Never in a million years would I thought that I would want to go to Korea with my own consent, but it just shows the power of peer pressure! Hehe. I knew my friends were going as they have bought tickets since November last year and I did ask my mom for her consent in November but somehow I failed because at that time that I asked her, she was watching tv. So I stopped trying. Then, two weeks before they were going, Hannah said she wanted to follow and when I heard that, I freaked out! I wanted to follow too! I was still doing my internship at that time but luckily I had no work that needs to be done.
The sneaky little me did her magic on her brother and got to use her last FOC ticket with my friends in Seoul :D The funny thing about this trip is, ever since we all became close during our Diploma days, we have always wanted to go on a trip somewhere. First it started with Penang, then Kedah, then Sabah but nothing happened. The closest trip that we got was when we went to Sungai Gabai.
That was uber fun but we have always wanted more but to gather all 10 of us is quite a hassle thing to do and to think that this trip really happened, it is actually a miracle ;)
That night, we left the office at 6pm and I had dinner at MidValley with Cibi & Lyzer. We were taking our own sweet time and suddenly we realized that I was late for my 11.30pm flight. We rushed off to the airport and finally made it on time :) Thank you guys for sending me off. Let's not do that again alright because while you were driving Lyzer, I was actually making up excuses to give to my Mom if I really did miss the flight. Hehe.
Then, everything went smoothly and I touched down at Incheon Airport at around 7.30am. After a long walk to the arrivals, I finally saw a bunch of Malay girls, hiding behind each other. Funny. I was actually looking for a signage with my name ' Jasmin Anis' on it because they promised me that :( but turned out I got a bunch of wacko friends but I can't blame them for being crazy, they had to wake up at 6am to come pick my up at the airport to ensure that I didn't get lost. Thank you Aloyah, Hannah & Syaza. I don't think I will reach the hostel safely and sanely without you guys.
After going on 3 trains and 1 bus, we finally reached the hostel and I met with the rest of my friends, Salihah, Falihin, Hanis, Min, and Farah. On that day, they wanted to go to some of the tourist places, so I just tagged along and follow their plans. Took a quick shower and we went straight to Namsan Tower, The Teddy Bear museum and the Hanbok Village( I think so).
On the first day, I got to eat Cold Stone ice cream. I've been craving for this thing since we got back from LA last year, so to have this in Korea on the first day that I am here, I began to slowly like Korea :P
For me to wear the hanbok is really something weird because when I put it on, my friends will start laughing. I have no interest in it and I just put it on because they put it on but hey, I feel more 'cultured' now. Hehe.
Then we went to MyeongDong, a place where the K-Pop celebrity likes to shop. I like that place because its a street mall, rather than a normal mall. The brands are just the same like the ones in Malaysia but there are some of their local brands too, like SPAO. They forced me to enter the store and I got out of it with a pair of flipflop. Now I go around telling people that I got a pair of SNSD's slipper. Hehe.
I went around the city the whole day while trying not to fall asleep because boy, I was extremely tired from the travelling.
Came back home, fell flat on the bed and woke up the next day ready for the next adventure. Going into the second day, we both split into 2 groups. I should name one group as the K-Pop group and the other as Non K-Pop group. Its quite obvious isn't it? I don't fancy K-Pop so I shall belong to the latter group. The K-Pop group went to see all the K-Pop celebrities at the 63 Building( I think that's the name). That's like their little Hollywood where all the artists perform and have their shows there so, no. We are not interested in that. Haha.
So, we went on a shopping trip at Ide, World Cup Stadium and we visited the Ewha Womans University, which is a very modern and beautiful university. It's a nice place to study but if there's only girls in there, I shall never enroll in that university. Haha ;P
Later, we were supposed to meet the other group somewhere but due to some miscommunication problems, we went elsewhere. We ended up at the other side of the town and had Thai food for dinner! My tummy was very happy that night :)
On the third day, we met up with Yazid and we embarked on another cultural trip to the palaces and museum but the weather wasn't good that day and Mr Sun decided not to make an appearance. It rained quite badly so we didn't walk around the palace. Oh well, as long as I can see the palace from the museum, I can still say, 'Oh, I've been there' Hihi. That's the spirit!
At that time, I can still remember that I was asking Teh O' Ais from my friends because I was so thirsty and it has been two days since I last got my Teh O' Ais. Haha. Yes, very the kampung.
