a good holiday. The Korean way of eating BBQ it is fun; wrap the meat, kimchi, rice, and sauce by a lettuce then eat it in a mouthful. Our belly was so satisfied. It was delicious!

Before going back to the hotel we went for a little shopping spree. Dongdamun is full of markets and shopping malls. It wasn’t a “five star” shopping malls, but there are buildings all full of clothes and accessories. Mostly they sell in bulk. Some stuff you can bargain and some you can’t. Korean aren’t Chinese, they don’t mark up the price extensively you can bargain less than half price. Like the shirt I bought cause 40,000 won, down from 48,000.

Sept 21,
It was raining so we went to Lotte World, the indoor & outdoor theme park, which cost 35,000 won.

It was.. hm.. lets just say that there are no better theme park than Disneyland. and I wouldn’t suggest you to go there unless you have kids.

The indoor theme park was boring and the mini rollercoaster gave us headache caused by the banging of our heads against the safety belt on the chair. The outdoor theme park are for more thrilling rides. From my eyes, it wasn't looking too bad, except that out head already spining caused by the stupid rollercoaster in the indoor ones. I think there is really something wrong with the safety chair in the indoor roller coaster. I have tried rollercoaster in the Movie World and Dream World in Australia and they were just fine. Sigh, such a waste.

Sept 22,

Mount Sorak (Sorak-san).

Mt. Sorak is full of snow in the winter (you can ski!), beautiful view of the mountain with walking track for hiking surrounded with lots of colorful autumn trees. There are Giant sitting Buddha and also Buddhist Temple. Definitely worth to see.

Since no many blogs/website explain how to get to Mt. Sorak, I would describe it here.

How to get to Mt. Sorak:
There are two ways you can get to Mt. Sorak: by using Intercity bus or using the Express bus. The difference is that the Express bus will took the highway so it would be ½ hour faster than the Intercity bus depending on the traffic.

Intercity bus:
Take the Seoul Metro to Gangbyeon station (line 2). The Intercity bus terminal would be just across the station. Ask for bus to Sokcho. It cost 16,700 won by day, and cheaper if you choose the night bus.

Express bus:
Take the Seoul Metro to Express Bus Terminal (line 3). Ask for bus to Sokcho and it will cost 15,700 (cheaper bus) or 23,400 (executive bus).

Once you get to Sokcho, the Mt. Sorak would be just 15 minutes away by a taxi.
If you are really on a budget you can catch a bus no. 7 or 7-1 which will go around Sockho and to Sorak Mountain (cost 1000 won)

Giant Buddha Statue (above) and Bongjeongam Buddhist Hermitage (below)

Sept 23,
We took the number 7 bus and went around Sockho city. There are fish markets where you can get fresh fish and sushi. Drama freak alert! There are movie location spot: Autumn in my heart by Song Hae Kyo and Won Bin. It is the port and small food shop where Eun-seo spent her childhood. You can go in to the small shop too.

We took the return bus back to Seoul and arrived in the afternoon. We spent our afternoon and nights for dinner and shopping in Myeongdong. There are lots of cute accessories and clothing at a reasonable price. I freaked and shopped too much *sigh*.

Sept 24,
Lets go explore Seoul. We went on the Seoul City Tour Bus for self touring around the city (10,000 won) where you can get in and get off the bus on the recommended tourist spot around Seoul:
- Deoksugung Palace
- Myeongdong (shopping district you don’t wanna miss)
- Namsagol Traditional Korean Village
- Seoul Tower
- Changdeokgun Palace (The biggest one in Korea, well preserved and designated as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage, which made us lost inside the Secret Garden -_-)
- Insadong (Tourist spot for traditional Korean teahouse, craft shops, and antique shops)
- Many many more.
The bus operated from 9 am to 7 am, so if you want to see all the tourist locations you better be hurry.

Sept 25,
Back to Myeongdong and Dongdaemun for more shopping! We hunt for fake designer’s handbag hahaha.

Myongdong Market

Sept 26,
Back to Jakarta via Hongkong. What a fantastic holiday. Yi-pee!!!

