Amazing Autumn at South Korea

Aside from Seoul, we went to other places like Nami Island.

I have always wanted to go to South Korea especially to see the shooting location of the famous love story "Winter Sonata".  Alhamdulillah...  I felt so blessed to be able to see the colourful trees in such a beautiful weather. 

I love autumn trees, there were amazing olive green, yellow, orange and red leaves seen in Nami Island, the shooting location of Winter Sonata .  It was so Masha' Allah beautiful.  

It's the first time I saw those very tall pine trees there before me... The colour of those pine trees were from light olive green to light orange.  The metal statue of the love birds from Winter Sonata stood proudly in the garden of pine trees.  The memory of Winter Sonata was vaguely ran through my mind.

Although we took a long walk in this small island, we did not able to explore the whole island.  Some might have thought that all you could see is just trees with falling leaves.  As for me, I felt tranquil and at peace looking at the scenery.  It's a beautiful place to be with your loved ones...  There are plenty of lovely picnic spots.  We also saw couples in love strolling in the park including ahjussi and ahjumma... It was really sweet...   




   

Soul to Seoul Pt. 2

I'm still in holiday mood although I came back from South Korea so many weeks ago. Hence that is why I managed to grab Air Asia Free Seats tickets recently for another trip in May next year... Weeehooo... Chicken dance c'mon everybody, make some noiiiiizzeee... Hehehe... 

Demam Korea tak habis lagi ni... 

Caffe Bene
As I mentioned in the earlier post, I saw a lot of Starbucks in the places we visited in South Korea.  However I have decided to forget about Starbucks but try their local coffee place instead.  It is called "Caffe Bene".  Caffe Bene is a leading coffee label of Korea.  Try it and you will fall in love with it!  I tried hot Caffe Mocha with whipped cream, just so perfect for a cold weather.  I loved it! It was yummilicious! Their cashier system was also efficient! After I placed an order, the cashier gave me this cute device (like an alarm clock or something) then asked me to sit down.  (Eh belum dapat coffee, kena duduk pulak? Weird!)... After 5-8 minutes later, surprise2.. The device helped me to alert me with a sound when my mocha was ready. And then, I returned to the counter happily to collect my coffee.  This is so efficient, no long queue.  Awesome!

I also saw this "Powder Room" in this cafe.  It's very useful for all of us specially women... I think Malaysian cafes should be inspired by it. Why not all cafes in Malaysia provide a small room for customers.  This room can be a multifunctional space for solat, betulkan tudung, make-up, breastfeeding!  I wish we had this kinda room at the office!  Right now, if tak sempat pegi surau, we have to solat in the filing room. :(  In fact we have to take turn with the bf mothers, kesian diorang...

Kimchi time!

In Seoul, there's only one place you can find HALAL food which is at Itaewon. Itaewon is known as ‘the global village in Seoul' where one can meet people of diverse nationalities and cultures.  Unfortunately we got tired of eating the same buffet dishes, curry, dal, and rice for every meal for the first 2 days.  So, our fabulous Ms. Jennifer (tour guide) took us to the vegetarian Kimchi restaurant alternately where we had wonderful experience eating Korean dishes with Korean ambiance.  Duduk bersila sambil makan dengan stainless steel chopsticks laa. Although their food is not as good as I thought it would be, but I really enjoyed the experience of eating traditional Korean way! It's like an art which an experience that you definitely don't wanna miss.

Mentari

Mentari is the first and the only one restaurant that serves Malaysian cuisine.  However, it is very very pricey tapi I guess it's worth it if you suddenly miss Malaysian food when you're there. Its interior decoration pun cantik and cozy. Who is the chef? Encik Baha, yang pernah appeared in Akademi Fantasia 1.  The food was also quite good. I love that place, it almost felt like home.  

One thing I notice about most of the restaurants and cafe we went, they were quite concerned with cleanliness.  When I went to a small kebab cafe at the roadside, all straws were individually wrapped unlike Malaysian food stalls or even restaurants, all our straws are collecting dust and germs all around us... Hehe..

