Installment 12: All Good Things Must Come To an End...
Today is my last full day in Tokyo with Mellers! T___T Tomorrow I leave for the 6:08pm flight to Chicago and then Chicago to Toronto, to arrive around 10:55pm.
SLEPT IN & FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Mellers was supposed to attend classes in the morning, but for some reason, none of her three alarms went off. >)____(< So she missed two classes...oops. We ate lunch at Matsuya. By the way, for any of you who will visit Tokyo one day, Matsuya and Yoshinoda have good food at cheap prices...ranging from around 300 yen to 700 yen, if I recall. Also if you have eaten instant noodles (ramen), you have not really eaten ramen. Oh my gosh ramen here is so delicious. The noodles are amazing and it's much more substance than what the packaged bowls/cups have led us to believe. My ramen last night was delicious! Noodles, broth, meat, green onions, I believe there were some snow pea leaves in there too. It was really great. So big bowl of ramen, rice, gyoza for around 600yen. I'd say that's really cheap, wouldn't you? Most of the sets will come with miso soup, plus a big bowl of food, so you won't go hungry. Even the pre-made bentos in places like 7/11 are really good. That's where I got my cold soba/udon for aroun 400 yen and it was really good.
So the best things I ate here (in no particular order):
-zaru soba (cold soba noodles and shrimp tempura)
-ramen (noodle soup)
-onigiri (chicken & mayonaise riceball and salmon riceball)
-sushi... sooo good
-omurice (rice wrapped in an omelet) with curry
-yakiniku (bbq meat)
-takoyaki (octopus balls)
-oden (soup with various items)
-tons of other stuff that I don't even know the name of.. it was in the pictures...
DETERMINED TO SHOP
I bought some black converse sneakers! yay! and I got my calendar! Woohoo! Determination pays off. I found the Kinokuniya bookstore in Shinjuku (with Mellers directions and help from other people) and was able to grab that calendar. Finally. Now I don't have to pay 4000 yen in shipping!
SHINJUKU SCORE!!!
Yes, I must admit to you that I saw some arcades in Shinjuku. I did go in and spend money, because I am soooo competitive. That bear rikamaru (sp?) bear really doesn't want to come to Canada. I spent like 1000+ trying, but alas, I have resigned. I did however, just spend 100 yen and won something on the first shot of that ufo game. A MINI MP3 PLAYER!! OH yeah SCORE! I also won a bunch of little cute toys in this game where I use a claw to pull this string and it empties all the goodies out. They are actually really cute and weird at the same time.
RAIN, RAIN GO AWAYYYY!
It started to rain, so that kind of put a damper on things. I was supposed to go to the Meiji Shrine, but I guess I'll leave that to next year, unless I superrush it tomorrow morning... we'll see... I also wasn't able to go back to Harajuku really quickly to get Mellers the skirt and do some last minute stuff, but that's ok. There's always October!
I am proud to say I found/bought everything on my list! SCORE! And of course, more... Thank heavens I made a budget for this trip! Thank goodness I saved! Thank you Parkdale for giving me extra hours.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAYU CELEBRATION
I totally forgot to bring Mayu's gift again. I'm such a dummy. We met her at Shinjuku and we ate at Asian Kitchen. It has a really nice atmosphere and we ate soooo much! It was crazy and the Happy Birthday dessert was crazy big and good. Pics of that will come laterrrrr... We talked a lot and had so much fun. They were correcting my Japanese and verifying stuff for me. We took a lot of pictures too. Mellers and I were also gonna go to the public bath, but we were too late. I guess next time...
This was such an awesome trip.
*correction: In the previous installment, I said kendamas were wooden TOES, I meant TOYS!
originally written: Apr 11, 2007
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Installment 11: Temples, Shrines & Canada!
Installment 11: Temples, Shrines & Canada!
I went to Sensoji Temple solo today, because Mellers had class. I took the train to Ueno station and then transferred onto the Ginza line to Asakusa. It's really nice that I can adventure around. Mellers always tells me to call her if I have trouble, but so far no.
I couldn't really tell how much tickets would cost, so I just asked someone to help me. hahaha. Word to those who travel here and don't know how much the train ticket will cost to where you are going...ask someone who is buying a ticket/has bought one or of course someone who works there. People are very accomodating.
So I got to the temple area and it took me a while to get to the main temple, because of all my detours. No, not the detours you think (getting lost) more like seeing interesting things and steering off my path.
KENDAMAAAAAA!
Woohoo I was able to find kendamas. They are hand-made wooden toes, that require skill to play with. I will upload a pic...ahahaha so many to upload. So I bought two OFFICIAL kendamas. Yes, official, there are actual professional competitions. There's even someone who has the Guiness record for it. Ko showed me the official site when I was in Toronto and mannn some people even breakdance while playing kendama!
ICE-CREAMMMMMMMMMMM
I found an ice-cream place with 30 different flavours. There were all sorts of different flavours like Japanese apricot, sweet potato, purple sweet potato, sesame, etc. I chose sakura (cherry blossom flavour) soooo goood! I want moooooorrreee!
SANDALS
I was on a mission to find bigger sandals to wear with my yukata (summer kimono), since the ones I bought last year were a little too small. Finally found it, when I went for a detour. Most places only had smaller sizes, but I find my size at this small shop and got an 80 yen discount too.
