Korea. Seoul Tower. Teddy Bear Museum.

Running man Episode 151! Daebak! The episode is like no other; it is witty and it enraptures me so much, I was so touched at the end I cried. Although Running Man members are impeccably skilled and equipped with the spirit and energy to participate in the race that empower them, giving them a competitive edge over the guests, I still feel that they should always try their best in their race and not let the guests win on purpose, especially when they know that the audience would be always rooting for them. It would be too prominent if they attempt to lose deliberately, as the audience know where their strengths lie and that they shouldn't be defeated that easily.

Happy birthday Daniel, Mr. Eye Candy and CS! :D

Made friends with the girl who works in the same lab as Mr. Eye Candy, and she told me that Mr. Eye Candy asked her if she talks bad about him as we always 偷笑 whenever we see him. My lab people, we need to be more discreet please!






3 months post braces. The less obvious pointy teeth went in a little! (I'm also trying out the Dolly Wink eyebrow mascara for the 1st time and my eyebrow turns brown!)




If you have forgotten how my teeth used to look like, here's me in year 2007 and 2008 with fangs (the 2 bigger pics) sticking out of my lips.
I have friends coming up to say that I look better with braces just few days after the installation. Lol. I think braces made my fangs less obvious to the eye!


My unwavering love for Korea continues...
The 2nd day in Korea was extremely enthralling since we indulged in great food and went to a few sightseeing hotspots, as we as tourists were more than willing to explore the tourist trap.

In this trip to Korea, I uncovered a few very unique features of Koreans/Korea and they are:

- Koreans are extreme Singaporeans. 
They are fast-paced. They rushed into trains before letting people alight first. They rush everywhere, pull you by pulling your backpack and putting you a step away because you get into their way and glower at you if you stand in their way in walking down the escalators. They hurry to every location, and would tear you apart if you don't hurry too!


- Koreans look the same. 
Typically, the girls with copper hair and a bob hairstyle (thicker base though) and with the Korean makeup (BB cream, black eyeliner, and tousled, bushy, and straight eyebrows) and the guys with permed gold hair.

- Not a single trash can in Korea. 
Don't be surprised if you see cups of coffee lying on the sidewalk or on top of the postbox. I heard some Koreans did pack trash in their bags and bring them home to throw into their home's waste bin.

- Their iced coffee is bitter. My bro, like me, added sugar syrup to every coffee profusely. My Korean friend said Singaporean coffee (I mean coffee made by Singaporeans) is just too sweeeeeetttt; she always has to ask for less sugar. Lol. Separated by 7 hours of flight and that makes us really distinguishable from them.

- There are drunk Koreans everywhere at night, even on weeknights. The Korean friend told me that they drink 9 times a week, once on every weeknight and twice a day for weekends. Utterly amazed with the many drunken people roaming around like the undead on Myeongdong and Hongdae streets, and saw a Merlion (a lady who threw up her whole day's worth of meal) at Seoul Station that reeked of alcohol! I didn't anticipate the sudden surge of the vomity feeling when I vividly witnessed that horrid sight. Unlike in Singapore where the drunkards are habitually outside of night clubs and accompanied by friends, Korean drunkards are everywhere - in the subway trains, subway stations, restaurants, on the crowded streets, and some are all by themselves even though they couldn't stand straight without holding onto something. Daebak! 

- Koreans don't know how to go to tourist attractions; they have never been there. If you ask them for directions, the kind souls react the same way, they would take their phones out of their pockets, open the map app and create a friendly match with their friends on who's the fastest to locate the destination you wanna head to.








Breakfast at a Korean restaurant of Seoul Station. Bro, who has never been sloppy on giving critics on the food he ate, tried Bibimbap and needed abit of getting used to. He said he thought it would be comparable to those served in Singapore, Bibimbap on a hotplate. Lol!









Bro mixing the ingredients in the bowl dutifully before eating them.




I ate spicy ramen I think. Lol. No creativity for me when it comes to my choice of food.

In between meals, Bro either frequented toilets or complained of hunger so in order to make him feel embarrassed,  I would banter with him, "What?! U hungry again!??!" and Bro did get quite flustered whenever I tease him! Lol. Old habits die hard. I shouldn't be teasing people all year round.





After some intense walking, we reached the place where we have to take this elevator up to where we can ride in the cable car.





Me with the gently sloping elevator.





Cable car ticks for S$8 per person. The cable car wasn't what we expect it to be; it was old and poorly maintained, with dozens packed like sardines and you can hardly breathe when you are on it.





