Autumn in Korea

The passion for travelling has brought us to an oriental destination this time. It is not just the influence of the country's drama series but also the season now which is alluring. The season combined with the beautiful places which is cleverly used and picturized by the drama or movie director to awe the audience. Just so you know, autumn in Korea is definitely mesmerizing. And we just had to see it with our own eyes.

Our trip was mostly confined in Seoul except for the first two days that we went to Everland in Yongin and Nami Island in Chuncheon. Seoul is very like KL in terms of traffic and tall buildings plus shopping malls here and there. But nothing can match its cleanliness and the proper attitude of its people. You won't see a single trash on its street. The public toilet is shiny and gleaming. The locals follow all the rules, crossing the road at zebras even when there's no oncoming cars, they wait in line patiently at lifts and bus stops. The pedestrian walkways is just perfect and even has two lanes just like the roads. Dotted with birches or pines or lovely flower bush. Small kids walk to school by themselves. Beautiful green parks are everywhere. To me they have succeeded blending nature and modern living so harmoniously.

I wouldn't know about the back alleys or the city outskirt though. Never really venture there. But I believe that at least the people's proper and polite attitude is the same.

Travelling in group has its pros and cons that I can see now. We made new friends and we have more people to share the journey with. More people to look out for us too. We were fortunate to have met nice people in our group. The only cons is we have to follow the itinerary and the time given to spend at certain places is just not enough. That while carrying this 30 weeks belly. Phew. It wouldn't do to be late because you don't want other people waiting for you at the bus. Sometimes it seems like we spend more time on the tour bus than travelling because to get around takes so much time due to the traffic. We would benefit so much if we go on our own because the public bus and subway system here is properly connected thus transportation wouldn't be a problem. By using public transport is how you get to experience the local lifestyle and see more places and takes more photos. That is how we like to travel. And we hope to come back and do so. Maybe explore other places outside Seoul. Jeju Island is high on our list.

Let's move on to some pictures shall we?

Everland theme park

Autumn is here

Meow

Saranghae :)

Look at my baby bump!

Oh, this is at Nami Island by the way. I'm sure everybody recognize the famous Winter Sonata lane. 

The only mosque in Seoul. Masjid Ittaewon. 

Below are some of the korean dishes we get to taste.

Samgyetang or ginseng chicken soup

Daktoritang or spicy chicken stew

Beef bulgogi

So, we've tasted summer in New Zealand and autumn in Korea. In future, perhaps spring in say, Switzerland? Japan? We'll see, insyaAllah.





Of our first anniversary trip

So this is the last night of our vacation in this beautiful country. Oh, I didn't really mentioned where we're going in the last post right? We're in Seoul, South Korea! And it's such a busy yet clean city. It's autumn here and the leaves are starting to turn colours. Really beautiful.

We had quite an experience here. Lots of things to see and done. But alas, it's coming to an end and we're still not satisfied. You see, we came with a group tour and everything is planned and packed into a schedule. So we can't do things leisurely on our own. Normally we would prefer a trip by ourselves but seeing that I'm pregnant and it's a country of barriers in language and food makes us choose to go with a tour group hoping to have a relaxing and hassle free trip. Then again, it's not as relaxing as I imagined coz we're rushing here and there to meet all the planned itinerary. Phew.

Earlier this morning, I planned to write this post with a few picture. But hubby didn't bring the cable and this hotel's room computer didn't have memory card slot. So I can't transfer any picture yet. I'll just have to update in Malaysia then. Which is if I can find the time,that is. Hahaha. But I will try, coz there is just so many things to share.

Salam from Seoul, Korea :)

Overwhelmed

Pernah rasa overwhelmed sebab terlalu banyak benda hendak buat dalam satu masa? Aku sangat rasa begitu sekarang. Lagi-lagi bayi kami ini akan menjenguk dunia lebih kurang 10 minggu saja lagi. Kalau ikut jangkaan full term la which is sangat berharap bayi ini full term sebelum dilahirkan. 10 minggu? *gasp* Kedengaran begitu dekat sekali.

Barang-barang bayi begitu costly rupanya. Baru ku tahu. Iye la, sebelum ini mana pernah membelek atau melepak di zon bayi kalau pergi shopping mall. Untuk satu pasang baju dan seluar newborn, paling murah pun RM14. Belum lagi jenama yang glamer-glamer itu. Satu hari newborn tukar baju berapa kali eh? Kalau beli lima-enam pasang sahaja, samada aku perlu basuh baju hari-hari atau pakaikan sepasang saja satu hari. Tapi kalau tidak tukar baju, masam la bayi aku nanti. Mana boleh, bayi aku mesti berbau wangi dan comel.