SENSOJI TEMPLE
The temple was just as beautiful as I remembered and even nicer during the day. I did all the stuff like drinking the water and wafting the incense, etc. I also bought charms for good luck and health, as well as making your dreams come true. I took video which I'll upload. I also did the fortune...this is what I got...
No. 96 THE BEST FORTUNE
Relying upon a person in higher rank for help to succeed in one's life is just like a cock tries to fly following a phoenix and perches on a higher twig.
Poling a boat across the stream is a simile of your getting along well with others in this world.
You will rise in the world and will be wealthy.
*Your wish will come true, so you should be modest for everything. *The sick person will get well. *The lost article will be found. *The person you are waiting for will come. *Building a new house and removal are both good *It is good to make a travel. *Both marriage and employment are good.
YUKATAS & CANADA?!
I wanted to get another yukata, so I went by a store and ended up getting Kimono coasters instead. The ladies were really friendly and when the oldest one heard I was from Canada, she said in Japanese that she loves the maple leaf. hahhaa So I gave each of them the Canadian badges I had brought. She was so happy, she gave me a handkerchief as a gift. They were so cute too. They saw I had a lot of bags and gave me a bigger one and told me to put them "ishoni" (together). I had that happen at three different stores...ahahah am I shopping too much?
CUTE STORE OWNER
Hahaha I bet you're thinking I was checking some hot guy out right? No... when I went to the local grocery store, there was an old man who owns it. Last time I went there I was looking for something, so this time he remembered me. He said, "oh Canada" ahahah. I stayed there for a bit and we talked. It was really cute because his English is limited and my Japanese was limited, but somehow we were able to have a good conversation! We talked about food and the money conversions and what I was doing here, etc. ahahah who would have thought. I am quite happy to say that so far on this trip, I have never had the experience of NOT being able to communicate what I'm trying to say. Through Japanese, Korean, English and hand movements, it's all been good.
Wahh this is super long. Sorrryyyyy! Just to let you know that while I was at the temple I asked that all my family and friends stay healthy and happy.
-Sam
originally written: Apr 10, 2007
I went to Sensoji Temple solo today, because Mellers had class. I took the train to Ueno station and then transferred onto the Ginza line to Asakusa. It's really nice that I can adventure around. Mellers always tells me to call her if I have trouble, but so far no.
I couldn't really tell how much tickets would cost, so I just asked someone to help me. hahaha. Word to those who travel here and don't know how much the train ticket will cost to where you are going...ask someone who is buying a ticket/has bought one or of course someone who works there. People are very accomodating.
So I got to the temple area and it took me a while to get to the main temple, because of all my detours. No, not the detours you think (getting lost) more like seeing interesting things and steering off my path.
KENDAMAAAAAA!
Woohoo I was able to find kendamas. They are hand-made wooden toes, that require skill to play with. I will upload a pic...ahahaha so many to upload. So I bought two OFFICIAL kendamas. Yes, official, there are actual professional competitions. There's even someone who has the Guiness record for it. Ko showed me the official site when I was in Toronto and mannn some people even breakdance while playing kendama!
ICE-CREAMMMMMMMMMMM
I found an ice-cream place with 30 different flavours. There were all sorts of different flavours like Japanese apricot, sweet potato, purple sweet potato, sesame, etc. I chose sakura (cherry blossom flavour) soooo goood! I want moooooorrreee!
SANDALS
I was on a mission to find bigger sandals to wear with my yukata (summer kimono), since the ones I bought last year were a little too small. Finally found it, when I went for a detour. Most places only had smaller sizes, but I find my size at this small shop and got an 80 yen discount too.
SENSOJI TEMPLE
The temple was just as beautiful as I remembered and even nicer during the day. I did all the stuff like drinking the water and wafting the incense, etc. I also bought charms for good luck and health, as well as making your dreams come true. I took video which I'll upload. I also did the fortune...this is what I got...
No. 96 THE BEST FORTUNE
Relying upon a person in higher rank for help to succeed in one's life is just like a cock tries to fly following a phoenix and perches on a higher twig.
Poling a boat across the stream is a simile of your getting along well with others in this world.
You will rise in the world and will be wealthy.
*Your wish will come true, so you should be modest for everything. *The sick person will get well. *The lost article will be found. *The person you are waiting for will come. *Building a new house and removal are both good *It is good to make a travel. *Both marriage and employment are good.
YUKATAS & CANADA?!
I wanted to get another yukata, so I went by a store and ended up getting Kimono coasters instead. The ladies were really friendly and when the oldest one heard I was from Canada, she said in Japanese that she loves the maple leaf. hahhaa So I gave each of them the Canadian badges I had brought. She was so happy, she gave me a handkerchief as a gift. They were so cute too. They saw I had a lot of bags and gave me a bigger one and told me to put them "ishoni" (together). I had that happen at three different stores...ahahah am I shopping too much?
CUTE STORE OWNER
Hahaha I bet you're thinking I was checking some hot guy out right? No... when I went to the local grocery store, there was an old man who owns it. Last time I went there I was looking for something, so this time he remembered me. He said, "oh Canada" ahahah. I stayed there for a bit and we talked. It was really cute because his English is limited and my Japanese was limited, but somehow we were able to have a good conversation! We talked about food and the money conversions and what I was doing here, etc. ahahah who would have thought. I am quite happy to say that so far on this trip, I have never had the experience of NOT being able to communicate what I'm trying to say. Through Japanese, Korean, English and hand movements, it's all been good.
