Seoul Trip 2015 Day 1

Juliane and I are off to Seoul for our holiday. We arrived at the airport just past 11pm, Friday night, 12 June 2015. There were very few people at the Asiana check-in counter. It could be we were checking in 2.5 hours earlier or people are really avoiding Korea because of the MERS outbreak.

Guess who photobombed our photo?! Lol 

We boarded the plane at 1am, Saturday morning, 13 June 2015. Half the plane was occupied and more than half of the passengers are Koreans. However due to heavy air traffic, our 1:30am flight only managed to take off at 2:20am. :( I managed to watch only one movie, Seventh Son before succumbing to sleep. Despite the delay, we arrived in Seoul only 30 minutes behind the schedule arrival time of 9:05am at 9:35am. :) At the immigration, almost all who wore a mask were foreigners! Haha. :P Once we collected out luggage, we went to purchase our Seoul City Pass Plus transport cards. We made it just in time for the 10:36am 6011 airport limousine bus to our rental apartment at Insadong. 

We are finally in the air! Bye, Singapore

My diabetic breakfast - scrambled egg white with vegetables

Juliane's child meal - french toast

We see Korea!

A plane taking off while our plane was taxiing to the terminal

Our landlady, Sunny was waiting for us when we arrived at the Anguk Station bus-stop which was outside the apartment. After showing us how to work the electrical appliances in the apartment and pointing out the attractions nearby on the map, we were left to rest which we did for slightly more than an hour before leaving at 1pm to meet up with my colleague, Liyana and her sister. :) 

Kitchen two steps away from the door

The studio beyond the kitchen

Bathroom, on the left, opposite the kitchen

Shower and washing machine

The sofa and the beds (someone already relaxing on it)

Studio apartment but has everything! :)

We arranged to meet at Hongik University station so that we could go to the Hongdae Free Market together. It was a scary and exhausting experience trying to navigate the subway, having to pay lots of attention lol. :P But I think after this first time, it should be a lot easier. 
I always enjoy browsing at craft markets, so it is no exception at Hongdae Free Market. So colourful, so lively, so fun! :) 

Juliane started to feel peckish and we set about looking for food. We found this cafe by chance! I was really excited because Hello Kitty is a treasured childhood memory for me. :) We ordered food and drinks and took plenty of photos lol. :) 

We saw various Street food

One of many dessert places

Sulbing, a Korean dessert cafe

HELLO, Hello Kitty Cafe!

Goodness, cuteness overload! :P

Even the food looks cute

Juliane's Hotdog set with Ice tea lemon

My ham and cheese toast with Mint Citron Ade

Who would bear to sleep on the Hello Kitty bed?

Hello Kitty everywhere! :)

Even the toilet is full of Hello Kitty

Thank you, Hello Kitty for a dream fulfilled :)

After our Hello Kitty time-out, we went back to Hogdae Free Market and continued with our shopping lol. We parted ways with Liyana and her sister after 6pm. Juliane and I went to Lotte Mart to scout around. Heard from Liyana that many tourists love to buy food stuff from Lotte Mart. We decided to browse around and make a mental note of what to buy for our next trip to Lotte Mart. We did buy some stuff such as seaweed snack which my mother wanted, honey butter potato chips (2 packs to try), and citron tea. :P Don't worry, we arrived in Seoul with only 16.8kg even though we are allowed 20kg each person. I have a spare bag in my luggage so we can fill that one up with all the food stuff and clothes that we are going to buy. :)  
We arrived back at our apartment about 7pm and we both had a nap due to jetlag. :P Even though we were more tired than hungry, we went out to grab a light bite at 9:45pm. Unfortunately, most restaurants are closed so we bought stuff from 7-11! :P

A familiar sight, just opposite our apartment! :)

Our loot from the Hongdae Free Market

Tomorrow we plan to visit Insadong and Ewha Womans University. :)

Seoul Trip 2015

Juliane and I are off to Seoul, Korea for our holiday. :) 
Yes, we are going to Korea. Don't worry, we will take care of ourselves. :) We are not going anywhere near the hospitals or clinics so we should be ok. :)
Flying off at 1:30am 13 June 2015, Saturday.
Leaving for the airport soon. :) 

MERS in Korea

I have been keeping an eye on the development of the MERS outbreak in Korea. 
To date, although there are over 120 cases of MERS and 10 deaths, there are no travel advisory against travel to Korea from World Health Organisation (WHO), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Ministry of Health (MOH), namely because all the cases were traced to health care settings. 
The only advice from MFA and MOH for people travelling to Korea is to take note and adopt the general health precautions such as observing good personal hygiene at all times, practise frequent hand washing, avoid people who are coughing, avoid contact with live farm or wold animals, etc.
If one adopts all the health precautions all the time, there should be no fear of contracting most diseases, whether at home or overseas. :)  

International Taste in Food

I must bear this Blogthings quiz result in mind when I travel overseas this coming weekend haha. :)

You Taste in Food is 64% International

You make bold choices when it comes to food, and this often leads you down a more international path. You don't shy away from spice or flavor. You have sampled a lot of the world's food, and there's so much more you want to try. You are the type to order something you've never had before!

How International Is Your Taste In Food?

Sense Making

Looking through a bunch of interviews and trying to make sense of and sieve out the recurring themes. Not easy, kept going back and fro the interviews whenever a new theme emerges. 

Eye on MERS

Keeping a close eye on the situation of the MERS outbreak in Korea. 

Recuperating

Spent the weekend sleeping and resting after a hectic 3-days conference last week.  

Triple 6

It is a triple 6 day today. 6 June, Saturday.
6th day of the 6th month on the 6th day of the week.

