Back in Penang!

Yes! I am back in Penang already. It was raining heavily on the way back and it was freezing cold in the bus. I hardly have any sleep on the bus. I reached Penang at around 5am and it was raining as well. My parents were there to fetch me as I reached.

My home is even messy before I went back; things on the sofa, books and some other stuff piled up on the table etc. It seems that my parents have been lenient in teaching my little sister on the basic tidiness and cleanliness. Perhaps, it is because she is the only child at home now and my parents are quite busy. I seemed to be the one always doing the nagging part. Some of you maybe wondering, “since when you have a little sister?”. My parents adopted my cousin’s daughter who is having some family problems since last December. It is a long story. She will be staying with us for the next 3 years if nothing goes wrong.

Holiday mood is in the air whenever I am in Penang. Perhaps that it is too “comfortable” here or because my parents are around, I want to talk to them and do not feel like working on my tasks.

Job Interviews

I will be going back to Penang on Wednesday night for my 2 interviews on Friday. Everything comes in a sudden. My more relaxing schedule this week becomes a packing one.

The first company is Agilent for a position in Customer Service. I seriously hope that I do not become a telephone operator if I get the job. One of their HR employees called me several times regarding the schedule for the interview. It seems that they are keen on finding someone who knows Korean language well. Unfortunately, my level is not even up to the Beginners standard yet. Worse, they want to give me a written test before the interview, even after telling them that my proficiency in Korean language is very poor.

Another company is Intel for the position as a contract software developer in Kulim. It is a software tool development company. They are using C++ and my skills in that language is not good. I wonder if I can perform well during the interview when it comes to technical questions. Actually, I am more worry about my performance if I did get confirm for that position. Anyway, I will try my best! t(''t)

p/s: Thanks to Huwi Yin senpai for her support and Dr Andrew for his advice ^^

Trip to Cyberjaya

Everyone is quite keen on finding a job before they graduate. I also hope that I can secure a job before I graduate. Some of my friends are getting interviews from companies already. I only attended an interview at the end of the February and that’s it. All these jobs finding stuff has being getting on my head and taking much of my time. I guess I should have concentrate more on my studies now. With so many assignments, tests and classes lining up, I could not afford slacking off.

Today I went to MMU, Cyberjaya to attend the Career Fair there. Since they were providing us with free transport, I might as well take this opportunity to visit some old friends there. The bus departed at 8.45am from MMU, Malacca and reached the destination at around 10.30am. I went looking around the fair as I reached. The venue is smaller than the one in Malacca but there are more participating companies. I submitted some resumes but did not attend any of the walk-in interviews.

I met with Ryan, Bee Jun and Yushu at 11am. Yushu just finished an interview with Motorola. He dressed like as if he is a businessman, very formal and smart. It is the first time I saw him wearing like that. He had attended 7 interviews so far. Wow… that is a lot! Then, we headed to the fair together. We did a small chatting. I saw Corine and Chun Cheat passing by. Yushu went off earlier before we have a group photo together. Then, we visited the FIT building before heading to the cafeteria in the FOE building. I saw Sasi, Danny, Chai Hoang, Ai Chin and Mei Shin there. Chai Hoang was too hungry to wait for our reunion lunch at 1pm. Ryan and his friends seem to think that Cyberjaya campus has more beautiful girls, which I think that is not really true.

At 12.50pm, we departed to Street Mall to have our dinner. Sasi offered to meet the other guys in front of library and asked us to depart first as Jin Boone (JB) was waiting in the car already. I did not know that Jin Boone has a car. I must be too outdated. We had our lunch at a restaurant called Penang House. According to our Penangite, JB, none of the dishes there tasted like from Penang. The business is good because the shop is air-conditioned. The cheapest dish cost RM6, excluding of tax and service charge. Chai Hoang arrived with Sasi later, while Chee Keong (CK) arrived with Alex and Alvin at the very last. There are a total of 10 of us – Mei Shin, Chai Hoang, JB, CK, Alvin, Alex, Danny, Ai Chin, Sylvia and I. Sasi visited Malacca a few weeks ago and he looks more skinny and energetic now. Chai Hoang and JB is the same as ever. CK has gained some weight since Alpha but he looks better now. Alvin has changed his hair style. I think that the little pony tail looks weird on him. The previous hairstyle is nicer. Alex is slimmer than I last met him. Danny has changed his hairstyle; it looks stylish with the yellow highlight. Mei Shin and Chai Hoang are having fun playing with his hair. Sylvia is slimmer than I last met her. It is nice to see everyone again before graduating! Due to some mistake in ordering, CK actually have Nasi Lemak for both his breakfast and lunch! Luckily he have Alvin the Cat (because he is from Kuching) to help him out with the dish. Danny refused to help CK with his dish but helped Ai Chin instead. What a lovely couple... We took some photos outside before heading back to the campus. It was around 2.30pm already.

I quickly rushed to the front of the library to meet Madhu. I have not seen her since Alpha. Yuya was not able to make it because she is having a meeting. Madhu said that she was really busy with CCIP recently, looking for people to become the Culture Pageant. Madhu is much slimmer compared to in Alpha. It seems that she is having a heavy workload, taking 7 subjects this trimester. She is not following the schedule and the subjects are getting tougher, with more assignments and things to learn. It is always better to take them as soon as possible. I met Eileen and her sister shortly after that. She looks nice in her dress.

While heading to the STAD building at 2.55pm, I met Wei Chung and greeted him for a while. Then, I met Gin Bey, my ex-schoolmate. I have not seen her for years. Sylvia and Alex sent Mei Shin and I off at around 3.20pm.

Even though it was a short trip, it is nice to see everyone again. It reminded me of the good old Alpha time. We were the noisy and active Group 25! Sasi, Danny and JB are a whole bunch of humorous people. I guess I will next meet them during the coming convocation in Cyberjaya campus in August.

Education and Career Fair

Last week, there was an Education and Career Fair in MMU, Exam Hall for 3 days. I was a bit disappointed about the fair. There were very few booths and companies. The participating companies were such as Shell, Intel, Avago, Robert Bosch and Jobstreet. It seems to be more of a career fair than education fair, with only 1 booth on education by IDP. IDP is a body promoting about education in Australia. It is owned by all of the universities in Australia. They also provide consultation to students who wish to study in Australia. I did send in my resume before the fair but did not receive any news from the event organizer or company. Only a few students were short listed for interview by some companies. I am starting to doubt my skills or knowledge in the field. I managed to get an interview for Robert Bosch for the embedded system programmer. But, I think my performance is not good enough to convince the interviewee. I attended a career talk by Shell, an interesting one. I get to know more about the company and the job positions available.

My final year project is on the track now, which is something good. My class for Java started this week, which means I will have to attend more classes and have less free time. Microsoft SQL 2000 admin class will start on next Saturday. Though the schedule is a bit pack, it’s always good to be able to learn something extra. For those who do not know, there is an Education Fair in Century Mahkota Hotel, Malacca on this Saturday, 12-6pm. There is an IDP fair on the same day in Subang Jaya.

NOC IV

The second week of the last trimester is coming to an end soon. Holiday mood is slowly decreasing and everything is getting back on track. It was quite boring for the first week and things are getting very hectic this week.

I attended the Night of Celebration (NOC) IV on Thursday night in Main Hall. This is an annual event held by SPARC. It is a musical drama and the admission is free. It was my second and last time attending this event. My first visit was on last academic year. The entrance was crowded by people once it was opened. I was supposed to enter with Mei Shin and Soon Jin but they were not there yet when I arrived. I made a right choice entering the hall first as the front and middle seats were filled up very fast. I managed to get a seat on the right front. It was quite a nice view as I was not block. Beside me is my neighbor, Jason and Foo was sitting nearby. It was not as nice as last year’s performance but the door gift was nice, sponsored by Tupperware and some samples from a cosmetic company. The commercial section was a bit too lengthy and the emcee for the opening was not doing a great job.

The title for NOC IV was Chapters of Life. The story surrounded Abigail, a kind hearted girl who suffered from leukemia. When she was given hope to recover from her sickness, an accident happened and she passed away. Her friends and brother a lot suffered from her death. My favorite character is Chris, played by Justin Lee. His singing is the best and doing a good job for his role as Abigail’s brother. Even though Violet, Abigail’s best friend (played by Renee Tiun) is not a goody type of character, she played her role well. Sean, played by Aaron Liu’s performance is not bad. I had a hard time listening to his singing as it was unclear. Abigail’s performance is lack of emotion. Overall, the music, dance and props for this year are a bit disappointing. However, the flash show before the start of the event is something worth mentioning. It was about the training of the actors before the event, more to a comedy. Despite all the flaws, the event was a bit hit. The venue was packed with people and there were many spectators standing at the back.

Chinese New Year 2006

This year’s Chinese New Year is a very busy one. We were busy decorating the house and spring cleaning. Not forgetting, teaching my niece on performing some of the housework. We had our reunion dinner at my grandmother and uncle’s house. On the first day of Chinese New Year, we visited the “open house” at Fort Cornwallis for free food. There was still a lot of food available despite our late visit, specially the non-Chinese stalls. There were quite a number of Indians there other than Chinese. On the first 2 days of Chinese New Year, we had steamboat at my uncle and aunt’s house. 2 days of steamboat is more than enough to give me a freak about food.

My uncle’s house was robbed on the third day of Chinese New Year. The estimated lost is around RM 1K. It is a lesson for everyone. Do not put too many valuable things such as cash and jewelries at home during festive seasons. Do remember to keep your door lock as well!

On February 1(Wednesday), we had a small gathering at Coffee Bean, Gurney Plaza at 2pm. This is the first gathering after more than 3 years, since Siew Hoon’s birthday party in 2002. 14 people attended the gathering – Siew Hoon, Hui Ping, Yoke Pei, Hui Wen, Yoke Yen, Siew Ean, Yee Loo, Chiew May, Kae Wen, Siew Eng, Tian Tian, Ee Pheng and I. Yi Wen came quite late and Tuan Fern was unable to attend the gathering as promise. There was a kind of weird feeling when we saw each for the first time after a long time. Many of us stayed quiet for some time. Some of us are still quite close as we still keep in touch. Everything became heated up after the photo session. There were around 4 cameras. Many of us flipped through our graduation magazines before attended the gathering as there are some names which we had forgotten. The class gathering turned out to be another small gathering of friends when we saw some of our ex-schoolmates. Even though we do not know each other and have never talk to each other before during high school, it feels good to see them again.