Wahh this is super long. Sorrryyyyy! Just to let you know that while I was at the temple I asked that all my family and friends stay healthy and happy.
-Sam
originally written: Apr 10, 2007
Installment 10: Shibuyaaaaaaa!
Installment 10: Shibuyaaaaaaa!
HELLO...IT'S SAM
I was finally able to talk to Mom after over a week. Mannnn I keep missing her and finally I reached them by collect call. Talked to Dad for a bit too which was nice. Yay income tax, I don't owe the government money. That's always a plus
SHIBUYAAAAAAAAAAAA
I went to Shibuya by myself as Mellers had class. It was quite exciting and overwhelming at the same time. There were soooo many people there! There seemed to be three popular ways of crossing, so I decided to start on the left. Left is always better than right (at least in my head) I stumbled upon an arcade. Hahahah you know how I love challenges, right?
I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY!!!
So, naturally, I got sucked into that darn crane game/ufo game. I really wanted to win that big bear...1000 yen later...no success. Darn you, Bear! I almost got you twice....you were caught up and on your way to me and then you fell!! T___________T I decided to try a different one and on the first shot, I won a yellow elephant. It's soooo cuute. I'll upload a pic later on today.
109 BUILDING
I went up and down the streets until I got to the 109 Building which is infamous for women's fashion. The stuff there was beautiful. Let me just say that if I didn't find some good sales, there's no way I could afford to buy all the things I wanted there. There were a lot of tanned girls there, some had raccoon eyes too. All the staff at each store were very nice though. I had to really try not to just by things because they were so nice and I felt bad that I couldn't spend ahhaha. There was the beautiful, beautiful belt...seriously gorgeous. I wanted it, but it was 7100yen. Sorry, but I will never pay that much for a belt. The employee there even put it on me and I was thisclose to just buying it for the heck of it, but I restrained myself.
It was nice to hear them trying to speak English to me when they knew I couldn't speak Japanese fluently. Most just thought I could understand and had whole conversations with me... AM I THAT CONVINCING?!?!? ahahahah If you're wondering what's fashionable now, it's the nurselike dresses with vertical thin blue stripes. They were everywhere.
OMERICE & DESSERT
After doing some shopping, I decided to eat. I ordered Omerice (which is exactly what it sounds like..rice in an omelet). I ignored the cute mushrooms that were cascaded on it, and enjoyed it. I also ordered a dessert which was called Millefleur or something to that extent. I will upload a picture of it. It was really really pretty and consisted of: raspberrries, pastry, custard, jam and pistachios. I couldn't finish the whole thing because...I have no idea why, but I didn't think I should finish all of it.
BACK TO THE SHOPPING
So, I continued to shop and each stores' employees kept saying something, but I can't remember the exact words. Mellers said it is probably "irashaimasen" (sp?) which means welcome. The loudest, believe it or not, were the lingerie staff ahahah. Finally decided to go home with all my bags, but was delayed a little by the rain. Mellers was already home and napping. I decided to do the same. We woke up around 10pm and ate.
FANGIRLING...revisited
I've forgotten to mention that "Hoshi wo Mezashite" PV is currently #1 in the charts. Not sure which chart though, but they keep showing it on the screens. I hear the song a lot whether I'm eating or shopping too. I had a dream about meeting Kei-kun and Tego. I also took some pics of Pi's drink ad and Operation Love mural that was at the Shibuya subway station.
Seems like I have a lot of pics to upload, huh?
Ok...off for adventuring again. Still deciding whether to go to the Meiji Shrine or Senso-ji Temple...Senso-Ji is farther away. Should I be lazy?
-Sam
originally written: Apr 9, 2007
HELLO...IT'S SAM
I was finally able to talk to Mom after over a week. Mannnn I keep missing her and finally I reached them by collect call. Talked to Dad for a bit too which was nice. Yay income tax, I don't owe the government money. That's always a plus
SHIBUYAAAAAAAAAAAA
I went to Shibuya by myself as Mellers had class. It was quite exciting and overwhelming at the same time. There were soooo many people there! There seemed to be three popular ways of crossing, so I decided to start on the left. Left is always better than right (at least in my head) I stumbled upon an arcade. Hahahah you know how I love challenges, right?
I WON'T LET YOU GET AWAY!!!
So, naturally, I got sucked into that darn crane game/ufo game. I really wanted to win that big bear...1000 yen later...no success. Darn you, Bear! I almost got you twice....you were caught up and on your way to me and then you fell!! T___________T I decided to try a different one and on the first shot, I won a yellow elephant. It's soooo cuute. I'll upload a pic later on today.
109 BUILDING
I went up and down the streets until I got to the 109 Building which is infamous for women's fashion. The stuff there was beautiful. Let me just say that if I didn't find some good sales, there's no way I could afford to buy all the things I wanted there. There were a lot of tanned girls there, some had raccoon eyes too. All the staff at each store were very nice though. I had to really try not to just by things because they were so nice and I felt bad that I couldn't spend ahhaha. There was the beautiful, beautiful belt...seriously gorgeous. I wanted it, but it was 7100yen. Sorry, but I will never pay that much for a belt. The employee there even put it on me and I was thisclose to just buying it for the heck of it, but I restrained myself.
It was nice to hear them trying to speak English to me when they knew I couldn't speak Japanese fluently. Most just thought I could understand and had whole conversations with me... AM I THAT CONVINCING?!?!? ahahahah If you're wondering what's fashionable now, it's the nurselike dresses with vertical thin blue stripes. They were everywhere.
