23 June 2016

8D7N at Seoul & Busan, South Korea Part I.

with 4 Khoos, 1 Kang, 2 Shas and a Koay.
On 1-8 May 2016

After taking so long (close to 2 months) after the family trip, I've finally decided to do it according to the itinerary that we self-invent. Heh. Free & easy is really not my kind of thing unless someone else (Rachel & Adrian) willingly take it up. Hah. Which by the way was one of their favorite thing to do.

I also found out that I am not good (at all) to navigate or see the subway trains schedule and directions. Got the family off the wrong station once and they remembered it till now. For sure for the rest of my life, they will bring this up. Till death do us part ah this memory. Hah.

This was my second time to Seoul, and it is in my every intention to make a new and wonderful memories of the place because my first time there was horrible, sort of. I didn't enjoy myself as I thought I would so that was a sad story.

Never mind that because now I get to make new ones with people I sayang tersangat.

We did not take any tour package because with Google, we all can make up our own tour package. Hah. Okay not really actually. I will always prefer to take a package so I no need to spend endless of hours researching things and places. Lazy I am, remember?

Well, not for Rachel Khoo and Adrian Koay. They both love to do research on this kind of thing and since Rachel has been there three times, she should be a pro by now. Hah. Okay, why am I repeating myself?

Earlier, we wanted to go to Taiwan because it was one of mom's must-go but later on, mom was more into Korean movie than Taiwanese movie, hence the holiday destination.

It was also at that time when Cathay Pacific decided to do a Buy 1 Free 1 promotion with Maybank credit card to Seoul, and we wasted zero time. We quickly got the tickets, and then looked for the places to stay.

That was a bit more complicated and confusing at one point because we were going to few places and we did not want to stay in hotels with separate rooms. We want to all live in one house because we're overly attached family like that. Hah.

Rachel got that covered so yay. I was told to settle the transportation part. So, I bought the air-tickets at only RM1145 per person for adults and half-price (I think) for Sha Lynn. Then, I went to do research for the Korail train that we wanted to take to go to Busan, which by the way is already posted on another update. I know you sure lazy to go search so here it is: How to Travel from Seoul to Busan with a Korail Pass. You're welcome :)

Vanessa did nothing. Hah. Actually got lah. We are obviously not going to let her off doing nothing for this trip. Heh. My parents extended their trip to another week so that they may explore Jeju Island so Vanessa's job was to do all the things they need to know about Jeju Island. So sad we could not join because no more annual leave to spend like a queen! Boo.

Can I just say that blogging about this is quite a torture? Not because there are like 220 photos to be uploaded, but because it makes me miss the place so much more that I already am. The food. The language. The weather. The food.

Anyways, here comes the daily itinerary for this Korea trip.

Enjoy yourselves, people.

FIRST OF MAY
PENANG-HONG KONG-TAIPEI-SEOUL

Penang International Airport (PEN) - Hong Kong International Airport (HKG)
8:00am - 11:50am (3 hours 50 minutes)
CX5692
Breakfast on-board


Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) - Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)
2:00pm - 4:00pm (2 hours)
CX420
Refreshment on-board


Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) - Incheon International Airport (ICN)
5:10pm - 9:00pm (about 3 hours)
CX420
Dinner on-board


We arrived at Incheon International Airport (ICN) at about 9pm-ish, so by the time we clear customs and collect our luggage, most of the shops were closing already.

The first thing we looked for was food and portable internet for rental.

Since most shops were closing, both Rachel and I walked really fast (Rachel is 6 months pregnant so no running for her thanks) across the departure hall to find one that is not closing down on us.

The first shop we went to did not want to entertain us because their working time is until 10pm only and they made it obvious that they do not wish to work extra a minute after 10. They did however pointed to the other direction (where we came from initially) that there is a 24-hour portable internet rental shop.

This time we walked slower because the pregger was out of breath and I was too hungry.

Hence, no photos of the 24-hour shop. Just ask around and you will find it okay.

The pocket wifi internet that we rented was charged on a daily basis. So, they took down our credit card details and only charge us when we return to them at the end of the day. Yes, you have to give a certain amount of deposit (I forgot how much).

For 8 days of usage in Seoul & Busan, we paid a total of RM252 for 24 hours usage. Please take note that this pocket wifi can only be used by up to 4 people at one time. So, you may want to clarify and ask when you rent. Some are limitless I think.

Once we have got that covered, we walked to the subway area to catch the train to Seoul Station. But before that, of course, we needed to buy some railway cards where you can store your money/credit inside and use it for every train ride.

We got into one of the convenience stores (like a 7-11) and got a card for each human, except the baby girls.


The card costs about 2,000 krw (RM7) and there is no credit inside when you buy. You have to bring this card to the machine (nearby the train station) and put your money in.

Of course, first, you need to navigate yourself inside Incheon International Airport (ICN) at the lower ground to the subway place.

Please grab a local and ask if you are not sure. If not, you sure walk around like a fool, only to walk back to the place originally from. Heh.


So, once you found the subway station (inside the airport), you will see a Ticket Vending Card Recharge machine to reload your subway card.

Now the question is what is the correct amount to put.

Based on experience, do not put too much of an amount as once you have no use of this card, you cannot cash-it-back out. The credit will remain on the card. However, the good news is that you can use this card in the convenience store to buy things.

So, you can actually just put a big sum inside, like maybe 10,000 krw first (about RM35).

The subway rides in both Seoul & Busan are funnily the same price no matter what the distance is. Every time we scan the card at the entrance, they will charge us 1,250 krw (about RM4.50).

