Author Archives: Euphemia

Korea – Day 01

by Euphemia

Singapore > Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur > Seoul

Best travel partner I can ever have – MOMMY!

Upon arrival in KL

It’s been quite a while since I had in-flight meals and I must say the breakfast wasn’t too bad.

I couldn’t sleep much through out the entire journey, so here I am up & awake in the wee hours of the morning. Catching the sunrise while on the plane was quite an event for me. Yes, I am very thankful!

While the skies were looking good in the above picture, Seoul wasn’t like that. It was all hazy & COLD (YAY!!), which I was very excited over!

6:38 AM – all groggy & dizzy from the very little sleep I had on board the plane! Couldn’t wait to get into central Seoul and check into our hotel!

Mommy was carrying the rose that was given out to ladies as it was Mother’s Day that got stares from an Ahjussi!! Hahaha!

Oddly, it wasn’t any Korean stars that greeted me upon arrival but it was Pierce Brosnan? Erm, what happen to RAIN? 2AM/2PM? Big Bang? Hmm…

Trying to accustomed oneself to Hangul while Mom waits patiently for luggage!

Another choice of transport to inner Seoul – the Airport Railroad (AREX) which proved to be quite wrong choice especially when carrying huge luggages, as there isn’t lifts/escalators to bring us up to street level at some MRT stations. I would definitely recommend taking the Airport Bus instead when we departed Korea which was a breeze! Check out KTO’s website for more details. Click on image to view it in a larger size.

Big Bang!! Yeap, now THIS is really Korea!

Mommy’s ‘boyfriend’, mind you, she has PLENTY of boyfriends all over Korea!! And Lee Seng Gi is just one of them!

Trains in Korea are definitely more spacious as compared to what we have in Singapore which I like because it makes moving around easier.

SEOUL STATION – Yay!

First meal of the trip was Kalguksu (칼국수) with clams aka Handmade Noodles. Kimchi and some other side dishes are always ‘FOC’ but trust me a meal like this would easily cost $8 SGD, which I think the eateries factorise in the cost of these additional small dishes. So I wouldn’t call it Free, if you know what I mean.

Our hotel is extremely near to Gwangjang Market which got us really excited as we knew that local food here was aplenty and the fact that it was right next to us! Located at Jongno 5-ga (종로5가역) Station, Exit #8, you’ll find yourself with a whole lot of local delights from snacks to main dishes. Even though we were too full from the Kalgaksu that we just ate, that didn’t stop us from a little food adventure!

Gwangjang Market

I have learnt that a nicer way to address older ladies in Korea is NOT Ahjuma but rather call them I-Mo, which means older aunty!! Trust me, these ladies were impressed by how I knew to address them and food portion were always more than enough!! :D

Just in case, you would like to meet this I-Mo, here’s here stall number.

Ddeokbokki (떡볶이) and Gimbap (김밥) which was delicious!! Pre warning, the Ddeokbokki in Korea is way spicier than those served in those in Singapore, so don’t get a shock when you bite into these chewy babies! Though I’m a huge fan of spicy stuff, I think these are no sparing at times!!

Enjoying the Bindaeduk which is mung bean pancake dipped with onions in soy sauce.

At the back of Gwangjang Market is actually the stretch of Cheonggyecheon (청계천) which is a stream that last 8.4 km long! Well, if you are game enough to walk it, by all means, but yes, we took a lazy 10 minute walk up and down this. Read Insidemybackpack explanation of this stream.

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Bossam (보쌈) which is steamed pork was awesome!! As introduced by Jim and Kellie whom were very nice to host us while we were in Korea, thankfully for them, if not we wouldn’t have had such chances to savor good food like this!

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And I FINALLY had the chance to try out Makgeolli (막걸리) which I LOVE! It taste like carbonated soda with a tint of alcohol in it which complimented the food that we ate, especially with the meat overdose! Another pre warning, don’t drink the Makgeolli like as if it was Coke or something, it may look harmless but potent in some sense. On another night, thinking that it might be the last few chances to drink it, we bought back a bottle to the hotel and finished drinking it (shared with Mom and myself) in less than 10 minutes and ended up HIGH on alcohol! Yes, we were like laughing at ourselves for being greedy to drink it fast! You wouldn’t want to imagine Mom and myself being high!! *thinks giggles + giggles + moreeeeee giggling*

To end the night of Day 01 in Korea, nothing better than the infamous Banana/Strawberry Milk that is a MUST DRINK for all who comes to Korea!

Eneloop Mobile Booster

by Euphemia

Ever been in a situation just when you’re about to make an important call and your phone makes that infamous beep sound *tee ti teeeee* and dies off! YES, I’ve been like that for many a times till I decided that it is time I got myself a mobile battery device BUT here comes the tough part where choosing what’s good is another issue. After hearing many good reviews for Eneloop’s version, I think it’s time I get my hands on this!! Now off to scout for good prices around Singapore! You tell me HOW NOT TO LIKE ENELOOP?!!!!!

French Press

by Euphemia

So this year, Mom and myself made a small kind of agreement (I wouldn’t call it a resolution) that we will be on a look out for good coffee, actually BLACK coffee!! So I’ve been telling her that we should start investing in a French Press that Sophie has been telling me it’s awesomeness and how easy it is to actually make a good cup of coffee. So the quest of finding a French Press begins…

Any recommendation or what are the things that I should be looking out for?

 

 

10 resolutions for mental health

by Euphemia

A timely reminder from a friend taken from http://www.desiringgod.org/, THANKS Soaps!!

1. At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above and about me.

2. Instead of the accustomed idea of a mindless and endless evolutionary change to which we can neither add nor subtract, I shall suppose the universe guided by an Intelligence which, as Aristotle said of Greek drama, requires a beginning, a middle, and an end. I think this will save me from the cynicism expressed by Bertrand Russell before his death when he said: “There is darkness without, and when I die there will be darkness within. There is no splendor, no vastness anywhere, only triviality for a moment, and then nothing.”

3. I shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event, filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities. I shall not be fool enough to suppose that trouble and pain are wholly evil parentheses in my existence, but just as likely ladders to be climbed toward moral and spiritual manhood.

4. I shall not turn my life into a thin, straight line which prefers abstractions to reality. I shall know what I am doing when I abstract, which of course I shall often have to do.

5. I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. I shall stop boring into myself to discover what psychological or social categories I might belong to. Mostly I shall simply forget about myself and do my work.

6. I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what Lewis calls their “divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic” existence.

7. I shall sometimes look back at the freshness of vision I had in childhood and try, at least for a little while, to be, in the words of Lewis Carroll, the “child of the pure unclouded brow, and dreaming eyes of wonder.”

8. I shall follow Darwin’s advice and turn frequently to imaginative things such as good literature and good music, preferably, as Lewis suggests, an old book and timeless music.

9. I shall not allow the devilish onrush of this century to usurp all my energies but will instead, as Charles Williams suggested, “fulfill the moment as the moment.” I shall try to live well just now because the only time that exists is now.

10. Even if I turn out to be wrong, I shall bet my life on the assumption that this world is not idiotic, neither run by an absentee landlord, but that today, this very day, some stroke is being added to the cosmic canvas that in due course I shall understand with joy as a stroke made by the architect who calls himself Alpha and Omega.