Travel Tips:

Remember the telephone number 1330. It is the tourist help center. The only tourist help-lines who can speak English (seriously!).

If you do not eat pork, do worry. Most dishes in Korea are pork. Pork are cheaper than chicken and beef. Plus they are delicious too.. hi hi hi... :p

Do try Bimbimbab instead. It is vegetarian and a must have Korean dishes.

You have to take a photo wearing Hanbok (Korean traditional dress). You can borrow it cheap in the Changdeokgung Palace (1000 won).

Oh, don't forget to purchase BB Cream (Blemish Balm Cream) while you were in Korea. Korean loves BB cream. It is a light foundation to cover imperfection and also to moisturize your skin. BB cream are available in most of Korean make up stores. I would recommend Faceshop for the affordable ones and Hanskin for the better yet pricey ones.

Geez, Seoul is so much fun.. more than what I imagined. I love the food and the kimchi. I love the shopping too! Right now I love Korean style more than Indonesian or Aussiez. The girls all look so fashionable in Seoul. I imagine if I work in Seoul I'll be wearing high heels, fashionable skirts and blouse with a scarf. Then I would have my hair done up in Korean style. My face would be so soft and clean due to BB cream and good weather. Hm, should I move to Seoul then?

Oh well, perhaps I should stop dreaming and get back to reality (in Jakarta) =P

As for now I just wanna say this:

I had a blast. Thank you very much Seoul! ^_^

* Lebaran is day of celebration at end of fasting month for Moslem.

Morning Thoughts

A zip of morning coffee, tea, and a newspaper.
Wishing that I could be outdoor enjoying the sun in a morning breeze,
and yet I was trapped inside of a high-end mall.

Looking at women in a trendy clothes and designer handbags.
Looking at men waiting for their spouses went shopping.
At the girls proudly showing off their legs and belly,
And at the guys with the latest mobile phone.

This is what my life is now.
Trapped from buildings to buildings.
Trapped with people showing off.

My life is good.
Praise God for that.

There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread
(Mother Teresa)

- heal the world, make peace with yourself -

Dedicated to JW. Marriott & Ritz Carlton Bombing (July 17th, 2009)

Part of Human Life *Funny jokes*

People are:

creative...

and brave...

and silly...

and determined...

and overly creative...

though sometimes people failed...


but after all... we are just human...


Source : sweet_jokes@yahoogroups.com

What have technology done to us?

I always wonder why some people are willing to be in a long queue for snack (example: Sour Sally).

I just found the answer.

They are Blackberry user.

Longer line means more time to answer their chat(s) and/or email(s).

Freak?

If you read this, and you are one of them, maybe you should consider yourself join this:
No, this is not a joke =P

Image borrowed from: Crackberry addict

Lift Me Up

This beautiful song has kept me from falling apart.
Keep it strong. Keep it tall. Because life must go on.
Enjoy... :)

Kate Voegele - Lift Me Up.mp3

This road is anything but simple,
Twisted like a riddle, I've seen High, I've seen low.
So loud, the voices over my doubts,
Telling me to give up, pack up, leave town.
Even so I had to believe, Impossible means nothing to me,

Can you lift me up?
Turn the ashes into flames,
I have overcome more than words can ever say,
I've been given hope that there's a light on up the hall,
And a day will come when the fight is won,
I think that day had just begun.

Somewhere, everybody starts there,
Counting on a small prayer, lost in a nightmare.
You're here, suddenly it's so clear,
The struggle through the long years,
It's hard for me to outrun my fears.
But everything that's worth having, Comes with trials worth withstanding.

Can you lift me up?
Turn the ashes into flames,
I have overcome more than words can ever say,
I've been given hope that there's a light on up the hall,
And a day will come when the fight is won, And I think that day has just begun.

Oh lift me up, Oh lift me up,
Oh lift me up, Oh lift me up,

Down and out is overrated,
I need to be elevated,
Looking up is not enough,
I would rather rise above, Oh, Oh, Oh.