Day 1 in Korea 2011

Sunrise view at 6.30 a.m. (Korea time) - 5.30 a.m. (Malaysia time)

Who will not be excited to land on a foreign land with its own culture, people, food and places of interest? The time was 6.30 a.m. (Korea time) on a misty 10th September 2011 morning. The flight took about 6 hours. Though I hardly slept an hour, the sense of anticipation and excitement overwhelmed me.

It marked the start of our second honeymoon trip. 

The exhausted face. Toilet was the first sight to be seen as soon as we walked into Incheon International Airport

Toilet would be everyone's first stop. I didn't know about you all but getting the dental hygiene done first thing in the morning was a must for me. Drinking water was provided in front of every toilet.

We checked Wife's phone. Which was supposedly 3G phone but to our dismay, there's no connection. Wife had activated her Maxis account for the Korea roaming service (The activation was free and the call back home cost about RM4 a minute. Receiving call from Malaysia cost RM3 a minute. So, every emergency call from Malaysia would cost us about RM7 a minute) We'd been reading a lot about the expensive fees to rent a phone in Korea. But what to do? Better sediakan payung sebelum hujan. As we walked out of the arrival hall, we were greeted by a Korean tour guide who spoke Mandarin. Julie was her name. She's err.. a bit overweight and didn't resemble the Korean girls we saw in everyday's Korean dramas. Her accent is not too strong as in Beijing's. Much more like how Mandarin is spoken in our country. She told us to relieve ourselves in any of the many toilets around the airport and met up at 7.30 a.m. at Gate 1.

           We rent a phone from this counter - S Roamin

I looked for a Rent-a-phone company and much to my relief, there were quite a number available. The cost was around RM10 a day to rent a phone with a 3G connection and the cost to call back Malaysia was RM3 a minute. To me, it's very reasonable.

The details of the rent-a-phone service

Next, Wife went to look for an umbrella. We saw some umbrellas on display in front of 7-11 shop. We only brought one with us. We bought a simple black coloured one which cost RM30. That's expensive 'cause it'll be around RM10 in Malaysia. And of course, the famed Banana Milk! RM3.30 (1100 won). What a disappointment. It taste like candied milk. Sweet. Flavourful but overwhelming.

Buy Banana Milk only for tasting

My suggestion is to buy anything that was left behind in the 7-11 convenience store at the airport. It's difficult to buy necessities once the tour starts.

Expensive Pringles chips. RM4.50 for a small can

The not-so-nice Sun Chips found in 7-11 store.

RM5 for a small bottle of Coke!

The temperature should be within 19 to 27 degree Celcius in Seoul. Wife was worried if it'd be windy cold outside. As soon as we walked out of the airport building towards our bus, we felt slight coldness. Just like the temperature in Genting Highlands. Not windy but cool.

I almost forgot to introduce our tour members. There were 18 of us including Lee, the tour leader and Julie, and of course the following people,

1. A 60-ish looking couple with the wife's sister tagging along.
2. Two 20-something sisters with a friend of almost the same age.
3. Two teenage looking sisters
4. A young lady with her mother
5. A family of four
6. Wife and me

It truly fascinated me that these days, there are so many young girls going for overseas tour. I could barely pay for a Redang trip during my younger days. Wow!

Off we went to our first destination, Cheong Wa Dae Museum. It was located near the Presidential Blue House. It's a simple modern structured museum with nice surrounding. It showcases Korea's past, present and future. We rushed through the exhibits again after Julie explained some of the exhibits like Korea's geography and one King's face in certain Korean money. A good place to start the tour but I felt it's too formal and the journey took an hour to reach.

Inside the museum. 

Soon after, it's  lunch time. Imagine my excitement to try Bibimbap in Korea. Basically, a Korean restaurant only serves one particular dish. So, this restaurant only serves Bibimbap. Dolsot Bibimbap to be precise. Dolsot = Stone Pot. Bibimbap served in hot stone bowl.

Lunch place

Dolsot Bibimbap

Refillable side dishes. Sea weed. Big-head taugeh. Jelly-like substance. Kimchi
(the best one throughout the tour). Mushroom. Eat all you can

Soup served steamboat style with lots of fresh meat at the side

Bon appetite

 A basic meal like Dolsot Bibimbap will cost 8000 won which is about RM24. Side dishes is refillable and cold plain water is free. Soft drinks are not popular at all in Korea. If only our government prepares a machine which disperse clean filtered water and a sterilizer which kills microorganisms to make sure all the stainless steel glasses are clean in every restaurant or at least school canteen. Yes. Free cold water..wei.. Which Malaysian can resist that. That easily can put diabetes at bay. Sigh..