Cheap but you have to know how to navigate inside the subway stations okay. It can get very confusing. We got lost a few times actually. Heh.

Again, ask the locals if unsure.

Or you can download this app called Subway Korea and it will save your life. Heh. Seriously, it;s very useful.


One thing I like about their machine is that you don't have to insert the card into any slot. You just put the card on top of the duck-faced area and they can scan it already. Pretty cool leh.

Once we have done all that, it was almost midnight. We took the train to Seoul Station (about 45 minutes). We chose to stay very near to Seoul Station because this is where the subway trains stop centrally. It's like the center point for all subway trains, even for our Seoul to Busan train rides.

So, this for us was the perfect location to be at.


It was midnight and there weren't many humans on the road (that can speak or understand English anyways) so we struggled to find the hotel that we were supposed to stay at for one night.

MK Liberty House Seoul Station
5, Cheongparo 95gil(220­3, Seogye­dong), Yongsan­gu, Jung­gu, Seoul.

It was dark and cold, and we were tired and hungry and we just needed to see the beds and take a hot shower. Not to mention we have a cranky toddler and almost 2 luggage pieces per person. It was a crazy desperate scene I tell you.

We finally found the place, with God's miracles because it was nicely hidden away along an alley opposite Seoul Station.


There was some miscommunication between Agoda and MK Liberty House because they gave us a smaller room than what Agoda charged us on. In the end, we took 2 rooms and we will deal with Agoda at the end of the trip to get back the money they overcharged us for a family room. Bleh.

The 4-persons-room was incredibly small, like to the point that we had to put all our luggage along the walkway that is obviously outside of our room.

Kah Wei, Rachel, and Sha Lynn took the other room with 2-beds so the 5 of us squeezed onto the 4-bedded-room.

It was an insane scenario. We kept laughing because there was no space to do anything else except sit down and laugh about it. Hah.


I have a bed to myself because Vanessa shared it with mom. It is really the smallest hotel that I have ever stayed at but please, it was one of the comfiest bed, comforter, and pillow I've ever used in a small hotel like this. This kind of comfort usually can only feel on a 5-star hotel okay.

Too bad it's way too small. It's okay if you would like to stay a night before proceeding to Busan the next morning like us.

SECOND OF MAY
SEOUL-BUSAN

It was one of the comfiest sleeps ever. Yes I know I mentioned it already but seriously it was the nicest. It was cold and the comforter was thick and clean and comfortable. I didn't even want to get out of my bed!

The temperature outside was super cold. It was probably like 17 degrees. It was perfect!

Perfect for a hot soup kind of breakfast.

Oh-oh! Happy Birthday, Bobby! Finally twenty-one but still got curfew for you. Hah.

We walked out from the alley and spotted a wooden-ish restaurant that has photos of hot kimchi soup all over it. Kimchi soup it is then!

When in Korea, eat like the Koreans.

We ordered Spicy Pork Backbone Stew with Potatoes (Medium (for 4 persons) - 25,000 krw - RM87.50)  and Non-Spicy Pork Backbone Stew with Potatoes (Small (for 3 persons) - 20,000 krw - RM70)

The pork meat was soft like nobody's business. The meat was sooooo good. The soup was different. It's not kimchi stew for sure, so it tasted nothing like kimchi. Different but quite tasty.

We ate this with rice, just like the Koreans *proud*


We didn't rush in the morning because we knew that the Korail train to Busan has many departure times, so we took our own sweet time. After all, it was our first proper meal in Seoul. So, take it slow we shall :)

We went back to MK Liberty House to pack our luggage and check-out.

We have 7 adults and 1 toddler, with 9 luggage and 1 stroller. Madness.


We didn't have to walk far because we pandai stay near Seoul Station. Heh. We actually just walked across the main street and Seoul Station is there already.

Convenient to the max okay.

We did all the ticketing things which you can read it here. You are most welcome :)

While waiting, we were taking turns in using the portable wifi because only 4 persons can use it at the same time. So downs right.

It was quite difficult to walk around and shop for food with all our luggage so I volunteered to be the watch-person next to a Japanese stall, and online.

The rest of them took off and bought back ice-cream, sushi, and more food items for the road-trip. I love it when I didn't have to do all the walking to find food.

The Seoul Station is a big station, with a lot of trains here and there. The amazing thing is that it looks clean for the main station this big. Have you seen our bus station Puduraya? Hmm.

They are so clean but the thing is you can never find any trash bins there. Seriously nowhere to be found. Do Koreans carry their rubbish in their handbag or something because it is impossible to find any trash bins out there?

Yet the place is so clean.


Three and half hours later, we arrived at Busan Station. We spent quite a long time trying to figure the subway station for us to catch a train back to the Airbnb place that we booked. Rachel did some findings and apparently to get there, we still need to take a taxi after the train ride.

So, we decided to take a taxi (3 taxis to be exact) and go directly to the house. Ain't nobody got the time to push all these weights around. Sha Lynn was being cranky some more. Aduhai.

Taxi it is.

Mom and Vanessa did what they do best. They go shop for more food. Mom found this shop with a long queue so she joined the hype.

Apparently in Busan, you must have a taste of all these fish cakes at this shop in Busan Station. When I saw the shop and all the goodies, I became hungry again, in the span of few hours. Goodness.

It's not cheap and I would say it's totally worth it because they were really yummy.

This shop is called Samjin Fish Cake (삼진어묵 Samjin Eomuk). You will most likely not miss this Samjin Fish Cakeshop at Busan Station because of the absolutely noticeable long queue of the locals there.

