Gathering@YumCha

Things that made our gathering enjoyable....

The food....

The people....

Jay's 21st Birthday Celebration

Today, the gang met up at Vivo City to celebrate Jay's 21st birthday, as well as Chinese New Year. As usual, Raymond was the last to arrive at 3:40pm(late for nearly half an hour).

Our first stop was of course Golden Village. Once again, due to Raymond's so-called busy schedule, we were not able to experience the GVmax show at 3:00pm. Instead, we had to settle for the 3:50pm show at the small theatre(Hall 10). Due to CNY, we had the all the CNY blockbusters (or maybe not...) to choose from, namely, Ah Long Pte Ltd, CJ7, KungFu Dunk. We certainly did not want to catch Ah Long Pte Ltd due to the inferior reviews it had received from the media. Our final choice were KungFu Dunk. Lol... Most of us got a shock when we saw the Raintree Pictures logo appearing, as though we went into the wrong hall.

Carnivore, Brazilian Churrascaria

After the movie, it is time for our feast at Carnivore and we had a special guest to join us for dinner, Yiyang. Carnivore, as the name suggests, was not a place for people who do not enjoy meat to dine in. There is a variety of different cuts of beef, chicken (even the heart), fish served there. Of course, there is appetizer and salad bar and a fondue(Aaron's favourite).

eugene, aaron, leong

ra, jay, kel

As mentioned above, a lot of beef was served, and Raymond, who is not suppose to consume beef, broke the taboo and was feasting on all the beef shoulders, thigh etc as if there is no tomorrow.(He reportedly suffered from nauseousness that night)

Ja! More meat please.. let the feast begins

burning in sin....

Of course, no birthday celebration should be without a cake. Thanks to Kel and Aaron for providing us with a tiramisu cake.


the birthday boy, shou xing

group photo, Carnivore @ Vivo

taking photo with the star of the night, and the special guest.

no one is missed

The group was very satisfied with the meal and of course, our stomach was filled to the maximum. It was time to end the night...

gift presentation

Highlight of the day:

Determined to maintain his position as the Resident Blonde, Aaron made the most quotable quote of the day. When he was tasting the highly coveted grilled pineapple, he exclaimed:" It is like mango!!!!" in which he was shot down immediately with a plain reply from the side," Aye... it is PINEAPPLE.... 10 Bp awarded".

Of course, without fail, Ra will not want Aaron to steal all the limelight. He followed up with a series of "sampan quotes" when Aaron was briefing us about the fishing trip on boat(Aaron got a boat driving license which he had not put into practical use).

"Very soon the boat and its engines will become 2 separate entities in the middle of the water."

"Oh my, if the boat goes bump bump bump on the waves, we will soon need to do a headcount."

"What??!! What inferior lifejackets! Looks like we need to bring our floats onboard."

"Our lives are dependant on the engines."

'If we are stranded in the sea, we may have to do a Giselle 'Ahh, Ahhh, Ahhhhhhh!' to summon creatures of the sea for help.'

'Can we dock before sunset? I don't want the red light to be the last thing I see on Earth.'

'We can tie the extra floats to the side of the boat for precautionary measure.'

'We need extra oars and paddles for the sampans in case the engine fails.'

All in all, a joyful event with all the recollections of memories as well as planning for upcoming activities....

Korea Winter Discovery --- Finale

Highlights throughout the trip

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FOOD

The exotic....

1. Blood Sausage(aka the lumen)
2. Preserved Radish(aka Golden Coins)

The worst....

1. Burgers from Burger Cafe(Everland)

LODGING

The good...

1. Phoenix Hanwha Resort
2. Lotte World Hotel - Jamsil

The worst...

1. Seorak Hanwha Resort (aka Cold Palace)

DESTINATIONs

For photo taking....

1. Tangerine Farm
2. Rape Seed Flower Farm
3. Nami island
4. Seongsan Sunrise Peak
5. Mount Seorak

For thrills....