OMERICE & DESSERT
After doing some shopping, I decided to eat. I ordered Omerice (which is exactly what it sounds like..rice in an omelet). I ignored the cute mushrooms that were cascaded on it, and enjoyed it. I also ordered a dessert which was called Millefleur or something to that extent. I will upload a picture of it. It was really really pretty and consisted of: raspberrries, pastry, custard, jam and pistachios. I couldn't finish the whole thing because...I have no idea why, but I didn't think I should finish all of it.
BACK TO THE SHOPPING
So, I continued to shop and each stores' employees kept saying something, but I can't remember the exact words. Mellers said it is probably "irashaimasen" (sp?) which means welcome. The loudest, believe it or not, were the lingerie staff ahahah. Finally decided to go home with all my bags, but was delayed a little by the rain. Mellers was already home and napping. I decided to do the same. We woke up around 10pm and ate.
FANGIRLING...revisited
I've forgotten to mention that "Hoshi wo Mezashite" PV is currently #1 in the charts. Not sure which chart though, but they keep showing it on the screens. I hear the song a lot whether I'm eating or shopping too. I had a dream about meeting Kei-kun and Tego. I also took some pics of Pi's drink ad and Operation Love mural that was at the Shibuya subway station.
Seems like I have a lot of pics to upload, huh?
Ok...off for adventuring again. Still deciding whether to go to the Meiji Shrine or Senso-ji Temple...Senso-Ji is farther away. Should I be lazy?
-Sam
originally written: Apr 9, 2007
Installment 9: A Day of Rest...
Installment 9: A Day of Rest...
ahahah we decided to slow down a bit today. hahaha mainly because we got home so early in the morning and I woke up at like 3am and Mellers was still off in lala land ahahhaha. So I went left around 4:30pm to look around again. I saw Eugene eating at one of the shops so I joined him.
SQUIRTED AGAIN?!?!?
Remember last year when I went to Korea, I got sprayed by the thing in the toilet? It wasn't a toilet this time! I asked Eugene to order mashed potatoes for me and there was a sauce/dressing that went with it. Well it looked kind of like the jam packets but doubled..so I was trying to unpeel the lid...no success. Then I saw that there were directions..so I bent it in half..but the wrong way!! ooopsss....Out comes dressing squirting full speed...right onto Eugene's jacket!!! ooopsalini...very minor stains on my jacket...mostly on his. I felt sooooo bad! I kept apologizing and offering to pay his cleaning bill. He said he would just laundry it...oops T_____T
HARAJUKU
Went back to Harajuku, but the Takashite exit this time to shop around. Is it too much info to say that I would fit into a lot of the pretty clothes (shirts mainly) but my chest is too big?!?!? ahahahhaha....It's such a shame! Oh well I guess in a way I'm saving money right? Called Mellers after getting some stuff. I saw these two people dressed in Gothic Lolita style and the best part was they were men kekekeke. Good for them for pulling off that fashion. They looked like dolls.
I refused to totally superfangirl and buy all the unofficial pics...also because some of them weren't that great quality. They even had prize packs and all sorts of stuff, but I refrained. ahahha. I don't want to break my budget!!
BULGOGI PIZZA?!?!
Mellers woke up at 7pm ahahahha. When I got home we decided to order pizza. She ordered it online and it was Bulgogi flavour. Bulgogi is Korean style marinated beef and it comes with vegetables. Well, I must say it was very interesting. The crust looked different too and when I started to eat it, I realized it was filled with hot dogs. So it looks like hot dog pastries..kind of hard to explain, but I took a picture. The chicken was good too and it came with two cans of tea.
We just relaxed, listened to music and talked. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad we can talk like this. She watched some of Prison Break and I went to sleep. Mellers didn't even end up sleeping. Crazy girl!
Short installment this time. You're not disappointed are you?
-Sam
originally written: Apr 8, 2007
ahahah we decided to slow down a bit today. hahaha mainly because we got home so early in the morning and I woke up at like 3am and Mellers was still off in lala land ahahhaha. So I went left around 4:30pm to look around again. I saw Eugene eating at one of the shops so I joined him.
SQUIRTED AGAIN?!?!?
Remember last year when I went to Korea, I got sprayed by the thing in the toilet? It wasn't a toilet this time! I asked Eugene to order mashed potatoes for me and there was a sauce/dressing that went with it. Well it looked kind of like the jam packets but doubled..so I was trying to unpeel the lid...no success. Then I saw that there were directions..so I bent it in half..but the wrong way!! ooopsss....Out comes dressing squirting full speed...right onto Eugene's jacket!!! ooopsalini...very minor stains on my jacket...mostly on his. I felt sooooo bad! I kept apologizing and offering to pay his cleaning bill. He said he would just laundry it...oops T_____T
HARAJUKU
Went back to Harajuku, but the Takashite exit this time to shop around. Is it too much info to say that I would fit into a lot of the pretty clothes (shirts mainly) but my chest is too big?!?!? ahahahhaha....It's such a shame! Oh well I guess in a way I'm saving money right? Called Mellers after getting some stuff. I saw these two people dressed in Gothic Lolita style and the best part was they were men kekekeke. Good for them for pulling off that fashion. They looked like dolls.
I refused to totally superfangirl and buy all the unofficial pics...also because some of them weren't that great quality. They even had prize packs and all sorts of stuff, but I refrained. ahahha. I don't want to break my budget!!
