mindi's lalaland~

Today is Kim Hyun Joong bday~!! 생일축하해~!! (Note: I started writing this post on 6 June in the afternoon but I guess by the time I publish this post, it will be 7 June instead le.. I’m too distracted by a lot of things online… hahaha..)　

I’ve watched Running Man without subs yesterday and it’s so funny.. And yeah Wan Teng, he’ve fantastic jawline in the show… LOL!!!

Okay, time to move on to talk about Day 2 of our kimchi-land trip..

We woke up early in the morning to kickstart our day in Jeju and Jeju has welcomed us with its good weather~!!

The weather was cooling and we could hear the sound of waves from Jungmun beach… what a wonderful feeling… if we had our room with the full view of the sea, it’ll be daebak!!

Some pictures of and from our balcony…

We went to the lobby around 7plus to ask the hotel staff to help us with the booking of the Chinese speaking Jeju bus tour for Day 3, and we also asked them roughly how much will the taxi cost for the journey to the glass castle..

BUT we went down too early, the tour agency is not open yet.. so we have 1 hour to spare before we can book the tour before we start our adventure for the day… So, we decided to walk around our hotel area.. The morning air was fresh and the whole place is so beautiful… really reminds me of Secret Garden and also Playful Kiss.. hahahaha..

Secret Garden?! hahaha… Kim Joo Won where are you?? LOL!!

Playful Kiss?! Baek Seung Jo quick come and find me.. hahaha!!

After walking pass our hotel area, we move along the Olle Trail..

While we were walking, we met a Japanese tourist who greeted us and she thought that we were Koreans.. Hahaha!! We communicated with her with my limited Japanese and Korean language together with English… Luckily we both managed to understand each other.. She was telling us that further along the Olle Trail, there’s more beautiful scenery.. We bidded goodbye and we went along towards the direction..

Doesn’t it feels like heaven?

The Grandpa Stone Statue (돌하르방) which is commonly seen in Jeju 

We then move on to Jungmun beach.. which was nearest to us… Reminds me of “We got Married”, where hwangbo and hyun joong went.. hahahahaha… the waves were very fast and strong that day and I dare not go near the waters… (I can’t swim to save my life…)

Afterwhich, we head towards the Jeju Rainbow chapel which is one of the location where Boys over flower were filmed…

The chapel is very near our hotel… (which is the building behind the chapel)

I also took a photo with the chapel~!

And finally it was 8.30am and we headed back to the hotel to confirm our 1 day tour booking.. And we got onto a cab outside our hotel…

We originally wanted a single trip but on our way to the Glass Castle, we realise that the distance between the locations we planned that day was pretty far for us to walk.. In addition, the transportation within Jeju is not as accessible as Seoul or Singapore.. Thus, we decided to book the taxi uncle for 1 whole day instead…

But there’s a problem!! The taxi uncle can only communicate in Korean and simple Japanese language.. So throughout our whole trip, we used simple korean+english+japanese to communicate… *suddenly felt that knowing Japanese language is pretty useful.. hahaha*

Anyway back to the topic.. We soon arrived at the Glass Castle…

Beautiful glass houses

Where’s my prince charming?? I guess I need fairy godmother’s help!! LOL! 

Wishing pond (I only managed to get my coin into the success bowl..)

It’s not real diamonds… what a pity..

Glass castle is really a place not to be missed if you’re going to Jeju.. it’s so pretty there~~!! The sun was really bright when we’re there that I’ve to use sunglasses to protect my eyes…. and at the end of the day.. I had sun burn marks at the area beneath my sunglasses… hahaha.. LOL…

We then went on to our next stop – Halim Park. This park was recommended by our taxi uncle.. But the seaside nearby the park actually caught our attention more than the park… hahahaha.. However, Halim Park is still a nice place to go around… there’s beautiful plantations, flowers and also animals in the park..  I think it’s a very good place to bring one whole family to…

After visiting Halim Park, we decided to walk over to the seaside area which caught our attention earlier on.. The place is called Geumneung Beach.. Look at how blue the sea waters were!!! So beautiful… Why Singapore seas are so mulky in colour? If it’s so pretty, maybe you’ll see me at the seaside very often.. lol… Anyway, it was really cold at the seaside.. The temperature that day was around 12+ degrees and the seaside wind keep coming to us… We were shivering while wow-ing over the beauty of the area.. hahaha..

As it was too cold to stay for long, we decided to move on to our next destination – Miniature Land…

Mini Airport

Mini Airplanes

And Mini Palace

After seeing the minatures, we walked on and saw cartoon characters!! Now, it’s me who goes back to mini mode… when I was small… lol…

Snow White and the seven dwarfs~! (I’m here to sell apples.. wahahaha!!!)

Ninja Turtles!!! (My childhood memory~~)

Mario~!! (when Giant Mario takes a photo with Mini Mario.. hehehe)

We saw a mini korean restuarant besides the cartoon character status and decided to grab a bite there… we had only peanuts for breakfast that day.. how pathetic.. hahaha.. And we ordered kimbap… it’s yummy!!

