Drinking ice teh had been an addiction for me between the age of 17 and 19, ever since I tasted my first at the canteen in Engineering School of Temasek Poly. I took the taste for granted during my 3 years of schooling and really miss it recently especially when the cafes/canteens near my workplace serve sub-standard ones! :( (Didn't drink teh bing for 4 years since NTU canteen A doesn't sell it; I mean it sells teh and u need to put ice in by yourself.)
I think I will take leave one day just to revisit its taste, and wanna also hop over to the bubble tea shop opposite TP to say hello to the cute uncle!
LOL.
I'm sure you must have heard about the recent slashing incident at Cineleisure that caused quite a stir among our male friends! Lol. The youngsters slashed the man in his 20s because he walked in a "cocky" style. I told Simba not to wander about at places where the young people hang out since he walked in a "cocky" way, and he asked, "U mean I walk like a chicken?" and imitated a chicken walk straight away. Lol! That's so lame!
We were bewildered when we viewed this gallery as the sight of people looking all awestruck by the lamp post seems rather bizarre! Then after reading the information on the museum board, we realised that this was a scene where the streets were first lit up with street lights of Seoul and the people were really amazed at the new technology!
The first electric tram of Seoul.
Cute bear couple going on a date at the zoo. It's amusing watching bears as patrons of the zoo since they should be in the enclosure themselves!
Candy floss sold in the zoo!
Cookin' Nanta, a famous South Korean comedy musical that features traditional samul nori music which is performed with improvised kitchen utensils such as chopping boards, water canisters and knives (From Wiki). These busy bears adorned with chefs' hats and smart chef uniforms and chopping vegetables to make music attracted my bro, the guitarist, to be willing to fork out $50 to watch the show (He's usually frugal throughout the trip !).
Again, the streets of Insadong where most cheap accessories and traditional souvenirs are situated.
Insadong, a street that is adorned with historic significance, galleries and high end antique shops catering to visitors looking to come away with wooden carvings, traditional tea sets or beautiful artwork from local artists.
Hongdae, where the rockstars-to-be play music in the open and publicise their underground pub.
Street dance at Hongdae! Head spins everywhere.
The entrance of Myeongdong. What awaits u is a line of shophouses which comprises of independent fashionable boutiques, mom and pop shops, skin care stores (very familiar ones are Nature Republic, The Face Shop and Skin Food) and modern cafes that have innovative interior designs. In front of these shophouses were small cart stores that sells mainly clothing, accessories and plush toys at marked down prices. I bought a black-and-white striped pants at $19 and a Korean rabbit (Size L) at $20 which costs $32 in Plaza Sing! Great deals I had in Seoul!
We found the "Too Cool For School" shop, a makeup store specially catered for young school girls with its unique concept of aligning all makeup items to look like stationeries, by chance and Bro got some cheap thrill over it since he found the store that his friend asked him to buy makeup from. I bought a few makeup items from there to get a more concrete idea of why Singaporeans gave this store such a exceptionally good reputation!
Seized the opportunity to take a picture with this mascot when it was diligently advertising for its 1-for-1 coffee. It showed a huge bit of annoyance when we approached with no intention of buying coffee. (I know we couldn't have known if the person underneath this thick layer of fur is sulking, but we can tell from his/her body language. It just stood still and didn't respond even when we asked it a few times with such courtesy if we could take a photo with it.)
Myeongdong theater located at the heart of Myeongdong.
Next to the theater was a small booth with an old lady chanting within, and banners filled the exterior of the booth, banners which convey very serious warning to the people on Earth!
A skincare brand that is found everywhere in the shopping districts (Hongdae, Myeongdong, Ewha Womans University...) has these mannequins stationed outside of it, and I actually forgot what it's called. Lol, what an "awesome" blogger I'm!
It was ten at night when we headed for some dinner as we were roaming in the streets holding onto the hope of finding some SD cards, phone adapters and Too Cool For School.
After much body language exchange between us and the waitress, we were very thankful and touched that our food was finally served (language barrier is indeed scary).
Bro was very adventurous in his choice of food; I bet he can survive those exotic foods in Fear Factor. Lol. Kong Guk, soy bean milk noodle soup. It's eaten cold btw. The look of it and I was about to faint. According to him, the food critic, he could not really adapt to the taste so he said it was just mediocre.
I thought the small bowl of noodles wouldn't keep us full through the night so I suggested ordering dumplings and regretted it the moment I had a few. Lol.
The next morning outside a plush toy shop at the metro station near Gwanghwamun Square.
A Korean cartoon character well established in the hearts of Korean kids.
In Gwanghwamun Square stands a statue of King Sejong the Great, the fourth king of Joseon, and in front of it is a spot meant for tourists; tents that house sellers who sell cheap 2nd-hand clothing, shoes and accessories. Bro began his shopping spree early in the morning, and bargaining with the sellers became his favourite pastime. I stood there dumbfounded when he asked for discounts umpteen times, wishing that the ground would swallow me up.
Sun rays pricked his eyes, making them never ready for a picture. He changed his mind about taking another photo to replace this since this portrayed his genuine feelings towards the weather in that location.
Me in Gwanghwanam Square (Taken with Bro's iPhone 4S).
We were in proximity to Gyeongbokgung (Palace) but Bro chose not to go there as he preferred shopping on the periphery of King Sejong the Great! (Wa lao, like sister like brother.)
Each visitor has a chance to try making doughs for some Korean snack (Forgot which snack lol. Getting so old). It's such hard work!
Bici Coffee. Brazilian coffee store set up by a Brazilian and 2 Koreans. 1 of the Koreans, who gave off pretty good vibes, spoke to us in English using his limited vocab, so he made lots of pauses in all his sentences but we were really impressed and inspired by his courage!
"I want to go to Singapore again.. Many cultures... But I fear... I heard... the law is... tight (I think he meant strict)... When I went to Singapore many years ago, I fear... I look around and I don't fear..."
LOL!
We imitated him throughout the days in Korea to keep ourselves entertained.
Another snack - colourful beans!
We were later joined by the police who proudly showcased their march to visitors of the square. Cool!
When the Gangnam Style song played, they danced to the music. Bro said Singapore will never allow that since upholding the police's image is still the top priority.
Psy's everywhere. If you didn't see him in advertisements, his "Gentleman" song haunt you everywhere you go; ALL the shops are playing it and I swear I'm not exaggerating.
The unglam black trash-like shopping bags we got from the vendors in Gwanghwanam Square.
Chinese Restaurant that serves Korean food. LOL.
Kimchi, chicken meat, rice cakes, some vegs and a packet of instant noodles which were later added in...
