The History Lesson

Day 3

Overall, it seemed like we were having a historical lesson today. Visited 4 places in total. All of them are about olden days Korean Silla Dynasty.

Everybody was so tired in the mornin due to the party last night. The thought of visiting a temple did not excite me at all. Seen too much of it in my place and on TVs. Furthermore, the view in summer is just all green. Unlike the autumn which we see nice colourful scenery. We did not hang around long as rain came pouring down. We moved to the Seokgulam Grotto.


At the Seokgulam grotto, everthing was foggy. It feels like I am in a forest or movie set as we climb the hill in the cool air. The way up was so tiring. The statue however, was very impressive. I am glad that it is not one of those gold Buddha statue. Headed back to the hostel for a little rest.

We woke up round evening for another round of historical stuff. This time, we are visiting the royal tombs. Sounds exciting to me. As it is actually a tomb garden. There are so many tombs here and they are all royal tombs. They looked like those hills that we used to draw in our play school when we were young. Haha. We forced ourselves to take photos despite the rain as the park really looked special to me.


When we reach Anapji Pond, it was rainin cats and dogs. I really hate this. The pedestrian ways are muddy too. We left as soon as we can to enjoy a nice barbecue dinner before heading back to the hotel for another round of parttttteeeeeeeee.

Shot of Day 3. Loved the feel of us charging in front of the photo. Hehe. This could have been a advertisement. Anyone need a part time model? Need a job. Hehe.

The Beach Day

Day 2

Second day of the trip which actually turned out to be the most enjoyable day in the end. We were looking forward to visiting the Haewoondae Beach, the most famous beach in Korea. We heard that there were 900,000 people at the beach the weekend before. Crazy.

We were however, hoping for a less crowded beach so we can enjoy ourselves more. Apparently, the bad weather did keep the people away. It was so cloudy and cold. Nobody wanted to get into the sea.


Things change when we started to throw the gals into the cold cold water. wahhaha. And for the next 2 hours there is just more and more crazy stuff. After the beach, we went back to wash up before checkin out. Sad, I did not really get to see Busan. Maybe I should come back here someday.


Next up in our itinery is the POSCO. The 3rd largest steel company in the world. We only get to tour the factory site in the bus. However, the did allowed us to go in one of the factory to see the continuous casting process. It is damn hot in there. I wonder how can the people stand the heat. No photos are allowed. Sigh.

After that, we headed off to another beach in the East. It is called Gampo Beach. At this beach, lies the water tomb is the King Munmu. Story was he wanted to protect Korea from the sea after his death. Ambitious king. We did not throw anyone into the sea this time as we were too tired to do so. This beach is kinda rocky too. So we decided to throw rocks instead. Haha.

We reached the Kolon Hotel at a small historical city called Gyeongju. Bought lots of snacks and drinks to party there as we dun wanna end up sleeping early like the day before. Party time........

And this is the photo that I really liked. Hehe. Shot of Day 2. Yes, the gal is pretty. But too bad, she is attahced. So friends go look elsewhere ba. Haha.

The Other Face of Korea

Been away so long from updating. There is absolutely too little time left after I came back from this wonderful field trip. Hence, did not update till after the ISS ended. I will try to make this fun. Just like the way that I feel after the trip. Honestly I feel so nostalgic right now. The place is super quiet. Feels so weird now.

Day 1

We set off pretty late (8.30am) as compared to those students who are goin' to China (5.00am). Was super excited about the trip as this is my first time travelling so far from Seoul. Futhermore, the thought of being able to stay in hotels with the other participants excites me to the max.

We travelled on the bus for about 3 hours before reaching Andong. Stopped by this wonderful restaurant which is also a workplace for a very amazing carpenter. He carved all sorts of figure out of the tree trunks and woods. They were so funny and adorable.

Here is what I call erm.........Well its artistic after all k. Wahaha.


Next we headed off to the Hahoe Folk Village (meaning winding river), a UNESCO world heritage site. The houses there are still of the same architechure as the olden days. What's most stunning about the place is it is still a normal residential place where people stayed in.


