Home sweet home???

Wanted to blog about the rest of my Korea trip today but today has just been one bad thing after another, I am not in the right state of mind to blog about happy stuff. Will do it another day. The trip was really great... it's just that home wasn't all I had looked forward to.

I just got back from Langkawi last night... totally exhausted from being an emcee, hostess, tourguide and event planner at the same time to a bunch of doctors and nurses. Although they were a very nice and appreciative group, I was totally drained. I was so glad to finally be back in KL. Alas, today has not been smooth sailing.

1st; I failed 4 out of the 7 tests I had at work... who knows what the implications will be.

2nd; I went to my favourite saloon for a hair-wash, to relax after a long tiring trip. There were others there and the shampoo girl told me to wait a short while. "A short while" dragged on to more than half an hour! I walked out of the place and washed my hair elsewhere. Didn't feel quite as good but at least no waiting.

3rd thought at least bf's coming over to see me tonight after his class in FF Cheras, one last silver lining of the day... we haven't seen each other for 2 weeks!! A reunion sounds heavenly. Alas! His class was over more than 2 hours ago, and I am still sitting here all alone blogging.

So much for home sweet home eh?

Eat and be merry

Sigh! Today, throat has gotten worse... the stuffy nose started. Argh! Hate it when that happens during trips. Don't care I'm still gonna enjoy myself to the fullest. Just gonna sei teng until my body can no longer tahan... then take plenty of MCs when I go back to KL??? hehehe ;-)

Anyway, went to have Shabu Shabu with my colleagues on Monday night.

Wendy and me

Zen and me

Good choice, it was really yummy but super filling as well. Indeed it was...

course by course,

one by one

'Til you shout,

"Enough! I'm done!"

After all the vegetable and meat, there was noodle then they'd pour rice and some other stuff in it to make a porridge-like thingy.

And then to work it all off, we went for a stroll along the man-made river in the middle of the city. Very beautiful too... until we all did not realize our feet were tired walking along the seemingly never ending river.

chasing waterfalls

down the stream

Kimchigitis

I'm down with a terrible sore throat. Must be having too much spicy stuff and kimchi. Kimchigitis... :-(

But Korea is such a beautiful country. The place is beautiful, the people are beautiful and everything is so vibrantly coloured! It's not easy to find someone in gloomy-looking clothes. The place is technologically advanced yet you'll still find plenty of culture and patriotism. A very rare combination.

Went walking around in Nam Dae Mun on Sunday and had dinner there as well.
and behind me is...

the streets of NamDaeMun

Then I had dinner with my Singaporean colleague, Zen. We were trying to figure out what the Korean words mean and what the food was before eating. It doesn't help that no one could speak any English. So, we ended up eating in this cute little coffee shop. He had the rice and I had the noodle. We also ordered this weird looking reddish coloured thing which we thought the shop lady said was squid. Turns out it was some kind of rice cake...

Zen's rice and the "squid"

my noodles

Oh boy, were we full... carb overload!! Although we took a cab to NamDaeMun, it felt like such a short journey we thought we'd take a walk back since the weather so cool and comfy. Mana la tau, sesat... asking for directions weren't much help either. All we got was "yong-ha-sho-rae-yo! gu-se-ham-da...etc"
Huh????? We didn't know what in the world these people were saying and I'm sure it's vice versa.

Suddenly, we saw our hotel sign from afar. Thank God for the brightly lit signage and tall hotel building. We finally made it back to the hotel... and got a little bit of shut-eye before the training starts the next day.

It was really only A LITTLE BIT of sleep coz it was the Korea-France match that night. When the game was done with a 1-1 result... it felt like the whole city was shouting, screaming and singing in unison... at 4am in the morning!! You can hear it no matter which corner of the city you are in. What spirit and passion eh?

Go Korea!!! (Yikes! It's contagious)

Window to the Seoul

After the little hick-up at the airport, I finally got to my room and it's really great. It's not really a hotel but rather a service apartment. My room is a studio suite, complete with a kitchen and all. Only on business trips can I stay at nice places like this. On my own, aku kena la jaga-jaga sikit budget tu. Since a picture paints a thousand words...

bedroom

bedroom/living room

living room/kitchen

complete wt cutleries & crokery

and huge fridge

and washing machine

It's not like I'm gonna cook or keep food fresh this trip. But the washing machine'll come in handy, just gotta figure out how to use one as I haven't done it in a loooong time.