Even though I did not reach my goal of seeing all my friends, at least I met some of them ^^

Happy New Year!

I would like to say "Happy New Year" to all the Chinese and Koreans in the world! While enjoying all the delicacies, remember not to eat too much! For those in overseas/not at home, just enjoy this festive season in your own ways. Even though the celebration may not be as grand as in your home country, it's another life experience worth mentioning in the future ^^

Holiday - Week #1

It is holiday now! This holiday is different from the others, not because of Chinese New Year, but something else. My niece is going to stay in my home and sharing my room starting from January 17 due to some circumstances. She is 11 years old. She was in the hospital before that. After 7 years of having a single room to myself, I have to share my room with someone again. I am very peculiar person when it comes to tidiness. I do not like anyone to mess with my stuff; a strong holder of privacy. Luckily, things turn out to be better than I expected.

Unlike other holidays, in which I spend almost the whole day in front of my laptop/personal computer chatting, watching drama/movies/anime and surfing, I am helping out my parents to take care of my niece. As my home personal computer is broken, my brother is basically occupying my laptop to play Warcraft. I am able to online most of the time. The list of people online for my Yahoo and MSN messenger is always so few during holidays. As Chinese New Year is approaching, the list decreases to less than 10 people online for both messengers.

There are sales everywhere now. So far, I had visited 2 shopping complexes – Giant and Tesco. Giant is a newly open supermarket in Bayan Baru, located just beside Pantai Mutiara Hospital. Some of the shops there are still under renovation and the place is relatively small, only single storey and not very spacious. I visited Tesco yesterday and it was packed with people even though it was 11pm. There were many people and trolleys, barely able to move. There are some places selling clothes, for stock clearance(not in Tesco). It is not really cheap. But, there are some very nice clothes for girls around the age of kindergarten at PISA (Penang Indoor Stadium Arena).

Jin visited me 2 days ago. There was not much time, so I did not manage to give him a round tour around the island.

Congratulations to Huwi Yin for getting her first job at Intel, Cyberjaya ^^

Final Exam

Yippee! Finally, it is the end of the long waited and suffering period – final exam! I just finished my 2 papers for this trimester yesterday. The 2 in 1 combination again (2 papers in the same day). Due to the public holiday on Tuesday (Hari Raya Haji), some of the exams were scheduled to be held at night. Those taking Artificial Intelligence (AI) are some of the victims due to this public holiday, such as me. This was my second last final exam before I graduate but I think that I am not doing well in it (there are too many uncertainties), despite all the preparation done. Hopefully, everything turn out to be good! >___<

The exam fever started a week ago. The library was packed of people, but the number reduced a bit on rainy days. There are a few factors behind this phenomenon. Of course, people tend to be lazy to go out during such a day because they will get wet and by staying at home, they can get some nice sleep. Another reason is because the library is freezing cold nowadays. I wondered how I was able to stay in this “fridge” continuously for more than 3 days. Other than my “library gang”, I saw Zi Bin and Jin in the library as well. My broken umbrella was stolen on last Sunday. These people must be desperate enough to steal a broken umbrella. Even though it was broken, it still can be used. I managed to get a new umbrella from Jaya Jusco (JJ) at RM10. Chinese New Year mood is everywhere in JJ now, with all the signboards about discounts. I managed to get a blouse at 50% off, good deal.

I met Tze Hun, my ex-classmate in high school in EP car park last Saturday. She looks a bit different during secondary school (of course most people look different from when they were in high school). I haven’t met her since we graduated. She is now an undergraduate for medicine in Manipal College.

Recently, I am listening to my old collection of mp3. Whenever I listen to those songs, some of my old memories reveal. There is always a song to describe our feelings and situation. Still remember during Alpha, when Cindy was still my roommate, we always like to play “Scarlet” the opening song of “Ayashi no Ceres” whenever we were upset.

I will be going back to Penang this Sunday with my brother and housemate. Looking forward to see my old friends again this holiday and Chinese New Year ^^

Revision Week

Finally, trimester 2 is coming to an end soon. Everyone is busy now, either on their assignments, presentations or preparing for the final examination next week. Short trimester is always very hectic due to its short duration. It is more of like a crash course. Even though I am only taking 2 course subjects and a Final Year Project this trimester, time seems to be insufficient for me.

The weeks after my birthday are all about assignments, projects and tests. I got to eat many birthday cakes this year, special thanks to Jin, Daniel and Kevin once more. Thanks to Huwi Yin for her 2 in 1 cards. Thanks to Christoph for his parcel from Germany with plenty of goodies inside. Thanks to my Japanese teacher for her “onigiri” and 2006 organizer. Thanks to Travis kor kor for visiting me.

Despite my tight schedule, I managed to squeeze some free time in between to watch “Narnia” at Goldren Screen Cinema (GSC), Mahkota Parade. I have not being to any cinemas for more than 6 months already. The cinema had done some renovation and it looks much better now. I was a bit disappointed with the movie, but overall it is okay. I like the character design very much despite some of the unrealistic details of the storyline.

On Christmas Eve, I departed to Singapore for a one day one night trip. It is rather tiring trip, definitely not going for such a crash trip in the future, especially with a few sleepless nights before the trip. I was falling asleep or dozing off whenever I have the time to do so. We visited Singapore Zoo at first. There are many foreign animals in the zoo and it is really well maintained. There are a number of performances by the animals. However, most of them are rather boring. Perhaps, tourists from non-tropical countries might find them interesting. The sea lion show is my favorite. It is advisable not to go for the elephant show. There are 2 polar bears in the zoo as well. I was sympathizing to those bears as they seem so tired or unhappy to be kept in such a small and hot cage. Then, we headed to Seoul Garden for a buffet lunch at 12 SGD. Even though it is a Korean style buffet, it is different from the one that I have in Korea. Suddenly, I missed the food there, which is something very unusual. Next, we headed to Sentosa Island. It is not as nice as I think it is. We got to take a ride for free and enjoyed the musical fountain that starts at 7.40pm. The whole place was packed even before 7pm. It was a long wait for the 30 minutes show. By the time we reached Orchard Road, it was already 9.30pm. No shopping in Singapore this time as most of the shops was already closed. We took our dinner at the food shop at Singapura Plaza. The countdown at Orchard Road is always very crazy. People there will be “attacking” us with sprayers, even though we don’t know them. But, beware of thieves or guys who are planning to take advantage over girls in the crowd. It was very tiring and the bus arrived 1 hour late from the time scheduled to depart. We were very tired and sticky due to the spray. We reached Malacca at 7+am. I went to sleep immediately after taking a bath. Finally, I get to have a nice sleep after a long time.

Now and then, I will recall my memories when I was in Korea. It is one of the nicest moments. It’s so relaxing and enjoyable, despite that I need to deal with some projects given by my professor. Too bad I didn’t get to experience White Christmas in Korea.

My Birthday XD

December 6, Tuesday – It was my 21st years old birthday! It was my senior, Huwi Yin’s birthday as well. It is nice to have the same birthday with some friends, because they will surely remember your birthday. We talked about our birthday celebration and stuff a few weeks before that. I had a mixture of feelings while waiting for my birthday to come. Due to my exam on last Sunday, I refused to let my parents to come to Malacca to celebrate my birthday with me. I would not have much time to entertain them and the mood to celebrate my birthday earlier.

The night before my birthday, Jin was supposed to come to my house to do our Final Year Project (FYP). Instead, he brought me a small ice-cream cake for birthday celebration. He bought the cake from 31 Baskin Robins, Mahkota Parade (MP) and it was half melted by the time it reaches my house. I have to force myself to finish the cake as soon as possible before it melted totally. He is very naughty, messaging some of friends in my Yahoo Messenger (YM) list to ask for presents. Pin Shen, my housemate gave me a box of assorted stuff as present. I found out later that it was actually Poh Kim’s idea. Argh… naughty fellow… But, it was a very creative present indeed. I received a lot of birthday greetings after 12am (thanks to Ai Chin, Sylvia, Nam Ling, Seok Bee, Hui Shan, Yi Wen, Pin Shen, Alex, Travis, Andy, Yushu, BJun, Yuya and Chong Eileen). My housemates sang me 2 birthday songs through YM. The first one was not very clear. The second one was better. It was very funny ^^

I only have 1 lecture in the afternoon on my birthday. Chak kor and Daniel greeted me. Daniel gave me a surprise when he bought me a small mango cake from Bread Station. He even brought along his camera to take photos for me. Although the cake was small, it gave me a pleasant feel and it was quite tasty. My Japanese class classmate, Roh told me that I will be getting a surprise later, putting me into puzzle. Hui Shan, Xiao Wan, Ai Chin, Mei Shin, Wan Chiew, Jin Yee and Daniel gave me a green blouse as present. It was the second formal clothes that I have. Thank you!

My original plan to have dinner at TC Spring turned out to be at Bei Zhan, when the restaurant was closed. I really like the seaweed soup at TC Spring, maybe because that it tasted a lot like my favorite seaweed soup at a seafood restaurant in Penang. 10 of us went there, in 3 cars. My brother brought along his 2 friends. One of their birthdays was on December 7. Bei Zhan was quite different from what I expected. It is much grand, classy and has a lot of customers. Pin Shen and Jin Yee did most of the ordering because they have been there before. They ordered 7 dishes of food and seaweed soup. All of us have a very full meal.

As I reached home, Kevin came to my house to give me my birthday present. It was a huge Kukumalu milk mug from Kevin and Roh. Arigatoo gozaimasu! I received 3 electronic greeting cards from Kim Cheng, Sylvia and Madhu. Thanks!