BULGOGI PIZZA?!?!
Mellers woke up at 7pm ahahahha. When I got home we decided to order pizza. She ordered it online and it was Bulgogi flavour. Bulgogi is Korean style marinated beef and it comes with vegetables. Well, I must say it was very interesting. The crust looked different too and when I started to eat it, I realized it was filled with hot dogs. So it looks like hot dog pastries..kind of hard to explain, but I took a picture. The chicken was good too and it came with two cans of tea.
We just relaxed, listened to music and talked. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad we can talk like this. She watched some of Prison Break and I went to sleep. Mellers didn't even end up sleeping. Crazy girl!
Short installment this time. You're not disappointed are you?
-Sam
originally written: Apr 8, 2007
Installment 8: In Da Club...again! & 1 year anniversary!
Installment 8: In Da Club...again! & 1 year anniversary!
Before I am labelled a spendthrift, just know that I saved a lot for this trip! Budget, budget, budget! Oh, and extra hours help out A LOT! ^_____^
DREADED BOOKSTORE
I must say that paper will be the end of me....Japanese notebooks, stationary, origami paper, magazines... I'm carrying the Japanese forest home with me. Wish me luck!
Mellers had a late morning..we both did...but she slept later than me! So, in the morning, I went to a bookstore to find Chris her cherished magazines (kekeke I treasure them too!) and was able to find them! SCORE! But, as I have learned on this trip, small things add to large amounts...13 magazines later... *keels over* I must say that I did find an ultranice magazine that Chris will drool over ahahahahaa, it was so good that I had to buy three of them! I also bought a magazine for Josie.
YAKINIKU
Went for Yakiniku, which is basically bbq near Yoyogi station. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet more of Mellers and Eugene's friends. All who know me really well, know how much I loooooove fire....so you can probably imagine me squealing when the fire went insane and I was backed up into my chair as far as I could go ahahhaha. The food was really good though. Fun times ^_________^
ROPPONGI
Eugene, Jeff, Mellers and I went to Roppongi to meet up with Rika and Yu-chan. We were supposed to watch the Sakura (cherry blossoms) during the night, but it was raining a bit so we couldn't. The artists are really innovative here and so I admired a lot of it. Not to mention that Roppongi is richieville. So expensive!
We met up with Yu-chan (who we clubbed with the day I arrived) and Rika (who I met last year at Gaspanic club). It was so nice to see them. We went to a bar to drink...the prices were basically like you would expect hahaha. OH! and the gingerale REALLY TASTES LIKE GINGER! ahhaha
GASPANIC 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!
We all went to Gaspanic. Eugene and Jeff went to the bar and we hit the dancefloor. Soon after Mayu-chan came! I was really happy to see her. Last year when we came, we became friends with Mayu-chan, Rika and Taka. So this was going to be our 1 year anniversary. We were having a lot of fun...minus the creepy dude who was admiring me *gag*. Taka showed up and he ordered a big wine cooler. He opened the bottle and told me to drink. So...chugged half of it and shared the rest ahahha no way I could finish the whole thing!
Later on we met some jerks. Seriously, they were really raunchy and rude! We wanted to sit down and these three guys were like "HEY, come sit with us!" in English. They were American, but they wouldn't say why they were in Japan...not that I really cared. Anyway one guy said, "come sit on my lap" and I said NO. So then he sat on my lap *gaaaaagggggg* and his other bald friend looks over at me and says "I WANNA ------ KISS YOU". Hellllll NO! Mellers said I had a boyfriend and he's says, "Well he's not here. I won't tell.." EL GROSSO! They were totally after Mellers and I was getting pissed off! The lap dude tried to kiss Mayu-chan and Mellers too, but we got out of there. I saw them later making out with some asian girl, who eventually got upset and left. BOOOO to jerks!
Anyway, back to the fun stuff. We took some breaks in between and Mellers got me some oden! It was interesting and tasted good. We went to the Gaspanic cafe and seemed everyone wanted some of the oden too ahahha. I was able to catch up with Mayu-chan and all the girls were talking. We relaxed for a while before going back. When the club was going to close, I made sure to get a souvenir and we took some pics. Then we went for food. I was so hungry and tired. Another great day to add to the memory books. ^_______^ We got home at around 7amish and I slept around 8amish hahha.
-Sam
originally written: Apr 8, 2007
Before I am labelled a spendthrift, just know that I saved a lot for this trip! Budget, budget, budget! Oh, and extra hours help out A LOT! ^_____^
DREADED BOOKSTORE
I must say that paper will be the end of me....Japanese notebooks, stationary, origami paper, magazines... I'm carrying the Japanese forest home with me. Wish me luck!
Mellers had a late morning..we both did...but she slept later than me! So, in the morning, I went to a bookstore to find Chris her cherished magazines (kekeke I treasure them too!) and was able to find them! SCORE! But, as I have learned on this trip, small things add to large amounts...13 magazines later... *keels over* I must say that I did find an ultranice magazine that Chris will drool over ahahahahaa, it was so good that I had to buy three of them! I also bought a magazine for Josie.
