Day 6: Last Full Day in Seoul

The week went by so fast, I suddenly felt loneliness knowing that I soon have to leave this beautiful country without any plans of coming back soon. I didn't want to leave just yet but since the day has started, why not continue with my plans?

On this day, all four of us decided to do our Solo Trips in the morning and meet up in the afternoon then eat together for dinner. (Robert went to visit the National Museum, Ryan went on a Hike, while Shai and I are spending the rest of the day after Church). My bestfriend and I wanted to make the most out of this day because this is our last date before I leave for Australia. True enough, it really was. We didn't see each other after this Trip and I am looking forward to reuniting with her this December!

Our sixth day was a Sunday! First Sunday of December 2016. Dad never fails to remind me that if I happen to be somewhere else on a Sunday, I have to go find the nearest LDS Church and attend meetings there. So, I decided to find an English Ward of our Church. Looking it up online was easy, but navigating my way to it was definitely not! I totally forgot that the pocket wifi was with Ryan when I left alone for church. I wanted to be there in time for the Sacrament so I risked taking a cab! 

The cab driver couldn't understand what I was saying (even if I'm trying my hardest to speak in Korean LOL). I just told him to drop me off a train station that I know but when I check the screenshot of the map I just went on to tell the driver about the directions from it and finally, found the church. I was exactly on time! The moment I got in, the congregation has already started singing the opening hymn. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Seoul English Ward Building

A copy of the Korean Hymnbook!

Day 5: The true meaning of Hectic in South Korea (lol)

Korea has been a beautiful dream! Just by reviewing our photos from our winter visit last year, I can feel that cold winter breeze and the unexpected tourist frenzy moments. I know this post has been long overdue (which I am sincerely apologetic about!). I'm sorry, blogging has been out of my mind for ages...but the good thing is I'm back at it soooo, let's celebrate! lol. 

It's our 5th day in South Korea and we still wanted to explore more places. With this in mind, we visited four completely different locations which exhausted every ounce of energy we had for that day. We squeezed in one day to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village, Pocheon Art Valley (which is about 1 hr away from the City) and more shopping at Myeongdong. 

The visit to Gyeongbokgung Palace was my second time but I haven't tried on these palace guard costumes so Robert, Ryan and I went to try it! The best thing about it? It's FREE! My bestfriend Shai was back at the Hostel still preparing for our day. She stayed back since she's been at the palace for three times already! 

The Morning of our fifth day was spent at Gyeongbokgung Palace and Bukchon Hanok Village. These places are one train station apart, and it is always a must to visit these two spots together when in Seoul! 

A selca for our palace guard costumes! Would we pass as palace guards in Joseon Era? LOL

Met a Filipino couple and had our photo taken with them because why not?!

Selfie with Ry while waiting for Memshie Rob to get dressed ;) 

The men went to have a look around the palace while I went to meet up with my bestfriend (in a secret cafe) hahaha. We didn't tell the boys about us eating here but they end up finding us! That moment crack me up. We were literally trying to hide from them so my bestfriend and I can catch up on everything we've missed out on while away from each other for months! Too bad, the boys are too keen on finding us because they happen to be hungry, too HAHAHHA! Food gets us all together <3 

Winter in Korea: Day 4

I've always wanted to visit a place where I can actually see rows of trees all lined up on the sides of a long pathway where I can take my time to walk and enjoy how those trees were perfectly planted. Isn't that pretty? On our fourth day in Korea, we finally visited one! It's NAMI ISLAND!

This day's itinerary is a Tour Package we got from onedaykorea.com. The tour included two tourist locations namely Naminara Republic/Nami Island and an afternoon Ski at Vivaldi Ski Park (gears included on the package). 

We met with the tour guide early in the morning at Hongdae so we can all travel together to the locations mentioned. Here goes our photo diary:

As we went on to the port to ride the ferry to Nami Island, a big banner welcomed us.

The view of the port from the ferry on our way to Nami Island.

The tree lane behind us really amazes me. 

More photos because...why not?

My favorite photo of myself in Nami Island! Thanks Ryan for this!