Hmm… I guess that’s it. Sorry if I miss out anyone’s names here ^^;;

JLPT 2005

December 4, Sunday – At around 9.40am, Kevin, Poong, Yen Ching and I departed to Kuala Lumpur (KL) for our Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). This examination is conducted by the Education Department of Japan. It is worldwide recognized. There are 4 levels. Level 4 is like the beginners’ level and Level 1 is the toughest. Not many pure Japanese are able to pass the Level 1 exam. This examination is held on the first Saturday of December annually. The examination is divided into 3 parts – “kanji” (Chinese-like Japanese characters), listening and grammar. The allocation of marks is “kanji” (100 marks), listening (100 marks) and grammar (200 marks), totaling up to 400 marks. It is 100% objectives. The passing rate for this examination is 60%, meaning 240 marks. The registration for the examination is normally open around September to October. There are a few test centers around Malaysia, such as Penang, KL and Johor Bharu.

Kevin was driving at around 120 km/hour. We reached KL at around 11.30pm. It was the first time Level 2 test was held in UTM, City Campus. We were looking around, finding our way to the campus. Luckily there are signboards around to Jalan Semarak. It is located near Ampang Park. We managed to find the campus easily. The place is relatively small and badly maintain. There were no signboards on JLPT exam at the entrance. Instead, huge signboards on a wedding were placed at the entrance. We were quite disappointed with the location of this examination. The air-conditioned was rather noisy and the place is not well maintained. Previous years, it was held at UIA.

We had our lunch at a small eating place opposite the campus. The food there does not look very fresh and tasty. The place is quite dirty. But, the price is quite okay. I ordered a plate of chicken rice at RM3.00. Then, we each ate a small packet of rice crackers given by our Japanese teacher before we departed. Yen Ching did not eat it as she had a sore throat. It tasted almost like the local rice crackers, but it is not salty and harder. It was like a good luck charm for us.

We waited there for around 1.5 hour before entering the examination hall. The other examinees were quite anxious but 4 of us seemed to be relaxing ourselves. We saw two kids, around 12 years old and below taking the exam as well. It is like a sort of humiliation to us, taking the same level exam with kids. There were more than 200 examinees for the Level 2 exam, much more than I anticipated.

The exam started at 3pm. The first paper was quite okay for us. But, the second and third paper was a huge disaster for us. It was quite tough for paper 2. As for paper 3, we did not have enough time to finish all the questions. For Level 2, this paper is rather different from Level 3 and 4. There are around 50 questions on comprehension, with a few passages. Each passage is quite lengthy. Comparatively, only a small number of questions are on grammar. I managed to do the grammar part better than I expected, maybe due to the effort that I had put in for my intensive revision.

After the exam, we headed to Suria KLCC for dinner. I ordered a bowl of Chicken Teppanyaki at the food court. It was not nice. There was way too much water for the rice, making it sticky. The chicken was not that nice as well. I strongly discouraged anyone from trying it. I heard that Genki Sushi is quite nice but more expensive. Maybe I will try it during my future visits to KLCC.

After 1.5 hour, we went back to Malacca using Jalan Tun Razak. There was a jam along the way because a car was spoilt. There was another serious jam at Seremban on the highway. We were stuck there for almost an hour, for no valid reasons. The lights of the cars from both sides of the highway were really nice. One side is yellow and the other side is red. It was like fire-flies lining up.

We reached Malacca at around 11pm. All of us were really exhausted. Even though most likely I will not pass for this paper, it was a nice memory attending the exam with everyone. If I really pass this paper, it must have been a miracle ^^

Trimester 2 2005/06

It has been almost 2 weeks since the new trimester started. I went back to Malacca on November 8 and stayed over night at my grandaunt’s place at Banting. There is always a lot of food in her house. We had chicken rice for breakfast the next morning before heading to Malacca. We reached Malacca on November 9 and were busy packing, moving and buying some necessities after that.

The new trimester started on November 14 and it was nice to see my friends, lecturers and tutors again. We have not seen each other for about 6 months. Many of them change their hairstyle or image. I felt a bit weird about attending lectures and tutorials again. But, I am able to get use to it. After all, I have been attending lectures for the past 3.5 years. It is not a very long period, but not too short as well to forget about everything. I attended my first Japanese class of the trimester on Friday and it is great to see everyone again. There is around 3 weeks before the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) and everyone is anxious about it. I will be taking my Level 2 this year. But, I do not feel much tension as I did not have high hopes for this year’s exam. I have not being attending classes for the past 6 months; things must have been a bit rusty. I am glad that I am still able to read “hiragana” and “katakana” fluently and understand my sensei’s lessons. In addition, Level 2 test is quite difficult. I will just have to try my best for this one.

(p/s: “hiragana” and “katakana” are the Japanese characters. “sensei” means teacher in Japanese.)

Week 2 is not very relaxing but not very busy as well. I was doing some work for my final year project, doing some research, revising my notes etc. I was not very keen on doing my more than 50 pages of homework for my Japanese class but did some in the end as practice. Grammar sure is something tough for any language.

Today, Kevin, my Japanese class’s classmate passed me the photos that they took during their stay in Japan for a week. I was not able to attend that homestay because of my industrial training in Korea. I would not have enough money to spend for both trips.

The venue of the expo that they attended caught my attention. It was a really huge area with each country having their own buildings for exhibitions. The architecture and decorations for each building varies, but they were all very grand and artistic. I like the 2 green mascots for the “AiChi” EXPO. It is an exhibition to promote love to the environment. Their homestay took place in Nagoya. Nagoya is a state in Japan, famous for its ancient castles.

What attracts me more were the beautiful flowers and the shrines. It was spring when they visited Japan. The gardens were all decorated beautifully by the flowers and trees. The shrines in Japan sure are different from those in Korea and Malaysia, even though they all share some similarities. I like the way how the Japanese make their wishes at the shrines. It's special and cute. The temples that they visited during the homestay were located in Kyoto. Kyoto is the previous capital of Japan. Many of the traditional customs are still practice here. It is possible to see girls in “yukata” or “kimono” around.

(p/s: “yukata” and “kimono” are the Japanese traditional clothes. “yukata” is the thinner version of “kimono”, normally wear during summer because it is very hot. “kimono” consists of a few layers and it is much thicker than “yukata”.)

Festive Season

It’s a season of festivals in Malaysia now.

October 15, Saturday – Malaysian-German Society, Penang organized their annual event, Oktoberfest. It is a festival celebrated during the summer by the Germans. It is a traditional festival in Germany, a happy gathering of cheerful beer drinkers. This festival is completed with dancing, bands and contests. The event started from 6.45pm. The highlight of this year was the performance by a band from Germany, “Inntaler Musikanten”. It was their 14th performance in Malaysia this year. A lot of Malaysians and Germans attended the event this year. Both German and Malaysian food was served. I got to eat the huge pork sausage. It was a bit expensive, but the sausage alone was enough to fill my empty stomach. These huge sausages are actually daily food in Germany.

October 31, Monday – It’s Happy Halloween! But, there’s not much celebration on it in Malaysia. There’s a small party at my house for my dad’s birthday. We only invited our relatives to have steamboat and mini barbeque (using the steamboat set). We bought 3 medium size tubes of ice-cream from 31 Baskin Robins with 6 flavors (2 flavors in each box). There’s 31% discount on this day, so each tube cost around RM27 after tax. Of course, I did order my favorite “Cream of Pralines”. In addition, we bought a 0.5kg chocolate mocha cake from Cosmart bakery as the birthday cake. My mum prepared quite a number of seafood but I was not eating much as I don’t like steamboat seafood that much.

November 1, Tuesday – It’s Deepavali and public holiday in Malaysia. It’s a festival celebrated by the Indian community in Malaysia. It’s their New Year. There is some Indian food that we always look forward to on this day, such as “murukku”. “murukku” is a type of snack originated from South India. We were supposed to go to Butterworth to visit my mum’s professor but he was not free. So, we went shopping at Makro, near USM instead. There’s nothing much to buy actually, just for sight-seeing. Then, we went to Tesco. It was very crowded there. Both levels of the carpark were full. Luckily we managed to get a parking space. Again, it’s just for sight-seeing. I managed to get 2 original cassettes at RM3.90 each from Artist Gallery – one is the best collection from Kinki Kids (a Japanese band) and another one is the best collection from Zhou Hui. I was quite happy with it ^^ My mum forced me to go make ear holes on this day. She thought that the earrings that I bought from Korea will go to waste if I did not wear them (I can just admire the earrings instead of wearing them). It was really painful and feels weird to have something on my ears… -__-|| Too bad I did not get to taste some nice “murukku” this year. I visited my neighbor’s house later at night but they were not preparing much food because they are renovating their kitchen.

November 3, Thursday – It’s the first day of Hari Raya. Hari Raya is the New Year for the Malays. Malays is the major population in Malaysia. It’s a misconception that Malaysians are Malay. It always happened when we tell people that we are Malaysians in overseas. Before Hari Raya is Bulan Ramadhan, the fasting month. The Malays cannot eat during certain hours throughout the month. There were many places setting stalls to sell food in the evening during this month. A variety of Malay, mostly with curry, can be found. The parliament EXCOs or head of village normally will have Open House (Rumah Terbuka) on this day. Open House means that anyone can visit the host’s house and celebrate the festival together. A variety of Malay food will be served.

I visited my mum’s friend at Genting, Penang around 12pm and have our lunch there. As usual, a variety of curry was served. It is different from the curry in Korea which is sweet. Then, we enjoyed ourselves with a variety of biscuits. We departed to Ipoh, Perak at around 3pm to attend a relative’s wedding. It’s been around 7 years since I last went to there for a visit. It’s more developing now. Many roads in the town have change to one way street. The place was very crowded as there were a few restaurants there and all of them were full. It’s really hard to find a parking place. It must be a good day for wedding. The wedding was held at the second floor of East Sea Seafood Restaurant. 2 different weddings were sharing the same hall without any divider. It was very noisy with all the people talking, music blasting and people singing. I could hardly hear anything from my relative’s corner, the 3 level cakes was blocking all the view and there was no emcee to organize the whole event. The other wedding was monopolizing the whole place. There were 9 dishes in total. Each dish was served in large amount - double the amount served in restaurants in Penang. Overall, the food was okay. Some of the dishes such as the fried fish and kaya biscuit were very delicious.