It was a long arduous journey to Seoul Tower as walking up the killer stairs was burdensome; not only do I need a conscious and tedious mental effort in pushing myself up step by step, it was also physically demanding for me to keep up with the person in front since the person behind would be "tailgating" me. Hence we stopped by a cafe that sells twist potato to relieve me from such stress, and my bro was very sure that his stomach protested again.





The twist potato was really good - soft and simply luscious! My bro compared this with the one he tasted in Singapore and said this was so much better since the "Singaporean Twist Potato" has a thicker crust and is harder to chew, but afterwards he changed his mind and said each has its own merits. I dunno man, let me tell you again after I have tried the Singaporean Potato ok?






Bro the glutton! :D




Some cave we came across on our way to Seoul Tower.






We bought a package that includes visits to both Teddy Bear Museum and the Observatory. The 2 life-sized bears serving their duty as an usher to guide tourists like us into the museum.






Many bears-on-a-platform waiting to be taken photographs of with fans of theirs.





Entrance.




Labourers in the olden days.





Using bears as a platform to tell of the history of Seoul.





Bears with such hats and robes reminded me of the ever popular drama "Dae Jang Geum".






Bears doing hard labour.




Two very kind-hearted tourists took quite a few pictures of us, until the right settings are chosen to make us and the background look brighter since the museum was simply too dark.





King and Queen bears watching a game of jockey. I took this picture up close to show you the hilarious  look on the horse's face!





Blown up photo of the horse. Was it also expressing mockery behind that grimace? Lol!





Meetings of the officials held in conference rooms





Another thing that got us laughing was the sight of this bear crawling out of the cathedral! We marvelled at this "spectacular" sight. Why on earth would it do that?





Cute bear in cute clothes praying, and confessing to a statue of Mary.





General leading his troop of cavalrymen (oh I mean cavalrybears) to battle! :D






Maidens in the palace diligently preparing dishes for the king in those times where men make houses, women make homes.





This was one of the bears in action; it was chopping up meat away!




The traditional market.








Artist bear in the streets of Insadong. It was this small gallery that shows the traditional streets of Insadong and drew my bro's attention, he wanna head to this place the following day!





Gangnam Style! I was already in complete utter shock to see several advertisements of PSY ever since I landed in Korea and then I saw a teddy bear made in his shadow in the Seoul's exclusive Teddy Bear Museum. He's everywhere! Ok ok, I shall stop being disdainful alright?





Korean wedding ceremony!
Spotted some similarity to a typical Singaporean wedding - Flower bears in front of the couple, and bridesmaid behind to hold the train of the gown.






Bear on a chariot. So cute!





Bears rejoicing on the balcony at the joyous occasion.





One of the bears on display.








Mr Bean's Teddy Bear! It took me sometime to resist the urge to break the display glass and steal it! Lol!



And afterwards, we went up to the observatory to get a bird's eye view of Seoul, but were disappointed as the view was not as breathtaking as it seems, perhaps due to the hazy atmosphere that very day.





Me and the hazy Seoul.





Love padlocks at Seoul Tower to symbolize the everlasting love of sweethearts.









N Seoul Tower.






After empowering ourselves with caffeine (I was totes weary from the lack of sleep and the continuous walking), we embraced ourselves for some more sightseeing. We walked to the streets of Myeongdong and found the Myeongdong Cathedral after much difficulty. We lost our way again and again!





The cathedral which kept its traditional architectural design for years. An epic photo whereby the tourist who got here before us posed with his arms high up in the air.









Toured around the circumference of the cathedral and found the confession room, a room for sinners to confess their sins to God!








The nave of the cathedral. We weren't aware that there was a service going on inside since tourists were all over the boundary of the cathedral busily taking pictures; we had to calm ourselves down the moment we entered to take photos of the Christians listening attentively to the pastor who was delivering a sermon. Bro said the pastor totally wasn't disturbed by the tourists going in and out of the church, it must be that he had already gotten used to such attention the cathedral has brought.





I always think the steeple of the cathedral symbolizes the uniqueness of every cathedral.






The real-life statue of Mary.






We witnessed believers lighting a candle and putting it into a glass cabinet, and we out of curiosity followed suit. As much as we wanted to ask a believer on their reason of doing this, we did not after considering the communication barrier between us and the Koreans.






Didn't know Bro was taking a pic of me. 
The glass cabinet filled with faith and hope. :D

Merlion Sentosa. A tourist in Singapore.