I would say that this is a must-try! It is so hard to control yourself when you step into the shop because everything looks good and very tempting! I kid you not. If you think you've eaten too many fish cakes in your life, you have obviously never been to Korea.

Most of their snack food is fish cake and Koreans just love it!


I cannot remember anymore how much the taxi costs us from Busan Station to our Airbnb place, but I remembered it being very worth it because we have so many carry-ons, a stroller, a very cranky and playful 3-years-old and a very pregnant woman.

The distance was about 45 minutes ride, and the road leading to our rented apartment is a steep one, so imagine our excitement when we realized that our Airbnb is going to be on top of the mountain. Lower degrees and thicker clothes, please. Heh.

The Airbnb host was not around, but he gave us in-detailed instructions to the crib. The kind of lock that they use is the auto-key-in password ones. Too advanced and somehow does not feel as safe as the normal key.


The moment we all walked in, we all went 'WOW!' like ten thousand times. It was huge and the scenery was jaw-dropping amazing I tell you.

It was mind-blowing huge. Wait, did I say huge? I meant humongous! There were only eight of us but the truth is this mansion can house up to 16 humans.

That's not all. You know how amazingly cheap it is to rent this place with Airbnb, with full usage of its items, like washing machine, giant fridge, mattresses, dryer, pots and pans, stove, microwave, and everything else. Oh of course the only thing that sucks was the internet. Heh.

We only paid a total of RM810 for 2 nights.

It's actually only RM361 per night, so after you multiply with 2, you need to add Airbnb's service fee of RM88, hence RM810 total.

Whatttttt.

So, let's say there are 10 of you and you want to rent this amazing crib for a night at Busan.

It's about RM405 per night (depending on the season you rent). You divide that between 10 people and it's about RM40 per person per night in an amazingly huge and comfortable mansion. I say this is a win like no one's business.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Yes, I will for sure book this place again the next time I visit Busan. No doubt.


This mansion has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and 1 really really big living room/dining room/party area.

Sadly, I do not have the English name for this place after checking the hotel voucher and searching it again.

Oh and one more big reason why I fell in love with this place is because of the glass windows. THEY ARE HUGE and natural lights come into the property like no one's business okay. Always a big fan of huge floor-to-ceiling glass windows like those.


We went googoo-gaagaa over the place and then settled down properly and got ourselves refreshed before heading out for a nice barbeque dinner.

We walked down this time because the air was cold and we love cold (at that moment at least).

After stopping at every bakery that our eyes can see, we started getting really cold and hungry. The roads were quiet and we were looking for barbecue restaurants to dine in but it was so difficult to find any along the main road.

We decided to go towards Haeundae Beach because it's one of the must-visit when in Busan. We thought so that restaurants near the beach would be slightly more expensive but we were so hungry so it's okay. Heh.


We found a rather-old-traditional-looking restaurant that only serves barbecue beef and went in for food and warmth time. We ordered and start eating away only to realize in the end that the portion was not enough and it was so expensive. We decided to not order anymore since the beef that they gave was so little and pricey. Street food next!

We walked along the famous Haeundae Beach on the cold cold night and we were all amazed at the tall buildings and lights surrounding it. The beautiful city it is.

It's so Penang if I may add.

I wanted to walk to the water and touch the Korean sea but nope, too cold I cannot.


Do you know that after Korea, I actually gained 5kg?

It's an absolute disaster because now I have to go hiking every week hoping that I can sweat and cry away those extra kilos that do not belong in this body.

No regrets though because Korean street food is the best okay.


We didn't spend too much time outside because the night was getting colder and we wanted to celebrate Vanessa's 21st before the clock strikes twelve. Heh.

That's our rented mansion's living room overlooking the Haeundae Beach at night. So the very pretty okay.


The full squad with the most expensive birthday cake ever eaten.

Why are cakes so exceptionally more expensive in Korea? Like seriously. A simple sponge cake can cost the same as a Chocolate Indulgence from Secret Recipe.

Next time, buy a cupcake can already since not everyone will eat the cake also. Heh.


THIRD OF MAY
BUSAN

We (except the Sha Family) slept in the living room, overlooking the beach and city. It was perfect, with the natural strong cold wind. 

Despite waking up decently early in the morning, we could not head out from the apartment because it was raining heavily and the wind was strong. 

One thing bad about the area that we stayed in is the fact that you can hardly see any taxis driving nearby. You will somehow find one or two every now and then but that also you have to walk out of the area and just outside of the guardhouse. 

With the rain, we decided that it was difficult so we waited and cooked our breakfast at home. 

It was so sad because it was still raining (from what we see) and we wasted half a day indoors, although we loved being inside the house. 

After a while, Koay and I decided to put our many layers on and walked to town to get lunch for the family. We were so pumped up to brave the storm and cold to get food okay. 

But when we got down, it was not raining at all. Heh. 

We ended up walking all the way down and got 2 taxis to our apartment to fetch the rest of the clans. COMMUNICATION WITH THE TAXI DRIVERS WAS SO DIFFICULT because the majority of them are the older generations so they do not understand English at all. 


We went to Jagalchi Market because it's another must-visit but it was closed. IMAGINE OUR DISAPPOINTMENT OKAY. 

We only got to see some of the weird sea creatures outside the main market, by the street. Why are there so many sea aliens that I have never seen before? It was so weird and alien-ish. 

Some were either over-sized or looked out of this world. How do people even eat these things? And I thought I love seafood until I saw these things. 

I will settle for my Malaysian kind of seafood thank you very much.