Hari-hari bila sempat akan menimba ilmu di internet mengenai bayi dan motherhood sampai aku jadi pening. Aku dah buat keputusan hendak fully breastfeed bayi ini nanti. Maka perlu bersiap sedia dengan breastpump. Oh my, sungguh banyak pilihan jenama breastpump yang ada. Jadi baca dan baca review lagi sampai pening. Akhirnya sudah memilih Avent Isis Manual dan sudah pun beli. Manual for working mum? Ya, kerana sepertinya breastpump elektrik ada banyak tiub perlu dipasang dan disteril setiap kali. Aku risau menjadi tidak sempat di klinik ini. Lagipun ramai juga orang berjaya dengan manual pump berbanding elektrik. Malah ramai juga yang dapat hasil lebih dengan perah guna tangan sahaja. Kita lihat nanti bagaimana. Adik aku pula beli Medela Swing. Nanti boleh la cuba dan bandingkan.      

Hari ini hari terakhir di Malaysia. Ewah. Tidak, bukan berpindah cuma meninggalkan negara selama 6 hari sahaja. Ibu mengandung ini tidak sedar diri mahu membawa perut buncit berjalan-jalan makan angin. Sungguh tidak sabar mahu menikmati percutian ini. Sebenarnya trip ini sempena ulangtahun pertama perkahwinan kami. Walaupun mengandung sudah 30 minggu pada hari ini, aku mahu pergi. Kiranya honeymoon berdua sebelum jadi bertiga. Lepas ini, kita honeymoon dengan baby. Yeay!

Ke manakah hala tuju penulisan ini? Biarlah merewang asal dapat melepaskan rindu menulis. Talian internet di rumah sungguh tidak memberangsangkan. Habis tu, rumah sewa di pinggiran bandar bersebelahan sawah padi. Ada sedikit capaian talian telefon pun sudah bersyukur. Fazrul ada bersuara hendak memasang streamix. Tapi nampaknya banyak keutamaan lain lagi. Jadi bagaimana hendak kemaskini blog? Mahu berblog di klinik seperti tidak patut kerana waktu kerja. Bukan seperti, memang tidak patut. Maka blog ini akan menjadi mangsa pengabaian sehingga bila tidak pasti.

Tetapi aku tahu pembaca-pembaca blog mesti suka baca blog yang constantly updated. In that case, I'm doomed.

It's really unfortunate for NZ right now particularly Christchurch. Two earthquakes in just five months time and both was megascale. Barely enough time to recover when mother earth strikes again. I had the opportunity to visit Christchurch and stayed there overnight during my trip to NZ about a year ago. We stayed at a Malaysian's house. She's an engineer pursuing PHD there and lives with her three kids (I think it was three. Or maybe four?). Her husband works in Dubai. She's really one of the kindest person we met there. Not only offering the warmth of her house and homecooked meals, she also packed us some food for our road trip. Then she kindly let us leave behind some of the bulky luggages in her house which we could pick up a week later when we've finished touring south island and it's time to leave NZ. I wonder how is she and her family doing right now.

This is the alley beside her house. Look how clean it is. 

Christchurch square.

Wani told me this is where Yusri KRU and Erra runs towards each other's embrace in Cinderella the movie. Really? I haven't watch the movie.  

Shamefully the only sightseeing and photo taking we did in Christchurch was here because we were too busy hogging the souvenir shop. Plus we arrived there quite late and the next morning we were on the road again very early. But while cruising around the town in the car, lost and looking for shops, I did notice the beautiful gardens, the river in the city where you can row a boat and the antique bridge we got on to cross the river. The modern and old buildings and the unique tramway. In simple word: Beautiful. Otherwise it wouldn't be called 'The Garden City'.

Express visit to Kuching

Some might already know by now but here's announcing a very good news for us and the family. Fazrul already got his posting transfer letter and we will start living together very soon. Aye, couldn't be more excited! Alhamdulillah.

Anyway, with him leaving Kuching there's shipping and cargo to transport his six year's worth of life there. So this calls for an unplan trip to Kuching. For a shopping spree! Wee~ It was a short trip. Really short trip. I went on saturday morning and came back on sunday evening which is yesterday. My colleague said, 'macam balik kampung sebelah je'. Ngeehee.  

Boy, given the time it was a really hectic shopping spree. Back and forth to various outlets in Kuching, and the process continued to Serikin. I must have exhausted the sole of my shoes.

In the midst of hecticness, we still didn't forget to fulfill our gastronomical voyage. After all, it might be a long time before we would set foot in Kuching again. Remember that last time I was disappointed because the best restaurant with mi kolok was closed for renovation? Well they're back in business again and it's the first place we head to immediately after I arrived. Slurrppp.