Samsung d'light
Enough about food...Now moving on to the next place we visited.  Samsung d'light. Samsung d’light is an exhibition space that showcases all the latest consumer electronic products by Samsung Electronics. According to Samsung, the name d'light combines the words "digital" and "light", to correlate with their vision of being a "guiding light to the digital world" and leading consumers to a whole new lifestyle through digital technology. It is also meant to convey delight and excitement.

Our company took us to Samsung d'light to learn the new and latest technologies and inventions by Samsung since we are dealing with technopreneurs everyday.  It was an interesting visit for all ages.  Everybody is using smart phones now and even my 63 year old mom is also using Samsung smart phone now!  I was totally impressed by their new invention of the large HD smart TV.  Dreaming is free! And I dream to have such TV in my new house nanti...

Samsung is a very successful Korean brand that has standing in the global market.  I just only learned that they have also produced cars in South Korea which recently 70% stake was bought by Renault due to the Asian financial crisis. Now it is called "Renault Samsung Motors".

To be continued...

Soul to Seoul

Assalamualaikum... Blog saya dah berwajah baru!!! Yeay!!!

Dah bagi salam baru boleh greet korean way ~ annyeonghaseyo!!!

I bet with the popularity of K-Pop scene inching upward right now, most of us know what annyeonghaseyo means ~ HELLO KITTY!  Eh silap! H E L L O!!! Ngeeee~

I recently went to South Korea with my fellow colleagues.  I've been dreaming to go to Korea dah lama since tengok cerita Winter Sonata yang sobs tu.  :) Alhamdulillah sampai juga akhirnya tanah kelahiran Samsung. Ramai juga staff yang tak dapat bawa spouse. Tiba2 kitorang jadi single ladies in South Korea yaw for almost a week.

Here are some other useful basic vocabs of Korean language that I have learned before and during our recent awesome trip to Korea. Special thanks to my nephew Zaren Clyde who is currently working there and our fabulous local tour guide, Jennifer for sharing these vocabs.

• Kamsahamnida - Thank you.  The best way to say thanks is to slightly nod while saying Kamsahamnida.  Easy to remember if you relate to Malaysian names like "Kamisah Hamidah"... Use the same gesture to greet Annyeong... tips tips tips!

•  Cheonmaneyo - You're welcome. 

• Yeong eo halsu isseoyo - Can you speak English? The hardest thing to remember and did not use them at all in Korea! Iya2 je menghafal sambil iron baju... :P

• Onni - sister. Kelantanese may define it as "Mek"

• Oppa -  "bro".  Like 'wazzup bro' gitew! Whazzzuppp... Hence that's why the title of Psy's song "Oppa Gangnam Style".  Sorry not my favourite tho...

• Ajumma - A married woman I suppose (more of women in their 50s and above) 

• Ajossi - A married man maybe (more of men in their 50s and above)

• For shopaholics:

1. Olma-eyo - How much
2. Pisayo - Expensive
3. Kaka juseyo - Discount please

Oh wow, macam kelas bahasa Korea pulak... OK... Proceed with the tour please...

Gyeongbok Palace is the largest palace of the Five Grand Palaces which served as the main palace of Joseon Dynasty.  Joseon was the last dynasty of Korean history and the longest-ruling Confucian dynasty.  If you have been to the Forbidden City, Beijing, you might find the similarity of those 2 palaces.  In my humble opinion, Beijing Forbidden Palace nampak lebih cantik maybe because Forbidden Palace was designed with many more colours. Maybe...  

Korean Tradition:

Traditional Korean side dish: Kimchi

We had the chance to learn how to make an easy Kimchi then taste it.  Kimchi is a traditional fermented dish which is made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings.  Tapi ada jugak squid and fish...  Frankly speaking not my kinda food.  Rasa pedas dan pahit macam makan ubat.  I prefer tomyam please...

Our tour leader, Jennifer taught us that the word "KIMCHEEE" is also used when taking pictures just like when you say "CHEESE" to get the most attractive smile when you are posing for a photo... We also learned to pose Korean Gals way... (give a cute peace sign and grin now!) :D 

 Traditional Korean clothing: Hanbok

We also had the chance to try Hanbok costume for freee~ amboi freeloader! Hanbok is a vibrant traditional costume for Koreans and now only worn during national holidays or weddings. To me, Hanbok does not discriminate against plus size people because of its empire cutting. Hence, you kecik ke, you besar ke, tetap menawan bila pakai Hanbok.  How's my fashion statement? :)

N Seoul Tower where your love comes true?