We managed to try out some traditional games there (enjoyed the jumping see-saw the most) and shop around for local handicrafts items. I gotten the Korean mask as a gift for my sis. Made a wish at this village too. I hope it will come true. We'll see in the very near future.


We headed off to Busan to check in the hostel at night. The Aprina Youth Hostel turned out looking more like a hotel then a hostel. Very spacious, clean and comfortable. The only bad thing it is too far away from the city. Since we cannot go out, all of us went to bed early.



Shot of Day One. I luv this pic that we found at the hallway of UNICEF exhibition. To me it symbolise how the world can support the happy children.

The Addiction

We went to the gym pretty early yesterday. Round 7am. And guess what? Nobody was there. Almost nobody. Being the one and only me, I took some snapshots around the locker rooms and workout area. Hehe. I am so gonna miss all these when I go back. And I will lose a workout buddy too. Sigh.

Btw, I found a new accesory, it is called towel. Haha.

The Coolest Cooks Ever

Went for the super famous Korean teather. Its called NANTA. Basically it is about cookin'. You must be askin how cookin can be cool? Haha. No its not the delicious food. It is the marvellous music they made with those cookin' utensils. So coordinated, creative and powerful. I was super impressed.

The tricks done with the kitchen untensils are just unbelievable. This people are super good drummers. They did the 1.5 hours show without intermission. Crazy. Haha. Wonder where they get all those energy. I pretty much enjoyed the interactive show they have here. This show helped to alleviate the steroetype that Asian teather are inferior to western teather. Cheers to NANTA. This is a must watch show if you ever come to Seoul.

Here is the pic we took with the casts.

The Traditional Drums

Salmunori. A traditional instrument or rather i call them ochestra of Korea. Wahaha. Learn to play it today. They do not have enought intrument so I had to share it with Daniel. Its so tiring to continously hit the drums. Mind you, it is harder to coordiate when sharing an instrument. But we made it anyway. Haha. Good job to the Wayl n Daniel Partnership.

The Random Things

Went for a little shoppin today. Kinda regreted. I am almost bankrupt now. Argh. Waiting for money to come in. All I have not is just 20 USD and credit card. Yes. I am this broke. Anyone wanna contirbute to the 'Save Wayl Foundation'?

Gotten myself a haircut today. Hehe. Thanks to KJ for bringin me there.

Some random shots just for fun. This is what happened at the waffle store yesterday.

While waiting for food to arrive.

They got our order wrong. Sob.

Blaming each other for ordering the wrong food.

Finally the right one arrived. Happy ending. Wahaha.

The Simple Things in Life

Sometimes it is about all the simple things. Nature and scenery. That's what today is about. We planned to go picnic at the waterfall today. We got more than what we asked for. We have a huge waterfall even in Seoul city, on the road. In case u dun get what I am tryin to say, I meant super heavy rain. Haha. So basically our picnic plan is screwed. We pinicked in the car instead. Haha.

We were lucky that the rain stopped round afternoon time. So we headed off to Bukhasan National Park. Here in Seoul all places are crowded. I cannot believe it. Its like u see a mass crowd everwhere u go. Even at national parks. Siao. Here are some pics of us foolin around in the crystal clear water.


We also hike to see the falls. The water here is so clear. It is just amazing. The fact that it is only an hour from Seoul is unbelievable.

The night was spent in a park near the Han River. I truly luv the weahter tonight as it was super coolin. Thanks to the rain in the mornin. The view around the park is just marvellous. Here are some of my favourite shots.

The Border

Manage to get up early mornin despite the clubbin last night. Clubs here are super packed. Lots of people, lots of smoke. I had to leave early as I dislike the sandwich feel. Some stayed till 6 in the mornin. I wonder how they get the energy to do so.

Back to the main story. We went to the demilitarised zone (DMZ). It was actually a 4km zone between the North and South Korea where no weapons are allowed.

We first checked out the Imjingak Park.


Next, we headed off to the Dora observatory. Our hopes of seeing the Northen side was crashed due to the bad foggy weather. The humidity here in summer is crazy. Backhome no matter how humid it is, we still get to see far. Over here, u'll just see a smoke screen.