My intention of blogging Day 2 of Korea was not welcomed by Simba since he desperately hopes that I blog about our recent trip to Sentosa first. Lol. I think he has this burning desire to be a blogger but his laziness got better of him, and I'm here to blog in place of him.


Now, look back and try to recollect the last time u went to Sentosa to revisit the attractions u visited when u were a 7-year-old. I bet you don't remember when! :D

We were all ready for some SEA Aquarium and Adventure Cove Water Park thrill until the counter staff went, "Please be aware that there is currently a 3-hour queue to the entrance!" Jaw-dropping news. Lol. How can there be a 3-hour queue to anywhere, not to mention an attraction which was supposed to leave a good, lasting impression to tourists? The best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry. We had to forgo the idea of visiting this long-awaited attraction and decided on the spot that we would take leave on one of the coming weekdays to come back there.

Hence after some (window) shopping at RWS, we went to apply for the Choice Play Pass! The Choice Play Pass entitles you with a choice of play for 4 out of 16 attractions at a price of $44.90 per person. We reminisced the good old days of Singapore in the Images of Singapore Museum, embarked on a journey on the latest Extreme Log Ride and the Journey 2 the Centre of the Earth 4-D Adventure, and a cable car ride back to Harbourfront!

We were so eager to view the Sentosa city from the Merlion Observatory that we bought "ala-carte" tickets just for it.


We started the day with lunch at Vivocity before taking a stroll down the Broadwalk to Sentosa. Other than being truly a fan of Korean food lately, I also crave for the cupcakes from twelve cupcakes.




I chose the Expresso flavour, a flavour I have never tried before, which tasted good but not as good as Baileys Chocolate, Lychee Martini and Red Velvet! :D
Do u think he has slimmed down a little and his hair grew back a little?




Although the name of twelve cupcakes has already been established, he still maintained his persistence for me to be an ambassador for the cupcake maker. :D

Being too full from lunch but still wanna a mouthful of the cupcake, I shoved the rest of the cupcake down his throat! Lol.

My double chin has formed after I started working and felt richer, in which I mean I ordered an additional side dish to each main course, ate desserts and ice-cream more frequently and even ordered drinks at restaurants (I used to just ask for iced water)! Lol. I was told that I grew fat since June last year, but recently I received feedback that I slimmed down a little, but I think I can never be back to the size I was 2 years back. :D





A boh-geh cum gluttony photo here. Lol. I love how I look; totally into the cupcake. My eyelashes are now less cluttered together as I switched my mascara brand from Maybeline Volum' Express to Kiss Me Volume & Curl.
Another addition to my usual makeup stash was the Stila brightening primer (first time I was using it in this photo), a serum recommended by Ying, and it works great. My colleague said I look more radiant with it. Thanks ying, you surely live up to the name of a Beautician!




The lion that Sang Nila Utama first saw in our island.






My honour to stand in front of the national personification of Singapore!




Spot him!





We spotted a professional photographer who is superb at multi-tasking; he is taking photos and taking care of his kid simultaneously. We really didn't wish to disturb him but we really admire his skills, so mustering all our courage, we asked him with such pleading eyes that he couldn't reject us. Lol. Nice photo he took of us, it was so kind of him to kneel all the way down as if he was proposing to us just to capture this shot!




A zoom-in version by the pro photographer.





He paid tribute to Sang Nila Utama by pretending to be the deer which ran to the top of the hill opposite Singapura, and diverted his attention of hunting to beholding our magnificent island, saving its own life in the process.







His idea. I think all he ever wanted in his life is for me to be devoured by a lion! Although he didn't talk most of the time in our relationship, his actions tell it all!





We came into a cave that tells of how Singapura was founded.





My long-sleeved romper was one of my favourite buys this year hoho! 





Mermaids, their beauty is unquestionable. They are the most beautiful, aspiring creatures in the whole legendary series! 





The loch monster which emerged in the midst of the roaring storms that smash through the sea during the voyage of Prince Sang Nila Utama and his crew of sailors.





The sea dragon which commanded the sea to regain back its serenity after the prince instinctively threw his crown into the sea to appease it.




The lucky coin which brought us our mystery gift.




The view from the Merlion Mouth Gallery. 





Exposed to the risk of being clamped by its sharp fangs!
No smoking in its mouth by the way, merlions don't smoke ok!











Killer stairs that required me to summon all my strength in heading up to the Head Gallery. Lol.




The wind was so furious at this high altitude it could have blown us away, but we were lucky that our fats held us in.





