2 birthdays in 9 days

On hubby's birthday, we'd lunch & dinner together. Just simple celebration.

Hubby had a lunch treat from his wife @ Seafood Harvest, Parco

After work, we had dinner buffet at Plaza Market Café, Fairmont Hotel (new name for Raffles The Plaza). It's a "free" dinner as we used one of the Feeds card vouchers (our Raffles dining membership). The food was pretty good.. especially the beef that hubby indulged in.

A pic of the Birthday Boy ;)

Peranakan-themed Plaza Market Café serving International & Peranakan buffet

Our tummies hadn't been so bloated for a long time. Hehe.

As for my birthday... hubby gave me a 2D1N celebration:) It's great that the day before my birthday was a public holiday. We checked into Swissotel Merchant Court on Fri as we'd a one-time special rate of S$90++. Hubby had made the reservation about 2 months ago.

We're given an upgrade to the newly renovated Business Executive Room.

In the big balcony

Some pix before going for dinner

Happy hubby!

We walked to Clarke Quay's The Pump Room... somewhere hubby had been wanting to bring me to.

Bon apetit!

Hubby could drink to his heart's content as we weren't driving ;)

Having our 2nd round of food. Me, a coconut creme brulee and hubby, a sauteed mushrooms with herbs & garlics.

We'd some more beer after dinner & only left after the 1st set of live band performance. That's 4 hours later.

On our way back, just in front of the hotel.

We're both very happy. It's been such a long time we hadn't gone clubbing.

Thank you honey for the wonderful birthday celebration over the long weekend. Muakz!

My sickly days in Seoul

Started feeling unwell on Sun afternoon. Thank God we're on our own Mon noon onwards... at least could do things at our own pace. We're so lack of sleep since the night we departed. On average, we could only manage to catch 4 hours of sleep every night due to the packed schedule. Which is why hubby & I never like to join package tour.. it's worse than working days.

Mon afternoon, we still went out and walked quite a bit. In fact, we again covered our whole afternoon's journey by foot. Initially we're a lil lost.. we didn't know where to head to. All the road signs in only Korean made it worse. Too bad I was sick.. otherwise I'd have completely enjoyed the cold cold weather with hubby. That's the only time I wished it could be warmer. After some distance, chanced upon a small eating place & had our lunch there.. delicious fried chicken. Got to know a very nice & helpful Korean, Mr Sung(?), who spoke excellent English as he studied in the US before. Thereafter to the nearby bank to change more money. Then Namdaemun Market. Went to Shinsegae Department Store at Myung Dong which was about 15mins from Namdaemun. Did marketing at their supermarket.. bought bread, butter, eggs, juice, instant noodles etc as I didn't have much appetite to feast on local food:( Hubby still preferred to walk back despite having to carry all by himself the items we bought & they're heavy. Took us about 25mins to reach the apartment.

That night, I ran quite high a fever again with a very bad cough. Made a call back to Singapore, to our travel insurance provider and its in-house doctor urged me to see a local doc immediately as from what I told her, she said I was having bronchitis. So we called the hotel's front desk, telling the staff I was sick and asked them to send for an emergency doctor. After a while, the front desk called us back saying it's not available & promised to send one the following morning at 10am. I insisted I wanted a doctor & she too insisted she didn't have one.

The next morning after 10am, no sign of doctor. So hubby called the front desk again. 10mins later, finally the doorbell rang. But it turned out to be someone delivering an adapter. Hubby then asked the reception about the doctor but that lady had no clue of what we're talking about. At that moment, I lost my patience. I took over the call & started shouting at her. I couldn't believe such a request as important as life threatening was not being marked in their record. I was breathless & coughing but still couldn't control myself from speaking at the top of my voice. I think the sentence "do you want me to die in your apartment??!!" scared her (that's if she could understand)... she kept apologising and then, asked me to spell out what I wanted. I nearly fainted. Only then we realised they had mistaken "A Doctor" as "Adapter"! We had mentioned "A Doctor" at least 10 times & without fail, they thought it's "Adapter" each time. Goodness... imagine if it's really a life-threatening situation??

Some minutes later, another staff called to apologise & said they had prepared the hotel transport to send me to the nearest clinic. He explained that the doctors in Seoul could not make house call.

