Thursday, May 31, 2007

REST. rest is not inactivity. rest is Holy-Spirit-directed activity. someone reminded me once, "when u rest, it seems like nothing is happening. but with God, when u rest, He does everything." i sure need everything now. haha...
posted at 9:54 PM

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Colbert Report & Rain: Top 100 Most influential People



damn farnie!! esp the "all over him like an egg on a bowl of bibimbab" part! haha! n check out the signature "rain" pose at the end of the video! :D
posted at 5:52 PM

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

SEOUL / HONG KONG 28TH APR-6TH MAY


안녕하세요~! i'm back frm my 9D8N holiday! not very short holiday, but wish it was longer! spent A LOT of money, but no guilt n no regrets... all my hard-earned money bought me wonderful experiences!


getting there is an experience in itself already... me n linda had to be on standby for our first flight to hkg on cx736, cos the flight was full. i was of cos on lower priority compared to linda bcos she's supervisor mah, so actually i was gonna kenna the jump seat instead of my business class seat! but shiow li, my other supervisor who was on duty, so sweet went to talk to this other captain who was also travelling n told him it was my first time, n he so kindly gave up his business class seat for me n took the jump seat! so touched! after thanking him profusely, we checked in our luggage n RAN into the gate, bcos we were accepted at 10:03am n the flight departs at 10:10am! thank God it was the first gate at D40... i can't imagine if it had been D49!


we were among the last few to reach the aircraft, only to find linda was assigned on the opposite aisle; 18C n me at 18H. it wouldn't have been so scary for me if not for the fact that i dunno how to take out my meal tray, my private tv nor plug in my headphones! much as i looked over in distress to linda, i was on my own cos the flight was really completely full n no one wanted to swop seats for us to be together.... =( i couldn't possibly stone for 4hrs on the flight right, so i fumbled ard with the buttons n whatever that moved lor... had trouble taking out n keeping my ptv (which in the end was the ONLY one faulty), n the angmoh next to me laughed at me can... -_-" that's for the first flight, having been on 4 flights on business class in the last week, i'm quite confident i'm adept with the seat functions already! haha, just lemme brag... i was really blessed to have been able to try out 3 different business class seats during this trip, n my favourite is the new business class (duh)! the buttons are like so... digital? like just one touch n the seat "grrgg"s into an almost flat recline, plus the footrest can EXTEND to accomodate my long legs! *applause* now i understand why those angmoh business passengers always ask me if it's the new business class when i check them in at the counter... *understanding nod*

that's the new business class seat i like in the picture, on our way to seoul frm hkg... oh besides the seat, there's also the FOOD to rave abt! i got a lot of juice coming (i mean, u get to choose lah, like wine or champagne or whatever... but i'm an orange juice kinda girl mah), n they serve u warmed almonds as a snack before the flight. u get a nice blanket, warm towel n cabin crew to hang up ur jacket... then u receive the menu before they serve STARTERS in a neat tray with glasses n stainless steel cutlery. very fancy, starters i tried included some alfalfa salad with smoked salmon, n some veal ham with smoked duck etc. the cold stuff really takes some getting used to! the main course u get to choose frm 3 choices, but my absolute fave that left such a deep impression was the one on the way back to singapore... the beef fillet with baby carrots! it was abt fist-size n inch-thick, but it was well-done yet SOOOOO juicy! i swear it's the best beef steak i've EVER eaten anywhere! not bad at all for plane food. then there's dessert, choice btwn cheeses (so high-class but i really dunno how to appreciate), fresh fruits or cake! oh man, the cakes (can u imagine white chocolate mousse cake??) looked soooo good! but how do u stuff cake down after a beef fillet? so sometimes i took fruits, sometimes try to force down haagen dazs belgian chocolate ice cream... but really couldn't eat any more of the pralines they offered... so sad hor. heh. *satisfied sigh* imagine enjoying fine cuisine while laying back on a nice n wide seat with ur ptv large n in clear view... i can really get used to business class man. Jesus thank you i have more to come! never mind if no more staff tkt. full-fare oso can. muahaha.

we stayed in hkg for one night first at the headland hotel, located next to cathay city just outside hkia... it's a really nice hotel specially for cx staff only, convenient for us also cos we had to catch the morning flight to seoul the next morning. funny thing was it was actually quite windy n cool on that day, dunno why it became so warm when we returned to hkg after seoul. didn't do much on the first day, but of cos had to attack their famous hkg dim sum first!