The yummiest kimbap we had in Korea

After filling our hungry stomach with the kimbap, we continue to walk around the area… and we saw more cartoon characters which reminds us of our childhood~~

The Smurfs!!!

Shrek~~

When we reach the end of the area for the cartoon characters, we see a mocked up traditional shophouses street of how it was like in the early years…  

After exploring the traditional streets, we saw a convenience shop near the exit.. I went to buy the orange/mandarin drink recommended by many people online… It’s sweet yet not overly sweet to destroy the whole taste… 

Then, we move on to Sanbangsan Mountain… Sanbangsan has a few temples in the mountain area but we decided not to go towards the mountain because we do not have the time and strength to climb it.. so we decided to walk around the area opposite the mountains… there’s pretty much greeneries within Jeju which makes you feel calm and peaceful when you take a stroll..

Sanbangsan at the background (we were trying to self-take the photo, when a uncle wearing cowboy style attire at the nearby shop offered to help us to take the picture)

Horses!! First time seeing it so upclose.. so pretty the horses~~

We’ve bought some souvenirs from the souvenirs shop in the area and we move on to our final tourist spot of the day, the Teddy Bear Museum. We decided to let our taxi uncle go home and rest for the day since the museum is near our hotel..

A photo with our taxi uncle

After taking the photo, we bidded goodbye to our taxi uncle.. he’s a very nice and warm person which make me feels like he’s just like my daddy.. hahaha.. And we move on to the teddy museum…

Traditional Korean Wedding (Bears version)

Traditional korean lunch?! (Bears version)

And we saw the famous drama “Goong” teddy bears~~

You take a photo of me… And I’ll take a photo of you!!

Bear chef in action

More of the cute bears..

We did not buy any bears from the museum as it will be too bulky to carry and it’s also a bit pricey… And so we decided to head for our dinner at the dunkin’ donuts near by… There’s this heart shaped seats outside the store where no one was sitting and we decided to sit there!! hahaha..

The range of donuts to choose from

The heart shaped seats that I am talking about..

Our dinner~ the box at the side is our breakfast for the next day.. and the water bottle on the right is the capsule bottle which I’ve been using it around in Korea.. hehehe..

But I bought the water not because I was thirsty.. I had a terrible headache that day that I’ve to get water to go with panadol.. MC was so sweet by helping me to carry some of my stuff while we walk our way back to the hotel.. Thank you so so much~~ =)

And when I reach our hotel room, I went straight to the bed to grab some rest… I think I slept for about 2 hours and I felt better as the medicine had taken effect.. After waking up, we formed back the plug formation that you’ve seen on Day 1 is back again to recharge our cameras and phone..  And I’ve spent sometime watching the TV before sleeping for the night to recharge myself for the next day!!!

 Finally, it’s the end of my post for Day 2.. It’s really 7 June when I finish this post.. lol… Kim hyun joong is having his showcase in Korea.. Too bad I can’t be there.. But nevermind, tonight there’s Strong Heart with him on TV~~ can watch it online later.. His new MV for Break Down is out~~!! Guess my next post might be slower again as our activities in Jeju are pretty packed.. I’ve attached the MV below… Enjoy!!! I’ll be back to post on my korea trip soon!!

Finally I’ve settled down to write about my korea trip.. hahaha.. We’ve been planning this trip for quite sometime.. and finally it took place!! I shall post the trip events day by day.. And we shall start from Day 1…..

Our flight is at 8am in the early morning, and we have to report at the airport at 6am… My parents was so sweet and offer to drive me to the airport since I’m going to be away for 15 days (maybe they miss me already? hahaha)..

It’s almost time to check in, so Meichuan (MC) & Me went to queue up for the necessary… The queue was so long that we got directed to another counter.. And it was meant for Business Class check-in.. Hahaha..

Too bad my luggage limit and seating wasn’t business class… hahaha.. With all the check-in done, I bidded goodbye to my parents and move on to the airport transit area..

Just as we were passing by the Duty Free shop which sells alcohol beverages, I saw a familar backview wearing a familar jacket… and I called out “Crystal!”, and the person turned to face me.. It’s really Crystal (my best buddy in University)!! She’s taking the earlier SQ flight to Hong Kong with her BF that very same day.. (URGH!! I forgot to take a photo together!!) After chatting up with her for a while, we move on to our designated boarding gate..

There is a booth selling beverages within the area of the boarding gate.. Quite a good business idea.. hehehe…

And soon, it’s time for us to board the plane and start our journey to KOREA!!!

A picture before we take off!! LOL!!

OFF WE FLY!!!

We’re high up on the sky, away from SG to Korea..

And of course, since we’re taking SQ.. we shall not waste the entertainment service which was provided!! Not forgetting to look for SS501 also when we’re on the plane!! I think SQ need to update their SS501 songs database..

As the flight was such an earlier one, we had both breakfast and lunch on the plane~!

