14 Oct 2015 - Pork Bone Soup for brunch

Brunch at 이대조 뼈다귀 for some pork bone soup ^^
I came here with the couple during Spring this year if you still remember.
This cost me 7000 won.
Warm and hearty meal before I head out to a hair salon.

13 Oct 2015 - White Jjampong!!

Dinner time at 초마 炒馬.
Heard a lot about this place and 재희 has also recommended this place to me.
So here I am to try out their popular dish, Jjampong 짬뽕 ^^

Open 11.50am ~ 9pm
BUT....when I was there at around 4.30pm, it was closed.
Staff told me that it was their break time and to come back at 5pm....

The pink arrow is pointing to the white Jjampong that I have ordered, 하얀짬뽕.
The one below as shown by the blue arrow is the same white Jjampong but a bigger portion cos it states "곱".

My white Jjampong.
Ermmm...it is not exactly white but the soup was not the usual spicy red color.
잘 먹겠습니다 ^^

Mmmmmm....I love this kind of noodles ^^
Happiness filled my heart ㅋㅋㅋ

It was not the usual spicy red color soup but its spicy. I wonder how they cook this! Maybe lots of pepper??  Well, I'm not sure. Did the staff asked me whether I wanted spicy??? I forgotten ㅋㅋㅋ It was not really spicy for me and it was really delicious!! There weres pork slices, seafood and veggie in it  냠냠 

Nearest subway station would be Hapjeong Station, exit 3.
 About 5-10 mins walk from the station.

Supper!!
I walked over to my favourite place, Homeplus (as always lol) after dinner.
Was craving for some fried chicken but felt guilty with the high calories..
I was so happy that Lotteria sells one drumstick!
Instant satisfaction for my craving!!

I love yogurt and this caught my attention.
My first time to see wholegrain yogurt!
How can I not try it!!
I bought the Oats & Almond flavour.
Yeap. It tasted really nice ^^
I wish they would be available in Spore!!!

A very happy first nite in my second home indeed   ㅋㅋㅋ

13 Oct 2015 - Chillaxing at 식물

My next destination was to check out a nearby neighbourhood, Ikseon-dong 익선동.
I can actually walk from Insadong to this neighbourhood but I took the subway instead.
Direction as shown from Jongno 3(sam)-ga Station, exit 4.

Think that's Ibis Hotel in the background.

Decided to check out this pub, 식물.

I fell in love wth this corner ^^

My Sparkling Sangria Blanca.
I like this place for its ambiance.
Although there's not much option for food but its a really nice place to chill out with friends. 

I think Jongno 3(sam)-ga Station, exit 4 is the nearest station to this pub.
Less than 5 mins walk from exit 4.
You can use this link to see more pictures on the pub : http://demipota.tistory.com/282
뜰안 which is circled in pink looks like a nice traditional tea house.
Here's a link for the tea house : http://ifilly.tistory.com/358

13 Oct 2015 - Vegetarian lunch ^^

Lunch at 오세계향 after giving thanks at Jogyesa Temple.

I have always wanted to try the vegetarian food in Korea.
So happy that I finally have the chance ^^

Saw a lot of young people here ^^

My 순두부찌개 Sundubu jjigae(8000won) ^^
Every dish you see here was really tasty!       
Btw, there is English translations on the menu.

Nearest subway station is Anguk Station, exit 6.

13 Oct 2015 - My accommodation for this Autumn trip 2015

안녕하세요 ^^
 Today, I shall start blogging about my Autumn trip back home.
Reached Incheon airport on 13 Oct around 6am.
As usual, I took the Arex to Hongdae.
Yeap. Staying in Hongdae again. And yes, it was still AirBnb.

View of my favorite neighbourhood, 연남동 from my apartment ^^

Well equipped kitchen.
However, you need to pull the wire across to the next table if you need to use the toaster or microwave.

Body lotion is also provided.
However, my host may have forgotten to refill the shampoo.
Anyway, it was not an issue to me cos I always bring my own shampoo.