Cable cars!

















Something that caught my eye in the souvenir shop was this t-shirt that features a highlight of Singapore, a t-shirt to pay tribute to the industrious trishaw pullers who work really hard to bring our tourists around Singapore (I mean around Bugis area).




The first souvenir shop that didn't get us to buy anything from it. Lol. Singaporeans don't buy "I Love SG" shirts, do they?

Simba is losing weight speedily and I would better cherish these days of me being slimmer than him before he regains his original form. Lol. I always secretly wish that he would become fatter than me one day, but never thought that it would become true because of a disease. I'm really sorry.

Anyways, fat or no fat, what matters now is him staying healthy, so as long as he doesn't become emaciated, I appreciate him all the same.

Korea. Incheon Airport. Homestay at Seoul Station. Hongdae.

I left this space isolated fo 3 weeks! 
I didn't have some alone time since Feb, after the part-time teaching at the tuition centre on Saturdays and that the full-time work kept piling up. Work was never ending; the second I thought I could finally rest I was given more work at the next instant. The initial stage of having known his disease was saddening, I spent nights brooding over it. I recounted the times I came to work totally drained and CS commented for that few weeks that I looked absolutely rotten. Lol. 

U can ask Simba when was that last weekend we spent a whole day out! I think the last one was early April; the one we went to Gardens by the Bay to catch a glimpse of the Easter-themed Flower Dome park.

After his operation, I didn't even have the time to be there to watch his recovery. I was there but wasn't exactly emotionally there as I was doing, and doing, and doing all those brought home work while he watched me do them. And at one point of time I realized this was it. I can't make myself carry on this way anymore. Life is never all about work, everything else is just too important to miss out on. The feeling of helplessness, fragility and gnawing anxiety during the days that Simba grew weak was so vivid and excruciating; tears just instantly formed the moment they came to my mind. I spent days thinking of the What Ifs. What if the tumor is malignant? What if he eventually gets heart disease? What am I gonna do if he passes away? If ever this happens, I will keep the house and stay in there alone for the rest of my life. I held onto all sorts of negativity I thought I'm never gonna wake up from this nightmare. 

I came to a conclusion that life is too short and unhealthy for me to be expending time and energy on work. When the person I care about needs me, I need to be there. I need to quit my job. I need to find a job which can provide me with work-life balance, a job that does not have deadlines breathing down my neck, a job that gives me time to smile at my loved ones, and a job which I can gain job satisfaction from. 

8th Sept, my last day. (I asked for an extension of my contract to be thorough in seeing through my project, and mostly to soothe the overwhelming sense of guilt if I were to leave the workplace with things undone.)


Let me catch you up on my recent trip to South Korea. 

Not knowing what is to come for Junwen's op, with the help of the Endocrinologist's letter, I appealed to Cathay Pacific to have my bro to go in place of Junwen's. 

On the day when I was going to depart for Korea, Simba was so in denial that he formed an illusion that he could come along to Korea and packed his things to get ready for some thrill, only to come to his senses at the last minute. Lol!

Korea has overtaken Taiwan and emerged as the winner as the top destination to visit! Lol. I an heads over heels in love with Korea!

Perhaps my love for Korea was nurtured by the Koreans I met in Singapore and it flourished after I spent 6 nights in Korea. Did I tell u that 100% of my tutees showed improvement in their grades for their SA1, with one improved by a whopping 13 marks?
One girl even asked, "Will u be disappointed if I tell u my grade?" That's so cute and sweet of her! She made my day! I think my job satisfaction largely stemmed from giving tuition.


We reached the Incheon Airport later than usual due to the unexpected flight delay. As we were far behind our itinerary schedule (and my bro could eat a horse), we took an Express train from the airport to Seoul Station for just $9 and the journey took just 43 mins!





First pic I took in Korea. The perky sea lions (or seals) were publicising for the 17th Asian Games that will take place over 16 days in Incheon, Korea, from Sept 19 to Oct 4, 2014.





The luggages were too cumbersome for me to carry and Bro had to help me with them, so in many of the pics taken following this I look alot happier than him! Lol.







We ensconced on comfy leather seat of the express train, picked up some reads (The mags are all in Korean, we just leafed through them with occasionally glances at the pics in them) and saw Lee Kwang Soo in one of the pages! He is really a model, let's not doubt him anymore, shall we?