We got hungry after walking for a bit and then walked down the entire row of shops to survey which shop will attract us best for lunch. Heh.

We saw one really Korean-ish restaurant with quite a lot of locals eating inside so we decided to go in. Time for some real local seafood.

We ordered what the next table ordered, like a Korean, and waited for our fresh eel and hagfish to come.

Yes, we ordered hagfish.

WHO EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT IS.

I was watching some Youtube videos on like Top 20 bizarre food in the world and hagfish is one of them apparently. Oh wells.

THAT LUNCH WAS THE WORSE MEAL WE HAD IN KOREA.

No kidding. I don't think there was anything wrong with the dish. It was just us. It was so weird okay. The hagfish didn't taste or look like a fish. Its' texture was a lot like eating pork's intestine. Chewy like no one's business. The eel also no meat eh. It must be Korean eel or something. Literally chewed on mini-bones.

It was a disturbing meal, for me at least.

Vanessa and I starved all the way through lunch. It was horrible.

It was towards the end that the Korean lady put white Korean rice on the chili paste and we were so overjoyed. Heh.

Never again.


Right after torture lunch, we took 2 taxis to another must-see-must-take-photos place called Gamcheon Culture Village. 

Taxi fares are pretty okay I feel. Everything is quite far away in Busan (as in the touristy places) and I don't remember seeing a lot of Subway Stations like in Seoul so taxis are really the smart option to travel around Busan.


When in Korea, eat sweet and sour chicken, but please let me give you a piece of golden advice. 

Do not over-eat these sweet and sour goodies because if you do, you will end up like Koay. 

His story is we ate a few times in a total of eight days stay in Korea and the last night we decided to buy back like a dozen of them. As usual, we could not finish it and he helped to eat them all. No waste right?

Till now, about a month plus after the trip, whenever he thinks about the sweet and sour chicken, he would puke. Like literally feel that half-digested food inside his tummy would come out. 

It is a serious case for him. So no, we do not talk about those chickens anymore.


Gamcheon Cultural Village is like a must-stop when in Busan okay. Everything is colorful. If you hate colors, then you will probably hate this place, or not since this is really a cool place. 

The wind was extra strong when we got there. Hair flying everywhere so no nice elegant photos up on the roof okay. It was so strong that we could not even stand straight or still. Always have to make sure got one foot behind to support the body. 

Crazy weather. 


We walked the entire Gamcheon Cultural Village and took a taxi to the next must-visit for all young people or kaki-shopping. This is like Myeongdong of Seoul but in Busan. 

All the good restaurants and shops are here. 

This place is called Seomyeon. It's like the most happening place at night in Busan. 

We didn't do a lot of shopping because we were pretty tired already so we decided to go into more bakeries (Heh) and enjoy the seventeen degrees. We didn't even take photos of Seomyeon. Hah. 

We walked into a barbecue restaurant called The Chef Cook mainly because we saw so many locals dining in so we buat pandai. 

We ordered away and salivating while watching our neighbors eat because it smelled so heavenly okay. Our food came, we cooked and we ate. 

It was by far the best BBQ that we've tasted and it was the cheapest meal ever for the things that we ate. It was crazy. We thought it was gonna cost quite a bit because we ordered more portions than usual but no. 

Can you believe that this entire meal is cheaper than the first beef meal that we had in Busan? INSANE.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.


Stay tuned for Part II :)

Bye now. 

16 June 2016

Wedding Update 14.

Time for yet another overall update on the preparation. 

We have about 3 months to go before this big show is gonna happen so let's not go all crazy yet.

WEDDING RING

In the progress of getting it.

WEDDING DECORATION

We have discussed this with Uncle Phillip and we sort of have the overall idea of how the place will look like, so stay tuned to find out more. Heh.

WEDDING CAR

Initially, we wanted to ride on a fancy-old-vintage-rustic car but it seems so difficult to find nice ones and those that we can afford.

So, after much thinking, we decided to not rent any car because we are only going to use it once. From church to hotel, so no need to spend that money la. Better spend on honeymoon :)

ROOM RENOVATION

I did not much for this part. Koay did 100% of it. So proud of my man. I guess through this one-room renovation, we both realized that it's really not easy to handle so many different contractors at the same time trying to fit our schedule with theirs.

But if I get to choose the one thing that angers discourages us immediately is the fact that their first response is always a negative one.

"This one cannot do like that"
"Not nice do like that"
"This one do already will be expensive ah"
"Err, you sure bo?"

Oh goodness. It is really a frustrating thing because to me, it just seems like they are lazy to make a bigger hole at the side so that the awkwardly placed air-con can go to the side and we can have a full-length curtain.

But no. They said it's not nice and it will cost a lot to do that. Cost how much exactly they cannot say. Api membara I tell you.

It will always be us telling them firmly that we want it this way then only they will do it, with extra charge of course. Downs.

A random bill that I find was so ridiculous was the bidet they bought and fixed for us. They charge us RM200 for that one bidet and a service of putting it together with the toilet bowl thing. RM200! Is the bidet made of Royal Selangor material? It's just a normal sliver looking bidet.

Boleh pengsan ni.

No, I will not recommend this contractor of ours to anyone.

Summary is handling a house renovation is a lot more stressful than planning a wedding. You have no idea how many arguments this have caused between us. We're just thankful that this chapter is soon to be ending and probably few more weeks and we can finally move our furniture in.

The only thing left to do is the floor installation.

Exciting times ahead for sure :)

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

Yes, this one is a tick!