Book Therapy

I had a slight breather on Day 3 of the RPC 2015. I finally had time to look at the book booths that were set up at the conference. I bought 4 academic/ professional books for myself and I bought 3 fiction books for my girls, amounting close to $300. I had to borrow some cash from a colleague as the book sellers only accept cash. :P
I was stressed out by the 3-days conference and buying books really made me happy and relax. :)

Books for my girls

RPC 2015 Over!

It's the last day of the conference! Overall, I think the conference was well-organised and well-received. :) A small break before the planning for the next RPC in 2017 starts...

RPC 2015 Day2

Another busy day of running around and making sure the keynote speakers are taken care of.

RPC 2015 Go!

Today is the first day of Redesigning Pedagogy Conference 2015. As part of the organising committe, I have been involved in various aspects of the conference before it started from reviewing of abstracts, grouping of papers, scheduling of rooms for presentations, to sourcing for buddies to look after the keynote speakers. As I am the chair for the Keynoter sub-committee, my work begins at the conference - looking after and making sure the keynote speakers are taken care of. Started at 8am and have not stopped since. 

Happy Vesak Day 2015

Happy Vesak Day 2015. 

Wishing all a peaceful and blessed Vesak Day!

Counting Down

Can't believe the Redesigning Pedagogy Conference 2015 will happen in two days' time. I am part of the organising committee. All the preparation which started more than a year ago for the conference will come to fruition on 2 June 2015. Must rest well this weekend. The next few days will be very hectic for us, the organisers.

Waiting for Love by Avicii

I am captivated by the animation used for the song, Waiting for Love by Avicii. A touching animation. 

Waiting for Love by Avicii(uploaded by AviciiOfficialVEVO)

60th Anniversary!

I was invited to my counselling school's 60th Anniversary dinner cum fundraising held at TeamNS@Bukit Batok. When I was queuing to register, I was led away to register at another table labelled "Guest-of-Honour, VIPs, Ps, VPs". I was really surprised! Lol. I am "important" tonight. :P

The dinner started after the speeches by the Principal and Guest-of-Honour. Dinner was delicious and plenty to go round as there were only 6 of us at the table and all ladies. :) There was a table game: "Guess the place" where there were nine photos of old landmarks in Singapore and each table had to fill in their names. I gave my age away when I excitedly called out one of the old landmarks - Van Kleef Aquarium to blank looks around the table of 6. :O Sigh. There were performances throughout the dinner - a play, Chinese cross-talk, choir, tap dance, etc. by the students as well as lucky draws. There was a silent auction that went on at the back of the banquet room for us to bid on pottery/ art items (by students) that we like. The school also launched a cookbook to raise funds which has recipes contributed by the staff, students, alumni and parents. Half-way through dinner, there was The Vintage Lace Collection Auction on the stage. 6 beautiful handmade vintage lace handbags were auctioned to raise funds for the school to build another building. 5 bags were successfully auctioned off except for one. Feeling that I should do my part for the school, I offered to buy the last handbag. I am now the proud owner of a red vintage lace handbag! :)

The dinner ended around 10pm. I left most happily with a cookbook, a vintage lace handbag and knowing that I have done my part to support the school which has looked upon me as part of the IJ family. :)

Seaweed Snack

Recently, my family is into eating seaweed snack. So far, they found this particular brand really nice, not too salty and not too oily. When I go to Seoul this June, I will buy some back lol. :)

PTM

I went to Juliane's school for the parent-teacher meetings. I scheduled my meetings with the teachers during the late afternoon slots. I managed to see Juliane's form teacher and received some good feedback. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see her Chinese langauge teacher as there were still a few parents in front of me despite my scheduled time has already past. It's okay. I will email the teacher for a phone appointment and perhaps just chat over the phone if the teacher has feedback about Juliane. No fuss. :)

Financial Planning

Last Saturday, I met for the first time with a DBS relationship manager. I felt so grown up haha. 
I have never been interested in financial planning. I save my money in my bank account and I am more than contented. I don't care too much about growing my wealth. I just want to keep things as simple as possible and I am possibly the most risk adverse person there is when it comes to financial planning. :P

What Famous Landmark should I Visit?

Since young, I have been fascinated by the ancient worlds and civilisations such as that of Greece, Rome, Egypt, Peru, Mexico, etc. To see the pyramids is actually Number 1 on my travel bucket list! One day I shall go. :)

You Are the Pyramids

You are drawn toward the ancient world and all the mysteries it holds. You find very old cultures and beliefs fascinating. You crave an otherworldly experience. And while ancient Egypt is not another world, it's as close as you're going to get without leaving this planet. You're not the type of person who likes having all the answers handed to you. In fact, you're pretty sure that no one even has all the answers anyway. You think that life's primary joy comes from discovery. You love a good puzzle, and it's fun to put things together on your own.

What Famous Landmark Should You Visit?

Nature in the Rain

Nature looks different in the rain. Nature seems more alive, colours seem enhanced and brighter, and everything seems more beautiful and romantic. :)

Life's Simple Pleasures IV

I was initially going for a walk at the former railway tracks with my neighbour. However as it rained really heavily the night before which made the tracks muddy, the plan was abandoned. I decided to just go to Botanic Gardens instead. Just after 9am, it started raining again after I had my breakfast at the gardens. But what a pleasure it was, walking at the Botanic Gardens in the rain. It was refreshingly cool and uplifting of the spirit. :)

Life's Simple Pleasures III

Drinking a cup of hot Milo to "defrost" after being stuck in a freezing cold room conducting literacy testing - a simple pleasure of life! :)

Glimpse of a Former Life

I have been in school this week conducting literacy tests. It was grueling because I had to test one child after one child, each taking no less than an hour. However, I realised that I was actually enjoying the testing. :P It brings back fond memories of my past "life" as an educational psychologist. :)