Winter in Korea: Baekje Cultural Land (Day 3)

The Entrance to the Main Hall of Sabi Palace

I must have already mentioned a thousand times that Baekje Cultural Land is one of my most favorite places that I've visited last winter in Korea. Even until now, I still can't forget how beautiful this place is. You should definitely put this location on your must-see places when you visit Korea. I promise you will adore this place. 

Baekje Cultural Land is a huge area composed of several villages. Each village has reproduced a variety of culture from how people lived in the Three Kingdoms Era (Goryeo, Silla, Baekje) influenced by the Japanese. The construction of the whole Baekje Cultural Land took 17 years to finish. This tourist spot has been a shooting location for famous TV Shows including "Running Man" and the Korean Drama called "Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo". 

Our sole reason for visiting this amazingly designed location was to recreate a scene or at least photograph a frame from a scene in the Korean Drama that my best friend and I were extremely obsessed with. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo will make you feel all sorts of emotion in just one episode. So if you wish to watch this drama, be ready for a series of extreme scene transitions and mood swings, too! hahahaha

Behind me is a five-story pagoda from the Neungsa Temple on the left of the Sabi Palace.

The Life and Culture Village photographed at a Jehyangru on the hill. Credits to my Bestfriend Shai for this photo!

On our way down, my Shai and I wanted a photo together but an ahjussi who's also going downhill joined us in our photo.

Winter in Korea: Day 2 (Part 1)

The last time I went to Korea with my bestfriend, Shai, we didn't prioritize visiting temples. We only visited Gyeongbokgung Palace. That's because we thought they all look similar so visiting one would be enough. 

However, when we visited several temples in this trip, I felt the need to correct myself and tell you that Palaces and Temples in Korea each has its own story to tell and their aesthetic structures are surprisingly diverse. I didn't want to discuss history to y'all. I just want to invite you to visit palaces and temples in Korea if you really want to have a greater perspective of their culture. 

It's our second day and our first stop was to visit Jongmyo Royal Shrine. It's very accessible to public transport (subway) and it's location is just a few minutes walk from the other tourist spots. The great thing about our second day was that we were admitted in the palaces for FREE! Yes you've read that right, Admission Fees for that day only was free. How lucky are we?! 

I know you'll ask why it was free for the day. The answer: UNESCO has conducted a survey for the temple visitors. Six temples/palaces were part of this survey which means all six temples have free entrance for the day. We were given a free tote bag after filling in the survey and of course, we can enter the palaces for free. 

It looks like it's Autumn, but trust me it's winter. It was 5°C freezing cold. I was still hoping it'll snow but it didn't. This is what will welcome you as you enter the gates of the Shrine. The colors are amazing!

Winter in Korea: A Mischievous Adventure (Part 1)

Behind me is the Pagoda at Baekje Cultural Land, Buyeo Province.
Shooting Location of Moon Lovers/ Scarlet Heart Ryeo
Shout out to Ryan for taking this photo and patiently dealing with my un-photogenic quality. haha 

Way back April 2015, as my bestfriend (shai) and I wait to board our plane going back to Manila from Seoul, we asked ourselves if we'll ever get to visit Korea again and  hoped that it will be sooner. Never have I ever imagine that "sooner" means 19 months!

Lo and behold, November 2016 we're back in Korea!!!

As a KDRAMA FANATIC with *slight mental* issues when seeing Korean Hotties on screen *ehem* (Gong Yoo, Song Jong Ki, Nam Joo Hyuk.... I can tell you the full list but it will take us days to do that LOL), I am blessed to have visited the only country which I don't mind going back to even for hundreds of times. This is another dream come true! To add more excitement: It's winter!!! It was my very first time experiencing winter--and I'm pretty sure I loved that season but I don't think I could let go of the fact that Spring in Korea is overwhelmingly refreshing and surprisingly chilly.

My friends and I spent a great winter week in Korea (just like the last time) last November 29 to December 5. Sad to say, we were unable to witness the first snowfall which happened three days before our arrival. However, an artificial snow made up for that disappointment when we visited a ski park!