that's the most amazing 虾饺 har gao i've ever seen ok! the skin was soooo thin n translucent, i could see the orange lines on the TWO juicy prawns! *slurp*


anyway after relaking for a night in hkg, we caught the morning 9.40am flight to seoul... can u imagine, after a 3.5hrs flight, we reached incheon international airport, we still had to take the airport limousine to our hotel which took another 2hrs!! by the time we reached our room it was 5pm local time! thank God we caught the first flight out, n i think the long journey was worth it! the hotel we stayed in was the sofitel ambassador seoul, not ultra grand but really nice 5*! we had goose-feather down pillows AND quilts, plus an absolutely sparkling clean bathtub! =D it's also conveniently located in the middle of shopping districts like dongdaemun, myeongdong n insadong... so after we dumped our barang in the room, we took the free hotel shuttle to myeongdong!




if there's ANY one place in seoul i love the most, it has gotta be myeongdong! just talking abt it brings tears of joy to my eyes already... myeongdong is amazing! it's so happening! so bustling! the moment we reached the entrance to he shopping streets, we were greeted by a few street food stalls! there's this one that was grilling different kinds of sausages n fishcakes, which they later poke into skewers, abt 6 sausages+fishcakes on one skewer for W2,000, abt S$3.50. then there's another one selling fried pancakes, then this one we tried (see picture)! if u watched 궁 princess hours, u'll recognise it as the one the princess tried to introduce to prince yul. it's called 떡볶기 tteokbokki, a stir-fried kind of rice cake... i observed the auntie who was selling it; she opened a large packet of these white sausage-looking rice cakes into this rectangular metal pan over a heater, then she poured this red spicy-looking sauce all over n just keeps stirring them with a spatula. she gave us a plate of the 떡볶기 tteokbokki, then using a bowl she scooped up some soup from the steaming pot next to it with skewers of dumplings boiling for us to drink with it. actually we didn't really know how the koreans eat such stuff, plus the auntie only spoke korean... n i completely forgot all my korean over there. so i observed the others standing with us at the stall, n it's so interesting cos hardly any words are exchanged btwn customer n owner! the koreans just stand there, pick out the skewers they want to eat from, n the auntie automatically gets the soup for them n when they're done, collects the money! we didn't dare ah, so we paid first then we ate! haha.


anyway back abt the shopping!!! my gosh, cannot describe, y'all have gotta see it to believe me! i will NEVER shop in singapore ever again!!! myeongdong is actually this area of shophouses, n the shopping stretches along the streets n crossroads where no vehicle is allowed in. the cafes n restaurants can cover up to 3 floors of the shophouses, having glass windows from top to bottom so people can look over onto the busy streets. how i wish i had time to try them all! they have baskin robbins, krispy kreme, dunkin donuts, cafe pascucci n many gelato cafes! *drool* alas i didn't... then there's all the korean make-up brands i adore in every corner, namely the face shop, beauty credit, skin food n etude house! u can see etude house in my picture above, i love the way they decorate the shopfront!! u don't ever see the shops like this in singapore! plus u know, the 2nd floor is a REAL floor; they sell the make-up on the 1st floor n the 2nd floor is like a nail parlour/perfumery! i spent a bomb in the face shop especially, n the others too lah, cos things are almost half the price they are in singapore! i bought enough face masks to last me the rest of the year man, n wish i had bought more! haha... but the face shop seems to be really big in seoul, every other corner we turned, in the next few days we went other places, even in the metro stations, they have the face shop! conspiracy to make me indulge in face masks man... -_-" and fashion is THE THING in korea! i saw boutique after boutique, all decorated so prettily with classic grilles, birdcages, painted fences, flower wallpapers... n i can't begin to describe the clothes! they're so... IN korean fashion! i loved everything i saw, n it took me superhuman willpower not to spend all my money in one day ok. the clothes are like those damn expensive ones u find in far east plaza? bugis? the ones they say they bring in only one piece from korea. in seoul, they're EVERYWHERE! n u can find DAMN CHEAP ONES! like, w10,000 (equiv. S$16)!! *hyperventilating* it dosen't cost a lot to wear fashion items in seoul, but not all are exactly cheap either. the ladies (even grannies!) are all dressed up, some even wearing miniskirts/shorts in the 16dg C weather! the guys dare to dress up too, carrying really fashionable leather bags (or fake LV/gucci) under their arms n all... dunno why guys in singapore just look gay doing the same, while the korean guys look so normal, even hip... oh yeah the bags! bags are CHEAP!!!! u get those fake leather-looking ones, or whatever trendy ones u see in far east/bugis for w5,000 to w10,000!!! that's S$8-S$16 ok!!! of cos i had to buy some! now u know why i say i'll never shop in singapore again!