Festivals like Deepavali and Hari Raya are something very common to us. Like every year, we will stuff like watching the television, going out with family/friends or shopping etc. However, when I was in Korea, the feeling is very different. I would miss home, recalling what I did for the past few years during this day. Even for celebrations that I think that it is insignificant when I am in Malaysia (like the National Day), I was looking forward to it when I was in Korea. Do appreciate what you have when you have it ^^

2 weeks after back in Malaysia

It has been 2 weeks since I came back to Malaysia. I was not doing anything serious (such as preparing for my Final Year Project) for the past 2 weeks. I did some shopping at Prangin Mall and Bukit Jambul Complex, Penang. It is sale now, things are quite cheap. There are quite a number of RM10 blouse for sale at Prangin Mall. The quality is quite okay. I realized that there are more and more Korean hair accessories selling in the shopping complex now, but at a higher price.

I am hook up with watching Korean drama series that I downloaded in Korea, of course with subtitles. I just finished watching 新娘十八岁. It is a love comedy. Hok Joon’s grandfather and Chong Su’s grandfather made an agreement that their grandchildren will marry each other when they grow up. Hok Joon (28 years old) and Chong Su (18 years old) disagreed about the marriage at first, but later, Chong Su found out that Hok Joon is the guy of her dreams. Many funny things happen after that. From the drama, we can see a lot of Korean culture and practices.

The Sad Love Story is a melancholy drama series. The whole story is sad from the beginning till the end. The storyline is quite complicated and twisted. Joon Young was raised up by her mother who is the boss of a club. He was always bullied by his friends because of this and disliked his mother. He met up with Hye In, who was blind, when he was bullied by his friends in the park one day. They became classmates after that and Hye In’s aunty worked in his mother’s club as a singer. Some of their classmates begun bullying Hye In as well and Joon Young protected her. Two of them became very close friends after that. A series of sad events continue to happen throughout the drama. The soundtrack is very nice, the best ever that I come across so far for Korean drama series.

I did my medical checkup this Monday and many people were asking me if I am sick. I am perfectly fine, just decided to do some checkup as there is a promotion going on at Pathlab. But, it is really better to do some checkup, as we maybe having some unknown health problems. If we get to know about the problems earlier (if there is any), then we can take some actions on it ^^

The Remaining Pictures in Korea

Sorry for the long wait. Here are the remaining pictures in Korea:

Photos taken during Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF):
http://photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Korea29/

Photos taken in Daegu:
http://photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Korea30/

Photos taken in Lotte World:
http://photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Korea32/

Photos taken in War Memorial Museum and Nandemum:
http://photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Korea33/

Photos taken in Gyeongbokgung and Myeongdong:
http://photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Korea34/

Back in Malaysia!

* Sorry for the slow photo upload! My connection is extremely slow recently.

For my first night in Malaysia again, I couldn’t really sleep well. There is only 1 hour time difference between Korea and Malaysia; it shouldn’t have affected me that much. I woke up at around 7.30am and unable to get back to sleep again. Suddenly, I feel weird being in Malaysia again.

As I went out to the “kopitiam”, the aunties there are speaking in Mandarin. It feels so weird that they are not speaking in Korean. I find Malaysia’s dollar notes very small as Korean’s one are bigger. I just couldn’t seem to get use to its size. The feel of touching it is different again. Some Malaysians are missing Malaysia food when they are in Korea. I do not know why but I don’t seem to miss it that much. Could it be because that I was able to get use of the food there? I was quite bored with Korean food as they are almost the same after staying there for a first few months. But, I was not complaining it as much as when I was in Malacca. Hmm… could it be that Malacca’s food really doesn’t suite my taste? Or perhaps I was comparing it much with Penang’s food? The food in Korea and Malaysia is almost totally different.

Suddenly, without the need to go to the lab, is somehow too relaxing for me. I enjoyed going to the lab. My lab members were there and I was happy chatting with them. There were many friends around the campus as well. Though I need to work and sometimes maybe a bit stress, I like it there. It feels very homely. The internet connection in Malaysia is extremely slow compared to in Korea. I can hardly upload a picture into my photobucket today.

When I cooked in the common kitchen, most of the time there were other students cooking there as well. Even though sometimes we were not that close, only hi-bye friends, I feel warm. If in the morning, they will greet you “morning” and asked you what you are cooking etc. Nowadays, as I walk into my “private” kitchen, I only see some cooking utensils and unwashed dishes (must be my brother’s doings again). No more curry smell in the kitchen anymore (the Indians always cook curry there and my mum seldom cooks curry). There are so many things that I miss it there~

Last day in Seoul and South Korea

October 13, Thursday – Last day in Seoul and South Korea
This was my last day in Seoul. I woke up early in the morning at around 6.45am. I finished packing at around 7.30am and asked Jun and Jane to help me out with my luggage. It was tough carrying so many luggage - 1 small one, 1 medium and 1 huge one. It was really heavy. I met with Ryan and Yushu at the bus stand near Dongyang Technical College. Swee Sing and Joo came along as well to help us with luggage and showed us the way to take the airport bus. We took the taxi to a nearby bus stand. From there, we walked for a while before reaching the bus stand for the airport bus. Swee Sing and Joo followed us by bicycle. Luckily they both came along, else we will be having problem finding our way and carrying the luggage.

We chatted while waiting for the airport bus to come. It cost 7,500 won from Gaebong station to Incheon Airport. For international flight, we need to go to Incheon Airport. It took around 1 hour to reach there.

We reached Incheon Airport at around 10am. We checked in at Malaysia Airline’s counter because the flight that we took was a collaboration flight between MAS and Korean Air. We were very happy to see many Malaysians there and MAS air hostess. We heard some passengers speaking in a mixture of Hokkien, English and other languages. We were sure that he is Malaysian! All of a sudden, we felt very at home. The queue was quite long.

We took the airbus A330. It was not a big plane. Since we were taking economy class, the space between the seats is quite narrow. It was not a comfortable flight. Some of the air hostesses were Malaysians while some were Koreans. We can choose either Seafood Oriental or Bulgogi Rice (beef rice) for the lunch set. The amount of food served was very little.

We met with a Malaysian Indian on the flight. He disliked Korea a lot, mainly due to the high living expenses and started chatting with Ryan about how good Malaysia is. I think that most of them are true. The food in Korea is definitely not as nice as in Malaysia. In Malaysia, we can get a variety of food – Chinese, Indian and Malay food at a cheap price. Multiple races live together in this country like a melting pot. It is something very unique, especially for those coming from a single race country like Korea. Malaysians pay more attention to the different cultures among different races and tolerate with them. However, it is different for Koreans, for example, Koreans and Malaysians going out together. They often talk to each other in Korea and forgetting that we do not understand it. In Malaysia, if we go out with friends who do not understand our language, we will translate what we are talking to them in the language that they understand. Since we live in a multi-racial country, we learned multiple languages. It is something awesome for the Koreans. As we learned multiple languages since we are small, it is easier for us to pick new languages easily compared to other foreigners.

Our flight was a very full one. We were always eating, eating and eating. At around 5pm Malaysia time, we reached KLIA. The flight was very shaky as it was about to land. It was a bit scary. This was the worst flight ever. Maybe the pilot is very new.

Jin, Thai Sin and Thai Sin’s sister, Li Rong was already there after I got out from the Immigration section. It was the first time my friends come and see me as I arrive from an international flight. They helped me out with the luggage while waiting for my grandaunt to arrive to fetch me.

My granduncle treated us to a very good meal at a restaurant in Banting. He ordered a plate of fish, sweet and sour fried tofu and fish pieces. The food was really too much. Then, we departed back to my grandaunt’s place. I was really tired. There were really too much to be eaten but I did not feel like eating. Maybe I was too tired for the past few days. I had some fruits shortly after taken a bath. At around 10pm, grandaunt treated me to some fried chicken, “lin gou” soup and sea coconuts drink. Yellow watermelon was served after that. There was too much all of a sudden!

Day 3 in Seoul

October 12, Wednesday – Day 3 in Seoul
We bought our lunch at the same shop and then departed to Gwanghwamun station by subway at 10.45am. We had lunch at the park in front of Gwanghwamun at 11.45pm. We reached our destination, Gyeongbokgung at 12pm. Gyeongbokgung is the primary palace during Joseon Dynasty (one of the dynasty during the Three Kingdoms). Behind the palace, we were able to see some rocky mountains. This background had made the palace look very grand. In order to reach the palace, we just need to walk in Gwanghwamun. The admission fee is 3,000 won each.

We were just in time for the free English tour guide session at 12pm. There were many visitors there, both foreigners and locals. We filled in a questionnaire before the tour and were given some postcards on the palace. The tour took about 1 hour and the guider was a Korean. Her English was a bit weird making it hard to listen.

The palace is divided into mainly 2 parts; the king’s working place and the king’s resident. Some parts of the palace were rebuilt as they were destroyed during the Japanese Occupation. Some of the old buildings remained until today. “tancheon” refers to the paintings on the buildings. Only palace, temples and government buildings were allowed to have these paintings. The colors of the paintings were made from natural sources, such as the yellow color was made from the goat’s heart. These paintings were water resistant. Thus, making the buildings last longer, around 100-200 years. The writings at the palace were Chinese characters. This is because China had great influence on Korea during the olden days. Chinese characters were used before King Sojeon created the Hangul characters.

The first building that we saw as we entered the palace was Geunjeongjeon, the main building of Gyeongbokgung. Ceremonies such as the New Year’s celebration and receiving the arrival of the foreign envoys were held here. Then, we proceed to the king’s working place, Sajeongjeon. Papers were used to cover some parts of the windows/doors. These papers were water-resistant. The lower part of the wall was made of olive paper and was green in color. This was to prevent water from going into the place. During the olden days, they used a device to check the time, date and seasons. This device mainly uses the concept of shadow. It does not work during rain. There was another device, known as the water clock which was able to check the time despite any weather. Other buildings had heating system. It is known as “ondol”. Underneath the wooden floor, there’s a passage. While the charcoal is burned underneath, it will heat up the wooden floor and the whole room will become warm. There chimney is normally located directly behind the building.

Next, we visited the party palace, Gyeonghoeru. It is one of the items in the Korean’s 10,000 won notes. Entertainment was performed there. There was a small pavilion there and surrounded by a pond. The scenery there is very calm and peaceful.