Let me give you a glimpse of how beautiful this country is through my favorite photos of our trip two months ago:

I miss traveling :(

It feels weird for me that I have not traveled for over a year now. As a newly employed in the government, I'm still not entitled to any form of leave until I'm six months old in the job. I got one month left before turning six months! However, the process of getting a Travel Authority from our Department Secretary is very very veeerrrryyyyy tedious and tiring. I need to prepare it months before actually going out of the country. So that's the downside of being a government employee and at the same time having love for traveling. 

If ever I'm not lazy to prepare all the documents to travel, the only country that I would love to go back to would still be SOUTH KOREA. I miss the spring season! I miss the food! I miss the places and the people I met there! Korea is a place that I would never get tired of visiting. It's like a second home to me.

I'm hoping that before I leave for the "great down under", I could visit this beautiful place again.

xx,

T

Torn between Leaving or Staying

I always wondered how my life would turn in such a way that every person I love would benefit from it. Sad to say, that turning point has not yet arrived. However, as much as I would like to accomplish all the things that I wanted to do (eg. travel, staycation, bake, and just sleep in peace for one day), I can't because my plans depended on how much I time I have after work or if I still have the energy to enjoy them. 

Just recently, I have been offered a graduate degree offer overseas (the great down under) and I wanted (extremely wanted) to accept it. I feel so willing to give up my stable job to feel the thrill of living in a different culture and starting anew there despite having very limited resources to support my living. (I have parents who can help, anyway hahaha yes I still have backup but they would be my very last resort for finances). I can almost instantly be there and start the next intake for my Master's degree. However, I am so torn between pursuing it and staying for the job and my family. 

Why? The answer to that intimidating question is: I feel sad just by the thought of leaving everyone behind for who knows how long. I love my job, the people I work with, the place that I live in, my friends, and most of all my family. I have everyone here, why go somewhere far? Knowing that I am in my comfort zone, feeling safe and secured, I do not have any worries but I don't also feel my life progressing. I am in a stagnant case of living a routine without any space for a better change which leads me to the option of taking the offer and accepting it. 

Why oh why is life so difficult to understand?

It's true we can't always have everything, but at least I hope, we can have answers to every thing we needed. I'm still in the process of rethinking in accepting the offer. (I was given a year to decide if I want to accept it). Maybe, just maybe, I will have a final answer next time. 

P.s I'm sorry, I was caught up with all the paper works in my job. Mind you, this is my second job after resigning on my very first job. lol. 

P.p.s hope to hear from you, if anyone still reads this :)))

-Twinkle

#Wonderful: Unexpected Friendships

The word "wonderful" may have hundreds of meanings, still, it can't be denied that this word is a positive word because even when it is paired with a negative word, it remains positive. (e.g Wonderful Disaster, Wonderful Misadventure, etc.) This word has even a better meaning when paired with a negative word. A disaster may be very wonderful when something good happened because of it. Still positive, right? Isn't it wonderful? :)

Just like how my Top Friend (as determined by the Wonder App) and My Bestfriend forever, Shai, and I have a wonderfully unexpected friendship. We have been best of friends since High School and that was eight years ago. Yes, this kind of friendship exists and we're going to prove that Forever exist in the F of BFF. 

(Our 3rd country trip together! It was wonderful visiting Korea, the root of our friendship!)

Our Wonderfully unexpected friendship started because of a single question "Mahilig ka ba sa kdrama/kpop?" The rest is history. Just kidding! See, how an addiction to Korean Entertainment build strong foundations of friendships? It was that question she asked that led to our now "eight years and forever" friendship. Isn't it wonderful how one question can change an entire life? My life would have been completely different if she did not ask me anything about kpop. We might even be strangers until now if that question was not asked. 

However, we will not consider our friendship to be "wonderful" if it were not for the means that we took to preserve our friendship despite the distance (after hs grad), the bad days and even calamities. The secret to our long-lasting friendship is "we stay connected". Even when we took different paths to college (and graduated the same day in two different schools! hahaha wonderful!) Globe paved the way for our friendship to continue even when we're far apart. Through calls and unlimited texting, we stay connected. Facebook does wonders, too, especially when we are using our globe data to tag each other on funny friendship-related posts. 