When the bus dropped us off at the entrance of N Seoul Tower, we had to walk up a steep road to the tower.  It looks very similar to our KL tower.  Mengah jugak la.  Many young couples wore the identical shirts, holding hands and wrapped their arms around each other while they walked to the tower.  Ada apa dengan couples ni?  They make promises by buying the colourful love locks, write romantic messages of love then leave locks in specially designated areas around the base tower where now thousands of colourful love locks and pictures of couples are placed there.  We were told that the keys were thrown away to symbolise unbreakable love. Awwwhhh so sweeeet...

Konon kan... Our tour leader kata jangkamasa unbreakable tu tak sampai 3 bulan... Caner tew?... hehehe... 

SHOPPING!

1st night jer dah pegi shopping.  I was extremely tired at the time but ikutkan jugak my colleagues yang memang dah buat research nak pegi jugak2 Go-To-Mall, the Gangnam Underground Shopping Arcade since it's only 10 minutes walk from our hotel.   I don't really fancy the stuff there. Macam uptown je... Macam Pertama Kompleks je... Then again, maybe I was just too tired!  We spent a lot of time at the Nature Republic shop as we had to struggle to speak to the non-english speaking retailers.  We had to learn to use sign language. Serious macam itik dengan ayam.

We also went to Myeong-dong Market if I'm not mistaken on the 3rd night . Haaa... Ni la baru best...  Myeong-dong Market is the awesome place for shopaholics! There are loads and loads of shops seen there.  I saw Uniqlo, Forever 21, Starbucks, PUMA, Adidas and MNG but I found that the attractive shops were those which sell local cosmetics and skin care items. I don't want to go to another Pavilion Mall! I obviously want to enjoy Korean stuff! What to buy there? Facial mask, lip crayon, CC cream and eyeliner with absolutely gorgeous price!

To be continued...

Krabi Pt. 2.

The previous post I blogged about the first couple of days spent with the sea and small islands surrounded Krabi.  Now I would like to blog about the following day which we spent at the beautiful nature in the forest...

The hot spring waterfall was marvelous! Here you can see there are 4 -6 small pools.  We had 1 small pool to ourselves.  It feels like taking a bath in a jacuzzi with warm water.  Syurga dunia! Rasa sgt refreshing... Masha Allah indahnya kejadian Allah SWT... If you want to take a bath here, please bring extra clothes for changing as you'll get super wet.  Especially kita yang Muslimah ni kenalah cuba sedaya upaya menjaga aurat kan... It's quite difficult though but I tried my best.

The Emerald Pool is a natural pool.  Part of the pool is quite deep. Tapi ada jugak yang cetek untuk toddlers and kids.  Ada jugak yang tak berapa dalam untuk orang macam saya yang penakut ni. Hehehee.. To get there, you have to walk about 800 meters from the main entrance which your transport will drop you off.  It's a place you could enjoy your quality time with all family members.  But the path around the pool is slippery kena sentiasa berhati-hati jalan takut jatuh.  Nasib baik tak jatuh.  Pelik betul diorang ni, they have such a beautiful natural pool, tapi tak nak maintain elok2.  Sayang kan...  Tapi memang best dapat berendam and swim sket2 dalam pool ni... And warna air pool tu memang macam warna emerald.... Sumpah cantik!

After puas berendam dalam waterfall and pool, masa untuk elephant trekking.  Mula2 rasa macam tak balance je. Tapi tak sampai 5 minit dah rasa keseronokannya! The Uncle Jumbo looked quite old.  The guide told us Uncle Jumbo was already 20.  I dunno his name, I just simply called him Uncle Jumbo.  Sebab dia comel mcm Jumbo... Hehehe... It's another amazing experience.  Tak pernah naik gajah sebelum ni.  Especially bile dia bawak kitorang merentas anak sungai, and the small forest.  Dapat tengok keindahan semulajadi hutan.  Damai dan sejuk je rasa... Banyak betul hijau sana sini.  Dapat makan mangga hutan. Hurm... yums! Bila dah malam, kitorang penat sangat, so we had a foot massage that cost us only RM25 for an hour... Ni baru betul chillaxing!