The most interestin part of this trip has to be the 3rd tunnel. It was actually built by North Korea to infiltrate the South. It failed and the South is now using it as a tourist attraction. Ingenius. Save cost and earn money. Haha. We took a pretty slow tram down to the tunnel. Felt like the slowest ever roller coaster. No pics to be posted as they do not allow camera. Sien.


Final stop is the Dora train station. A station where the train goes nowhere. Haha. They built this station waiting for unification. Will unification be better? Or are things better off the way that it is? I wonder.

The New Found Hangout

I found new hangouts. Its already into my second week here in Seoul. Gangnam is the place. Woots. Gotten myself a california fitness membership too. This is gonna be great. I truly dig how vibrant the place is. People people everywhere. Think I am gonna be here most of the weeknights. Mind you it is about an hour bus ride from my hostel. See the two red circle? Still, I dun mind as I loved the atmosphere there. Wahaha. By the way this is how confusing the Korean Metro is. Too many lines.

The Ghost Reenacted

We went to an small town about an hour from Seoul today. It is called Ichon. Aparently we were told that they will teach us how to make pottery. And the only thing that I could think about is the movie ghost. Hehe.

However, it turned out to be totally different. No spinnin but just shapin' the clay. I feel like I'm thrown into elementary school once again, with play-doh being my best friend. Wahaha. Here is a little picture of what I made. (the whale is made by theresa though).

A little more pic for your viewing pleasure.

The Mud Festival

Woohooo. Went to the beach about 3 hours drive from Seoul. The hold this annual mud festival at Boryeong. Today was actually the last day of the festival so I am expecting a huge crowd. Its gonna be fun.


When we reach there we see people covered in mud. I heard that the mud is good for skin. Being me, I could only think about throwin mud at my friends as soon as we get there. Muahaha.


It turned out that everybody is more crazy than me. Look how dirty we got. Haha. Must wrestling was even more fun. It was like being in a battlefeld. Throwing people and being thrown into a pool of mud had never been so enjoyable. You have to try this for yourselves.

The festival turned out to be so nice. Crowd was good and the slide was even better. I think it is about 3 story high. Did not manage to take a pic on it though. No camera with me.

Really wanna thank all those buddies than planned this out and also not forgettin the drivers. I really had a great time there.

The First Field Trip

First field trip of the 4 in the summer school. Turned out to be pretty interestin. We first went to the Changdeok Palace. Do no expect me to explain too much bout it. I was busy runin around taking crazy photos. Hehe. Loved the surroundings. Green and cooling. Here are some photos of us.

Nextup was having the ginseng chicken and tea ceremony. Tea ceremony is so complicated. I wonder why people call it enjoyin tea. There are so many steps to making just a small cup of tea. I say get me the tea bag and hot water. Haha

Tryin on the Korean traditional costume was great. We learned that different colours and patterns represents different status. The one that I wore is actually some high officer clothes. But every citizen can wear it during theri marriage. The caligraphy lesson proved that I have no talent in this issue. Well, I'll stick to typewriting.

I caled off the day with a little dinner and shoppin. Lookin forward to the mud festival tomorrow.

The Little Things That Meant A Lot

First up is the cute transportation card that they use here. I truly dig the style. Its in the size of the handphone deco that we use. This is their version of EZlink, Oyster, or Octopus cards.

Secondly it must be those birthday well wishes that i recieved from all of you guys. Be it the sms or emails, On time or belated.

Next, is this cute little pendant that I got for my birthday from Suz and YJ. It took them hours to design this cute necklace. Isn't it just adorable. Thank you so much.


Finally, is not so little drinking session that we had last night. Thanks to all who had come for the party. It was really fun. (Warning: Korean birthday drink is potent) Will upload the photos once I got them in.

The Korean Language

Woke up round eleven today. Went outside to grab lunch with Teresa. Had a really hard time tryin to get food. I couldn't read a single word in Korean. My limited spoken Korean made the matter worse. I lost count how many gestures I used tryin to get just a sandwich and juice for brekafast. I ended up with vege in my sandwich and Banana juice. Stuff that i really hate. Argh. The sandwich tasted good after the discarded the veg though.

