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Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Jeju, the honeymoon island!

People had food fasting for the Bulan Ramadhan and I went blogging fasting too. After an almost 3 months hiatus, I shall start blogging again *stretch fingers* My friends recommended me to use Dayre instead, the new generation of blogging with phones. It's like Instagram, but the difference with Dayre is you can post multiple photos and your caption can be as long as the traffic jam. BUT! The feel is different you know! It's like defeating the real purpose of blogging. Blogging is no longer blogging if you don't type your posts with keyboards (WTF?!) and don't edit the photos. I know, there are tons of apps nowadays to edit the photos with your phone but....Urrgghhhh, call me old school. I still prefer blogging with my computer. L E T M E B E.

I know this post is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy overdue. The trip was on February, now is like what? August?! WTF! I love to share, so it's better to be late than never!

For this year's annual holiday, the husband and I made a trip to Korea, annyeonghaseyo!



We took Korean Air to Seoul and I must say that this airline gives their passengers excellent services and do I even need to talk about the air stewardess?! So effing prettay! *oogle oogle oogle*

This trip took place before the MH370 incident. Before I start talking about this trip, I would like to tell a little premonition I had of that fateful incident. Few weeks before we flew, I had this dream where the husband and I were in a plane and it was going down crashing into a sea with strong and roaring waves. Before hitting the water, the pilot managed to pull up the plane and it went up again but then suddenly a high and mighty wave like tsunami hit us and I woke up. I was so worried the dream will come true when we were boarding the plane. And I guess it really did..... When I saw the news broadcasting the strong and roaring waves of the Indian Ocean where the MH370 plane was last tracked, it was EXACTLY like the one that I saw in my dream....

A moment of silence for those who were affected.

Let's get back to a happier mode shall we?

While waiting to board the plane, there was this woman sitting next to us blabbing in the phone loudly about her argument with her fiance over the preparation of her wedding =___= Looking at the way she sit in the public, I totally understand why the fiance gotten frustrated with her.


Not only Korean Air gives good services and has pretty looking air stewardess, their food is awesome as well! The chicken rice tasted better than the chicken rice stall near my office WTF! I officially love Korean Air.


After 6 hours plus, we finally reached Incheon International Airport and the first thing I did was....put on make up! I think all the girls in Korea must wake up looking like Kim Kardashian, because everyone was staring at me when I applied make up in the public O___o Was it an offense?



DEOKSUGUNG PALACE

Our flight to Jeju was in the afternoon, so we went to Deoksugung Palace for our first stop. Deoksugung, also known as Gyeongun-gung, Deoksugung Palace, or Deoksu Palace, is a walled compound of palaces in Seoul that was inhabited by various Korean royalties until the colonial period around the turn of the 20th century. It is one of the "Five Grand Palaces" built by the kings of the Joseon Dynasty. The buildings are of varying construction, including some of natural cryptomeria wood, painted wood, and stucco. Some buildings were built in Western style.
In addition to the traditional palace buildings, there are also forested gardens, a statue of King Sejong the Great and the National Museum of Art, which holds special exhibitions. The palace is located near the City Hall Station.
Deoksugung, like the other "Five Grand Palaces" in Seoul, was intentionally heavily destroyed during the colonial period of Korea. Currently, only one third of the structures that were standing before the occupation, remains.
Source from Wikipedia.




Love this scene so much. You still can find peace in the middle of the hustling and bustling of the city.





The park is emptier during winter season due to the cold weather. Hah! Better privacy =)

If you're wondering what was I snapping....

Boobies!

We got back to Incheon International Airport again to take a domestic flight to Jeju. Was already half worn out due to the lack of sleep. I think you can tell from the look on my face =___= It was the first time I fell asleep in an airport.


FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE MYSTERIOUS ROAD

If you're wondering what place is this, it's pretty creepy I tell you. It is an uphill road but even after the driver turned off it's engine, the car still goes up....by itself. The tour guide dared us to turn around and see if there was "anyone" behind pushing the car O__o Ok nevermind thank you.



It wasn't the creepiness that excite me, but the food stalls LOL.
Holy macaroni! Look at the size of the strawberries! I have never eaten such humongous strawberries in my life, yet they were soooooooo sweet! I swallowed so many of them I had stomach upset the next day T____T


The pork cutlet was amazeballsssssssssss. Not sure if I was hungry or cold, the hot cutlet sent me to cloud nine.

Never see people sell food until so happy. Usually Malaysian hawkers look like we killed their family. Korean must be happy people.

TESEUM 

Teseum, also known as Teddy Bear Museum is one of the place you MUST visit when you go to Korea. They are so many teddies in the museum in all sizes! Not only teddy bears but also other animal plushies! For girls who life fluffy furry friends, you must come here!


Teddies in the Safari with their animal friends!

I wanna bring you home! But why you exceed luggage weight!
Because they are toys, you can take photos with them however you want! Even sitting on them!
Highway to hell! Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!

Beyonce spotted Jay Z cheating, where is Solange?! Karate kick him!

Oh I do, Teddy!
The biggest teddy in the museum, I had a hard time climbing on it due to the shortness of my limbs =_=

Super Teddy!