ok enough abt myeongdong... it's a great first stop for anyone to seoul, with all the food n shopping. actually on another of the days, i actually went back shopping on my own in myeongdong... n bought somemore stuff! -_-" it's a black hole for shopaholics. haha! so anyway me n linda did A LOT of walking to the different shopping districts over the 5D4N we had in seoul. like hongik n ewha women's university (pic above)... love the quaint shophouses with flower boxes of bright red spring flowers n benches along the streets! went to itaewon, too touristy n too expensive. dosen't sell much except a lot of military stuff (cos it's near the us army base) n souvenirs... even our meal of 2 dishes at the roadside stall cost W30,000, which is like S$50!! argh. namdaemun is like a wet market+dry store wholesale. also quite expensive... i din know any better n bought seaweed for a lot of money... -_-" insadong is like an arts area, but most of the shops were closed by the time we were there at ard 10pm, so to avoid the drizzle n wind, we hid under the shelter of a street food stall selling 52cm chicken kebab!!! =D" DELICIOUS! haha... the street food in seoul is enough to keep u satisfied man... we hardly ate any complete meal. most of the time we were standing under these tents eating!

but i also like dongdaemun, a large shopping area with lots of overnight shopping n eating CHEAP street food (fried egg/ham/mayo sandwich! *SLURP*)! oh n in dongdaemun u really find the sausage covered with french fry bits or fried bread! i love the ones they're selling in singapore, but when i tried the real one, it wasn't as fantastic cos cold already. anyway again lots of fashion, but it's not as glam as myeongdong, much like our pasar malam u know, all the tents. korea has a lot of fake luxury designer goods that actually look quite real! dior, chanel, loius vuitton, gucci... i saw a pair of salvatore ferragamo pumps that looked damn good! but too bad no size 10. haha. duh.

also in the picture above is the seoul world cup stadium, just had to do a touristy thing y'know. took me 2 mins to take that picture, n then we took a look at the park filled with bright flowers next to the stadium... n then we realised we're just in the middle of a housing estate, all around are housing flats like in singapore except they're grey-er. -_-" nothing to see one. so we went the stadium building, to find a hypermart! it's abt as big as carrefour but better! the chefs were grilling the bulgogi/sausages/steaks on the spot for shoppers to sample, n then there's also this whole array of kimchi n korean instant noodles! of cos i went crazy n in the end we lugged A LOT of shopping back... one thing abt seoul is that there are SO MANY SLOPES everywhere!!! from our hotel we already have to climb this almost 45d slope of the entrance of dongguk university n down another before we get to the metro station (the subway). plus their metro stations rarely have escalators, except the large ones like our dongguk uni one, n shopping areas like ewha. so u can imgaine we did so much shopping, then we hafta lug them all up n down the slope in the 16dg C wind... which leads to another thing me n linda discovered n loved in seoul, n that is the lockers they have in every metro station!! like the ones in our public swimming complexes? we put in W1,000, stuff all our shopping from the previous place into it, then head on baggage-free for more shopping!! it's so exciting! at the end of the day we can collect our stuff n climb the slope back to our cosy room. =D

rain's face is plastered on a lot of large posters in the seoul metro stations. we couldn't resist taking photos with him. again, u don't see this in singapore. haha. hyun bin was plastered on many pillars in COEX shopping mall, so i threw away my pride n grabbed one. i actually bought the barley tea he endorsed the day b4 i saw the poster! haha. 缘分. but COEX has nothing much for me to talk abt. shopping centre lor. we went to the face shop to spend money only. hai. conspiracy. oh n even lotte world, which i so much wanted to see cos of the weepie drama 'stairway to heaven', was completely flattened to the ground. *GROWL* like, when i thought they were UNDER RENOVATION, i didn't know they meant TOTAL ANNIHILATION. so ended up in lotte supermarket buying a whole lot of stuff again. me n supermarkets...

anyway the metro pretty much took us to all the places we wanted to see, very convenient n very easily understood. haha. it helps i can read korean words, although most i don't understand... but at least i can order food. haha. actually everyone i met thought i was korean (cheyyyy lemme brag! haha...)! the limousine driver, hotel staff, roadside food stall aunties, shop owners etc etc... all spoke to me in korean! sometimes i understand. most of the time i pretend to understand. then if not i force out what i rmbr i learnt, "저는 한국사람이 아니에요!" ("i'm not korean!"). especially when there was this man who started blabbering n asking me for directions in the metro station... like hello. but what i found damn funny was that the koreans tried speaking mandarin to linda! while the shop owners called out "언니! 보세요!" ("sister! please have a look!") to me, they said "小姐！来看看！" to linda... haha! okok cheap thrill.