Tried to get Suz to go shoppin with me but failed. Irritating. Found out later at night that the batt was low and she was sick. Alright I forgive you. But u owe me a shoppin' trip. Keke.

Decided to join a group of people from the Summer school to shop. However, they all went out already. Poor me have to try to get to the station to meet them. Is about an hour away and I needed to find my way there using Korean signs. Buyin the transportation card was damn funny. The lady in the store was pointin all over the place as I gave a blank look when she tried to explain something to me.


When I finally reached the shoppin area. I realised how crowded it was. The most crowded I've ever seen so far in a normal day. Its like people are gathering to see fireworks on New Year's Eve.


We headed off to the peak of Seoul, Namsan Mountain. The air is so much cooler up there. Did not went up the obsevatory as it cost 8000won (about 8 USD). Been to enough tower from my trip in Canada.

The group photo up there reminds of those time in Calgary. But these photos are now just photos of smiley faces. It lacked the bond, laugther, happiness, tears and hardship and time spent together in Calgary. I still cannot understand why I cannot get over it. Perhaps it is really the best time that I ever had in life. Calgary, I miss you.

An unfinished clip on the last few weeks in Calgary. I miss spending time with all of you guys, my dear friends. I have not gotten over the life there after all this while. Perhaps it is really the best time in my life.

The Reunion

Ok a little recap on my first day in Seoul. Arrived as early as 6 after a short flight from Kota Kinabalu. That places sure changed a lot. Thanks to my cousins for taking me around. Back to Seoul story. It raining whole day. It did not dampen my happy mood at all. Here is the view right outside the university. So vibrant right?


After checkin in the hostel, I took a pretty well-deserved nap. I really luv my hostel room. Its air-conditioned and looks pretty new. They even have a fitness center at the basement. Cool.

Right after i get up, i went to see YJ and Suz. Although we did not meet for only 2 months it seems long. So glad to be able to relive those days in Calgary. Teresa from NY joined us for grocery shoppin'. Poor gal, it seems to me that her buddy is not nice to her at all. I am prayin' hard that I would get a good buddy. But, well I got Suz and YJ so everything will work out fine no matter what. Hehe.


Me and YJ went for a 'Meet the parents' session. Hehe. Its just a dinner at a pretty famous restaurant named Sam Won Garden. I must say that the food there are pretty special. I have never really tasted something like that. The beef, cold noodle, red bean fragrance soup. And guess what? I ata a whole lots of vege today. Amazing isn't it. We tried out food wrapping skills too. The dinner is damn expensive but it is a must try. If you are thinkin that my pocket must be burnt, you are darn wrong. Thanks YJ for the treat. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Muacks.

Just in case Hal-muh-ni is thinkin thanks for the lunch also ya.

The Last of the Wanderer

Final day of my 5 weeks backpackin’ or rather 5 months long of wandering. My friend told me a couple of days ago that we are wanderlust. I cannot help but agree. There is this feelin’ of true satisfaction of discovering new horizons, be it new places, food, people or culture.


Ended the trip with a bang. ‘Fame the Musical’ was not disappointing at all. The dances made me go wow wow wow. Super synchronize and energetic. Manage to see H in the musical. Well, if u guys still remember he is the blonde guy in the now defunct Steps. I recall those days where I used to go gaga over their hit songs like One for Sorrow and 5,6,7,8. Caught a glimpse of a poster ad on Chicago and Tina Arena is in it. If only I have more time. I truly loved her songs. I hope I will not miss that one like the time when I failed to catch Stephen Gately in ‘Jopseh and the Technicolour Dreamcoat’. I am beginning to wonder why all these stars are turning up in London West End Theaters.

Something is really coming over me. I just cannot deny it anymore. I really think that its time to stop wishin’ upon that bright shinnin’ star for what I really want is to shine as bright. Even if I will burn out someday, I need that one moment in my life.