We are using MomentoWedding for our wedding ceremony and wedding dinner. This one I will share more on a separate post okay.



WEDDING VIDEOGRAPHER

None other than Pinang Films :)

WEDDING INVITATION CARD

Our amazing designer-friend is currently working on it, and we believe that by end of June, you guys will be receiving the amazing piece of art already!

We are so excited because handing our wedding invitations is like the 'Get set, ready and go' button for us. This will be the time when both of us will really meet reality. Heh.

Please RSVP us soonest okay because the real headache would be organizing the tables and who sit with who. All you single friends out there, get ready to sit with people you don't know (yet). We are going to make this wedding a partly match-making dinner. Hah.

I don't know if I am serious.

WEDDING GOWNS

We will be picking our wedding gowns and tuxedos by this month. Koay will not know what I will be wearing for the wedding ceremony because we want him to have the first look at his beautiful bride *beh-paiseh*

I would like to see him in tears and in awe when he sees me walking down the aisle with the father. That would be my dream expectation. I doubt that will happen. I bet he would like to see me step on my own gown and fall on my face, so that he can laugh at me his entire life.

That would be epic but no. No to that. Koay, don't be mean. Hah.

My gowns will be from My Dream Wedding, despite of what happened, I would like to still have good vibes for this vendor. Only happy thoughts okay.

I think that's about it for the time-being. More to come soon.

Bye now.


08 June 2016

How to Travel from Seoul to Busan with a Korail Pass.

This was one of my assigned task during our recent family trip to Seoul and Busan. 

We didn't want to travel to Busan via flights because it was a lot more expensive compared to other mode of transportation, which in this case is via rail. 

We could have gotten the flight tickets from Gimpo Airport (not from Incheon Airport) to Busan at about RM200 per adult but the flight departs at night from Seoul and early in the morning from Busan, hence the cheap price. So, this is highly not advisable unless of course you don't mind spending RM500 for a good timing flight. 

In my case, I googled and found (or maybe Rachel found it and told me. Heh) that there's this train ticket that we may purchase online to go to Busan, directly from Seoul. 

It's surprisingly very simple to book the Korail pass for our Busan trip. 

You can click here and have a look yourself. 

Let me summarize for you what this Korail Pass is and its basic terms & conditions:

  • It is strictly for foreigners, tourist and non-Koreans only. 
  • If you are a foreigner/tourist and you plan to stay for more than 6 months, this is NOT for you. You can go find out more on the Happy Rail Pass. 
  • With Korail Pass, you will have unlimited access to the standard seats on various trains for the amount of days you purchase.
  • Access to trains such as; KTX, KTX-Sancheon, Saemaeul, Mugunghwa and Nuriro.
  • Reminder that this Korail Pass is for standard seats only (for trains mentioned above), NOT valid for First Class seats, metro and tourist trains. 
  • Korail Pass must be used in consecutive days. This means that if you travel from Seoul to Busan on 1-May, your Korail Pass will be valid for the next however many days you buy (for our case, 3 days).
  • Trip from Seoul - Busan takes approximately 4 hours, plus minus.

Okay, now let me show you how to get this Korail Pass from the booking process until redeeming it at the counter and being on the Korail train itself. 

There are only 8 steps to this so pay attention please. I put in a lot of effort for this. Heh. 

STEP 1

You obviously would want to know how much a Korail Pass will cost per person so here it is or you may go direct to their website (in case they update their pricing).

My table conversion is based on that 30 April's exchange rate, which is 1,000 won = RM3.50 // RM1.00 = 285.7 won.


Do take note that:
  • Children below 4 years old may travel for free with a fare-paying adult above 12 years of age. 
  • For children who are 4 - 12 years old, they are to be charged 50% of the adult fare.
  • You will notice that there are few types of Pass offered:
    • Normal Pass - for adults and children
    • Saver Pass - for groups of 2 - 5 people travelling on the same itinerary.
    • Youth Pass - for youths aged 13 - 25 OR anyone holding an International Student Identification Card (ISIC)
If the above pricing per person works for you, then keep scrolling down to see the next step okay. 

STEP 2

Make a reservation for yourself and your fellow travelers in the website


The important thing about this online reservation is that you fill in all your (booker) details correctly, especially your passport number and credit card information. 

STEP 3

After you have filled up accordingly all the needed information, you will realize your credit card will not be charged yet. 

You will receive an e-ticket via a Korean written email. 

Print the e-ticket and keep it with you as you will need it to redeem for your real Korail tickets.


Take note that you have to redeem the Korail tickets before 180 days (about 6-months) from the date of the reservation, if not all bookings made will be automatically cancelled. There may be a cancellation fee when you book from overseas, so yeah. 

It's wiser to make Korail bookings after you confirm your flights and hotels. That way, you won't risk paying the cancellation fee. 

STEP 4

Arrive in Seoul for your planned getaway. 

There are two places (that I know of) that you can redeem your Korail tickets and they are mentioned below. Please take note on their operating hours, especially at Incheon International Airport. 


We arrived very late at night and most of the vendors' shops are closed, so we only managed to redeem the Korail tickets the next day at Seoul Station. 

Where to redeem Korail (KR) tickets:
  • Incheon International Airport (Opens all year round, business hours: 7am-9pm)
    • Incheon Airport Railroad Information Centre, located outside of the Arrival Hall along the long-stretched booths for transportation modes, portable internet and more. If not mistaken, it's very close to Gate 8 and 9. 
    • Airport Railroad Travel Centre, located at B1.
    • KTX Centre, located at B1.
  • Seoul Station 
    • Information Centre, right in the middle of the station.