alas, i had to bid farewell to seoul n head over to hkg... hkg is... erm... very much like the chinatown i saw while growing up. a bit like singapore in the early 1990's... that's of cos excluding the business districts lah! at first we were supposed to stay in the metropark hotel kowloon, which is near mongkok n popular shopping areas like 女人街 (ladies' market) n 花园街 (garden street)... but me n linda had been so spoiled by sofitel in seoul already! i mean this metropark one was like... how to say. not that bad lah. got bed. got ok toilet. just that they "upgraded" us to 12TH FLOOR, but it's a smoking floor. n i really can't take the smell. actually i didn't want to whine abt it... n i didn't, until linda was the one who really cannot tahan the drastic change in sleeping comfort. she went to call up headland, but it was full. then she called this other one, novotel citygate... it also offers cx staff discount, n it's located in 东涌 tung chung which is actually the airport area. n it had a room for us! u should have the JOY on linda's face n mine! we did stay one night in metropark, then the next morning we moved to novotel citygate... which i ABSOLUTELY ADORE! it's a brand new hotel, very hip design. VERY CLEAN. no bathtub, but the bathroom was almost as huge as the bedroom itself. oh, not to mention the lcd tv (which actually i don't watch much of, but it just looks gorgeous), the fluffy quilt, n a stunning view of the mountains n sea... although it takes us 1.5hrs (n expensive bus fare) to get frm our hotel to the main shopping areas on hkg island, i really like where we stayed in 东涌 tung chung, bcos it's abt the cleanest area of hkg! oh n later, we found out that metropark hotel kowloon was the hotel the first guy who got sars stayed in 2003! must have been God who got us to move. haha.

i'm very grateful to peton, linda's friend in hkg... bcos i had absolutely no plan for hkg, he took us ard to most of the must-see places... like 尖沙咀 (tsim sha tsui), 庙街 (temple street), 男人街 (men's market), 阑桂坊 （lan kwai fong， like our clarke quay), 铜锣湾（tung lo wan), victoria harbour (where i got to see the 'symphony of lights' show, not bad...) n took a tram up to the peak... plus all my meals free! haha. oops.

i din really get to buy much in hkg as i did in seoul... but i certainly ate much more! ate A LOT of 点心 dim sum... although actually our crystal jade is comparable, if not better...

but here're some u only find in hkg! like my 公仔面 (gong zai meen - doll noodles?) topped with a fried egg n luncheon meat n 鸳鸯 （yuen yeung - coffee+tea)... typical hkg teahouse lunch value meal. those really cute snowman 包 bao... n the mango dessert from 许留山! the last one i got to eat before leaving hkg is the fried spring onion pancake 葱油饼... lotsa oily fried stuff.

oh yeah, did i mention? in hkg of cos everyone speaks cantonese, i speak A BIT of cantonese, but i felt it was too inadequate when u hear the locals talk like machine-gun... so mainly i kept quiet n let linda or peton do the talking... but u know, it totally cracked me up when the hkg-ers tried to speak to me in... korean! =D damn funny! there was this salesgirl who rattled on in cantonese, then looked at me, suddenly stopped n said slowly...

her: "i can help u?"

me: "it's ok.."

her: "korea?"

me: "no?"

her: "oh... chinese..."

me: "-_- SINGAPOREAN..."

her: "OH! 那你会讲华语啦！(so u can speak mandarin lah!)"

like, i didn't say i don't speak mandarin what. she just assumed. another auntie oso didn't bother to try cantonese/chinese with me, she just said, "언니! 가방! (sister! bags!)" haha... i'm such a poseur.


so i guess this ends my holiday... i'm glad i got to see these 2 cities in 9 days as though i was just like any one of them living there, u know, free & easy... no need follow a noisy tour group n rushing through shopping... except that every night i spent hours in my hotel room packing n packing, trying to squeeze all my shopping into my luggages...

not bad... i had 40kg baggage allowance, but i only used up 34kg in 3 check-in luggages... together with 4 hand-carry bags (incl one bag 腊肠 lapcheong one bag 老婆饼 wives' cakes). people, pls don't try this on ur holidays, because:

economy class - 20+5 kg check-in 7 kg hand-carry

business class - 30+10 kg check-in 10 kg hand-carry

ok we don't talk abt first class. occupational hazard. haha. anyway so that's my last enjoyment as a cx staff. discounts discounts everywhere. now i'm back home in singapore, baking in this sweltering 34dg C heat... dreaming abt shopping in myeongdong... back to looking for another great job! FIGHTING!

posted at 2:12 PM