Then, we went on the subway again and stopped at the next station to go to the place where they sell lots of souvenirs. Yes, I forgot the name of the place but I do remember that we met some UiTM students who were on a holiday as well. *Hello guys!*
During this time, we split again. The K-Pop group stopped at this particular shop to buy all sorts of K-Pop celebrities merchandises for almost an hour, I could grow a beard while waiting, or maybe my hair will be straight. Haha. They were going crazy and the Non K-Pop group just waited outside while eating ice cream, snapping pictures and dancing in the rain :D
So, yes. The day proceeded well after everyone got their stuff :)
Moving on to the next day, they were keen on entertaining me ( I think) because it was my third last day and I still haven't done any massive shopping and so, we went to Dongdaemon and Namdaemun, which are the common place if you want to buy brooches, accessories, bags and Korean silk & cotton in bulk. Somehow we got to the places a tad too late and all the shops were already closing but I managed to buy some Korean cotton material for my Baju Raya and some lace for the neckline too! Yipppiiieeee !
And later we went back to Myeongdong because I wasn't satisfied with my purchase of the day. Hehe. The thing is, before I came here I had this material that I like and I thought there would be plenty of them in Korea. Lucky enough, there had a lot of it there but it was not as cheap as I thought it would be but heck, I ended up with 4 of the same top in different colour =)) Then, I was extremely satisfied with my purchases of the day. Haha.
On that particular day, we had a really nice lunch at the food court. We had ikan bakar with big, large, humongous bean sprouts but it was quite good.
But of course, not everyone loves bean sprouts! Hehe
On my second last day there, we all went to Nami Island where the shot Winter Sonata there. To go there, you would need to take the bus, change to subway, change to the train, get in the cab, ride the big ferry and tadaaa, you're there. Not quite tadaa actually, it'll take you around 2 hours but the journey was worth every minute of it.
The place is so beautiful, it'll take your breath away. No wonder couples like to go there. Its a romantic place and I bet if its during autumn or winter time, it'll be even more pretty as the leaves and the snow falls down to the ground...... You know, you would want to go there with your partner one day, one fine day :) We rented a bicycle for each of us and we cycled around the island. I would say it was among the interesting thing that we've done there because somehow it was a funny cycling trip.
For lunch time, we had a rice box set which consists of rice, egg and kimchi. Just shake it, open it and feed yourself well :)
Then, on our way back, Min(a crazy girl from Bangi) decided to go on a bungee jump. It was 55ft high above the water but she managed to pull it off. I.WOULD.NEVER.DO.THAT.In fact, she paid for it. I.WOULD.NEVER.PAY.ANYONE.JUST.SO.THAT.I.CAN.JUMP.OFF.A.CLIFF. Perhaps she found some kind of satisfaction by doing it, then good for her. LOL! But yes, she was our hero of the day! Weeeee!
That night, they let me choose where was the last place that I wanted to go, since I am going back the next day and I answered I wanted to go to somewhere that is beautiful and they suggested that we go visit the Rainbow bridge. I like pretty bright light and if it means that we have to walk for half an hour, then so be it. We will walk '-' but the thing is, after walking for 30 minutes, we waited for almost one and a half hour for nothing. We found out that the lights would only be available for public on weekends.
I was crushed but in a way I didn't really mind because I got to spend my last night, sitting in front of the beautiful bridge with my friends, with or without the light. All together now, auwwwwww... Hahaha but it was still pretty though. The couple next to us was so in love, they were staring into each other's eyes the whole time while eating sashimi and a group of aunties were lying on the ground, while having a pillow talk. It made us wonder whether will we still be able to have pillow talks when we reach that age? LOL!
And the next day, I went back to Malaysia. My flight was at 11.30am. Hence I had to leave the room at around 7am in the morning. This time, Falihin and Salihah sent me off because even after 6 days in Seoul, jumping in and out of the train, I still cannot read the route. Thank you guys.
Now I know that Seoul is so huge. Their subway route is probably 5 times bigger than London's tube route. They love to publicize plastic surgery because it is their culture there. They eat lots of veggies. There are not many good looking Korean people on the streets, probably the beautiful ones have been abducted to be the next superstar. They are very warm. When they are in a relationship, they like to wear similar clothes. Even though they are a big country, somehow they are very organized. I am glad I did this with my friends because this is actually our final year and I can safely say that I've been on a holiday with them and it was one hell of a trip :DD Thank you guys for taking care of me for 6 days. Hehe. I love you guys so much and by typing this, I really miss the trip :)
