Shopping Time

For some reasons, I'm pressed to find ways and make up for my long-gone social life. Think about the few things I only ever do after work- gym, study or cook. It's pretty much the same for weekends, except that I get to sleep in and have to do some cleaning up at home. I'm not kidding (nor proud) about my life!

SL is away in Sydney for business. I do miss certain things about Sydney, but not as much as Melbourne I guess =)

Anyhow, I had a good day having a nice drive down to Bunbury for facial and shopping. Fiona is the best beautician I have ever met. She's a Scottish who speaks with beautiful English accent. Someone who never fails to impress me with her patience and kind advice. Above all, being the business owner, she gives me great prices for my treatments! That explains why the 45-minute drive to visit her never bothers me!

I'm amazed at my insatiable hunger for clothes and shoes! It can never be enough I guess.

Oh dear, shopping and over-eating... Have I ever realised that the credit crunch is not a mere overnight horror, but a thing that is here to stay for a few more years? And no wonder I need to frequent the gym!

Trip Report- Finale

The sick feeling of missing the enjoyable times from the Korea trip, and comfort of being home with my family has finally died down, as the pace at work has picked up again. I really felt misplaced when I first got back. The voices around me, the sights and just everything! But glad that I'm back into routine now.

I have spent a bomb on skin care products at the Face Shop on the 5th day. Picked up 2 coats at Lotte Departmental Store too. Apparently it was the high-end place to go for both international and local designer labels. Again, I have to emphasize how much I adore the cuts of the lovely pieces I have browsed through. Only regret is that my pockets aren't deep enough for me to bring everything home. Ha! We ducked off for Lotte World which was just next door to the mall for more theme park junkie. Lotte World was much smaller than Everland. We did only 3 rides, explored some quaint shops around the ground, picked up some local snacks and tidbits from the supermarket, and more clothes hunting at the nearby shops. It was a fruitful day overall, although I can't say the same for my pockets!

The final day was a brief one. We managed to drop by the president's house for photos and pop in briefly at the museum, marvelling at the collection of interesting gifts received by South Korea from other countries.

I will let the photos for the last two days of the trip do the rest of the talking :)

Kimchi-making and photos in cultural costume

Lotte World Adventure ;)


Presidential House- The dube on rollers is actual a policeman. His shirt reads "Seoul Police" =)

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I spent an awesome final day in Singapore, chilling out with my sister. Food, shopping and coffee are prob the girls' fav. Ha!





I can't get tired of saying this- I miss home, my family and my friends. I'm going to try spend more time in Singapore the next time round, to catch up with friends who have been there for me. Even though we may have drifted every now and then with distance and the pressure of work, I can't believe how easy it is to pick up from where we have left. To this, I have to say a big "THANK YOU" for listening to me when I'm down and out =)

It's been a while since I have dined at the resort's restaurant. After hearing so much about the success of our recent dinner specials and the magic created by the new chef, I really have to relive the new dining experience myself.

Hence, SL made a reservation for us and his parents yesterday night. It was a treat considering how much I dread the usual takeaway dinners from the restaurant, and try to digest them while I stare at complicated spreadsheets in the office! Although I have indeed tried some of the new dishes at the office, proper table service and awesome food presentation do really contribute to that huge difference.

It was a sumptous three-course meal; garlic bread, avocado parfait served with french bread and a portion of (NON-OILY) caesar salad to share as entree, followed by pan-seared scallops for mains, and chef-made pannacotta for desserts to finish off the meal. I'm still thinking about the food now. Haha! If you're going to think that a three-course meal is way too heavy, think again, because, I have not added the fact that I was stealing portions of config duck, potato & leek soup, and sticky date pudding from SL's plates!

I will have to hit the gym for at least 30 minutes again to kill these calories gained from just one meal!

At least, I've been trying to adopt a much healthier lifestyle and eating habits since I've been back from my holidays. This includes, NO COFFEE, a resolution to work out regularly, and a stricter skincare regime! Someone was so right about the formula to a happier life- taking care of one's well-being and, loving and accepting yourself. =)

Another positive thing to share- I've got a fresh coat of colour on my nails yesterday! And I did some wardrobe planning for the coming work week! I'm finally back on track to look good and feel good. How great is that? =P

(I've secured my tickets for the performance on 21st Feb! Not Chandelier Reserve, but some reasonable seats from A reserve, that are still pretty close to the stage)

3 positive things I have decided to do today- actually hit the threadmill for 30 minutes, made a date with Bec for kick-boxing next thursday, and book for the Phantom of the Opera performance at Burswood!

I'm quite a fan of Phantom and thus you should understand why I am upset beyond words when the booking didn't go as well as planned. It was obviously due to some hiccups on the Showbiz website! That really annoys me, as I won't be able to ring until tomorrow morning at least! I can imagine the number of seats from the Chandelier Reserve being snapped up between now and then! Even then, the Chandelier Reserve have been already all snapped up for Valentine's day 2008- it's a real shame!

I should have really started booking earlier, but can I even help it, when I'm always one of the last to receive any news?

Into day four now..

The day spent at Everland themepark was probably the most exciting time of the trip. We did a hell lot on the same day. Left Yong Pyong resort early in the morning for Everland. From memory, that was a long drive, as I have dozed off for a long time.

We managed to catch a traditional performance at the theatre the same evening. I was expecting to doze off again with my adrenaline all drained at Everland. But the performance came with a humourous twist, and I was glued to the stage the whole while! We even took photos with the cast- how cool!