And the fourth day we rent a scooter.  Felt like so young!  Sewa scooter, hubby bawak ronda2 along the beach and masuk its small town.  Best! Kat sini, cost untuk sewa scooter RM20 for 24 hours (1 day).  Murah giler!

Pastu dah penat merempit (merempit lah sangat... hahaha), berhenti kat tepi, makan ice cream depan beach... How nice! Tengok happy faces dapat makan aiskim!  At noon, we went for another massage ~ Aloe Vera massage.  Superbly cool and refreshing! The cost is only RM40.  Aloe Vera Massage ni yang paling best...  And I did foot scrub for only RM20... Bestnye, licin tapak kaki!

That night, we went to the Krabi night market.  It was part of the package.  The only thing I liked about the market was to see a group of Thai kids playing traditional instruments to earn some money.  Bagus budak2 ni... Tapi I did not like the stinky smell of something at the market (which I dunno what smell was that) la.... Sorry...

After 5 days 4 nights spent at "syurga dunia" ~ finally we had to go back to "dunia nyata".  And... my hubby found a new friend in the plane.  Her name's Leah. Pretty isn't she? She's only 3...

Krabi

Krabi, Thailand has been one of the places in my wanna-go list.  Kalau pergi Krabi, Ao Nang is the best place to stay instead of Krabi town.  Ao Nang is very near to the beach dan nak cari makanan halal pun sangat senang.  Banyak kedai makan Muslims ada di Ao Nang.  From airport, we took a cab to the resort for RM60. 

My hubby insisted on staying at Ao Nang Princeville Resort after reading a few positive reviews about it.  I would strongly recommend Ao Nang Princeville Resort to all muslims if you want to go to Krabi. The founder is a Muslim and the food there is certified halal.  Breakfast dah senang, bangun2 tak payah mandi pun boleh terus makan tepi pool.  Hehehe... But of course I mandi...  The founder pun sangat peramah.  Lupa nak kaji selidik nama dia.  Hehehe...

Resort ni sangat bersih dan cantik... Resort memang kecil tapi biliknya very spacious and comfortable. You could easily feel at home.  My hubby made the right choice!

The resort is right across the road from the beach.  Ada banyak kedai souvenirs, beach shops, massage shops, tailors all around the resort.  The location of the resort is so strategic, it's in the middle of the small Ao Nang town.

On the way to the resort, the taxi dropped by a tourism centre.  They offered us tour packages for things to do at Krabi.  I did some research before going to Krabi and noticed that a lot of people recommended to buy tour package in Ao Nang town itself, so you can bargain and get cheaper.   But kitorang dah ade budget sendiri, as long as the charges are not beyond our budget, kitorang grab je... Malas nak pening kepala... So kitorang took the package of island hopping and forest activities for RM340 per person.  I think it's pretty reasonable although I know we might get cheaper package in town.

We reached Ao Nang early in the morning around 10-ish am.  The front desk assistant was very nice and friendly.  Dia pakai tudung bawal and kebaya nyonya macam cara orang Malaysia jugak tapi yang membezakan dia tak boleh bertutur bahasa Malaysia.  She was so nice until she allowed us to check in early.  We're such a happy couple!  At least we could take some rest and take shower then only pegi jalan2 kat town. 

The 1st day, I tried the traditional Thai massage yang lipat2 tu.  The cost of traditional massage is only RM20.  OMG... tak tahan OK.  Either tergelak2 since I was ticklish or sakit sebab kena lipat sana lipat sini.  Hehehe...

 

 

The 2nd day we did island hopping.  The ocean, the beach, everything has a magnificent beauty!!!  They were really breathtaking.  The tour guide (dalam gambar berbaju hitam dan berambut panjang tu) was awesome!  Dia nampak macam typical beach boy.  Dia boleh cakap bahasa kita, bahasa melayu, panggil kitorang "abang" "kakak", "tahun depan, mari lagi".  They took us snorkeling twice.  We went to few small islands including Phi Phi Lay, Bamboo Island, Maya Bay where they filmed "the Beach" the movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio in 2000.  The beach, and sea were very beautiful and clean.  It's totally the right place to go if you would like to escape from the hustle bustle of big city. 