Tedliver's Travel
Threk
Teddy and the Beanstalk
The most expensive teddy in the museum!
Teddy Da Vinci

JEJU FOLK VILLAGE

This is one of the location where the famous Dae Jang Geum was filmed. With a total of 117 houses and facilities, Jeju Folk Village Museum has restored the scenes of the village to that of the 1890’s. Among them are Mountain Village, Hill-Country Village, Fishing Village and Shamanism Village. On land of more than 40 acres it has been reconstructed following long-term research and analysis of experts. Some of the extensive range of folk items on display are 1,627 woodenware, 1,046 bamboo ware, 1,699 earthenware, 1,544 porcelain ware, 765 wax candles, 921 ironware and 579 other items. The Jeju Folk Village Museum is the island’s main tourist attraction where customs of the old days can be explored.

Source from VisitKorea.or.kr







To build the hut, they used cow dunk to stick the rocks together. So when I entered the hut, it smelled....mmm...you guess it.

I have no idea how they move this. It's super heavy!

Wishing stones. Make a wish by putting a stone on the deck of stones. If it doesn't fall no matter how hard the wind blow, your wish will come true!

According to my tour guide, women in the pass had to do EVERYTHING. Going out to work to earn money, do house chores when they are home and even take care of children. So what do the men do? NOTHING. They just stay at home, sleep, eat and knock up women to reproduce. Sounds like a douchebag to me, sorry. They never need to do any house chores at all. So if the man wants to divorce the wife, all he needs to do is to carry this basket over his shoulder and walk all over the village. WTF?! He doesn't need to work, doesn't need to do anything and he has the rights to divorce the wife?! Thank God this nonsense no longer exist!

Divorce your wife by carrying this basket around the neighborhood, save the legal fee.

Touch the nose for babies! Touch the tummy for peace! Yes, peace to the world.

SEONGSAN ILCHULBONG PEAK

Seongsan Ilchulbong, also called ‘Sunrise Peak’, is an archetypal tuff cone formed by hydrovolcanic eruptions upon a shallow seabed about 5 thousand years ago. Situated on the eastern seaboard of Jeju Island and said to resemble a gigantic ancient castle, this tuff cone is 182 meters high, has a preserved bowl-like crater and also displays diverse inner structures resulting from the sea cliff. These features are considered to be of geologic worth, providing information on eruptive and depositional processes of hydromagmatic volcanoes worldwide as well as past volcanic activity of Seongsan Ilchulbong itself.

Source from Wikipedia


Aerial view of the peak, beautiful!

Ready to climb to the peak?

Here we go! Add oil! Don't look down!




Hiking while wearing thick winter clothes with strong wind blowing is definitely NOT a good idea! BUT I DID IT!

The wind was so strong I nearly got flown away. I'm not joking! Because Jeju is an island and Seongsan is a tuff surrounded by ocean, the wind blow extra strong and cold especially during winter season. I had to stand with my legs wide open to maintain my stability like a pyramid! Or else I would be flying like a kite, with no strings attached.

SEOPJIKOJI

Jutting out at the eastern seashore of Jeju Island, Seopjikoji is one of the most scenic views with Seongsan Sunrise Peak as a backdrop. Unlike the other coastal areas of Jeju, it has red volcanic rock (songi) and strangely-shaped rocks that at low tide transform this area into a breath-taking stone exhibition gallery. It is also well-known as the shooting location for the TV drama All In, The Hyeopja beacon mound and lighthouse attracts a lot of tourists. Legend of Seopjikoji has it that nymphs used to bathe at Seopjikoji. One day, the youngest son of the King of Heaven saw the nymphs and begged his father to arrange a marriage. The king promised him to do that if he waited for 100 days. The nymph did not show up on the 100th day because of wild waves and gusts of wind. The king told his son that his dedication was not good enough to move Heaven. The sorrowful son then became a rock, standing upright at Seopji Koji.

Source from VisitJeju.or.kr







Lan emo, Korean drama style.

HANWHA AQUA PLANET

This brand-new aquarium, an impressive facility with a 10,800-tonne tank, the largest in East Asia. You can see here some 500 different species, including manta rays, sea lions, 30 African penguins and two white sharks.

Source from Lonely Planet





Well hello there!

The penguins here looked so much more alive and happy compared to the penguins in our hot and humid country.


Colorful specimen.




Cinematic view of the aquarium. Largest aquarium in Asia!

FOOD

Korean food always comes with side dishes, and I mean A LOT of side dishes. For a small eater like me, if I stay permanent in Korea I'll be certified as a food waster because I cannot finish everything on the table, there were nearly 10 side dishes!

The first meal we had in Jeju was this vegetable egg pancake. It was blah compared to our local one. But the abalone soup in claypot was comforting especially in such cold weather. The abalones were huge and fresh!

Jeju is famous for their seafood since it's an island. One of the famous residents are their women sea diver or mermaid nannies, known as Haenyeo. Don't expect pretty girls in sexy mermaid outfit or professional female divers. But aunty armed with nothing, beating the strong waves and dive into the sea to harvest seafood. We saw one during our visit, I saw a human figure from far among the strong waves in the sea. I salute the aunty!


Fresh sashimi. I whacked everything! So fresh, juicy and sweet!

Pan fried spicy chicken.

If you can't guess how strong was the wind in Jeju, please check the husband's hair LOL!!!!

Milk!!! Their milk is light and not filling at all. Not too creamy and just right with the flavor.

HOTEL

We stayed in Ocean Suites Hotel in Jeju. The room is nice and there is a convenient store and beauty store at the lobby. The hotel is facing the ocean hence we had a great view of the sea. We walked across the road planning to stand by the road to enjoy the seaview but the waves were so strong it went over the barricade and hit right onto the road. We turned around and ran like it was tsunami.