Overall, I am pretty satisfied with this apartment. Clean, neat and bright. The best part is the location which was about 6 mins walk to the main shopping street of Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong is just next to my apartment. There is nothing wrong with this apartment. However, perhaps the host is relatively new to this Airbnb thing, so she did not give clear instructions as to where to throw the rubbish daily. She told me go down to level 1 and turn right. I did that and could not see any rubbish dump around... I found it eventually but it was not somewhere that I would thought of. The rubbish dump was outside the building. It would be better if she could show it to me personally. In addition, the host did not give instructions how to use the washing machine. She told me she will work on the instructions on how to use it.

The rubbish dump

If you have followed my blog, you would have know about my encounter with the previous AirBnb host. He told me Airbnb is illegal in Korea and have to cancel my reservation. ..blah ..blah...blah...

Ok anyway, one fine night around 7.30pm, I reached the apartment lift lobby and saw a guy in uniform talking to the security guard.  He approached everyone waiting for the lift and asked everyone except me,"Are you a tourist?".  I told him,"I am tourist."  He asked me for some information like, where did I book my apartment from, my host's contact and showed him the Airbnb reservation.  I was a bit doubtful to tell a stranger so many things but I checked his ID and uniform.  It seemed like many tourists in the building were AirBnb guests and had their place checked by him already. He requested to take pictures of my apartment. I began to trust him when he said he can take pictures from the door entrance without coming into the apartment. He probably have sensed that I would feel uncomfortable with just two of us alone in the apartment. He asked me to write a statement on how much I paid for the apartment, where I am from and the duration of my stay, He also snapped a picture of my passport but he allowed me to cover the important information. Well, I covered my picture and NRIC no. He laughed and said I covered too many important information but he did not insist anything that I don't want to.

I asked him if Airbnb is illegal in Korea. He told me Airbnb is legal for tourists but illegal for hosts as the government did not give approval to allow Airbnb to operate in that building. He said the government did not order a shut down of Airbnb operation in Korea. The hosts will have to pay a fine and the police will conduct a check again few months down the road. If the host is caught again, they will have to pay another fine, maybe more this time.  I think there are too many Airbnb apartments in Hongdae and it takes a lot of time & effort to check. 

The tourist police assured me that I am legal to stay and not to worry. Should I encounter any emergency problem, call them(Was it 120???) or 1330 for tourist help line(non emergency).  He also advised to me not to go out late on my own hahahahaa  Btw, he is very good looking lor!!  Hahahaha My attention was on him and his fluent English; not so much on his investigation hahahaha 

He called my host but my host told him to call the next day using office phone.  Nothing wrong with that. I would have requested the same if I receive a call from someone claiming to be the police.  Well, Mr policeman did not insist any further. He told me not to tell, listen and believe the host too much; believe the Police instead. I totally agreed.

Image of tourist police extracted from internet.
What a cool picture, isn't it??? 

The new police unit called the “tourist police” has officially been launched in Seoul on October 16, 2013. 

재영 said he got a cultural shock when I showed him the pictures of these tourist police. His reaction was a cultural shock to me as well ㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ

Errmmm....pardon me but I have to confess that all the while, my mind was thinking of taking a picture with him or just him alone but I dare not hahah. You can read more about tourist police from KTO

Out of courtesy, I texted my host to inform her on this  but I did not want to tell her everything.  Here's our conversation and I was not pleased when she asked questions like "How they know you are tourist?", "What did you write in the statement?" and "So you wrote everything....?"  Ermm....I can understand you want to know what I told the police but "So you wrote everything....?". Her questions made me feel as though I have something to hide 헉..

I do not want to reveal her name and link becos I think she is not the only host to encounter this.

Will I go for Airbnb again for my future trips back home?
My answer is still YES ^^
It is your choice to choose whatever accommodation you want.
This is just for sharing purpose.

Always happy to see you again.

Met up with 재영 last nite. Brought him to Melben at Toa Payoh for his favourite local food, salted egg crabs.

We reached around 6.35pm. There was no queue and a few empty tables which surprised me cos my friends warned me about the long queue. I realised it was Halloween and brought him or rather he brought me to Clark Quay to experience Halloween celebration in SG. It was always great to spend time with him. 