Don't you think that studio suites are so cozy? I kinda like the idea of staying in a small place like this in the future. It may seem like there is no privacy because the living room = bedroom = kitchen. The only separate room is the bath. But if you think of it, with this as a super solid excuse, you will never have to house any guests thus you'll enjoy the full privacy of the place!

The best part about staying in a highrise is the magnificent view...



the views from my room, not too clear through the glass panel




the breathtaking view of Seoul City from the rooftop of the place I'm staying

I am overwhelmed and at a lost for words... beautiful isn't it?

My 1st Seoul Adventure

I'm now safe and sound in the hotel... but my room is not ready so I pretty much have nothing to do now but lepak here at the lounge and surf the net. None of my colleagues have arrived yet, I am the earliest one.

Anyway, when I arrived bright and early at Incheon Airport, I could not find my pick-up fler. No one was holding up a sign with my name on it... no sign that says Baxter either. Hmm, I waited a short while, still no sign of him. So I got the info counter gal to make an announcement. Still no answer. I waited about an hour at the airport before I decided to take the cab because my colleague told me the cabs are extremely expensive.

Had no choice, I'm not familiar with this place, can't speak the language, they can't speak ours... I took a cab to the hotel. It cost me about RM370!! Yikes! Oh well, for all it's worth, the journey here from the airport was pretty scenic.

but of course I didn't get to see at this angle... hehehe

I just hope won't run out of Wons before the trip is over...

Seoul Searching

Yahooooo!!! Am flying to Seoul tomorrow! Since I'll be the earliest to arrive I will have time to explore the city by myself 1st! The 1st few days, I'll be in a training but I will be extending for another few more days for a holiday! Too bad I had to come back early because of the nurses training in Langkawi. So, I'd have to touchdown at KLIA and take d next flight to Langkawi for work. What a waste! I would have stayed in Seoul much longer if not for that.

Let's see some of d important stuff in my packing list:
Passport - check!
Both flight tickets - check!
Homework - check!
Currency - check!
Credit cards - check!
Adapter - check!
Camera - check!
Million-dollar Malaysian smile - check!

My Singaporean colleague said that everything was so expensive there. She just went there a few months ago. A meal cost her about USD40 and a cab from d airport to the town area USD100!! Yikes! I do hope I bring enough money to sustain me for the whole trip. Oh well, there's always my trustee credit cards!

Doesn't matter, I just know it's gonna be so much fun! Stay tuned for da pics when I'm back!!!

Nike Rockstar Sol

Went to Azyei's Nike Rockstar class at Axis the other day, by mistake actually... my booklet says that slot is Bodyjam. I didn't quite like the Rockstar Hip Hop but this one??? I like!! It totally rocks!! The moves are cool, the music is great and it's loads of fun! Eventhough I missed the 1st block last week, Azyei was great teacher as I still could catch up with most of the moves. Except the 2nd last part of the 1st block... 1-2-cha-cha, 1-2-cha-cha, 1-2-cha-cha... that was super confusing.

The only itty bitty problem? It's a series. As you know in all series, it's no fun to miss an episode or you'd be lost. Movies are great because you just enjoy it once through with no commitments attached. Bodyjam = movies, Nike Rockstar = series. I've always tried not to get hooked on series because of my unpredictable work schedule. Although I love Desperate Housewives, I've probably missed a gazillion episodes and am pretty lost now.

I will be travelling the next 2 weeks.... 2 WEEKS!!! How in the world am I gonna catch up with Nike Rockstar Sol when I'm back. Missing the 1st block was not good but missing 1st, 3rd and 4th block? Boo hoo hoo!!!

Perhaps I can go to d Nike website and get a preview of it from Jamie King himself? And try doing it all alone in d hotel room like a nutcase? But I've never been a good or disciplined self-learner. Guess I'll just have to wait till I get back. :-(

There's Revival in Taman Negara!