When redeeming the Korail tickets, the Korail officer will need all the passports (owner of passport must stand nearby so that the officer may check and verify your face). Booker of the Korail tickets must also give to the officer your credit card that you have used in the online reservation.


This will usually take up about 15 minutes, of course depending on the number of travelers. 

The Korail tickets will look like this. Good quality kind of card.


STEP 5

After you redeem from one of the Travel Centre listed above (you're welcome :)), you will need to exchange the temporary cards with the real tickets at the Korail counters, which is located at Seoul Station, because well, you will be taking the Korail train from there. 

This is where you will need to choose the departure time that you want. Again, please double-confirm the time when you are there because they may have changed it every now and then or something.

If I'm right, their departure time to Busan from Seoul Station is every 30 minutes. More details here. Just key in your departure date and information needed, you will be able to see the list of departure time that you can select.

If you plan to travel to Busan from Incheon International Airport via Korail, then you can see their timetable here (6 trips per day).

So, the final Korail tickets that you will need to keep (to pass to Korail's train conductor later) will be in long-ish paper kind, like the receipt that you will receive when you pump car petrol with credit card yeah.


The officers at Korail counters are quite good at their English language so it should not be an issue for communication if you have questions to ask them. Do use simple English though.

If not, then just google your questions. Most likely you will find the answer there, or you can comment below and I will try my best to answer you based on my experience okay.

When you receive your Korail tickets, the officer will explain to you on which train you are to take and which platform it would be at.

We almost got up to the wrong train/deck because it was pretty confusing la the numbers. Do double check with any locals nearby if you are on the right track. Heh.  

STEP 6

Once you have done all the ticketing stuff, you may proceed into the Departure area, and start looking around for takeaways!


That's if you think you will get hungry during that 3 hours-ish journey. They have food on-board the Korail train but of course it will be a lot more pricier, and they only sell basic snacks like buns and crackers. Yes, got coffee and tea also.

So, you may want to walk around inside Seoul Station at the Departure Hall to get some bento set or sushi rolls, which we had that was so yummy.


STEP 7

Get to the designated platform early and if can, get to your designated car and seat too.

The Korail train leaves on time okay. No such thing as wait for 5 more minutes. Go means go already.

But don't worry, because if you miss the train, you can always go back to the counter and ask them to change to the next timing with no extra charges. Best is you don't miss the train at all la.


In the train, there's two ways of seat placement. One is facing the direction the train goes and the other the opposite way. So, if you can get motion sickness, request for the direction-facing at the ticket counter.

STEP 8

Enjoy the ride. There isn't much great scenic views along the way, so just relax and use your electronic devices. Yes, free wifi on board too :) Heh. Or take shameless selfies and snapchat all the way.


Enjoy Busan, because it is one of the best, most relaxing place I've ever been to and it's probably because of the airbnb place that we've booked, which was the biggest, nicest crib ever.

That post will come soon I hope.

Bye now. 

04 June 2016

Wedding Update 13: Sixteen Ways to Have a Great Pre-Wedding Photoshoot.

I've decided to list down the things that you can do/bring to make your pre-wedding photo-shoot a smooth and fun one. I want you all to be ready with all the things that you may never think you need. I didn't have a lot of advise on this before because my sister could not remember (since hers was hundreds of moons ago) so I hope this is helpful for you girls and boys. 

Get your makeup artist phone number.

I will explain why you need to do this. 

I knew that My Dream Wedding is not providing any ampules for both female and male as part of the package, so I went to Alan (in Gurney Paragon, LG floor) and bought a box of Mandarin Ampules RM38 and there are 10 small bottles in it. 

I brought the ampules to My Dream Wedding and Sharon (my wonderful makeup artist) told me that Mandarin Ampules (believed to suit all kind of skin type) is not suitable for photo-shoot makeup. She would rather not use it at all. However, since I will be doing whole day photo-shoot 3 out of 4 locations outdoor, it was highly recommended that I put on the ampules so that the makeup stays. 

With that said, she sold to us 4 bottles of ampules for the price of RM140. It's insanely high marked-up because I got mine for less than RM50 for 10 bottles, and as far as I know, all other ampules do not cost till RM140 for 4 bottles. 

So, if you would like to avoid paying this RM140, call them (your makeup artist) days before the photo-shoot day and ask for the type of ampules they use, if not they sure give you reasons why yours cannot. I like Sharon (a lot), but that RM140 is too precious for couple-to-wed okay. 

Go for a manicure session few days before the photo-shoot.

I did mine days 3 days before and I only did manicure since it's highly likely that my toes will never be seen in the photos. Hah. 

So, to save money, do only manicure and don't do the normal kind. Go for the gel type so it can last longer and if you are not a 'soft' kind of girl, gel is the way to go. Manicure is important for both bride and groom to-be because certain shots are close-ups and you do not want to see horrible un-kept nails in the photos, right? 

If you are that kind not sure what color to put, then just go with French Manicure. Serious. 


Know what kind of heels/shoes you want to wear.


I brought like 6 pairs of different heels, only to realize that I actually only used 1 black, 1 white, 1 sport shoe and a pair of slippers.

For ladies, you actually don't need so many different color because your dress will cover your leg 85% of the photo-shoot, of course unless you want the photographer to capture your feet as well. Again, it's depending on what kind of photo-shoot you want.

If you're like me, cannot decide what heels to wear and must ask photographer, then bring all you've got. Hah.