The moment we alighted from the train, the lady who lent us her studio apartment for 6 nights was already there to pick us up. (Yes, I tried home stay for the first time! As I had to sponsor my bro for accommodation in Korea, I sought a cheaper alternative so that my bonus wouldn't be spent away at an accelerated rate.) She is irresistible and has such vivacious personality, I was so attracted to her. Lol. As promised in her account of the airbnb website, it was just a 5 mins walk from Seoul Station. We crossed to the opposite of the Seoul Station, walk along one alley and there we were standing outside her apartment.






She also gave us a brief walkthrough on how to use the appliances in her apartment. After she left, these wildlife-themed lamps hanging in her kitchen caught my attention!

I copied and pasted from the website the following description her husband wrote about their offer to engage tourists: 

"Hello

I'm Mr.Bang.

When you travel with your friends or family, My studio will be better. I designed the Interior Space by Minimalism.
I think it will save your budget. And I provide all of stuff for cooking and bath. So it makes your luggage slim.

I give you,
Pots, pans, ladles, spoons, chopsticks, knives, cutting boards, spice, washing-up gloves, oil, plates, cups, bowls, microwave, gas stove, refrigerator, kettle, toaster
For cook.

And I give you
Washing machine, detergent, iron (on request)
For wash.

Also I give you
Shampoo, conditioner, body shampoo, toothpaste, facial cleansing foam, hand wash, shower ball, towels, hair dryer, full-length mirrors
For bath.

It's not share another guest. Everything is owned by you."

I told my bro that it's such a great deal. We were given everything in their apartment for just the price of $400! At the end of the trip, he was so tempted to pack their vacuum cleaner into his luggage.

But in the end as much as we want to grab the washing machine, we didn't as we as kind-hearted people didn't want to take advantage of others. Lol.

Bro and I were pretty satisfied with the cleanliness of the apartment and availability of resources that hotels don't even provide.  





My bro who slept on the upper deck of this double decker bed was immensely troubled by the short distance between his position and the ceiling! Lol. I think he banged his head a few times when he got out of bed in the morning.


After unloading our luggages, we headed to Hongdae! Hongdae is an affordable place for shopping and dining since it is catered for University students. :D

The airport is such a placid place, but Hongdae, which was swarmed with Koreans, made us do abit of the getting used to.




We made a beeline for the first Korean BBQ restaurant we saw, after it caught Bro's eye. I realised that guys cannot bear with hunger, they look so weak if their stomachs aren't filled with something. The buffet only cost $12 each, but limits us to only 1.5 hour of eating.

After some efforts in attempting to communicate with the staff, we finally understood their restaurant rules. We derived at a conclusion that Koreans understand English but aren't fluent enough to speak to foreigners like us with it.



Hence, we tried to get the best out of the 1.5 hour with chatting, furiously eating and drinking Soju, an alcoholic beverage only native to Korea (only costs $3 in restaurants, and $1 in the Lotte Mart).




Look at the big pieces of meat on my left! 





The alcoholic taste of Soju was too strong, so strong that we ordered some Pepsi to mix with it, and that's how both of us struggled to finish the whole bottle.
Our plan of spending more time in the restaurant foiled when the restaurant waiter showed us his watch, tapped his finger on it, to send us a heads-up on the time (time for us to leave the restaurant). Lol. 





Music performance in the streets of Hongdae. Bro, who practises the guitar day and night, was so attracted to it and was full of praise for this talented musician the whole night long. 




Etude House.





Many Koreans gather in the BBQ restaurants after work to enjoy friends' company with food and beer. (There is always at least one type of beer on every table.)







Street tap dance performance to publicise their underground pub. :D








Cute game stall in Hongdae.

Kitties Collection

I'm sorry that the tomorrow I promised didn't come! :D

Junwen is collecting kitties again!

Update soon!

Will update tomorrow I promise!

Work is so hectic, I worked till the very day I left for Korea and didn't even have time to plan my itinerary, blog, and watch Running Man and The Big Bang Theory! 
More about that tomorrow!

Jun Wen has gone back to working, reducing his cortisol intake and exercising a little. Hoho! He's awesome!

2 months post braces.

2 months post braces.
Less than 2 years to straighter teeth! 





The metal doesn't hurt me no more. :) Cool! 
Still, nothing hurts more than the ligament tear, so I appreciate gravely my new $13,000 surgeon-crafted ligament. 


Colleague said I am so busy! I see the physiotherapist once a week, and orthodontist, orthopedic surgeon and beautician once a month! They are gradually making my life better, but also at the same time making me really broke. I'm seriously reconsidering the decision to rot at home after quitting my job. Lol.