Last week, our church Revival Centre KL had our family camp in Taman Negara. Initially, we faced some problems organizing the camp... no speaker, no venue, got accommodation no hall...etc. But praise God it all worked out in the end. In fact, the response was the best ever!! 146 campers!! Most of the campers were staying at the conference venue, Woodlands... but due to overwhelming response, some of us stayed at the neighbouring resort, Rainforest.

We left RCKL at about 8.30am.
everyone boarding d bus

Then we made a pitstop at Jerantut for lunch. D food was gooood! D last yummy meal before a few days of Taman Negara food...urgh
Yuet Ngor (Fellow AJHGian) & me!

Woodlands' little cottages

Revivalettes

Seremban Siew Pau for tea break

Andy (Fellow AJHGian) and me

Sally (Fellow AJHGian) and me!

D worship team practising

D congregation, da rest still outside

D sermons were very good because our speaker, Ps Matt Heins made it very simple and practical. Easy to understand and hits a few bullseye... sometimes abit scary when d pastors sermons hit abit too close to home. You just absolutely know it's God speaking straight to you... yes, I mean YOU!! During one of the services, Ps Matt actually called me out to pray for me, saying that God wants to use me... I have bigs things ahead of me in my future. Argh! Is dat some kind of calling?? Tak tau la what it is... God's plans are always the best but not necessarily a smooth sailing easy path. Scary... but sun kei tzi yin la! Nothing good can ever come out of disobeying Him. Anyway, He has blessed me with so much... got nothing to complain about in my life thanks to Him!! Praise God!

games during dinner

d joy of d Lord!

Misty mornings

The second day, we had some free time in the afternoon to do some adventurous stuff. There are several options to choose from: Canopy Walk, Rapid Shooting, Orang Asli Village Visit and Cave Exploration. I chose to go for the cave exploration because I've never done it before.
Took a boat 2 d jungle (rapid shooting?)

Jungle trekking

Passed a hanging bridge (canopy walk??)

Gua Telinga

I think we cave explorers, although the smallest group, got to do the most variety of activities... heheh. Haven't got d pics taken inside d cave. The bats are really cute! Furry little creatures sleeping in groups upside down. Will post it later. But it was a great experience! I think this was d most adventurous church camp I've ever been to.

Interviewing d campers for testimony

At night, a group of us gathered to play charades together. Although just a very simple game, but it's really really funny to see a bunch of adults act like kiddies trying to act things out. The second night, it was a birthday celebration for Marissa!!
D birthday gal and her cake!

Oh, another reason that probably attracted some female camper... d good looking speaker!! ;-)
Ps Matt and me

All in all, it was a great camp! Extremely tiring but worth every moment and every drop of sweat!! I'm sure many lives were touched at this camp and it'll cause a chain-reaction to touch many more who didn't even go. Hopefully next year we'll need an even bigger resort to fit all of the Revivalites!

Miracle jam!

Just back from church camp yesterday. Was dead tired that I slept 14 hours last nite!! Anyway, will blog about the camp another day.

Last Saturday, I went to the Miracle event at the Curve for the Bodyjam 37 launch (extended version). Asked Budak Gile to come along but she only came to watch because she said she can't possibly follow all the steps. Jammed with yhsmom and her friend instead. It was 1 1/2 hours long but it was really fun. I especially like the last block but Leo said they'll only start teaching that 4 weeks from now. Boohoo! Gotta wait lor...

Here are some pics from that day...
bf and me!
me in d crowd
da cool instructors
me jamming with yhsmom

Wonderwoman emceeing
How disappointing! She's my favourite BJ instructor and since she has left for Hong Kong, I have yet to crown anyone else that yet. I thought I'd get to attend her class at this launch... but apparently she hurt herself a couple of days before that. I hope she's feeling better now...

After that, took a shower then had dinner with Budak Gile at TGIF. I was so hungry I could eat a horse!

Am definitely looking forward to BJ classes this release, lotsa cool songs... no more techno-jam like d last release! Yahooooooo!!!