YAKINIKU
Went for Yakiniku, which is basically bbq near Yoyogi station. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet more of Mellers and Eugene's friends. All who know me really well, know how much I loooooove fire....so you can probably imagine me squealing when the fire went insane and I was backed up into my chair as far as I could go ahahhaha. The food was really good though. Fun times ^_________^
ROPPONGI
Eugene, Jeff, Mellers and I went to Roppongi to meet up with Rika and Yu-chan. We were supposed to watch the Sakura (cherry blossoms) during the night, but it was raining a bit so we couldn't. The artists are really innovative here and so I admired a lot of it. Not to mention that Roppongi is richieville. So expensive!
We met up with Yu-chan (who we clubbed with the day I arrived) and Rika (who I met last year at Gaspanic club). It was so nice to see them. We went to a bar to drink...the prices were basically like you would expect hahaha. OH! and the gingerale REALLY TASTES LIKE GINGER! ahhaha
GASPANIC 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!
We all went to Gaspanic. Eugene and Jeff went to the bar and we hit the dancefloor. Soon after Mayu-chan came! I was really happy to see her. Last year when we came, we became friends with Mayu-chan, Rika and Taka. So this was going to be our 1 year anniversary. We were having a lot of fun...minus the creepy dude who was admiring me *gag*. Taka showed up and he ordered a big wine cooler. He opened the bottle and told me to drink. So...chugged half of it and shared the rest ahahha no way I could finish the whole thing!
Later on we met some jerks. Seriously, they were really raunchy and rude! We wanted to sit down and these three guys were like "HEY, come sit with us!" in English. They were American, but they wouldn't say why they were in Japan...not that I really cared. Anyway one guy said, "come sit on my lap" and I said NO. So then he sat on my lap *gaaaaagggggg* and his other bald friend looks over at me and says "I WANNA ------ KISS YOU". Hellllll NO! Mellers said I had a boyfriend and he's says, "Well he's not here. I won't tell.." EL GROSSO! They were totally after Mellers and I was getting pissed off! The lap dude tried to kiss Mayu-chan and Mellers too, but we got out of there. I saw them later making out with some asian girl, who eventually got upset and left. BOOOO to jerks!
Anyway, back to the fun stuff. We took some breaks in between and Mellers got me some oden! It was interesting and tasted good. We went to the Gaspanic cafe and seemed everyone wanted some of the oden too ahahha. I was able to catch up with Mayu-chan and all the girls were talking. We relaxed for a while before going back. When the club was going to close, I made sure to get a souvenir and we took some pics. Then we went for food. I was so hungry and tired. Another great day to add to the memory books. ^_______^ We got home at around 7amish and I slept around 8amish hahha.
-Sam
originally written: Apr 8, 2007
Installment 7: A trip to the Police Station, Beer-da Beer-da Beer-da...
Installment 7: A trip to the Police Station, Beer-da Beer-da Beer-da...
TO THE POLICE KOBAN (box)
I really needed to find an international ATM. I asked a few people...didn't really understand much of what they said except directions-wise. Finally, someone just pointed me to the direction of the police box "koban". When I asked the policeman about the bank, I was told...Shinsei Ginko (bank) NO. So, ok...no Shinsei bank..crap I'm screwed. The officer pointed. Mi-zu-ho (name of another bank)...try... I thanked him and was on my way there when I walked by the SunRoute Hotel. *sounds of music* I see green and the word ATM and VISA! Scooooore! So I got money finallly!
A THOUSAND MILES...
Ok so I didn't exactly walk 1,000 miles... I basically explored even more of this neighbourhood and went crazyyyyy. I made another mistake of seeing yet another stationary shop...the stuff was so cuuuute I couldn't say no. I bought some snacks and a shirt...
Went to a music store and got the Toshinki "Five In The Black" cd and "Japan Concert Tour vol. 2" and then walked around more. I went down a side street and discovered a store called "Book Off". I went inside and JACKPOT! I I came back with loads of cds for only 200yen each ( 2.00usd). Insane!! I spent around 50 something dollars on over 10 cds...that's an awesome deal. (I really should slow down on the spending though, ne?) Got some soba noodles and headed back.
BEER-DA BEER-DA....
10 minutes after I got home, Mellers arrived and asked me if I wanted to go out for dinner. Sure, why not? So we went out to a yummy restaurant and I met their new friend, Yu-chan who is in their program. After that, Mellers and I wanted to go for karaoke and the guys were going to meet up with their Ski Club for drinks. Karaoke was megafull so we just went to meet the guys. When we went up to meet them, the place was packed! Tons of uni students crammed into these spaces with low-rise tables and lots of food and beer. I totally admit to not wanting to stay. I told Mellers I could meet her at home, but she wouldn't hear of it. "NO WAY" she said. "You're going to experience uni life here!" (Did I mention her and Eugene are very convincing?..and that they are trying to convince me to quit my job and attend the SILS program at Waseda too?!??!) So I decided to stay with her and join the party.
It was so funny! People would stand up and make some kind of speech or confession (i'm not sure which) and then they would chug whatever they were holding...(whether it be a glass, bottle, jug or pitcher!) One guy skipped the drinks all together and was just stuffing edamame into his mouth (boiled soya beans). There were some students who were mixed too, so I ended up communicating in English, Japanese and Korean. ahahhaa...It was quite interesting. People were surprised I came from Canada. The girls I talked to were really nice. Mellers was speaking 5 different languages, I think. (She can speak 9 altogether! *bows in admiration*) They would also do toasts where'd we'd all stand and say "BANZAI" three times and then drink. It was quite an experience!
THIS SONG IS DEDICATED TO...