So very satisfying. The next is of course the mouth watering ayam penyet. But we were too late. Because they were totally sold out! It was only 9 pm though. Oh well, maybe that's a calling for a trip next time. Hehe.



While on the plane I keep myself busy with crocheting. It's been a while since I crochet and then I found this really nice, cute and easy peasy pattern of flower and heart. I need the crochet fix anyway. Just to ease my mind and keep me happy. It's weird how it affects me. Heh. Anyway, I don't fancy bringing a half done tablecloth or blanket on a trip so this one is really great. I can make plenty and these are really awesome to add as embellishment on handmade cards, frames, tablecloth or any other projects. I'm planning to buy more yarns and hooks soon to make it in different sizes.

If you're a crocheter as well, check it out. They're one of my favourite crafter on the net. I absolutely think the owner's a genius for creating all the stuff.

Ah well, I better get going if I want to get those yarns. Ciao!

Ber'iPhone' di Sabah

Testing. Testing. I so love this phone. The aps are really cool and we could spend hours just playing an 'Angry birds' game. Hehe. We just got us both the iPhone 4 and it's about time really. I've been using an old Samsung, for the past 5 years. It's only rm200 and now you can imagine the tackyness of the phone. Much like 3310 nokia. Mind you it has served me really well but it's just time to upgrade. I rarely splurge on gadgets so this time I might as well go for the best and I know I'll be using it for a long time.





Waiting the transit flight to Bintulu.





The view from our room, Imperial Boutec hotel in Sabah.





Marvellous seafood at waterfront.





Basking in the sun and sea at Manukan Island Sabah.

All these photos were taken with iPhone. Perfect, for me. I love it that now I can blog and post picts from anywhere and at anytime! Provided there's internet line lah ;P

- Posted using BlogPress from maiefa's iPhone

Of foods in Kuching

Among the things I love about Kuching is the local delicacies. Last time I had the yummiest mi kolok in town. It's at Kopi O Corner near Satok. I was really looking forward to another round of it on this trip but the restaurant was closed for renovation. Aiseh. So we search for the yummiest laksa sarawak in town instead.

Damn good! Definitely the most delicious I've tasted so far.

A bowl of 'laksa sarawak special' includes bigger prawn. Squeeze the lime and dip the sambal. Pergh, the taste is simply superb.

If you ever come to Kuching, head to Patingan. Just a small distance past Satok market, make a u-turn under the fly over and turn left at Petronas. Head on straight and find this home-based eatery on your right. Oh, JJCM has been here too.

With fully satisfied stomach, we head on to Digi Centre for an errand. Then we drive to Lundu for a programme that Fazrul and his housemates were organizing. To be specific it has something to do with extreme motor sports. But that story could wait later.

Later that night and I mean really-really late, we went to satisfy the craving for ayam penyet next. We got lost on the way back from Lundu and was simply starving.

Snap! Iphone 4, we love you ;)

Looking at this picture makes me salivating again. Yummeh. There's a few version of ayam penyet and last time I had the fried one at Raja Ayam Penyet. This time Fazrul brought me here where the chicken is grilled instead of fried and OMG! Perfectly grilled with perfect sauce and perfect sambal. Now I'm begging Fazrul to dine here again before I go home. Hee.

So, head on there! At My Village Barok, just across the river from Waterfront Kuching. You can either drive there or simply take the boat or sampan from waterfront. It's just a little walking distance from the jetty after that.

Now we've just arrived at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. It's raining and we're stuck in the hotel. But that won't dampen my will to hunt for the yummiest food here next. Ciao!

Honeymoon unlimited

Olo! (You'd understand this if you've watched Megamind ;P) I'm currently at Kuching on a one week leave having an oh-so-exciting holiday with my husband. It's a month after our wedding and time seems to move slowly with him around. We're languorously enjoying this moment together.

I arrived on Friday straight from Penang. My man works here and Deepavali is not a public holiday here. So the evening after I arrived he held a small high tea for his colleagues at the clinic. And we got more wedding presents!

I've just realized that I'm a bad documenter. So many things have been happening in my life and some just pass away without words as memory. There are photos, yes. But with words we'll get the whole picture. Heck, I've been as far as New Zealand and I didn't have a proper journal on it. What a waste. I am determined more than ever now to jot down all the experience, memories, excitement, and the ups and downs life has to offer me. I wish to do this so that one day when I'm old and all shriveling but still acceptably pretty, while sipping lemon tea in my garden, I'd get to reminisce my life with my old and all shriveling but still handsome husband by my side.

A good company at the Kuching International Airport while Fazrul went for Friday prayer

I miss New Zealand

I'll be back. One day. InsyaAllah =)