For guys, please just bring all the shoes if I may, because obviously your shoes will be seen 100% of the time, unless you want to hide your feet behind the dress, which happened to Koay.

He realized that his sport shoes didn't really match with his clothes, so he stood behind me during that specific location and block his feet. Heh.

Make sure the groom trims his hair a week before and nose hair a day before.

Okay, maybe I should not use the word 'make sure', but 'encourage'. Hah. In all seriousness though, remind the huz-to-be to cut his hair a week prior because if he does it few days before, it may not look as how he wants it. I don't think girls would wantto cut their hair before the photo-shoot, but even if you do, do it at least a week before.

For his nose hair, seriously remind him constantly. I had my share of sending reminders, but it somehow didn't work because well, he is a busy man with all the stocks to see and monitor and all the clients to entertain. Kidding. Heh. 

He forgot about it and on that photo-shoot morning, I asked casually and his eyes opened. 

I was like, "Do whatever you need to do! Just pull it! Cry also cry don't care already or just push all of them in and don't breathe out hard!"

Fun times.

If you need to do facial or hair treatment, go one week prior.

This is to avoid any unpredictable things to happen okay. You never know that your skin may decide to go all crazy on you even though you have gone through the same treatment a thousand times, so please do all these treatments a week before. 

Know what kind of hairstyle you would want to match for each outfit.

Girls, listen to me okay. No one warned me on this so I had no idea and I had to pay for the consequences. Heh. So serious pulak. 

The makeup artist asked me if I had any hair style preferences and I honestly was okay with any kind, till she started making and I was like, "Hmm.."

Turns out, I didn't really like the hairstyles that I had on me that day, but I did not do any homework prior to that so it's okay lah. Beautiful face what hairstyle also beautiful right? :)

So, please do a lot of Pinterest-searching and Googling for hair styles that you like and save these images on your phone. Remember that you are the client and client is always right. Heh.

Please wear the nude bra from home.

This one can save time and save you from feeling embarrassed because the makeup artist will be in the changing room with you to help you put on everything including the dress. 

Do know that it feels as though you are not wearing anything but it is completely normal.

Eat heavy breakfast before heading to the studio.

For boys not so bad because they will not be putting on lipstick. So they can eat whenever they want. For ladies, not so much okay. I opted to eat sushi because I can just put everything inside my mouth and chew. There is no time to eat okay so make sure you makan dulu. 

Even if you're not a morning person (like me) and you find it super hard to eat so early, you just got to suck it up and eat. If not later sure suffer. 

Our photographers gave us 30 minutes for lunch so that was pretty okay. 

Bring facial towels/tissue for the whole day use.

We did not bring any because we forgot. Heh. 

We didn't have to also because our assistant, Boy brought all the things that we need and constantly wiping our sweat on our faces during the photo-shoot. Boy definitely helped to "carry" Vanessa's responsibility. 

You may not have an additional assistant on your photo-shoot day so do remember because tissue is really needed eh. We got an assistant because of what happened with My Dream Wedding KL, so that feels pretty amazing. 

Cut down on your carbs a week before photo-shoot.

This apparently is highly recommended when you read in Google search all.

Pump up your protein intake such as meat (preferably white meat) and eggs and stuff. Food items like rice and bread and koay-teow basah has got  to go. Just tahan for the one-week.

You want to look camera-ready for the photo-shoot yes?

Easier said than done. I tried doing a week before, but I crave for rice so much (after depriving from it for few days), I went to eat rice for dinner the night before.

So my advice is eat in moderation for carbs but lesser than you normally would, unless of course you really are a hardcore-disciplined kind of person, then do it! I believe you can do it!

Don't be strangers with the team.


This is a golden rule.

Koay is a big believer of that. Ask questions that are not only photo-shoot related. Ask personal questions like you sincerely want to know about them.

That way you will feel less awkward spending the entire day with them and taking photos. One of the things that I really love about our team is that Marcus, the chief photographer always make funny 'jokes' and hokkien sentences that are way too hilarious.

A very effective way to get us laugh naturally and capture that moment. Not just us okay. He and Boy also always burst out laughing when Adrian does something silly. So, it's all good.

We made new friends that day :)

Bring your own makeup sponge.

This one is for those who really want to save money okay. For me, I had wished someone would have told me all this, so I no need to spend a single cent that day. 

I'm not stingy okay. We paid RM4,988 for this entire experience and I really expect not to pay anything anymore because that is not a small amount okay. 

They charge me RM12 for a makeup sponge that I get to bring home afterwards. I went to Daiso and they sell 5 makeup sponges for RM5 only. 

Oh goodness me. 

Yes, if I can save on this, I will feel happy also. Maybe you feel it's just RM12, what's so big deal about it right. 

Try to have a room/house renovation and a wedding for 450 people to happen all at the same season. Yeah. Heh. 

Please do not apply any hair/make-up products on the day from home.

It is really difficult for the makeup artist to style your hair if you have already styled them with your wax/gel. Leave it to the pro okay. 

For men, if you are the kind that knows exactly what kind of hairstyle you want, then go ahead and do it.

For women, a big no-no. Don't even apply any hair cream if you can. If you insist, then bring the cream/serum to the studio and let the makeup artist know first. You wouldn't want your hair to look super oily and wet for the photo-shoot, right? There's only so much that photoshop can do. I'm no expert but I'm guessing that removing the "oily-feel" from the hair is cannot-do. Heh.

Same goes for make-ups okay. Boys, you will wear some foundation-like cream on your face and your eyebrows will lightly be touched up because you just have to. Heh.