After the Ski Club drinkfest we headed off to karaoke. Eugene, Mellers and I sang a lot. Mellers and I stayed until 3am! ahhaha. So tired..but I took videos of us and they are hilarious! (I can't promise that I'll share them though..I don't need to be blackmailed!) They sang in Chinese, Japanese, English and Mellers also sang in Korean. I sang in English...a few Korean and Japanese with Mellers...(mind you I was singing only parts I knew or what I could read in hiragana) and a Lea Salonga song.
It was definitely yet another another day to remember! Holy moly are these installments getting longer? GOMENASAIIII *bows in apology*
-Sam
originally written: Apr 7, 2007
TO THE POLICE KOBAN (box)
I really needed to find an international ATM. I asked a few people...didn't really understand much of what they said except directions-wise. Finally, someone just pointed me to the direction of the police box "koban". When I asked the policeman about the bank, I was told...Shinsei Ginko (bank) NO. So, ok...no Shinsei bank..crap I'm screwed. The officer pointed. Mi-zu-ho (name of another bank)...try... I thanked him and was on my way there when I walked by the SunRoute Hotel. *sounds of music* I see green and the word ATM and VISA! Scooooore! So I got money finallly!
A THOUSAND MILES...
Ok so I didn't exactly walk 1,000 miles... I basically explored even more of this neighbourhood and went crazyyyyy. I made another mistake of seeing yet another stationary shop...the stuff was so cuuuute I couldn't say no. I bought some snacks and a shirt...
Went to a music store and got the Toshinki "Five In The Black" cd and "Japan Concert Tour vol. 2" and then walked around more. I went down a side street and discovered a store called "Book Off". I went inside and JACKPOT! I I came back with loads of cds for only 200yen each ( 2.00usd). Insane!! I spent around 50 something dollars on over 10 cds...that's an awesome deal. (I really should slow down on the spending though, ne?) Got some soba noodles and headed back.
BEER-DA BEER-DA....
10 minutes after I got home, Mellers arrived and asked me if I wanted to go out for dinner. Sure, why not? So we went out to a yummy restaurant and I met their new friend, Yu-chan who is in their program. After that, Mellers and I wanted to go for karaoke and the guys were going to meet up with their Ski Club for drinks. Karaoke was megafull so we just went to meet the guys. When we went up to meet them, the place was packed! Tons of uni students crammed into these spaces with low-rise tables and lots of food and beer. I totally admit to not wanting to stay. I told Mellers I could meet her at home, but she wouldn't hear of it. "NO WAY" she said. "You're going to experience uni life here!" (Did I mention her and Eugene are very convincing?..and that they are trying to convince me to quit my job and attend the SILS program at Waseda too?!??!) So I decided to stay with her and join the party.
It was so funny! People would stand up and make some kind of speech or confession (i'm not sure which) and then they would chug whatever they were holding...(whether it be a glass, bottle, jug or pitcher!) One guy skipped the drinks all together and was just stuffing edamame into his mouth (boiled soya beans). There were some students who were mixed too, so I ended up communicating in English, Japanese and Korean. ahahhaa...It was quite interesting. People were surprised I came from Canada. The girls I talked to were really nice. Mellers was speaking 5 different languages, I think. (She can speak 9 altogether! *bows in admiration*) They would also do toasts where'd we'd all stand and say "BANZAI" three times and then drink. It was quite an experience!
THIS SONG IS DEDICATED TO...
After the Ski Club drinkfest we headed off to karaoke. Eugene, Mellers and I sang a lot. Mellers and I stayed until 3am! ahhaha. So tired..but I took videos of us and they are hilarious! (I can't promise that I'll share them though..I don't need to be blackmailed!) They sang in Chinese, Japanese, English and Mellers also sang in Korean. I sang in English...a few Korean and Japanese with Mellers...(mind you I was singing only parts I knew or what I could read in hiragana) and a Lea Salonga song.
It was definitely yet another another day to remember! Holy moly are these installments getting longer? GOMENASAIIII *bows in apology*
-Sam
originally written: Apr 7, 2007
Installment 6: Exploring & Johnny's Shop Craziness
Installment 6: Exploring & Johnny's Shop Craziness
EXPLORING
Today I explored Takadanobaba, which is where I am staying. I went to the various used cd stores and bought a sweatshirt finally. It's been surprisingly cold here. I also found a cute tea shop that had nice stuff inside. I just took my time and explored. It was exciting and relaxing at the same time. Mellers was doing school stuff again and I don't want to slow her down, so it was good to go around.
When I was on my way home, I called her and she had snuck back into her own place by climbing in?!?!? ahahahah Mellers is so classic ahahaha. She was using the computer and I asked her for directions to the Johnny's Shop. I didn't want to put her through waiting so I was gonna go myself. She drew me really good directions and off I went to the Johnny's Shop in Harajuku.
JOHNNY'S SHOP
How to get there: Harajuku station - Omedesanto exit - cross the street to the Snoopy Store. Walk right until you pass a chocolate cafe place. You'll see the bridge on your right side, with girls lined up. ahahha that's the line for the Johnny's Shop. It's pretty rare that there is no line.... The front of the line is right in front of Meiji-Jingumea station right by the bridge. To get to the actual shop you go through the lane beside PLAYHOUSE. Apparently at 4pm they give out blue tickets/vouchers that I think give you priority in the line. THEY DO NOT ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS. CASH ONLY.