To be continued...

Quality time with familia at Johor!

Hubby kata, cukup cukup sudah, cukup sampai holiday ni aja (mcm lagu lah kan...)  According to him we have had many vacations this year.  Alaa, baru pegi Bandung, Cameron Highlands, PD, India and recently Johor. Manede banyak, belum pegi Mekah, Madinah, New Zealand, Italy, Japan and Korea.  Hamboi berangan... Hahaha...

Initially memang saya and Mr. hubby planned nak pegi shopping trip to Johor Premium Outlet (JPO).  Kebetulan kakak saya pun planned nak ajak the whole family pegi Legoland.  So, we decided to tag along, apelagi.  Kebetulan lagi, my hubby dapat discount for only RM65 per ticket untuk masuk Legoland.  The full gate price for an adult is RM140 while for a kid is RM110.  Alhamdulillah, rezeki bercuti kali ni... 

We stayed at Thistle for 3D2N.  The hotel is clean, nice and spacious.  Tapi the services were quite poor.  Masuk2 our room, we found out tak ada full set of towel.  Pastu masa breakfast, the waiter would only replenish food upon requests je... Hurm... 

This is the view from our room... Cantik...

After we dropped off Mama and my aunt, Cik E at Thistle, dengan sikap yang tak berapa nak sabarnya, cepat2 pegi JPO.  We dropped them off sebab takut diorang tak larat nak tunggu kitorang survey goods at JPO.  Maklumlah kitorang ni bukan kaya raya boleh shop the whole JPO, mestilah perlukan masa untuk pilih yang sesuai and necessary saje...  Shopping pun kena ade iman ni... Hehehe... So my hubby bought a pair of PUMA shoes for himself and couple of Fossil watches for me and him while I bought a Coach Leather handbag for me.  I shall give credit and salute to the Coach retailer yg sanggup tunggu lama dgn penuh kesabaran melayan karenah customer ini yang agak cerewet la...  Murah ke? Takdelah murah mana, tapi worth buying la.  For instance, Fossil tu giler tak beli, cos dah lah bagi 30% discount from boutique price, tambah lagi another 50% discount for the 2nd purchase... Ape lagi grabbed la kan...

The last day at Johor, we went to JPO again.  This time around we went there with the rest of the family... Tgk aje happy faces kat above picture selepas bershopping.. Eh eh my sister tak sempat shopping ape2... Unbelievable!!! Tapi dia tetap sporting berposing sengeh sampai ke telinga... Kesian dia tak sempat nak shopping sebab melayan my niece, nephew and baby brother...  Kali ni, I bought 3 purse at Fossil for Cik E, my niece and myself... Tak sia2 pegi JPO 2 kali..
~Happy thoughts... 

2nd day kat Johor, kitorang pegi to a colourful theme park ~ Legoland... Mama didn't follow us, I hope she had a good rest at the hotel sebab I didn't encourage her to go along. I bet she won't enjoy it as the weather was very hot and the crowd was super packed! All of us kena sunburned.  We didn't expect it was going to be that hot.

Since the weather's too hot, kitorang pakai sunnies, hubby and me love our Rayban aviator sunnies.  We also brought 2 umbrellas. Kebetulan tiba2 je hujan after we took couple of rides. Because of the weather was unpredictable, skarang ni saya kena combo of demam, selsema, batuk,  headache and sore throat...

For those who are keen to take your kids to Legoland, please be prepared of the hot weather, pakai sunblock cream or spray and such, pakai cap, umbrella and sunnies. Bring wet wipes, kipas and drink lots of water...  Water bottle kat Legoland is quite pricey.  Its price is like twice the price at  regular shop.  

All rides kat dalam Legoland ni free,tak ade additional fare pun...   Tapi disebabkan kitorang pegi hari Ahad, cuti sekolah, jatuh pada minggu christmas plak, terpaksalah queue panjang sepanjang2nya... The place was like full of people from all over Asia, ade yg cakap philipina, indonesia, hindi, thai, mandarin, cantonese, mcm2lagi laa... The best time to go theme park like this is on weekdays and BUKAN cuti sekolah please...  We would love to go again because the park was pretty, colourful and banyak harmless fun rides that we have not tried yet...