 After lunch, it was a long 2 hours journey to Cow Farm. It was kind of run down place. And smelly. We were told that the place was run by a small family of four and to get a farm assistant was out of question. His salary easily costs 800-1000 US dollars.

Look nice, right? It's actually very smelly and most of the cows were covered with warts-like protrusions.

It's an old horse, really.

A guest was charged 5000 won, according to the pamphlet for a session of ice cream or pizza making

Simply whip the fresh milk until it solidified. Taste good though

 It's another hour of journey before we reached our dinner place. It's quite secluded and we needed to be taken up a hill using the restaurant's van. The dinner was Herbal Chicken Soup with Potatoes. The best meal we had in this Korea trip.

Pancake, White Cabbage, Very good tasting sweetened spicy bawang. See the dish next to the pancake? It's sesame leaves. One needs to have acquired taste for it.

Behold! The huge chicken. Yummy

Two of the three males in the tour group

After another tiring bus ride, we reached Class 300 hotel. It's a 5-star hotel. After bringing our luggages into our room and taking a good bath, we went to a nearby 7-11 store. It's the only shop within our walking distance.

Our last drink for the day before we went to bed

Comfortable 5star bed

We could see through the toilet from our bed

Modern toilet. Remote control for controlling toilet seat, cleansing jet water, drying bottom with hot air. Canggih

Tune Hotel,Kota Bharu

True to its words. It was a five stars bed.

It was our first time staying in a Tune Hotel. We stayed two nights in Kota Bharu.



The toilet was very clean. I loved the night light. Yes, the mirror was spanky clean. No trace of a single thumbprint.



The toilet basin was deep. Yes, not like many other hotels' which literally, were flowing out before I managed to clean my face.



It was not an advertisement gimmick when they advertised their premium power shower!


Not a single trace of greenish stain on the wall.



We could actually see how much remaining time for the air conditioner to operate. A new, cool technology for me.



There's no doubt that we'll stay in Tune Hotel again.

Let's cook rice and a plate of long beans

This is the third time Wife goes outstation. I'm left with Son in the house. Doing crazy stuff keeps my sanity.



Quite scary at times because nobody to cling on. I went into the kitchen to cook rice for 3 minutes and the Son was making art pieces using his instant cereal. And he had time to stuff everything he could find in the living room, underneath the sofa.



After Son slept, it's time for me to start work. After folding the clothes, I cooked rice and long beans. This was how I did it.



After washing the rice for 4 or 5 times, here comes the most crucial part. First, use your index finger to measure the depth of the rice. Then, mark the level of the rice using the thumb. Make sure the level of water is similar.



Every rice cooker is the same. There is a coil in it; so make sure the area beneath the inner bowl is wiped. Any excess water will cause electrocution.



Remember to put the cooker on the 'Cooking' mode!



After cleaning the wok, the pan or whatever cooking ware you have, light up. After awhile, use your palm to feel the heat. If it 's hot, it's time to put in the oil. A bit of goodness will do just fine. And toss in the anchovies, bits of ham, pieces of chicken meat or simply red onion.





When you can smell the goodness, throw in the long beans. Then, toss the vegetables just like you do for the Prosperity Toss to make sure everything is coated with oil. Else, you get some parts which are not cooked. Use a chopstick to poke the long beans. If it pokes through, it means it's well cooked. Put in salt secukup rasa.


Our meals for the day

The work didn't stop there. Washing bottles, wiping bum, scrubbing the pans, bathing the Son, making milk ....

My BMI is 22.9

I had lost at least 3 kilogrammes since I moved to my new job. In just 4 months. And I attempted to calculate my BMI. It is currently 22.9 which puts me under the Normal category. Correct me if I'm wrong. My weight is 64 kg and my height is 167 cm. I'm aiming for the Big 0 (60 kg). There's was a joke saying every Chinese man with a big belly in China is actually a Malaysian. And I'm in the category!



Yesterday's news irked me. A very high ranking official in Health Ministry was saying "We certainly have the 'Malaysia Boleh' quality when it comes to obesity" For the uninitiated, the said woman's BMI is way higher than mine. Can you spot her in the photo above?

Bagaikan ketam mengajar anaknya berjalan!

Kelantan trip

We went to the Land of Cik Siti Wan Kembang over the weekend. The flight from Kuching to LCCT to Kota Bharu is tiring. A total of 2 hours and 40 minutes in the air and another 5 hours on the ground.


Main kejar-kejar with my son

It's no easy feat taking a 20-month old toddler for a vacation. I need to cajole, advice, shout and even threaten the boy for some peace and quiet time.


Son is enjoying his time

It's surprising to be able to taste very nice pizza in this town.


Let's dig in



And a great tasting carbonara to go with it.