There are many wonderful people and things ins this world. I'm glad I've met those kind of people. My family is wonderful, my bestfriend is wonderful, every friend that I have is wonderful in their own ways. I'm sure, it would be wonderful to start investing on being connected to your loved ones at all times and that is only wonderfully possible through globe! Dahil sa Globe, Wonderfully Abot mo ang Mundo! Globe loves to Create a Wonderful world and we are a part of the wonderful word that they are continuously creating. 

Anywhere you go, you are connected if you use Globe! Even when we travel overseas, we get welcome messages through text messages from the partners of Globe abroad. Isn't it wonderful? 

I hope your friendship wonderfully stays connected through Globe because our friendship did and is still going strong because of it. 

Philippine Airlines flies to Auckland, New Zealand starting December 2015. 

Book now at www.philippineairlines.com

Seoulid Adventures: Hellokitty Cafe

The long wait is over. After months of lost times for blogging, I am making up for it by posting one of the best places I've been to in Korea last April. It was such a rush knowing that I'll be visiting a cafe that has everything in pink. My sister was actually the real hellokitty fan and I did visit the place for her. Hopefully, we could come back there when she comes home.

To give you an idea how we survived locating the place in such a huge area, my bestfriend and I used google maps and blogs who gives direction about the place. All we had to do was ride a train to Hapjeong Station and walk ten minutes to get to Hellokitty cafe! There are too many Hellokitty Cafes in Korea and they serve the same meals but every cafe has a different interior. So, when you visit korea you really have to find one of these cafes and try the hellokitty vibe.

Of course, I couldn't just visit the place without pictures of it. Gracious goodness! My bestfriend took pictures of everything I do inside the cafe and I'm so glad she did.

*That celebratory smile when we finally found HelloKitty Cafe #noSweat

*Just by looking at this pink creation, I was in awe trying to feel my feet because it was 6 degrees and rain started pouring a few minutes when we got inside the cafe. 

*This is rather a signature

Seoulid Adventures: Bukchon Hanok Village

I was not on hiatus. I just got a little busy with "review" for an upcoming board exam (which slowly kills me with anxiety). Since I have a few minutes to do stuff online, I decided why not update my little blog? The page views for the last month was good enough so I think people still check this blogspot. hihi.

Our second destination after the Gyeongbokgung Palace was the Bukchon Hanok Village. It was almost 4pm in the afternoon when we got there and I would probably recommend to visit that place at an earlier hour. Since we walked for a few hours at the Palace, our feet were throbbing in pain and walking up the village was a challenge so we only took very few photos (too lazy to take pictures, too busy looking for spots where we could sit and rest).

It was a great thing that Korea have established a lot of Tourist Information booths all over seoul, it was not difficult to navigate the places we wanted to visit because they provide maps and clear directions going to those places. They even have tourist info people who could give you help with directions or finding places you wanted to see. They love tourists!

Here are some of the pictures we took at Bukchon Hanok Village:

SPRING TIME: The flowers of Korea

My (dream) Korea Trip with my best friend happened like a blink of an eye. It was so fast I couldn't cope well that it still made me anxious thinking about the eight days (yes, you read it right...eight days!) of quality time with my best friend, in Seoul! It happened! I set my feet on the Land of the Morning Calm and stayed there with my best friend who happens to love kpop/kdramas, too.

It all started when my best friend phoned me telling me there's a seat sale going on and we should book! After a few more phone calls and more convincing strategies (for my parents to say yes), we finally booked the flight that will bring us to our dream country!

I had my hopes too high that the visa processing will be pretty easy until a new policy was posted about "more strict" requirements for the visa application. I am a little horrified that my visa application will be denied (aside from the fact that we filed our visas just two weeks before we fly to Korea). Fortunately, my best friend called telling me my visa was accepted and right then I knew we were heading to that beautiful country!

It was such a lucky time that our stay in Korea was the peak of the Cherry Blossoms and flowers, too! My best friend and I took a lot of pictures of the beautiful sakura and tulips and more flowers that blooms during our stay.

 *flowers at the War Memorial