Gifts from 재영. Words cannot express how much I appreciated his kind thoughts..really...no words. Becos he is not the type to subscribe these kind of magazines/books but he subscribed to give them to me. I really like them a lot and I mean it. 재영아, I will treasure them well.  I am really happy to see you again.  Hahah can I say 여행 잘 다녀와??  잘 지내 ^^

안녕하세요

여러분, 안녕하세요 ^^
I just got back last nite and feeling really tired even though I slept more during this trip than I was in Spore. My updates will be really slow cos of my work.  Really dread the thought of going back to office tomorrow...

Anyway, do not expect much from my trip this time becos the purpose of this trip is for me to sleep..sleep...sleep and shop. Yeah...I am deprived of sleep in Spore hahahaa
As for eating, yup.  I did went to most of the places that I wanted. However, I had brunch instead of breakfast and lunch cos most of the time I woke up late.  On top of it, I was not feeling well for a few days and slept a lot. I wonder if it was because the bed was too comfortable or becos I was sick. 

I felt it was rather warm in Seoul this time during my stay.  It was cold before 12pm, hot in the afternoon and maybe air con temperature after 7pm?  The weather was good. It only rain on the day I flew back. Lucky me ㅋㅋㅋ I brought a few thick jackets but did not wear them at all!! The temperature was bearable for me and I was the type who is scared of cold.  It only felt colder on the night(25 Oct) before I flew back.  

It was a fruitful trip.  Met many nice Koreans as always and some unexpected happenings. Cnblue concerts marked a beautiful ending to my Autumn trip back home. I would suffer from severe depression if not for them.  Becos of them, I am able to fly back to Spore without regrets and sadness ㅎㅎㅎ  Truly enjoy their performances.  It was so so high and unforgettable!  This was only made possible becos of my friend, 재희 and her parents who helped me a lot.  

Ok folks, do bear with me for my slow updates ya ^^

Grateful nite ^^

My actual travel date for my upcoming trip is supposed to be 12 Oct - 23 Oct 2015. I couldn't sleep well ever since I got to know that 씨엔블루 will have two concerts on 24 & 25 Oct 2015. I felt like crying....왜???!!!

And so for more than a week, I was on a mind torturing journey of preparing myself to grab the tickets once its open to public for booking, which is 18 Sep. That's right. Its today at SG time 6pm. Other than concert tickets, I got to settle my accommodation and air ticket. Oh yes. That is why I asked my host about extension of stay for a SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT REASON - 씨엔블루 "Come Together" 2015.

The good news is I managed to get a ticket for both nites!!! Hoorayyyyy!!! The tickets were snapped up real fast and I am so lucky to get for both nites. All becos I have a very kind friend, 재희 ^^ Without her, I couldn't get the ticket at all. No words can explain how grateful and thankful I am. She did not just help me with the booking but also in many other ways. The best part is I only knew her for 11 days??? I am so thankful to have her as a friend ^^ 고마워

I am also thankful to my new Airbnb host who has agreed to wait for me till Saturday. I explained to her about the concert tickets as well as the shocking experience with my previous Airbnb host. Its only right that I tell her the truth, isn't it?

So what's left now is my air ticket...which needs to be cancelled and pay the penalties or top up few hundreds. 괜찮아요. I am already mentally prepared when I have decided to go for the concerts. Its worth it. 

I felt so mentally and physically exhausted after 재희 booked the tickets. I guess all my energy was used up during the mind torturing period hahahahaha

Sharing - Part 2

I emailed to Airbnb this morning for an update and the lady from Airbnb called me back. Yes, the caller ID indicates "California". 

She managed to get in touch with my host who also told her about the problem he encountered with the police and she told him that he has to initiate the cancellation. He did :)

Within minutes, I received a notification from Airbnb that the reservation is cancelled and I was given two options. First option is for the refund to be used on another Airbnb apartment. On top of this, Airbnb will top up $88 for me if my next accommodation cost more than the one cancelled. This top up of $88 will be valid for 30 days. Awesome isn't it??

Second option is to have the full refund back to my credit card. 