Then, we visited the king’s resident. It is something very interesting indeed. The whole building is divided mainly into 2 big rooms and a hall. Inside the big room, it is further divided 9 small rooms inside. The king’s room is the middle room inside this big room. The other small rooms surrounding the king’s room will be occupied by the palace workers or nannies. They were sort of like bodyguards, to guard and take care of the king. They must stay awake even when the king is sleeping. The king’s room is like a multi-purpose room. There is no furniture in the room. The furniture is all located at the store rooms, surrounding the main resident. When the king wants to eat, the palace workers will take out the furniture from the store room and then place them accordingly. After the king finish dining, they will remove the furniture and put them back into the store room. The same goes for sleeping. Everything is done in the same room. The furniture of the room will be placed accordingly whenever the king is around and removed once he leaved. It must be tough for the palace workers there, setting and removing the furniture a few times a day. The doors are removed hung on top of the entrance. I wondered what is it’s purposed. The heating system there is slightly different. The chimney is not located directly behind the building, but further apart, at the gate between the king’s resident and the queen’s resident. Some security actions were taken during the olden days, such as the ones serving the food must test out the food in front of the king before it is served. Silver eating utensils were used so that poison can be detected.

The queen’s residence is behind the king’s residence. It has a wooden floored hall in the center with 2 rooms at both sides. It is only building open for enter. We must take off our shoes before entering the hall. Amisan chimneys in the queen’s garden boast their beauty.

Many Korean’s culture is almost the same as Chinese, maybe due to its influence during the Three Kingdoms. The same as the China, only son can inherit the throne. They believed that only the son can inherit the family’s bloodline. Normally, the queen’s eldest son will inherit the throne. However, if the queen does not have any sons, the king will choose the best son among the concubines to inherit his throne. It happened 4 times before among the 27 kings of Joseon dynasty where the king is a son of the concubine because the queens did not have any sons. The king must visit his mother’s place everyday, early in the morning to ensure that she is in good condition.

Behind the palace is a small pond. It was the place for the king to rest. Our free tour ended there. The National Folk Museum is located beside it. We made a short visit there. We were amazed by the different types of candlesticks and candles used during the previous dynasties. It comes in various sizes as well.

We snapped some photos around the palace once more heading to the entrance there for the royal guard changing ceremony demonstration at 3pm. It lasted for around 15 minutes. We were allowed to snap some pictures with the guards posing there after the ceremony but not allow to touch them. Hmm… perhaps they think of it as a type of sexual harassment.

Then, we headed to Jongmyo Royal Shrine. It was a long way there by foot. We reached there at around 4pm but did not visit it as we felt that it was almost the same like any other temples that we visited before. The park in front of the shrine was crowded by many senior citizens. Some of them were doing some performance, such as singing and selling some writings. There were some hawkers selling food in front of the park.

We headed to Myeong-dong after that. Jun and Jane recommended this place to me. We were lost on the way but managed to reach there eventually with the help of a Korean. It is the best place for shopping when it comes to fashion. There are many fashion shops and restaurants around there. It was crowded by teenagers. The things there are indeed different, the clothes and hawker food etc. However, the prices are not cheap. Itaewon is the best when it comes to shopping for souvenirs.

We had dinner at a small shop at 5+pm. The food there is expensive and not delicious. We walked around the area for a while. Then, we headed to Lotte Department Store. The decorations there is really nice, the door and the staircase etc. However, things here are not cheap as well. It is really weird in Korea that we can bargain the price for some items with the promoter in the shopping complex. This is not the market and yet they can do that. The promoter can make decisions on the price.

Then, we headed back to Guil Station by subway at around 7+pm.

I watched the drama series with Jun and Jane again at 1am.

Day 2 in Seoul

October 11, Tuesday – Day 2 in Seoul
At 10.30am, we had lunch at the same shop recommended by Joo yesterday. The chicken balls there were really delicious. At around 11.20am, we took the subway to Itaewon. At 12.30pm, we reached Itaewon. Itaewon is an area with many visitors. Most of the hawkers there know how to speak English, though not fluent. We managed to get some souvenirs at a cheap price there.

At 1.40om, we visited the War Memorial Museum. The admission fee is 3,000 won each but we can visit the outside area for free. There were many old aeroplanes, missiles and warring equipments exhibited there. The guys were excited on some of the stuff there.

At around 2.20pm, I entered the museum. Ryan and Yushu did not enter as they were out-of-budget and not interested in it. There are 3 levels in the museum. I visited the second floor first as it is on the same level as the entrance.

Exhibitions on the second floor include Korean defense equipments and Memorial Hall. For Korean defense equipments, there are displays and some details on its specifications and performance, such as the ship types, engines, land transportations, mask types, remote firing devices, night vision equipments etc. There is a section especially for the Marine Corps. There is a short history about them, displays of their uniforms (both past and present). The Memorial Hall is on the second floor as well. Names of the famous army officers and their contributions during the war are marked there.

On the first floor, there are some exhibitions related to the war history. They have statues of the commanders/warriors who fought during the Japanese Invasion. There are 3 main dynasties in the olden Korea. They are known as the 3 Kingdoms – Koryo Dynasty, Joseon Dynasty and Choson Dynasty. The traditional clothes are different for different dynasties, though we can see some similarities in them. They even have some moving models on war for displays. It is really interesting. They have a detail description about live during wartime in Korea as well, such as their cultural activities, economy and education. Reporters and entertainers played an important on informing the people on the latest news and helped them to get over their anxiety. The economy during war time was terrible. People trade with whatever they have to get what they want. It was possible for food prices to increase up to a few thousand times in a day. People were not having enough food. They mainly relied on the food supply from the UN (United Nation).Even during war time, parents believed that education can make a change in their children’s life. They tried all they could to assure that their children receive food education. Children studied under a tent and sat on the straws on the floor. There are models on it as well. It is really upset. I felt like as if I was experiencing war itself.

On the third floor, they have more exhibitions on the war history of Korea, but not much. They have exhibitions on all the countries in the UN - their uniforms and badges etc.

At around 4.30pm, we departed to Nandemum Market by bus. Even though it is not that far from the museum, we were exhausted from all the walking just now. Nandemum area is a very crowded place with many hawker stalls and people. Things there are not really cheap, but a lot of choices. You can find a variety of “kim”(zhi3 cai4), winter clothings, papers for wrapping, pillow case etc there. We visited Nandemum (one of the main gates during wartime) before sunsets. There is really nothing to see there but a gate.

Then, we went around hunting for food. There are rows of stalls selling the same thing. However, the prices are not cheap. The aunties like to pull people as we walked pass their stalls. We tasted some of the hawker food. Ryan was the one complaining the most of the price. Yushu gave me “a burn in my money pocket” type of look.

At around 7pm, we headed back to Guil station by subway.

I watched the drama series with Jun and Jane again at 1am.

Day 1 in Seoul

October 10, Monday – Day 1 in Seoul
I woke up at around 4.40am. Ryan and Yushu’s room was already bright. I wondered if they sleep at all. We departed at around 5.15am. It was tough carrying the luggage. The guys went off to find a taxi while I guarded our luggage at ground floor. We departed to Gimhae Airport at 5.50am and reached there after 20 minutes. We checked in at 7.30am for our flight Incheon Airport.

We reached Incheon Airport 5 minutes before 8am. We were able to see view of mountains and clouds along the way. It was the best view I ever had on a flight. After reaching the airport, we took bus 306 to Incheon subway station. I was surprised as I reached there. The station is not underground and it looks very old. We took the subway to Guil station without changing line. The subway there is managed by Korail. The train is very slow as it started moving. It is moving very slowly as well after that.

When we reached Guil station, we called up Xiao Wen. She is a Malaysian, JPA scholar in Korea. Joo came along as well to help up with our luggage. We stayed with the other Malaysians when we were in Seoul. I stayed with Jun and Jane while Ryan and Yushu stayed with Joo. They are all JPA scholars in Korea. Their allowance for a month is 460,000 won. It is so much compared to our 180,000 won monthly allowance. But, some of them find the allowance not enough. As we have more, we spent more I guess.

Jun and Jane’s place is located at a different direction from Joo’s. Joo’s house is behind the college. Jun and Jane’s room is an apartment beside the college. Joo showed me the way to Jun and Jane’s place while Xiao Wen showed Ryan and Yushu to Joo’s place. Jun and Jane’s room is quite small for twin sharing but the place is quite nice. It is the school hostel. They can stay there for free but need to pay for the water, electric and internet bills. The lights along the corridor will be lighten as we walk across it. It is using sensors. It is the all in one type of room. The kitchen, sleeping place, studying place and toilet is all in a room. Of course, the toilet is separated. Fridge, wardrobe and the furniture for the kitchen is provided. But, they need to buy their own computer table, cupboard for books and mattresses. I was unable to see Jun and Jane as they were having class at that time.

Then, we met up again at Joo’s place to go for lunch at 12+pm. He recommended us a cheap place selling lunch boxes. The prices for a set meal there cost around 1,800 won – 4,000 won. We had some meat, salad, kimchi and rice at 2,800 won for lunch. It was very tasty. The kimchi there was nice as well. It was not as salty as the one in Busan. It was mild and light. For the first time, we can accept kimchi.

He headed to Lotte World after lunch. Lotte World is a world class theme park and the main filming location for the famous Korean drama series, “Stairway to Heaven”. There are 8 subway lines in Korea. We were very confused on where to change lines as sometimes a line have 2 directions. We were starting to miss the subway in Busan. There are only 2 lines, the subway stations are cleaner, not so big, not so many people and we do not need to change line for so many lines.

We reached Jamsil station after more than 1 hour. The special pass for Lotte World cost 30,000 won each while the normal admission cost 26,000 won. With special pass, we can play the games and attractions there. Admission is for sight-seeing only. They need to pay extra if they want to play any of the attractions there. There is an indoor theme park (Adventure) and outdoor theme park (Magic Island). The place is not big as I expected. We went to the indoor theme park first. It is like a wonder land and looks exactly like in the drama series.

There were many people there, even though it was Monday. There were many primary school students, high school students and teenagers. For popular rides, we need to queue up for more than an hour. It was a very long wait. Actually, I have not being to a theme park for around 9 years. My last went to a theme park during my primary school trip.