Girls, no need to say also understood. You will spend more time on that chair for your face and hair.

Pack some snacks.

You will get hungry after few hours even after having a heavy breakfast. Taking photos is hard-work and hard-work means you use your energy more than the normal days, and once your energy is used up, you will need food to make more energy. That or more sleep, and since sleep is not possible, forget sleep.

Wait, sleep is quite possible if you are not driving. For bride-to-be however, you will not be able to sleep even in the car because you don't want to mess the hairdo. Yep, no resting your head on the head-rest too. Hardwork, remember? Heh.

Be comfortable underneath.

Umm, this should be a common-sense yeah.

You will spend whole day outside, under the sun or not, standing and walking and doing lots of posing (depending on your creativity), so you should be in your most comfortable undies. This applies for both boys and girls okay. You wouldn't want to be always 'adjusting' it the whole time. You all know what I mean. Heh.

For girls, you can get like a corset kind if you feel comfortable in it but if not, just put on your favorite. For boys, same goes to you all okay.

I believe that humans' confidence is partly affected by the undergarments that we wear, hence all the nice-looking and good materials in the market that can cost so much it's crazy. So, put on the best and most comfortable then for sure, you will also feel good about yourself and the rest of the day will be great.

Avoid drinking too much water a day before.

Yes, this one I think will help. 

It is highly recommended that you avoid drinking any liquid after 8pm the night before the your photo-shoot, to avoid eye puffiness and looking camera-ready.

Caution: Dehydrating your body is quite a bad-thing, so if you experience any dizziness and discomfort, quickly go drink all the water you can find okay. 

Remember to bring your slippers.

This could save your life feet! I kid you not.

For ladies only. You don't want to be wearing your heels the entire time, trust me you just don't! Even if you are very comfortable with all your heels and you are a heels-pro-wearer, you need the slippers! You hear me? YOU NEED THEM FLAT SLIPPERS!

I thought that I had forgotten to bring my slippers out to the location, so I wore the heels the entire time outside. My feet died. I was in so much pain that it actually affected my mood for the rest of the photo-shooting. So, please do yourself a favor and bring your slippers everywhere you go.

Life is tough yeah. Bring your slippers. Hah.

Bring umbrellas.

Don't say, "Oh, it's okay we like the sun that's why we are so dark!" because it's not true when you are in a wedding dress and a tuxedo and you have makeup on your face.

The last thing you want is sweat on the face and worse if your makeup starts to melt then you really g.

Koay has sensitive skin so every time he starts to sweat, he gets itchy and uncomfortable. So, what he normally does is to make sure no sweat on his face or neck. He has this habit of wiping his face with his sleeves so when he did that, his white shirt turned brown on his right hand sleeve and part of his face has no more foundation and can probably see uneven skin tone. Heh. Photoshop is needed for his face then.

So, umbrella will really be helpful especially when you have outdoors shooting. You're very welcome :)

Lastly, remember who you are creating this memory with. 

I was constantly reminding myself on that. It was a long tiring day and I was so demotivated at the end of the day because my feet died and I was so drained.

I almost did not have fun starting from the 3rd location onwards but I looked at Koay, and realized that I'm not doing all this alone. I am creating a memory that only both of us know how it feels like because well, we are doing it with each other.

He made it funny and spontaneous with all his crazy weird ideas. For someone who feels shy and awkward to be standing in front of other people taking photos, he did superb. He suggested most of the embarrassing things that we did and boy, was I thankful that it was him that I'm doing this with.

Challenging chapter this one is but so what?

I have my partner-in-crime with me, so we'll be okay. We'll be more than okay.


Bye now.

02 June 2016

Koay's Love Language #18.

We were in KL the other week and we went shopping at Atria Mall.

Him: Choose a pair that you like. I'll buy it for you.
Me: *eyesbrows raised* What do you want from me? Hah.
Him: The current shoe makes your toes painful ma, so get a new one la.
Me: Serious wan ah? I choose ah? *walks around like a queen*
Him: Nah, this one nice.
Me: This is too pink for me already dei, but others are too girly also. Hmm.
Him: This one seriously nice la, and it's Puma. Get this one.
Me: *tried it on and it looked great* Okaylah. This shall be it then.

Few weeks later back in Penang, I got a call from him during office hours.

Him: Babe, the dinner plan got cancelled so no plan tonight d okay.
Me: Okay! *in my head I was planning to go watch movie and wanted to suggest already*
Him: Okay, so tonight this is what is going to happen.
Me: Huh? Okay.. *hear and see first*
Him: After work, you go back to your house and change and then we go hiking/running at Botanical Garden, then we go Adventist Hospital to visit Adrian and Caren, then back to my house to plan our room's lighting all.
Me: Errr, okay.. G!


It looks like the 'buy sport shoes for me' thing is a trap! A trap to ask me go exercise because now I cannot say no. If I really say no, he will most likely end up not talking to me one whole day because the deal is sealed.

To be fair, he did mentioned it that time when he pay for the shoes that all he wants in return for this shoe is for both of us to exercise together, but I really thought he was joking and he will like forget about it, but nope. Not even close.

Now that I'm documenting this, it's slowly to grow on me that this is pretty sweet la. In one of our pre-marital counselling session, he did mentioned that one of his expectation and things he really enjoy doing with me is exercise time.

We used to play floorball together, okay maybe not like together-gether kind, but we would sweat together (sort of) until I decided to end my floorball chapter due to health and laziness reasons. Heh.

I guess we will be venturing more into hiking because that's for sure one thing that we both love.

Love you, Mut.

Bye now.