1. Lotte World Amusement Park
2. Everland
3. Horse riding

For sightseeing...

1. Teddy Bear Museum
2. Submarine Ride
3. Gyeongbok Palace
4. Yongduam

For new experiences...

1. Seorak Waterpia
2. Phoenix Ski Resort

For shopping...

1. Dongdaemun
2. Sinchon Fashion Street

Total Waste of time...

1. tong-cong-xia-cao shop (best place for mdm show-off)
2. ginseng shop (another place for ms celia to show off, but an embrassment later after turning out that the cc limit has been reached)
3. mysterious road

NOTABLE PEOPLE

1. Davin (aka Mr. Sour Plum)
2. Cash-eater/ Mdm Visa Cash (aka Mrs. Sour Plum)
3. Innocent Women
4. Celia (aka Pill-popper)
5. Ignorant old Lady(who forgot to eat her sea sick pills before the ferry ride to submarine)
6. Chris (aka David Gan/Lady Butterfly)
7. Ah Ming (aka Nan-yong)
8. Mdm Show-off
9. Kim Myung-Ja (our inaccurate weather predictor cum chambermaid)

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QUOTES

• Jay (aka Navigator Racoon) on 31 Dec - "The airport departure hall simply looks like another mini little india with all the banglas hanging around"

Venue: Changi Airport T1, Singapore***No ill-intentions here, just pure jokes****

• Raymond (aka Resident Slut/Ra/Shopping Racoon) on 01 Jan - "The lady boss will give you a earful for not eating the EAR"

Venue: At an unidentified restuarant that proclaims to sell noodles opp Namseoul Plaza Hotel, Jeju City, Korea

• Raymond (01 Jan) - "The circles, squares and strokes are making me dizzy!"
• Raymond (01 Jan) - "It's safe to cross now.", words he said to Eugene (aka Minime) after which a car just dash into Eugene's path.
• Raymond (01 Jan)-"I thought I saw a prata house.", only to discover it's 'proto'.
• Raymond (01 Jan) - "I feel like we are filming National treasure when we are deciphering what the circles and strokes represent."
• Raymond(01 Jan): " a circle plus a stroke respresents noodle"-since then we noticed this appearing everywhere even in the toilets

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• Aaron*Winner of Blonde Challenge Korea* on 02 Jan-"Everything here is Bear -rified"

Venue: Teddy Bear Museum, Jeju Island, Korea

• Aaron (aka Resident Blonde) on 02 Jan - "Are we late?" - when he open the door of his room with sleepy eyes, and in his pj, with only less than 15 min to meeting time

Venue: Namseoul Plaza Hotel, Jeju City, Korea

• Chris on 02 Jan - "Too late to pop pills already, you are supposed to pop them a nite before, now you juz have to pray nothing tragic happens and happy sailing on the rocky boat" (translated from mandarin)

Venue: On a bus ride journey towards Jeju Submarine tour

• Raymond on 02 Jan - "I saw someone walking down the Lumen Bar"- When nobody recall seeing a single soul on the steps of the bar

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• Innocent Lady on 03 Jan - "What role does he play? Is he a male servant (nan-yong)?" with the innocent looks, oblivious of the different role-plays in korea tourism industry. (translated from mandarin)

Venue: At the 1st restaurant in Seoul

• Chris (aka David Gan) on 03 Jan - "Wahhhh....You all are VIP ar? What time i say we are meeting?? I was telling the other members that I abandoned one of the tour member in my previous trip and he/she had to pay a few hundred bucks for taxi back to hotel"

Venue: Everland Buspark, Kyonggi-do, Korea

• Chris on 03 Jan - "Ehh, wear simple inside can already...(referring to the ski suit dressing), ahh...wear short pants, underwear inside, thats it...dun need to wear long pants, longjohns..i tell you ar, my previous customer, 1 ah-kong who din took my advise & was complaining tis & tat.