A hotel staff, Thomas, went with us in case we needed an interpreter. It's quite a short distance to the nearest doctor who's actually an orthopaedist. Like what I was previous told, he diagnosed that I had acute bronchitis with a fever of 38.6°C (I wasn't even feeling that feverish then, so can you imagine how high my fever had gotten when I felt really unwell at night?) and gave me a jab of antibiotics on top of the medicine he prescribed. It's a pretty smooth process as the doc could speak pretty good English. Of course, he graduated from Harvard University! Thomas then brought us to the pharmacy a few doors away to purchase the medicine. We're told this is how it works in Seoul, the clinics usually don't provide medicine. Maybe that's the reason why they don't make house call?

We're back in the apartment in less than an hour. Took the medicine & rest while hubby did laundry. Only went out after 3pm to start my cosmetics shopping. Had Burger King for dinner. Surprisingly, I craved for fast food & western food during the few days when I was so sick. I shuddered at the thought of seaweed soup, hotpot, udon... Maybe I had too much Korean food before that:P Now I miss their Bibimbap! Hubby & I like it!

I think we'd made "an impression" at the hotel. Everyone seemed to know us. The next morning hubby called to enquire about the airport limo & the gentleman asked "how's your wife, sir?". Thought he's Thomas but nope, he wasn't. Another lady, Michelle, also called to apologise again and asked how's things. Hmm...

Chilly Korea

On 28 Feb, our flight to Incheon Airport was delayed for more than an hour... & so our departure was on 29th, to be exact. Disappointingly, I didn't get to sleep much on board... just about 2 hours in total out of the 6 hours flight.

Upon arrival, we all changed into our long john & more layers of clothes. Then we set out for our 1st destination which would take about 3 hours on the road - Yongin Everland.

First contact with the cold winter in Korea. Everyone's so excited!

We're on the cable car.

Had fun at the snow slide!

In the afternoon, we made a short stop at Yeoju Premium Outlets. It's a place to shop for designers' goods but the prices weren't appealing at all. In fact we've the exact items in Singapore at lower prices.

Evening, we made our journey to Yongpyong, where we're going to ski the following morning. Before reaching the ski resort, we rented our ski suits (that's included in the package) & goggles. That was when the first round of snow welcomed us! Snow flakes were falling down... just like what we saw on TV! But it'd already stopped when we left the ski shop.

Then had dinner at a Korean restaurant which was just minutes away from the resort. It's past 8pm & all of our luggages were still in cold storage underneath the coach. Just when we're done with dinner, we're greeted by the 2nd round of snow. This time, it's heavier and lasted much longer. Every one of us behaved like kids... prancing in the snow & of course, busy snapping shots.

Our Korean tour guide said we're lucky to be seeing snow at this time of the year. Hee.



It's still snowing when we reached Yongpyong Ski Resort, one of the most popular ski resorts in Korea and was also one of the 3 finalists vying for 2010 Winter Olympics (ultimately missed out to Vancouver).

After settling in our room, hubby & I went out... wanting to take a walk in the snow & to get some items too at the supermarket on ground floor (in the same premise).

See how much snow hubby had collected after a 5-min walk?

Thought we're the only ones who sneaked out but wrong. Met many of his colleagues when we're back at the hotel lobby. And the hotel's back door led us to the beautiful sight of the snowy slopes as the resort was located right within the ski sites.

2 slopes behind us. It's -3°C! Brrrr!

Originally a walk together had turned into a snow fight! Haha.

Thawing frozen noses with heat pads.

The traditional Ondol living.

Just checked out... in our ski suits. Leaving for breakfast soon!

Getting ready for skiing!

Not everyone took part & not everyone enjoyed it. But hubby & I had a blast! I didn't expect myself to enjoy this sport:) Too bad the session was too short.. only about 3-4 hours. Hubby & I were starting to master the skill (of braking without falling) & I totally loved the feel of gliding on the snowy slope! It was a pity that I didn't get to enjoy for long as I was totally exhausted. The shoes were heavy, so were the ski. My limps couldn't summon any strength at all to even bring the gear back. My poor hubby, who's also drained, had to carry my as well as his skis back.

But it's a very good experience ;)

Leaving Yongpyong.

Having a toilet break at this place called 38th Parallel (三八线), a very significant part in Korean history. The ground we're stepping on previously belonged to North Korea. There used to be a border here separating North & South Korea. At the end of the Korean War which was 55 years ago, S.Korea possessed this part of land with help from the US but also lost partial territory in the Northwest to N.Korea.

Mount Sorak. 1,708m above sea level.
It's North Korea at the other side of Mount Sorak.

A long cable car ride of 1.2km to the top (black arrow).

A quick pic before the cable car took us up...

Magnificence of the snowy Mount Sorak behind me

We climbed to almost the peak! Not an easy journey as the way up was sandy & slippery. And boy, the wind could blow us away!

