The 3 S : Seoul, Shop, Sightsee (Part I)

I went to Seoul from 12th September till the 18th. It was all kind of random, actually. Fifi and I were just talking about all the places that we'd like to go to and she mentions that aside form Japan, she's never been to another country. So I said, why not go to Korea? I mean, the Yen is stronger than the Won, so we'd save tonnes of cash and at that time it wasn't peak season or anything. Fifi gets all excited and I'm starting to look at flight and accommodation options. Then we find out that Fifi has a seminar scheduled around that time, and her prof isn't sure about the exact dates of the seminar so how the heck can I plan for anything without dates?

So we wait. And wait. Some more waiting.

When it was almost like a week before our planned departure, Fifi gets her seminar's date and I can start planning again. Thank God. We booked everything in a rush and just kind of winged it with the attractions and places that we wanted to go to. The place we stayed at, I found while searching through some great travel blogs.
So, we bought out flight tickets 3 days before take-off and started to pack and continue planning.

On the 12 th, we got on an Aseana Airlines flight form Narita to Seoul. Yay!

When we got to Incheon Airport, we wanted to change our Yens for Wons straight away at the Currency Exchange counter that was available at the airport but then we noticed that all the people who moved in the direction of said counter also moved away from it after like 3 seconds. What was going on?

Ugly rates, that's what. So, my tip to anyone planning on going there, DON'T EXCHANGE at the airport, you'll get better deals at the banks in town.

We then arrive Incheon, get driven to our lodgings and sleep.

The adventures(ergo shopping) that we had will be in the next post.
I gotta get packing for my ski trip :D

Don't even ..urghh, I know I look...

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Orange Leaves

It's now autumn here in Japan. The temperature keeps dropping and all the windy wind is making my skin dry. I haven't really been up to anything much since my last post...what? 3 months ago?

Well, I did go to Seoul on the last week of my summer holidays. A post on that will be up later when I can actually remember properly all that happened while I was there.

Oh, my winter hols will start on X-mas till the second week of January. I'm going to snowboard (ergo fall flat on my face and ass while failing terribly at that 'sport') in Nagano for 3 days, then sightsee around there for 2 days. Then haul my ass to Tokyo for the New Year countdown and some serious shopping.

The Japanese very much love their 'New Year' sales. Prices are slashed to so-low-i'm-kinda-drooling kind cheap. And of course, everyone is anticipating the 福袋(fukubukuro), which basically a bag filled with items that the store people have jam-packed with merchandise and sell them off at bargain prices. Imagine going to Zara, buying a fukubukuro for ￥5000 (RM187) but inside getting items when added all together cost around ￥20000 (RM747). Awesome shite, right?

The only downside to this miracle of nature is that you might get items that you don't like, which is kind of inevitable really. Some stores do list out the items that are in these goody bags but not all do. Sizes, you don't really have to worry about because the bags are packed according to sizes.

Even if fukubukuro isn't really your thing, the massive sales are still so worth it. One of the great things that I like about Japan is their fashion and the fact that there so many boutique Japanese labels that seriously, you're not going to find out of their shores. And the Japanese really support and shop these domestic labels. Of course, they also buy Chanel and Longchamp and whatever else but all that is in addition to their purchases of home-grown brands. The slight snitch here is that most of the top boutique brands are quite expensive and more often that not more expensive than say, Zara or Marc Jacobs. Sooo...it's during these new year sales that people who do not have cash flowing out of their skin (like me), get to actually buy their clothes and merchandise. Which, goes without saying, is h-e-a-v-e-n.

Enough of things I love at this time, moving on to things I hate and despise, which are :
- packing for trips during winter, I mean, 3 sweaters in and already your bag's half full :(
- moving around during the cold->> runny nose, numb legs etc.
- constant hunger pangs
- short daylight
- dry skin
- having to always lug around bottles of lotion for the above-mentioned dry skin
- thristy (related to the dry skin bit?)
- the inability to get out bed because that's the only warm place within a 2 mile radius.

Sven's(guy with headband) birthday lunch-till-dinner food fest

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Hokkaido The Awesome

I love me some Hokkaido. Best weii.. I ate a ton of soft-cream and seafood while there. Can I say heaven?

I took a ferry from Oarai to Tomakomai with Muslim on the 13th of August. The journey took like 16 hours.

Hell.

When we arrived at Tomakomai the next day, we took a train to Sapporo to meet up with Ellie and begin our Hokkaido Escapades(?). We, as in Ellie, Shah, Acap, Muslim, Irra, Mimi, Taty and I, spent 3 days in Sapporo. We went to Sapporo's famous Odori Park, the clock tower, Ishiya Chocolate Factory and so many more places that I can barely remember it all. After the 4th day, we split up with the guys and made our way to Otaru.

I fell in love with Otaru. The small, picturesque town is romantic and decadent; filled with specialty ice-cream stalls and boutique chocolate stores. How can a girl resist all that? At night, we hung out by the famous Otaru canal and caught up with each other's lives. It was like a slumber party, only with a better view. Love love love.

After spending 3 days in Otaru, Mimi, Irra and Taty had to leave to return to their colleges - leaving Ellie and I behind. We took a train to Ellie's college in Tomakomai. Main reason why I love Tomakomai? The average temperature there during summer is 20'C! When you compare that to where I study-Ibaraki, which has an average temperature of 34'C during the summers, you can understand why I love Ellie's place better right?

Siap ada kabus tu wei, betapa sejuknya and bestnya Tomakomai tu :D

I spent 3 days in Tomakomai basically just sleeping around during the day and eating awesome food during the night. It was awesome.

On Saturday, Ellie and I took a train to Hakodate. Hakodate's night view from Mount Hakodate is rated as one of the top 3 in the world. I have to agree it was breath-taking-ly beautiful but there were waaay too many people and that just sort of killed the romantic mood. Still beautiful, none the less.

We also travelled around all the historic sites around Hakodate. This place is loaded with history and the buildings that still remain till this day were so well-crafted and beautiful. Since Hakodate used to be a major goverment spot way back when, there are also alot of Russian, Chinese and Western influences in its history. This only further adds to its charm.

After days of vandalizing my beloved feet, I finally took a flight back home to Ibaraki on the 23rd. I know I used the word 'beautiful' way too many times in tis post but it was, so yeah, what can I do?

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