Venue: On the way to Pheonix Hanhwa Ski Resort, Gangwon-do, Korea

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• Chris on 04 Jan - "You all must try the spa ar, sauna ar, hot springs ar. I tell you the feeling is sooo good. Yeah lahz, you must go in naked, just like Japanese style. okok...you go and try yourself, i must go now"

Venue: Waterpia, Sokcho-si, Gangwon-do

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• Chris on 05 Jan - "Remember, dun waste one ticket to sit the hot air balloon..very boring lahz"

Venue: Lotte World, Jamsil, Seoul

• The Gyro Swing operator on 05 Jan: " blah blah blah (in Korean) ..., Go, Go, Swing"

Venue: Lotte World

• Eugene(aka Minime) on 05 Jan:"I love you, raymond"-when the gyro drop is at its peak and going to drop any moment

Venue: Lotte World, Jasmil, Seoul

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• Chris on 06 Jan - "ahh ahh! yes, the faceshop! remember the collagen facemasks are good! collagen! then after you finish, still got some remnants, dont waste it, rub it around your neck, liddat lor"

Venue: Unknown place in Seoul city

• Jay on 06 Jan:" is this the real faceshop?... Where are all the exotic masks?"

Venue: The Face Shop

• Raymond on 06 Jan - "OOOOO!!! Just buy! There's no time to browse, never see it before means it is foreign, grab it. We've got no time to lose"

Venue: Lotte Mart, Jamsil, Seoul

• Raymond on 06 Jan - "Jay, i need the bathroom scale now!", throtting towards Room 1008 across his room, oblivious that he's only in his longjohn...shortly later, exclaming "YES!!!! YES!!!!" upon seeing a lovely 16kg+ numerical on the digital board.

Venue: Lotte Hotel, Jamsil, Seoul

• Raymond on 06 Jan - "Liar!"

Words written on Kim Myung Ja's weather prediction of the day, which always hover around the positive centigrade and perpetually having a 10c interval between the highs & lows.

Venue: Lotte Hotel, Jamsil, Seoul

• Jay on 6 Jan:" Ra... No matter what u do, don't marry a casheater..."

Venue: Ginseng Herbal Shop, Seoul

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• Chris on 07 Jan - " Aiyah, you want US$50 to buy tungchungxiachao (cordceyps) ar? more like the money will get you chao (grass) only"- translated from mandarin

Venue: Tungchungxiachao shop, Seoul

• Chris on 07 Jan - "Use your brains!"- after mdm pill-popper ask david whether the evlauation/feedbk form will affect his performance grading.

Venue: Incheon, Seoul

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DETAILS & STATISTICS

TITLE: 8D Korea Winter Discovery + Jeju Island
TOUR AGENCY: ASA
DEPARTURE DATE: 31 DEC 2007
RETURN DATE: 07 JAN 2008

GROUP SIZE: 24

Number of video clip: 57

Number of photo:

Day1: 124 Day2: 603 Day3: 1365 Day4: 883 Day5: 488 Day6: 905 Day7: 575 Day8: 702

subtotal: 5645

photo by Ah Ming: 17

GRAND TOTAL: 5662

Korea Winter Discovery --- Day 8

Day 08 - Seoul Noryangjin/Incheon - Singapore

Temp: -4c to 9c

Day 8 of 8. The last day.

Due to the limitation of time we had in Seoul, Jay, Kelvin and Leong woke up bright( nope... the sun had not yet rises) and early as we wanted to visit Noryangjin Fish Market before flying back to Singapore and of course, the promised free and easy part of the trip was replaced by our current itinerary. 0455hrs was the revillie timing, it was absolutely hard to imagine, we laze in the bed for some time and so off we went, 6am in the morning, to take SMRT (Seoul Metropolitan Train System). Raymond was suppose to join us, he said "Wake me up",but he was sleeping like a log, despite hearing water drips from his toilet ... haizzzzz.....Yup, Ra & Eugene was sleeping in the same room otherwise Ra would be forced out of the bed. By the time we dragged here & there, it was already 6am, far from the scheduled 530am which we managed to decipher the 1st train timings on Line 2 from Jamsil Station.