After dinner, our tour guides threw in an additional itinerary - Daepo Port, where there's a popular fish market at night.

Hubby enjoyed the local snacks from street side stalls with colleagues. I was too full to munch anymore.

Had a great time at Daepo Port

Much better accomodation on 2nd night. And the place was big... with 2 rooms.

We've reached Seoul finally!
@ Myung Dong... like Orchard Road in Singapore

The guys were getting a cuppa. Hubby & I like the Green Tea Latte. Nice!

Oh yes, it snowed again once we reached Seoul. :)

It's a day of shopping. After Myung Dong, we're driven to Dongdaemun. But things sold there were expensive from somewhere that looked like Far East Plaza. We would have to pay at least S$60 for a simple top. I only bought a necklace there.

Sinchon, another shopping venue.

Hubby bought 2 tops here:)

I began to feel unwell in the afternoon, while at Dongdaemun. Felt feverish. At night, we had Ginseng Chicken for dinner & I vomitted everything after that. Nearly couldn't make it to the room & I dirtied the whole vanity top. Took a rest after popping 2 panadol tabs... didn't even wash up & change. Poor hubby cleared the mess I created & took care of me. It could be a coincidence that I didn't wear thick enough that day & caught a cold. He washed our long john the night before & hanged them in the balcony instead of placing them indoor (heat from heater). It wasn't a wise choice as the morning dew had added on to the dampness. Hubby blamed himself for not listening to me but really it wasn't his fault. I am TOO weak. He didn't wear his too but he's alright. Thank God. After resting for an hour, I only had the energy to get up & wash my face. Hubby was so sweet to have gotten everything ready for me. My whole body was aching but I couldn't differentiate whether it's due to the fever or the after-effects from my ski session.

The next morning, I felt a lil better. But I think the fever made me lethargic as I kept dozing off on the coach & consequently, I didn't visit the Korean Ginseng shop while the rest did. But I was told I didn't miss out anything.

After some sleep, I was well enough to walk around Gyeongbok Palace, with an interesting past.

Around noon, those who extended had a free ride to the hotels we moved to (for our extension) while the other coach drove the rest to the airport. Majority of those who extended stayed in a small hotel conveniently located in Myung Dong. Whereas hubby & I chose an apartment, Fraser Place, near Namdaemun.

It's a very nice apartment with spacious living room & bedroom.

We felt we lived like the young & affluent Koreans whom we always see in the Korean dramas. Hee!

Interestingly, where we stayed for the first night was like a duplicate of a humble home. Second night's was better... newer & more spacious. Then, our luxurious home of 3 days.

In the afternoon, we walked to Namdaemun, the famous night market. Lotsa yummy local snacks along the street!

While trying to find our way back, we accidentally reached Myung Dong & realised it's actually not far away from our apartment!

The next day, I rested for most part of the day & hubby kept himself busy with the laundry. Thanks to him, we didn't need to do much washing when back. We only went out past 3pm.

It snowed again, for the 3rd time, during our stay in Korea. :)

Went back to Sinchon & then Myung Dong as I wanted to shop for cosmetics. No clothes for me, not at all, for this trip. Like to shop for my stuff leisurely.. which was why I couldn't get anything when we're there in a group previously. That's why I say hubby's my best shopping mate as he's always so patient.:P See, I still wanted to shop though I was quite ill... wouldn't want to waste our trip there. I would say the biggest attraction gotta be cosmetics & beauty products of certain brands. We paid less than half of the prices tagged here! Eg. my Skinfood B.B. cream.. I paid less than S$20 there.. & those from The Face Shop.. Missha.. Beauty Credit.... Also bought a range of B.B. cream from another Korean brand - Etude House.. too bad this chain store isn't available in Singapore.
So, I bought A LOT.

While I pampered myself with shopping, hubby gave himself more treats of the local snacks... hehe.

Having breakfast on the day of departure.
I looked sick right?

Besides offering a comfortable stay in their apartment equipped with very modern facilities, one big plus point of this serviced apartment is the convenience in airport transfer & it's cheap. We're told that normal taxi would cost us approx S$120 but this airport limo, which's less than a 3-min walk from where we stayed, only cost us a total of S$25. :)

I had my Wish fulfilled! :)

It snowed on the first night of our arrival!

See it now??

We returned last Wed night (about 10pm) & I only surface now because I am sick. We resumed work the next day (Thurs) and I was on medical leave on Fri. The medicine zonked me out so much that I couldn't bring myself to face computer for the past days. About my sickness, well that's another story to tell. Coming up soon.