Legoland is so awesome for a family vacation especially to those yang ada primary school kids.  They would love all the things in there!  Tapi rasenye tak perlulah bawa senior citizen to such theme park, sebab I saw one old lady dah macam nak pengsan, terduduk atas wheel chair... Kesian sangat...   Masetu terfikir nasib baik Mama tak ikut...

These are replicas of buildings in KL and Putrajaya, which were made of lego.  They were intricate and beautifully done... 

 

Ni kitorang berposing kat replicas of buildings in Asia and again they were made of lego... Look at that, Taj Mahal pun ade... Baru je pegi tengok the real Taj Mahal, and its replica is almost real minus the size...

We had so much fun!!!  Legoland memang awesomeness!!!Nak pegi lagi!!!

Incredible India Pt. 3

Taj Mahal is the 2nd place of "7 wonders of the world" which I had the chance to see for myself after the great wall of China.  Now I can definitely see why it is one of the 7 wonders of the world...

A Shrine of Love

Taj Mahal was known of a shrine of love.  The Mughal Emperor Shahjahan ordered Taj Mahal built in memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal who died only a few minutes after giving birth to her fourteenth child, a daughter.  The final request of his wife was for him not to marry again and prove their endless love by building a dreamlike beautiful mausoleum.Taj mahal was built in 22 years (1631-1653) it was dedicated to Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Bano Begum), the wife of Shahjahan. 20,000 workers labored during the construction of the monument and it was built according to Islamic architecture. It is one of the Unesco world heritage site and one of the most beautiful and costly tombs in the world.  Taj Mahal is taken from the name Mumtaz Mahal.

This was my 1st view of the magnificent Taj Mahal... Upon entering the door to Taj Mahal garden, I shed a tear after looking at the most beautiful building right before me... Betul2 nampak macam palace yang portrayed in all the fairy tales I have grown up with... Cantik sangat2... I was told that it was designed by an architect from Turkey. But the buildings I saw at Istanbul are nothing like Taj Mahal...   The tomb is encased in white marble which is decorated with flawless sculptures and inlaid design of flowers and calligraphy cut from precious gems.   The building was built flawlessly proportionate, and built almost entirely out of marble.  Masya' Allah...

Tengok ni , kitorang sempat lagi acting cerita Bollywood depan Taj Mahal...

 Ni aksi kanak-kanak riang yang tersangatlah excited dapat jejak Taj Mahal...

~Graceful-Violet.

Incredible India Pt. 2

Where was I... Owh cerita pasal India...  I personally think India is one of those places yang worth for individual traveling concept.  Kalau ikut group tour, rase mcm not satisfying.  Traffic kat sane plak giler sesak, so a lot of time was wasted on the bus ~ sleeping...  People there LOVE to honk...  Memang asal naik vehicle belum jalan lagi pun dah honk... I definitely won't survive if I have to drive at India cos I hate to honk at people and vice versa. 

Janpath Market

Qutb Minar ~ It's the tallest stone tower in India made of fluted red sandstone covered with beautiful intricate carvings and verses from the Qur'an.

 The tomb of Humayun was built with red stones  by the orders of Hamida Banu Begum, Humayun's widow, and begun in 1565, nine years after his death,
and completed in 1572 AD. 

Humayun was the 2nd Mughal Emperor.

Above: Red fort. 

We went to watch Light and Sound at Red Fort but I didn't enjoy it.  Perhaps I was so tired and disappointed cos tak dapat shopping kat kedai2 kat luar Red Fort tu sebab kena pressure by the tour guide suruh masuk cepat2... Argghh!!!

Below right: Mother temple ~ Lotus temple.  Yang ini, I was a bit confused. Sebab this temple katanya if I'm not mistaken laa, to worship the creator so anyone can just masuk the temple... We were asked to keep silent.  Our CEO kata he was surprised sebab kitorg boleh remain silent for a few seconds... Sebab kalau kat office, nak senyap 1 second pun tak boleh... Hahahaha...  

 Haaa... ini gambar my hubby n me yang kena tangkap curi from 2 different cameras... 

Tau2 je my colleagues tagged me kat facebook... Hahaha... LOL...

Lepas ni, part 3 nak share experience tengok one of the 7 wonders of the world pulak... Stay tune!