Below is the route of the day in Lotte World:
Bungee Drop (Adventure) -> World Monorail (4pm, round trip, Magic Island) -> Fantasy Dream (Magic Island) -> World Monorail (half trip, back to Adventure) -> Dynamic Theatre -> Jungle Adventure -> Mexican Restaurant (6+pm, dinner) -> World Carnival (parade at 7.30pm, Adventure) -> Merry-Go-Round (Adventure) -> Giant Loop (Adventure) -> Fantastic Odyssey (8.45pm, Adventure) -> Laser Show (9.30pm, Adventure)

We did not take a ride for the famous attractions there such as Gyro Drop, Gyro Swing, Atlantis etc as the queue was too long. World Monorail makes a around trip around Lotte World, both indoor and outdoor theme park. There is a station at both theme parks. Fantasy Dream is cater for kids below 6 years old. It is a tour on a boat. There are many cute dolls moving there. I enjoyed it. For Dynamic Theatre, they screened something and the seats moved according, like Motion Master. The high school girls were screaming their way but it was like nothing for “old people” like us. Ryan and Yushu were like teasing the girls by screaming as well, even though they did not feel the thrill. I was feeling the gap between us and the high school students when I was there. In Malaysia, I feel that I am still a high school student even though I am 21 years old now, maybe due to the different culture. The girls here are very rough; they took off their shoes and put their legs up on the chairs in front while waiting for the game to start. The Jungle Adventure is a non exciting water ride. We took the floating boat with another 2 kids and their mother. The kid cried as some of the puppets were laughing hilariously. Poor girl…Yushu made the situation worse by imitating the laugh of the puppets.

At around 6+pm, we had dinner at a Mexican restaurant. The other shops there were quite expensive as well. We might as well try out something different. I ordered a plate of Mexican beef dish. It tasted a bit like Indian food. It cost 6,500 won.

I was very excited to see the many locations for screening my favorite Korean drama series, “Stairway to Heaven” – the souvenir shop, the monorail, the merry-go-round etc. There are many shops there selling merchandise for Korean idols such as Bae Young Jun. But, they are very pricy. The view at night is very beautiful as well. There are many lights around.

The World Carnival parade is interesting but it is too short. People dress up in different costumes. Other than the Lotte World mascots (a pair of raccoons), I like the pig the most ^@^
It was my first time taking a merry-go-round. I was very excited about it. But, I was a disappointed after taking a ride. It would have been nicer if the speed is faster. Then, we tried out the Giant Loop. I planned to stay behind and let the guys enjoy the game as I am scare of heights. I tried to escape but the guys wouldn’t let me. They blocked me and assured me that it was just another ride. There were some girls wearing skirts taking the ride as well. The guys were very excited about that. Too bad, they were unable to see anything.

Then, we went for the show Fantastic Odyssey. It is show done by manipulating the water and fire. No one is acting in the show but it is very nice! They managed to control the water pressure very well and make the water splashed in a uniform way and shape. It must have cost a lot, for both the equipments and software to control the change of water, fire and props throughout the show. We were amazed by it!

The Laser Show at 9.30pm is something not to be missed. The whole indoor theme park turned into a huge stage for the show with the globe in the middle of the theme park as the focus. Even though we did not understand what it is saying in Korean, we enjoyed it.

Then, we headed back to Guil subway station. We reached there at almost 11+pm. I met Jun and Jane for the first time. They both sure look a lot alike, like sisters. They were busy preparing for the coming exam next week, now is study week.

We watched a Taiwanese drama series at around 1am. There are many good looking guys and girls in the series. The theme music is a new song from a Taiwan artist, titled “ai4 mei4”. Some of the dialogues are over exaggerating for the use of words and way of talking, making it funny in a sense.

Last Day in Busan

October 9, Sunday – Last day in Busan
Today was my last day in Busan. I woke up quite late as I was busy packing the night before. I had dinner with the Indians at around 11am. Singh was the one doing most of the cooking on that day. We had “capati” and curry for lunch. Ryan cooked some “nasi lemak” and mushroom mixed with mince hard-boiled eggs.

At around 5.30pm, I went to Xian Yan’s apartment to get something from her. She was not in as I reached there and her housemate, Quen Li passed me the present. On my lab to Xian Yan’s apartment, I dropped by at my lab for a while to say farewell to Kyung Kon oppa.

Then, I met with the other Malaysians for our farewell dinner. We had chicken for dinner. We ordered pan pan chicken (means half-half chicken). There were 2 favours, garlic chicken and sweet and sour chicken. We ordered another plate of fried chicken and 3 bowl of rice. Then, we went to “noreban” (karaoke). It cost 10,000 won an hour for a small room. Wei Shi enjoyed himself a lot.

At around 9pm, I met with Min Pyo, Jeung Geun and Jang Chun oppa after the karaoke. Jeung Geun and Jang Chun oppa gave me a present each. I was very happy. I never expect them to give me a farewell present. They departed soon after giving me the present. We headed to Hanaro Mart after that.

We reached the dormitory at around 10pm. I unwrapped the presents as I reached my room. Jeung Geun oppa gave me a soldier hat while Jang Chun oppa gave me an umbrella. It is a very nice fordable umbrella with life time warranty. It must be an expensive one.
It was a very busy night after that. While I was busy packing the luggage, Young Kyu oppa called me to say goodbye to me. At around 12+am, I said goodbye to the Germans and was chatting for a while after that. I arranged the things that I wanted to leave behind in boxes for the other Malaysians.

Finally at around 1+am, I finished all the packing. I felt sad that I was going to leave Busan. I may not be coming back here anymore. I sure miss my oppa and onni, especially after they called me up and gave me presents. My excitement on going to Seoul was gone for the moment, replace by memories of my friends in Busan.

Daegu 1 Day Trip

October 8, Saturday – It was my one day trip to Daegu this day. I attended the IT Expo there. At around 7.30am, Ern Yu, Shu Yun and I departed to Busan Station by bus. We reached there at around 8.10am. It was our first time there. We were sort of lost, looking for the entrance for our train. The receptionists at the information center there have very poor English and hardly understand what we were talking. We managed to find the entrance in the end, of course.

At around 8.15am, we were able to board. We will be taking Korail instead of KTX (some sort like Korean’s bullet train but the speed is not consistent because some of tracks are old). The train that we took used the Saemael track and our train number was 1004. Our professor helped us to get the tickets. He bought us the second class tickets. The seats are quite spacious. I have not taken a train since more than ten years ago. It was like a new experience.

The train departed exactly at 8.35am. The train was not full. As the train moved, it is very steady and quiet. There is a worker pushing a small trolley selling food for a cart to another. I find him very annoying. The way he talked is like mourning. There is another serving either tea or coffee. Along the way, I saw some very scenic views. At 9.45am, we reached Dong Daegu station. Our professor was already there as we reached. He took us to EXCO (Busan Exhibition and Conference Center) by car. He showed us some pamphlets on Daegu.

We reached EXCO at around 10.20am. The design of this building is almost the same as BEXCO in Busan. It has 5 floors above ground and 3 floors underground. Most of the underground levels were used for carpark. Coincidently, Korea travel fair was held on the same day at first floor. The IT EXPO was at third floor. We visited the travel fair first and managed to get many freebies, such as paper bags, pens and postcards. There were many booths there, all very well decorated. They must have invested a lot on it. Each state had their booths there. Unlike in Malaysia, they like to hire pretty girls, dressing up in special uniforms to take care of the booths. There were mascots as well. The pamphlets were very well done, no photocopies. Some of the booths even offered free coffee.

After a short walk there, we headed to the third floor with professor. There were not as many booths as in Busan’s IT EXPO. However, the booth decorations were simply amazing. We visited the NURI booth at first. NURI is a government project and our professor is involved in it. There were exhibitions on biotechnology, fashion and health. There were many displays of robots, such as vacuum cleaners. There was a session on Korean traditional crafts. There were many interesting things to see there, such as kites, tea set, metal crafts, shell products, boxes and paper arts (eg: lamp, masks and dolls).

At around 11.30am, as my professor was busy, he asked us to tour around Daegu on our own by EXCO’s shuttle bus. He explained to us the route of the bus. At ariybd 12+pm, we had lunch at a restaurant at the lower ground. There were many furniture and house decorations shop there as well. The designs were very nice. We ordered 3 bowls of “jajang myeon” and a big plate of sweet and sour fried pork. The professor leaved after our food had arrived and gave us some traveling fee each for the day. I was surprised that he gave me some money for my tour to Seoul. I was very happy. It was my last time seeing him.

After lunch, we visited the exhibitions once more before taking the shuttle bus at 1.30pm. The bus only departed at 2pm. Some of the views in Daegu are different from in Busan. However, most of them are the same. The bus reached Banwoldong subway station. We headed to Jungangno station from there. We were able to see St. Justino Catholic Seminary at a far from Banwoldong station. There are a number of shops underground near Banwoldong station. The shops and subway seemed to be quite new. Primary school children were doing some performance at that time. Many passers-by were enjoying the performance, so did I. There were many other shops along the way to Gukchae-bosang Memorial Park, selling food and winter clothing.

We were very disappointed as we reached the park. There is nothing special there, a big bell which is something very common in Korea and a park. We rested there for a while. It was very cooling because of the shade of the trees. We walked around the area near Jungangno station. There are many hawker stalls and branded shops. It is like Nampo Dong in Busan.

We had dinner at 6pm at McDonalds. They were having a promotion at that time. All the set meals were sold at 3,000 won (normal price is 3,500 won – 4,000 won) and desserts were sold at 1,000 won. I bought 2 apple pies at 1,000 won. The size of the apple pie is smaller than in Malaysia.

Then, we had a look around the boutique there before taking the subway to Dong Daegu station. The ticket buying machine there is slightly different from in Busan. They do not issue a ticket; instead, a small round thing like a keychain will be issued. There are only 2 subway lines in Daegu. 800 won for short distance and 900 won for further distance.

Our train was at 8.45pm. The train was 5 minutes late this time. The train number is 1011 and the arrival time in Busan is 10pm.

Shopping Trip @ Nampo Dong

October 7, Friday – I went to the lab early in the morning, around 10am but the lab was locked. Luckily Tae Hwan was in his lab. I stayed in his lab for a while. He let me used Suk Hen’s computer. Then, he went to class soon after that. Shu Yun came to the lab shortly after 10am. Min Ho and Daniel oppa came in for a while at around 11+am. Min Ho oppa dressed up very differently on that day.