FYI:
Noryangjin Seafood Market in Noryangjin-dong is a huge seafood wholesale market serving the metropolitan Seoul area, set up to protect the interests of both suppliers and consumers, and to serve a leading role in improving the seafood distribution system. The market was established in 1927 at the other location on Uijuro, Seodamun-gu, in the west of the current Seoul West Station, after the Gyeongseong Seafood Co. Ltd. was established as an agent for the Gyeongseongbu Seafood Wholesale Market in compliance with the Central Wholesale Act. Since at that time the main method of transportation was by rail, its close proximity to the Seoul Station made it an ideal location.In 1947 after the Liberation from the Japanese occupation, the Seoul Seafood Market Co. Ltd. was established to replace the old company, and began serving as an agent for the Seafood Wholesale Market owned by the City of Seoul. However, as automobile transportation became more important than railroads, and the area became more urbanized, they closed the old market, and established a new and bigger market at the current location in April, 1975 to serve as both wholesaler and retailer, and, in April, 1985, the Korea Cold Storage Co. Ltd. was constructed, and leased the new Retail Building, along with the Wholesale Building to the Noryangjin Seafood Co. Ltd.The Noryangjin Seafood Market has a total area of 23,002㎡, and a total floor space of 34,430㎡, consisting of auction floor, wholesale building, retail building, wholesale agent offices, management offices, information center for sellers, waiting room for sellers, waiting room for cargo handlers, parking lot, temporary cooler room, and also freezer room, refrigerator room, ice makers, and storage rooms.Of November, 2000, under the management of one assigned wholesale company, all of 114 employees, 163 brokers, 8 trading observers, 894 merchants, and 430 cargo helpers, are working here, and the total trade volume for 1999, was 113,698 ton, or KRW 2,83600,000,000. Cargos come from all three coasts of the Korean Peninsula, and the busiest months of a year are March, April, and May in the Spring, and September, October, and December in the Fall, and the slowest months are July and August. This Market handles 49.5% of a total trade volume of Seoul.Recently, the number of Japanese tourist visitors to this Market reached 10,000 per year, making itself known to the world. As the national income increase, so does the consumption of raw fish, and this trend makes this Market more and more vibrant. Its early-morning auctions provide a certain entertaining scenes to the citizens of Seoul. About a half of all seafood, auctioned off in the early morning, goes directly to the shelves of the department stores, distribution centers, and other neighbor retailers, and the auction prices taken by the retailers are usually 20~30% below the consumer price.

on the train




the destination

After a round of confusing transfer of trains, we finally arrive at the fish market, just a bridge across the subway station and unfortunately, we only had 15 min to explore(... sianzzz....). The market was indeed an eye opener... there is a huge variety of marine products available, most of which you don't even get to see in Singapore. Definitely worth capturing in photographs.


Overview of Noryangjin Fish Market

wide variety of seafood

a closer look

unknown sea creature..sea cucumber?

stingray

fishes? Giant frogs?
giant octopus

Leong with the display tanks

Jay with the display tanks

Kel with the prawns

After a quick but thorough scanning of the fish market, we made our way back to the hotel, of course by SMRT again, and OMG! we almost went onto the wrong train that might have carried us to god know where. Luckily, we arrived at the hotel safely and on time too(even earlier than others from the group) and though a little lack of sleep, we were more than ready to start the itineary for the day.

no more golden ticket

the wrong train

For breakfast, we had chinese breakfast, yes! no more international breakfast buffet. It was delicious, especially the fried dough stick( you tiao) and soya bean milk. Since it was the last breakfast in Korea, we were savouring all the food and as usual (perhaps the 3 of us who went to the fish market were too hungry after all the running here & there early in the morning), others finish faster than us (another demerit for them for not knowing how to enjoy good food).

breakfast venue, finally something we know how to read

breakfast for today

thanks aaron for this pic : )

After breakfast, we arrived at the tong-cho-xia-cao(cordyceps) shop, another location for Chris to earn big bucks. Sadly, not many people from the tour group was interested in the purchase of the fungi, except the mdm show-off woman who basically brought everything at every location and never fail to announce to the whole world about her purchases. Again, no photography allowed( wonder why...). One innocent lady from our group asked davidgan whether what can USD50 buy, david just laughed and stated USD50 can only probably buy "cao" = grass, not tung chung xia chao (cordyceyps).