Out of curiosity, I asked the Airbnb lady how is the weather at "her side". She told me she is actually located in Singapore but the call will be directed out of Singapore. I see ㅋㅋㅋ

My overall experience for this encounter was thankful because things did not happen just before or during my trip. Airbnb was helpful and provides prompt service recovery. 

A big thanks to Linh from Airbnb! 

Wish me the best of luck for tomorrow cos tomorrow decides the fate for my SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT REASON to extend my stay in Korea!! Please let me fly back to Singapore with no regrets and abundance of happiness ^^

Sharing - Part 1

I booked an apartment from airbnb(as usual) for my upcoming trip this Autumn. Yup home time.  So since Sunday, I have been trying to reach my host to ask if I can extend my stay due to a SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT REASON.  Actually, I have checked his calender on Airbnb and I knew the dates were taken up but I just wana try my luck. I dropped him a msg via airbnb, a sms to his hp and another msg via Airbnb yesterday.  No reply till this morning.  I thought something bad has happened to my host becos I don't think any host will reply this late...and so I got a reply on the third day. Kinda of unbelievable, isn't it?  
here's his replies and I shall leave it to you to judge.

First email :
"Hi ~

First, I'm really sorry...I have some problem that I have to cancel your booking.
Because yesterday the police come my place and told me stop sell the room on airbnb..also get penalty...I don't know why but the Airbnb is illegal in Korea
I also very angry and don't understand...but...

There is one way you can stay, If you don't mind you can cancel your booking and pay direct to me by cash...but It's too bother you...
Anyway I'm really sorry to tell this...
Hope you can find better house...so sorry...."

Second email :

"Thank you for understanding and worry about me...

For refund of course you will get full refund~so no worry.

Sorry again. and take care.

If you don't mind when you come Korea, e-mail or kakao me. Let's grab some coffee or beer"

Seriously speaking, I was not angry at all and felt it was a blessing in disguise. I would be glad to have coffee or beer with him but let's settle things first.

I can't imagine what will happen if I have not text him.  I texted him becos I wanted to try my luck asking about the extended stay and indeed I was lucky.  He was the first host who did not give me any directions/maps upon my booking even though my reservation at that point of time was still a few months away from the actual date of checking in. For this, I gave him the benefit of doubt that its still too early to give me all those directions. 

I can't believe that Airbnb is illegal in Korea. So does that mean I have violated the laws in all my previous trips?? I only know for sure that it is illegal to have HDB flats as Airbnb apartments in Singapore. Again, I chose to give him the benefit of doubt that he couldn't/didn't explain himself well.  I think I should be able to get back a full refund. Hope the whole process will not take too long or tedious.

I told my host I should not be the one to initiate the cancellation becos I will need to bear 50% of the payment if I am the one to cancel the reservation. Hmm! Till now, my reservation is not cancelled.  

Fortunately, I also dropped Airbnb a msg yesterday about no response from my host.  So this afternoon, I received a call from California! I thought it was a prank call and almost rejected the call. I am glad that I didn't.  It was from Airbnb. 

I told the lady from Airbnb about what my host told me and she will try to reach the host first. During the whole conversation, I was still doubtful of her identity but was assured when she dropped me an email (bearing Airbnb logo and email) after our conversation. Till now, Airbnb has not get back to me about the refund but the lady from Airbnb told me she still couldn't reach the host.  It was afternoon when she told me so. She also advised me to keep all our conversations between tenant and host via Airbnb mailbox so that Airbnb can trace the whole case.

I stayed in Airbnb a few times and totally love it.  This is my first time to experience such encounter.  Lies or not is not important to me for now. God is watching and God is fair. Its a blessing in disguise to me. My top most concern is my SUPER DUPER IMPORTANT REASON to extend my stay!!!!!  I really really hope my wish could come true.

14 Sep 2015 씨엔블루 - "신데렐라" ^^

Omgggg...I just watched the full MV of 씨엔블루 - "신데렐라" via V Live!!!  
Love the song!! Love the guys hahahhahahaha 
Can't wait to listen to the rest of the songs in the new album.  I have been counting down to this new album! I think I cannot sleep tonight at the thought of them. 어떻게...its 11.20pm and I am still so wide awake because I am too excited to sleep.