At around 12pm, I went to Nampo Dong to hunt for souvenirs by bus no. 61. I saw a huge dog outside a cosmetic shop there as I arrived and snapped a few photos of it. Many passers-by were attracted to the dog as well. I shopped at the underground shopping mall for quite some time before heading to the PIFF at around 3pm.

On the way there, I saw many people holding very nice paper bags with some posters and perhaps goodies inside, most of them were high school students. All the food stalls outside of the PIFF (Pusan International Film Festival) complex was gone, replaced by the booths for selling PIFF’s souvenirs and information about PIFF. There was a stage, medium size at the end of the road. I managed to get a booklet which contained the screening schedule and a short synopsis of the movies that will be shown during the festival. There were some police officers around the area. The whole place was well decorated. The plants were replaced by new flower plants.

All of a sudden, the whole place was packed with people and cameramen. The opening ceremony began. I was surprised as I saw Jackie Chan, a Hong Kong born International movie star and a Korean actress showed up on the stage. The crowd increased immediately and many teenagers started shouting and taking out their cameras and handphones (with camera). I never know that Jackie Chan is so popular among the Koreans. The crowd was almost out of control as he begun speaking in Cantonese. It was mostly about his latest movie with a Korean actress, a love story. Of course, there was a translator to translate what he said. The police officers were doing their best to make the situation under control.

I leaved the area to look for food after the ceremony ended. The shopping areas nearby were very quiet. I planned to buy a new umbrella as the one that I brought from Malaysia is already broken due to the strong wind. However, the nice ones are too expensive, around 10,000-12,000 won each. Thus, I decided to get a new one when I am back in Malaysia. After some shopping for souvenirs, I headed to the bus stop. Along the way there, I saw a banner outside Lotteria about discounts for burgers. Thus, I ordered a burger at half price, 1250 won for dinner. Then, I went back to Naengjeong by subway.

When I was in Seomyeom to change line, I was surprised to see many people there. Hmm… could it be due to the film festival… I was holding much stuff due to the shopping just now and my hands were full. One of the ajuma sitting offered to help me with them. It was very nice of her. She even let me to have her seat after she leaved.

Tired Day

October 6, Thursday – I was unable to sleep after reaching Busan. Maybe it was due to the brightness of my room. I had some biscuits for lunch. At around 3+pm, I went to the lab to see my professor about my evaluation report. I am supposed to get it from him before I go back to Malaysia. But, he have not fill in yet as he was very busy.

Today, Min Ho oppa was very happy because he just passed his CCNA examination. At around 5pm, I went to the International Happy Hour that is held on every Thursday for the last time. I was not able to meet Il-Hee oppa there. There were very few people attending on that day, maybe due to the poor food. I chatted with Bruce for the last time. As I was about to leave, I saw Bong Geung oppa outside. I have not seen him for a long time. I managed to take a photo with him.

Additional Information on Jeju Island

Jeju Island is a bit like Langkawi in Malaysia. It is a huge island. It took around 5 hours for the bus to go one round around the island. Most of the areas in the island is still undeveloped, which means that the beauty of nature remains. They always joke that there are 3 popular things in Jeju Island – Wind, Rock and Women. The wind around the island is quite strong. There are many rocks around the island. As the traditional occupation here is fishery, most of the men are fishermen. Most of them lose their life when they were out for their work. Thus, they have more women than men on the island. I do not really believe it for the last one.

Here are some advise for planning:
1. Stay at places near to the places that you are going to visit on that day. This is because traveling from city to city is very costly and time consuming.

2. If you want to hike Mount Hallasan, be there before 9am. It is better not to go to Mount Hallasan on the same day as you will be leaving because it is very rush.

3. Better get a map of the roads of the island before doing any planning. It will be easier. Jeju Island is divided into North, South, East, West with Mount Hallasan in the middle of the island.

Pictures in Korea - Batch 28b

I am back in Penang, Malaysia! Finally I am connected. It's good to hear Manglish again and see Malaysians everywhere. However, I somehow feel weird. Suddenly, all the Koreans around me are gone. The broadband in Malaysia is extremely slow compared to Korea. No more "click-and-open" type of speed -_- Of course, I am expecting a slower speed here, but it is way slower than I anticipated.

Here are the remaining photos for Jeju Island:
http://photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Korea28b/

Pictures in Korea - Batch 28a

Here are some of the photos taken during the first 2 days in Jeju Island. I will upload the rest later:
http://photobucket.com/albums/a146/dellachew06/Korea28a/

p/s: I won't be updating this blog for more than a week. Will update tonnes of it later ^^

Trip to Jeju Island

October 1, Saturday – At around 3.30pm, my journey to Jeju Island begun. We went to my lab to collect some printing on the bus number of Jeju Island. Then, we did some shopping to get a roll of toilet paper and to Hanaro to buy some food as snacks for the night or as breakfasts. We went to Jungang-dong by subway and then followed by some walk before reaching Busan Coastal Ferry Terminal. Many people were asking Ryan a lot of questions when we were changing line at the subway as he was holding some maps. They were talking non-stop in Korean. Yet, we only understand some normal questions that they were asking, such as “Where are you from?” One of the passengers in the subway assisted us there.

Min Ho oppa had already helped me booked the ship tickets before that. I just need to go to the counter to give them my reservation name and pay for the tickets. We took the cheapest tickeet, 29,000 (3rd class type B). We will be staying in a big room with another 210+ people. The ship departed at 7.30pm. Since Monday is Korean's National Day, there's 3 continuous days of holidays. The ship was packed with passengers - kids, teenagers, families, hiking team etc. We quickly find a spot to sit down before all the empty spaces were taken by the other passengers. Almost al the pillows were taken by the time we reached there. It is like a culture for Koreans to bring food along whenever they go for traveling. Shortly after we arrived, we saw a lot of people opening boxes of food and picnic there. Meanwhile, we were having sandwiches, biscuits, snacks and "san kak gimbak" as dinner. The night at the ship was like a very long one. We played some card games and had some snacks. Then, we went out to get some fresh air. The wind was extremely strong and cold, especially at the front of the ship. It was so strong that it was able to move a person standing there. Sleeping in the ship with so many people was the worst of the worst. It was very noisy as the hiking team consisted of “ajesi” (uncles) and “ajuma” (aunties) were chatting throughout the night. Kids were running here and there, playing and shouting. A couple was sleeping next to me and the guy kept on kicking at me all the time. I changed places with Ryan after that and he was complaining about the same thing.

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October 2, Sunday – Day 1 in Jeju Island
At around 7am, we arrived at Jeju Island's port. The wind was not so strong anymore. It's great! The design of the ferry terminal looks a lot like the building for APEC. We headed to the bus stop outside the ferry terminal after we arrived. It was seriously had to get a bus there. Luckily, a lady there helped us. Her English is quite good and she's traveling alone. It was her second trip to Jeju Island. We shared a taxi with her to the bus terminal. Then, she helped us to get the bus tickets to our “mimbak” (cheapest type of accommodation in Korea; something like homestay) near Seongsan Ilchulbong (Seongsan Sunrise Peak). The bus ticket cost 3,800 won and it took slightly more than1 hour to reach there.

Seongsan is a small town and not as developing as Jejusi (Jeju City). There are not many people around the area. The view there is really nice. It is located near the sea and mountains. There are many vegetable farms there. The “mimbak” that we were staying at is located beside Seongsan Ilchulbong. We were able to see the mountain from our room, a very nice view indeed.

We had lunch at a small shop at 11am before heading to U-do. The prices for food here is more expensive than in Busan. It cost around 4,000-5,000 for a meal. Of course, seafood is more expensive. I ordered 2 “gimbak” while Yushu and Ryan ordered “sungdobu chige” (tofu soup with rice). The side dishes were really nice. I like the sweet fish pieces the most. The “ajuma” (aunty) there seemed to be very happy with us visiting the store. She even fried 2 medium size fishes for us as side dish.

After lunch, we walked to the nearest jetty to take the ship to U-do (Cow Island). It cost 2,000 won for one way and the last ship back is at 5pm. The jetty was packed with people as many people were heading there for the cave concert. It took us around 15 minutes to reach the island. U-do is a small island very near to Jeju’s mainland. It is famous for its black stone beach and diving women. Udo got its name because its shape resembles a cow lying down. There are 8 scenic views in the island. Most of the scenes of the Korean movie, “Mermaid Princess” were taken here. Some of the scenes for the Korean TV drama series, “Summer Scent” was taken here as well.

We rented a bicycle for 10,000 won each to go around the island. It was great as the weather was not very hot and the wind was very cooling. We cycled around the island. The beach is made of black basalt and the water is crystal clear. Houses there are normally surrounded by a low wall made of the black basalt. As it is autumn now, most of the farming lands were cleared. It must have been really beautiful during spring, when all the flowers bloom. At 3pm, there will be a concert at the cave below U-do’s lighthouse. We met the lady who helped us before at the bus stand on our way there. She guided us to the place.

The scenery there is fantastic, especially the landscape. There were many people heading towards the cave. We need to pay 5,000 won as the admission for the cave concert. The beach at the entrance of the cave consists of black sand and we were able to see some seaweed in between some rocks at the entrance. Why would they want to have a concert at a cave? It’s hard to get in, especially for senior citizens. It was very cooling inside the cave. The concert is divided into 2 parts. One is for traditional music and another one is for the orchestral. We sat at the slanting part of the cave to enjoy the concert. The cave itself interested me more than the concert.

At around 4.30pm, we rushed back to the jetty for the ship at 5pm. It was very tiring at first because we need to cycle up the slope. But, it was enjoyable later on as we speed down the hill towards the jetty.

We managed to catch the ship at 5pm without paying. Ryan was supposed to get the tickets before heading to the ship for boarding. But, it seemed that he could not find the ticketing booth. He asked to the “ajesi” (uncle) who was collecting the tickets but he did not understand at all. In the end, he just let us in without any tickets.

At around 6pm, we headed back to the same shop that we had lunch in the afternoon for dinner. The “ajuma” (aunty) was very happy and she gave us extra fried fish as side dishes. Then, we headed back to the mimbak for some rest.