FYI:Cordyceps is a genus of ascomycete fungi that includes about 400 described species. All Cordyceps species are parasitic, mainly on insects and other arthropods (they are thus entomopathogenic fungi); a few are parasitic on other fungi. The best known species of the genus is Cordyceps sinensis, a precious ingredient in Chinese traditional medicines.

Sinchon Fashion Street

Finally, we arrived at Sinchon Fashion street which was somehow similar to Dongdaemun Market, except that most stuff here was more high end and expensive. Sadly most of the good was catered for ladies, just like the high-end HK Ladies Street; thus, we did not make much purchases here. However, it was quite a nice place for photo taking.

FYI: Sinchon Fashion Street(E-dae Ap) has been greatly influenced by the female population(due to Ewha Womens University) boasting a cutting edge fashion district and a wide variety of eateries. From subway line 2, exits 2 and 3 bring you into the heart of this district. While the main street has much to offer, the many alleyways are really the backbone of E-dae Ap. These alleys are filled with accessory shops, clothing stores, shoe shops, eateries, quaint cafes, hair salons, and many small-sized shops catering to those people looking for unique items. This area also attracts all kinds of people looking to find famous hair salons, and manicure and makeup shops.

Jay

yes... it's leong

Ra sees.... a blurrrr vision in the ball

Soon Jay was bored about the Fashion Street, and being adventurous, he decided to venture into another place which required him to take SMRT in the very very limited time he had. Determined to make full use of his time in Seoul, he ventured into one of his own adventures at Cheonggyecheon Stream. It was nonetheless another running session as he found out the train station was quite a distance away and the whole bus had to wait for him..oops

FYI:Cheonggyecheon Stream used to exist merely as an overpass forgotten in 1970 until it was restored in 2005, becoming a haven of natural beauty amidst the bustle of city life.Narae Bridge, expressing a butterfly in flight, and Gwanggyo Bridge, symbolizing the harmony of the past and future, are only 2 of more than 20 beautiful bridges that are laid throughout the path of the stream. The ‘Rhythmic Wall Stream’, lined with fine marble, various sculptures, and Korea’s 8th stone building, Palseokdam, adorn the Cheonggyecheon Stream. Cheonggyecheon Stream offers many beautiful sights to see and enjoy: l The grand fountain, located in Cheonggye Plazal Dapgyonori on the Gwangtong Bridge - a ritual of crossing the bridge on the first full moon of the new year to ensure that for one year, the one who crosses will not have any leg ailmentsl A ceramic mural of a king making a grand voyage to Hwaseong, Jeongjobanchandol A colorful cloth wall made of fabrics from Dongdaemun’s fashion districtl A cultural wall painting by 5 local artistsl A reproduction of an area where folk woman used to do their laundryl A wishing wall, where more than 20,000 people have written their deepest desiresl A tunnel fountain l Jonchigyogak, an angle of intersection left behind when the Cheonggye overpass was removed l The aquatic life dwelling among the willowsFurthermore, the Deoksugung Palace, Seoul Plaza, the Sejong Center, Insa-dong Street, the Changdeokgung Palace, and the Changgyeonggung Palace all lie adjacent to the Cheonggyecheon Stream, allowing visitors to easily visit the tourism sites after a leisurely stroll along the stream

Cheonggyecheon Stream

away alone...