After our Ginseng chicken dinner treat, we made our way to the Dongdaemun market for shopping. Apparently, the stretch of shopping centres and open-air markets open till wee hours in the morning. My sis and I spent a delightful one and half hour at the malls, picking up both bargains and celebrated styles! I thought my damage control went well for that day, but it was too soon to pass such a statement!
We didn't get the chance to visit the open-air markets. And I wasn't that keen anyway, due to the crowd and the lingering summer heat.

I must have said this many times- but I really wished that time could stop! It's unrealistic, but I've been feeling so lousy with things recently, and just can't stop wishing.

No matter how tough things get, I guess I need to push on, and see through my dreams. May my career soar to greater heights very soon! I need to rise above those undeserving ones, and carve a niche for myself. Hee!

Day 3- Korea Trip

Here I go again, with third instalment of the trip report!

We stayed at the hotel annex of Yong Pyong Resort from the second night, to be nearer to the attractions on our itinerary.

On the third morning, we had a bit of mixed up with the time, had breakfast too early, and ended up with spare time to have a little stroll around the area. Surrounded by hills and nature, the walk around the resort was well worth it. On top of that I love the cool and fresh air!

Took a cable car ride for 8000 Wons per adult to Dragon Peak where Winter Sonata was filmed. I'm not really a fan of Korean drama series, but I still somehow ended up with plenty of shots there. The view was impressive, but I would imagine that to be even better during autumn or winter.

Following that was an hour's drive to visit Mt Sorak National Park. It was yet another cable car ride to get us up to Mt Sorak. It was really foggy that afternoon, a sign of bad weather!

True enough, by the time we completed our little hike up to the Kwon Kum Seong fortress, with some time to catch our breath and snap some photos, it started to drizzle. It wasn't really a big issue since we had our hoodies up! But it meant we had to shorten our stay at the national park! To add, the more annoying thing was the difficulty in getting a shot at the fortress without too many people in the background. I had to complain that my sis' photos looked nicer than mine, because she wasn't quick enough to capture the moment! Haha!

Made a final stop at the Fish Market before we call it a day! Being a place where only locals would visit, we experienced some real Korean hospitality there =P

Till now, I haven't really come to conclusion how I like it in Korea! It's a beautiful country with a vast number of lovely sights. Although I have done much for a 6-day trip, there are many other attractions I have not explored, and definitely many other aspects of the culture (both modern and traditional) to learn about. I'm still debating if it's worth another visit, given my love-hate feelings towards the place. I sure need more understanding to justify the "hates". But then of course, at the back of my mind, there are more destinations waiting to be striked off from my list! The limited resources I'm really vexed over here are both time and money!

Fashion Digs!

I must say that I totally dig the styles from Gossip Girls!

Full photo set available from http://grazia.ninemsn.com.au/slideshow_ajax.aspx?sectionid=8815&sectionname=celebrity&subsectionid=146961&subsectionname=gossip_girl_fashion

Style is a truly an art that I still can't master. I shop for the most mundane things, have a wardrobe bursting with clothes, handbags and shoes, but yet still find myself wearing more or less the same things to work everyday!

Even my new hairdo isn't doing as much magic now, with the lack of time to style it properly every morning.

Or perhaps, I really only wanted a conservative look for work, and didn't bother to put more thoughts to it?

With that combined with the fact that I need to work late and don't have a life at all after work? Not even once in a while? These are enough to kill anything I have in me.

Oh well, I was just chatting with Map, about birthdays. I actually realised that I haven't had a proper celebration for like 3 years since I've been here! I should really be planning for a proper one, call it the quarter-life crisis or whatever. Whatever it takes to fly back and be in the close company of friends and family! =)

Great, one thing to look forward to in life!

Day 2 of Korea Trip

No, I'm still not over with my trip yet! Can't believe it takes that long to put together photos from just one day. I can't complain actually- I'm actually enjoying the process of putting some creativity to use =)

The entire of the second day was spent at a cultural village. The sort of thing similar to Kampong Glam or Chinatown in Singapore where only snapshots of certain aspects of culture are presented in a so-touristy manner. And a popular place for school excursions too! But still, it was eye-opening. I can't help alluding the similarities of Korean culture to Chinese culture all the time!

So, after a filling breakfast at the hotel, we set off to the Yeong-Ju traditional village. First up was a visit to a small museum nearby, where we had a go with "print-making" of korean characters. I can't read Korean. So "print-making" is the closest I can get in describing what we were trying to do. Followed the instructions from the pictures, and... VIOLA!

Had a yummy lunch before moving on to participate in a traditional wedding role-play. We were stinking hot in the traditional costume, and couldn't wait for the role-play to be over! There were tons of school kids watching us, and it took us a few rehearsals to get it the bowing and ettiquete right. It was good fun.

We did some Korean caligraphy too. According to my sister, who has taken Chinese caligraphy before, it seems that everything's quite the same, from the way you hold the brush to the order of the strokes. Interesting!

Rice-cake making was fun too, but it doesn't seem as simple as it looks. The giant pounder was many times heavier than it looked! I can build muscles from just making rice-cakes! Haha!

Wish I could write more reflective stuff, but this is as good as it can get, with so many other things on my mind. I gotta learn to feel happier. Also with each post, the excitement and exact thoughts would have diminish a little, bit by bit. Sigh! Talk about beautiful memories! Or am I just getting old? =P