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October 3, Monday – Day 2 in Jeju Island
At 8.30am, we departed to the nearest bus stand to take a bus to Seogwipo. It was a long wait. The bus only came at 9.30am. We arrived at Seogwipo at around 10.30am and then took the bus to Mount Hallasan at 11am. It took us around 40 minutes to reach there. The scenery along the way is very beautiful. Some of the trees in the mountain have already change color while some are changing. It was a bit misty on that day, making it mysterious. However, it was too late as we arrived. The rule stated that we must be there before 9am if we are going to hike the mountain. Thus, we took another bus back to Seogwipo. We did a last minute planning on the way. From there, we took another bus heading to Mini World. The scenery along the way is very beautiful, as if we were entering another world. The mountain is made of Christmas trees.

At around 1pm, we reached Mini World. The admission fee is very expensive, 6,000 won. There are many miniatures of various buildings and structures from different countries around the world, such as Eiffel Tower and Buckingham Palace. It reminded me of one of the famous tourist spot in China. I was rather disappointed by some of the badly made miniatures. We were very surprised to see a miniature of an infamous mosque in Ipoh, Malaysia. Overall, it was okay, a good place to learn about different places around the world. We had some sardine and bread inside the park as lunch.

At around 3+pm, we headed to Sangumburi Crater. It is located very near to Mini World. Sangamburi, hollowed by the volcanic eruption of gaseous content and having little emitted material, is a parasitic volcano and the only maar which exists in Jeju. It is a large hole in a wide plain about 400m high above sea level. The diameter of summit crater is 600-650m. It is deeper and wider than the peak of Mount Hallasan. We were welcome by a well maintain garden before entering the place. I like the roof of the buildings there. As it was cold, parasites are growing on the rocks. The scenery of fields of eululia is very beautiful. Eululia is a type of tall wild grass. The whole place is yellow and white in color. Then, follow by the greeneries formed by the Christmas trees at the further part. There are many Grandfather Stone there. It is known as the guardian god of Jeju Island, made by natural stone and available in various sizes and shapes. The souvenir shops there are selling a lot of them.

At around 5pm, we headed back to Seongsan-ri as it was starting to rain. We took a taxi back and managed to snap some pictures along the way. In order to save money, we had “ramyeon” with eggs as dinner instead. Then, we enjoyed an English movie showing on TV. It was about some sort of aliens trying to take over the school and the world etc. It was nice.

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October 4, Tuesday – Day 3 in Jeju Island
At around 6am, we headed up to Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak). It is a very famous spot to see sunrise and a must visit place in Jeju Island. At the top of the crater, it looks like a splendid crown floating upon the blue ocean. The admission fee is 1,000 won. It took us around 20 minutes to reach the top. The view is very beautiful from the top. The landscape below is like 3D miniatures of islands. We watched as the whole place changed from dark blue to bright. We were able to see U-do from there as well. Too bad it was cloudy on that day. We were unable to see the sun as it was hiding behind the clouds. During New Years Eve, the New Years Sunrise Festival takes place there. It starts at New Years Eve and continues overnight until dawn. It is an annual event.

At around 8am, we headed back when it was drizzling. Then, we took our luggages and headed to Pyoseon at around 9+am. It was raining at that time and the wind was very strong. My umbrella was getting out-of-shape. It was raining heavily when we reached Pyoseon. From there, we walked for 15 minutes before reaching Jeju Folk Village Museum. It was a tough journey there as we were carrying our luggages along.

Jeju Folk Village Museum reproduced the images of the 19th traditional villages on Jeju Island. Traditional thatched roof houses, spectacular collections of fishing tools and artifacts are displayed. It was the filming location of the famous Korean drama series, “Daejangkeum”, which featured a woman chef for the royal palace during the Joseon dynasty. The admission fee is 6,000 won. Even though it is expensive, it is a place worth visiting. Train tour is provided. We felt like as if we were really in the village itself. We put our luggages at the office before walking around the place. We waited for around 30 minutes at a café in the museum for the rain to stop. Yet, nothing seemed to change. Thus, we decided to walk around in the rain, with umbrellas of course. There were displays of the fisherman’s house, the hunter’s house, the rich man’s house etc. Yet, they looked almost the same, with some difference. For example, in the hunter’s house, you will be able to see the equipments they use for hunting. The houses are made of stones, wood lodges, ropes and mud. It was interesting.

We had lunch at a shop in the museum. We had hard-boiled fish as lunch. It tasted a bit like “tomyam” but it was really delicious. It cost 5,000 for each person, including rice. As we were freezing cold and hungry, we finished all the side dishes before the main dish arrived. We even finished the refills for the side dishes. Then, we continued with our sight-seeing under the rain.

At around 2+pm, we took the bus to Seogwipo. We reached there at almost 4pm. We walked around the area, looking for motel. We managed to get a room at 30,000 won. We started calculating our budget again as we will be extending our stay here for another day, which means we will have more expenses.

At around 5pm, we took the city bus to Daepo Jusangjeolli. We passed by the World Cup Stadium and the Teddy Bear Museum along the way. We reached the Jeju Convention Center at around 5.30pm, followed by 5-10 minutes walk. We were surprised to come across a weird looking building, known as Museum of Africa at the junction before reaching our destination. Why the Museum of Africa is in Jeju Island?

The admission for Daepo Jusangjeolli is 2,000 won. The unique thing about this place is the shape of the black rocks. This pillar rock formation is located off of the coast of Daepo. The shape is very unique. The rectangular and hexagonal rock pillars have been academically evaluated as important geological resources to do research and gain insight into the coastal topography development process. It started to rain again soon after that. We managed to snap some photos before heading to the bus stand, which is around 20 minutes from there.

At around 7pm, we had our dinner at a small shop near our motel. Gimbak sure is more expensive in Jeju Island. It cost 1,500-2000 won each. Normally, we can get it at 1,000 won in Busan. Then, we went back to the motel to dry our shoes and shocks before getting some rest.

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October 5, Wednesday – Day 4 in Jeju Island
At around 8.20am, we took the bus to Mount Hallasan. We reached there at 9am and started hiking at 9.15am. It was really cold, maybe due to the rain yesterday.

The journey up was easy at first. It was a bit easier later and then getting tougher and tougher. Most of the paths are made of black rocks. We need to reach the shelter before 12.30pm because we are not allowed to hike up to the peak after that. We managed to reach there at 12pm. We had a bar of chocolate before continued our way to the peak. The journey up was a boring one because we were able to see trees only. However, the scenery is getting nicer as we were reaching the shelter.

We rushed to the top at 12.15pm because we must get down from the peak at 2.30pm. The way up is made of only rocks. It was very tiring. In addition, it started to rain heavily soon after we started hiking again. The path became very slippery and muddy. We were holding on to our umbrellas as we were hiking, must be very weird. We must be nuts for hiking in the rain. The plants along the way are different as we went higher and higher.

After more than 1 hour of walk, we were able to see the peak from the lower part. It was very beautiful, with all the clouds, flowers, plants and rocks. The scenery is simply gorgeous as we almost reach the peak. But, it was rather disappointing as we reached the peak. There was nothing there but a huge hole. However, the view from the peak is nice. It was extremely cold up there. Our hands became numb, hardly able to move. The wind was very strong and we were unable to open our umbrellas.

The way down was a rush because we need to be down at around 5pm, else we will not be able to catch the ship at 7.30pm. We had our lunch, which was sardine bread in the rain at around 2+pm. We made it to the bottom at 5.30pm, barely able to stand. We got our certificates for reaching the peak at the office. That’s the end of our 20km hiking in the rain.

At 5.45pm, we took the bus to Jejusi. We were so tired that we finished the rest of the biscuits that we had. Plain biscuits could never be so delicious. We arrived at 6+pm. Then, we took a taxi to the ferry terminal. We managed to get 7.30pm tickets. We rushed to a store in the terminal to get 3 cup noodles, biscuits and some snacks before heading to the ship. It was very tiring. Surprisingly, the ship was quite empty. We can finally sleep without being kick by the other passengers. But, for no reasons, we were able to have a nice sleep.

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October 6, Thursday - We arrived at Busan at around 6am, it was surprisingly early. Luckily, the public transport was working. We took the subway back to Naengjeong. Then, we took the taxi back to our dormitory.

This marked the end of our trip to Jeju Island. I was busy washing all the dirty clothes, shoes and shocks after reaching my room. BJun had already leaved on the same day, around 5.30am. Now, I am alone in the whole room.

p/s: Some of the information are quoted from the tourist guide. I will upload the pictures later. May not be blogging for another week as I will not be around.

My Last Day of Training

September 30, Friday – Today was my last day of training. My professor had a conference. Thus, he was not in Busan. I had a small party for my lab members in the afternoon at sky lounge. The attendance was not very good. But, I was glad that some of them were able to come. I cooked ulam sausage, pop corn chicken, fried instant noodles and barley drink. They liked the fried instant noodles the most, even though it was almost the same as “ramyeon”. There were many sausage leftovers as they were seriously dislike sausages. Hmm… does that have something to do with their army service…since they dislike chocolate cake with marshmallow because they have it every morning as their breakfast during their army service? At around 3+pm, the party ended with a photo session. Some stayed back to enjoy some junk food.

Then, I went back to the lab at around 4pm to clear up my stuff in the lab. Next, I attended Dongseo’s Collection at the 2nd floor of New Millennium building. It was a fashion show. Even though the place was very small, the light settings and decorations were very grand. There was huge crowd with cameras and video cameras. Luckily, I managed to squeeze into the crowd and get some photos. The fashion show was done in the professional way, both the design and stage settings. The designs were really unique and nice. It ended after more than 1 hour. There was another section at 7pm but I did not attend it because my labmates, Min Ho oppa and Ji Hyun asked me to have dinner with them.

At around 7pm, I had dinner at a small shop near our lab. Eileen recommended that shop to me before she went back. I ordered “sung do bu chige” (tofu soup with rice) whereas we shared a “gimbak” (something like a row of unslice sushi). Min Ho oppa treated us for this meal and we had ice-cream after that. I picked an ice-cream cake. It was surprisingly delicious! Yummy~

That’s all for my last day of training ^^