After the fashion street, we went to a shop that specialise in selling all the local products of Korea. Sadly, we found out that the things were way more expensive than Lotte Mart... However, we wanted to use up all our Won so we brought lots of seaweeds, bean paste and what not. We really regretted not buying more at Lotte. One good point, they provide packing services for us to bring all the purchases back to Singapore easier. One bad thing, it is a shop to target tourist like us on the way to Incheon Airport to offload our won. The things are not that cheap either, but again Mdm Visa-Cash started her shopping spree and soon her baskets were loaded with goods enough to feed an African Village for weeks. Apparently Mdm show-off did not lose in the battle as both competed with who can offload the most cash out of their wallets.

expensive goodies shop

After spending most of our Won(we kept some intending to enjoy Baskins at the airport), we went for lunch. For lunch today, we had something sort of a stew in hot pot. It was flavourful and as usual, the typical side dishes made their last appearances.

stew in hotpot

side dishes

Ra, Jay and Kel. Ra says "I want that meat!"

Leong, Aaron and Eugene

After our last meal on Korean soil, we departed for Incheon International Airport.

Arrival at Seoul-Incheon Airport

It was time to part and the last opportunity for Ah ming (aka "nan-yong") to unload our baggages from the bus storage bin. Soon, everybody wheeled their loads and proceeded straight to Asiana Airlines common check-in with our boarding passes (given in advance). You could see the delighted faces of the travellers with their huge shopping loads. As what Chris (aka David Gan) commented, "Don't worry so much about excess baggage, i will talk to the person, 30kg, 80kg, 100 kg...you name it, we send it, but of course, dont be erm....so bulky ar". This is probably the 1st time for most of us with more than 1 checked-in baggage, beyond the regular limits.

Group pose at Seoul Incheon Departure check-in halls

It was a matter of time before our Korea tour leader Sean make his usual speech all guides do before farewell like how i enjoyed this trip with XXX travel co and XXX co is the best. Soon after, everybody went into the immigration area which was relatively strict; apparently Aaron's facemask and Jay's green-tea cereals alarmed the security officials to double-checked them. Meanwhile, David Gan was still outside calculating his long-awaited loot - comission, after fidgeting throughout Sean's speech.

group photo with Chris aka david gan

After wandering inside the transit area to pass time, as well as doing last minute (window) shopping, it is time for us to board our flight. Sadly, we did not manage to have Baskin as it was not available inside the transit area. It was sure foggy. From the airport terminal, you couldnt even see the tarmac, only the blur view of the plane right in front of you.

15:46h - Entered Gate 9 of Seoul Incheon

Asiana Airlines Flight OZ 0751,

codesharing Singapore Airlines Flight SQ 5751

HL-7736 (Delivered on 20/12/2004) - 3yrs old+ plane

Airbus A330-323X

YG Class

Flight OZ 0751

on board

16:02h - Flight OZ 0752 took off from Seoul-Incheon (2mins late)

final photo before take off

It was another long flight back to Singapore, but thankfully the services and in flight entertainment of Asiana Airline was good enough for the flight back home to be enjoyable. They provided us with snacks and drinks throughout the flight and the in-flight meal for the day is bibimbap and seafood with rice. Certainly, after 1 week of Korean food, all of us chose the non-Korean meal...

snack

seafood rice

sunset off Taiwan

welcome home...

After some movies watching and catching up on lost sleep, we arrived at Changi International Airport.

hopefully...

2147h - Arrival at Gate D32 Singapore Changi Airport (17min later than scheduled)

photo @ arrival gate

Of course, we were not going to miss the opportunity to buy duty free goods inside the transit area. In fact, we spent so much time shopping that our luggages was put to a side when we went to collect them, and as expected, not a soul from our tour group was seen again (Thankfully and hopefully we will not see some of them ever again).

final photo of the trip

After this eight days, spending almost all the time together, the group has become closer together than before and it was a wonderful experience to travel with all the fellow racoons.

Certainly, we look forward to more exciting adventures together in the future!!!