Breakfast

Lunch

We really had a lot of water on the plane and 1/2 way through watching my second movie on the plane, I have to go and answer the nature call.. hahaha.. While I was walking towards the toilet, I heard someone called “Mindi!”. I am thinking if I’m hearing things.. How likely would someone else on the plane call out for me and even know my name other than MC?? But yet, I heard another shout out for “Mindi!!”. Hmmmm, I’m sure that I am not hearing things, thus I turn towards the direction where the sound was coming from.. and I saw Afri (My ex-colleague from RSH) with her family!! She happen to be going to Seoul for a one week holiday .. Such a coincidence!! How come I did not see her when we were boarding the plane?? We were just 2 rows apart!!

 However,I was heading to Jeju first.. so I did not meet up with her in Seoul.. But this time round, I remember to take a picture with her!! hahahaha..

Nearing to Incheon Airport, we’re already up at the sky above South Korea!

Landing on Kimchi-land!!

And we’re stepping on Kimchi-land!!

The horrendous queue for the transit train within Incheon airport

Picture of Afri and me when we’re at the baggage claim belt in Incheon Airport

 After claiming our baggages, I bidded goodbye to Afri and her family to continue our journey..

Then we were, inside Incheon Airport looking for the directions to the Airport Train (AREX) to Gimpo Airport… So we headed down to B1 which is the level where the train station was located.. However when we reached B1, we could only see shops and no signs or signage of any train station!! We were in doubt and I’ve to take my Korea-Trip-Know-All (KTKA) book to look at where the train station is located.. It’s still says B1!!! Hmmmm… so we decided to walk much further in and after a considerable amount of distance, we finally see the signage of the train station!!!

And we were on our train journey to Gimpo Airport… Food & Drinks are allowed on Korea’s trains, so…….

The trains have allocated spaces for luggage (Singapore should have something like this too!!)

The train ride was pretty fast…

And we arrive at Gimpo Airport station…

And we went to get a refund for our card..

Afterwhich, we head towards the domestic terminal as we are flying to Jeju from here.. While we’re on our way there, we saw a Lee Seung Gi advertisement board (Is this the refrigerator advertisement that Dokko Jin in Best Love is threatening to take over if Lee Seung Gi doesn’t get Gu Ae Jung to go on Strong Heart??? LOL!!!)

Soon, we reach the check-in area for our flight…

Boarding pass for our Jeju-bound plane 

We still have some time after check-in before we take our 2nd flight of the day, therefore we decided to have our dinner in the airport.. We had Lotteria~!!

After dinner, it’s time for us to head towards our boarding gate…

At the area where we were waiting for the boarding annoucement, there’s seats with TV showing their local TV shows… and it’s airing 1 Day 2 Nights!! My favourite Korean variety show at the moment~~ And we see Lee Seung Gi again.. (Where’s my Kim Hyun Joong!!!)

And while 1/2 way throughout the show, it’s time to board our flight… We thought that we will be boarding the plane directly through the aerobridge.. But as we walked on, we saw a bus waiting for us instead.. We had to take a bus to our plane~~ hahahaha…

And so, we have to climb up the stairs to the plane (2nd time doing so, the previous time was when I took Tiger Airways for an overseas sales meeting)

After 1 hour and 5 minutes, we arrived at Jeju Airport….

The sky is already dark in Jeju… Therefore, we went to take the brochures and maps from information counter and we went to take the limousine bus to the hotel that we’re staying in Jeju – Hyatt Regency Hotel…

The bus ride was another 1 hour plus journey… We really had a very long day that day… From Home to Changi airport to Incheon airport to Gimpo airport to Jeju airport to Hotel, we have spent 15 hours just on travelling…

When the bus is reaching our hotel, someone on the bus commented: “Wah so good, the bus stops directly in front of the hotel!”, maybe because that the bus does not stop directly for the hotels before our stop.. so that’s why they made this remark.. hahahaha..

And finally, we reach our hotel… It was a pretty room and it’s also very spacious!!! We had a balcony too~!!

After leaving our luggage at the hotel, we head down to the lobby for some help and directions for our trip on day 2.. We spent quite some time at the lobby and we saw a drunk ajusshi who seems to be in a very bad mood, thus we head back to our hotel room to ensure we are safe and sound so that we can go back to Singapore in one piece… LOL…

We have to charge all our phone and camera batteries before we can go to sleep.. but the switch was situated at such a weird height and area and the whole plug was so loose that we have to use our brains to make sure that our charger are secured in a stable manner so that it wouldn’t fall when it is charging.. And the next picture tells all…

HAHAHAHAHAHA!! Rubbish Bin + Glasses does the wonders!!! After settling this, it’s time to sleep so that we will have enough energy for the next day!!!!!! 

That’s the end for Day 1~!! I’ve spent a few hours just to write Day 1… I guess I will take quite some time before I can complete all 15 days.. Be patient with me ok!! I shall take a break today and come back to Day 2 soon~!!!