Stood outside for a little more than an hour and it was pretty cold. The Johnny's staff member started talking to me and could tell I couldn't speak Japanese that well. So he started talking to me in his broken English and I used my Japanese and English. kekeeke...Sorry Ko, my verbs are probably not that good, but I'm trying. He asked me about Toronto and comparisons to here and where I've visited.
I also started talking to some girls, Ayako and Mayu, behind me. They are Kat-Tun fans and loooove Jin. They also went to the February NewS concert in Yokohama because that's where they live. Ayako's english was pretty good, although there was a part where they confused tv drama with drummer on tv ahhhahahaha. They were even doing the drumming action lol. Finally we were going inside and Ayako and Mayu were helping me figure out the order form.
The official pics were numbered all over the walls. You use a separate sheet for each group you are ordering from. You check off the group's name. There are two sheets. 1-800 and 801 - (i forget what the end number was) I looked around and couldn't find News anywhere and was really disappointed. Ayako said they were probably upstairs. I saw uchiwas and asked some girls how to get them and they said upstairs. They started to talk with me and I found out they are Arashi fans. We talked about Hana Yori Dango too. They asked which groups are popular in Canada, etc.
When I finally got upstairs HOLYMOLY craziness! There were TONS of News photos. Offiicial photoshoots and concert officials. They each cost 150yen but once you count them all up it gets dangerous. I started choosing things without bothering to count. 97 pictures later...geez... they aren't all for me ahhaahah The biggest disappointment was the calendar was sold out! Sorry Chris! I don't know how we can get it now...T_________T There were aslos Johnny's Jr. Official pics, but I didn't know what you wanted. I was able to get uchiwas though...yay!
Ayako and Mayu left before me, but they said goodbye and told me to email them. They are really cute. Called Mellers and went back. Ate dinner and counting the pics made me sleepy, so I slept. Woke up when Mellers came back. We talked all night long...seriously...we talked till morning....so we slept in. Sorry this installment is late..kekeke. I need to go find a bank. I have no money on me right now.
Wish me luck.
-Sam
originally written: Apr 6, 2007
EXPLORING
Today I explored Takadanobaba, which is where I am staying. I went to the various used cd stores and bought a sweatshirt finally. It's been surprisingly cold here. I also found a cute tea shop that had nice stuff inside. I just took my time and explored. It was exciting and relaxing at the same time. Mellers was doing school stuff again and I don't want to slow her down, so it was good to go around.
When I was on my way home, I called her and she had snuck back into her own place by climbing in?!?!? ahahahah Mellers is so classic ahahaha. She was using the computer and I asked her for directions to the Johnny's Shop. I didn't want to put her through waiting so I was gonna go myself. She drew me really good directions and off I went to the Johnny's Shop in Harajuku.
JOHNNY'S SHOP
How to get there: Harajuku station - Omedesanto exit - cross the street to the Snoopy Store. Walk right until you pass a chocolate cafe place. You'll see the bridge on your right side, with girls lined up. ahahha that's the line for the Johnny's Shop. It's pretty rare that there is no line.... The front of the line is right in front of Meiji-Jingumea station right by the bridge. To get to the actual shop you go through the lane beside PLAYHOUSE. Apparently at 4pm they give out blue tickets/vouchers that I think give you priority in the line. THEY DO NOT ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS. CASH ONLY.
Stood outside for a little more than an hour and it was pretty cold. The Johnny's staff member started talking to me and could tell I couldn't speak Japanese that well. So he started talking to me in his broken English and I used my Japanese and English. kekeeke...Sorry Ko, my verbs are probably not that good, but I'm trying. He asked me about Toronto and comparisons to here and where I've visited.
I also started talking to some girls, Ayako and Mayu, behind me. They are Kat-Tun fans and loooove Jin. They also went to the February NewS concert in Yokohama because that's where they live. Ayako's english was pretty good, although there was a part where they confused tv drama with drummer on tv ahhhahahaha. They were even doing the drumming action lol. Finally we were going inside and Ayako and Mayu were helping me figure out the order form.
The official pics were numbered all over the walls. You use a separate sheet for each group you are ordering from. You check off the group's name. There are two sheets. 1-800 and 801 - (i forget what the end number was) I looked around and couldn't find News anywhere and was really disappointed. Ayako said they were probably upstairs. I saw uchiwas and asked some girls how to get them and they said upstairs. They started to talk with me and I found out they are Arashi fans. We talked about Hana Yori Dango too. They asked which groups are popular in Canada, etc.
When I finally got upstairs HOLYMOLY craziness! There were TONS of News photos. Offiicial photoshoots and concert officials. They each cost 150yen but once you count them all up it gets dangerous. I started choosing things without bothering to count. 97 pictures later...geez... they aren't all for me ahhaahah The biggest disappointment was the calendar was sold out! Sorry Chris! I don't know how we can get it now...T_________T There were aslos Johnny's Jr. Official pics, but I didn't know what you wanted. I was able to get uchiwas though...yay!
Ayako and Mayu left before me, but they said goodbye and told me to email them. They are really cute. Called Mellers and went back. Ate dinner and counting the pics made me sleepy, so I slept. Woke up when Mellers came back. We talked all night long...seriously...we talked till morning....so we slept in. Sorry this installment is late..kekeke. I need to go find a bank. I have no money on me right now.
Wish me luck.
-Sam
originally written: Apr 6, 2007
Installment 5: Welcome To Japan & a Day of Surprises
Installment 5: Welcome To Japan & a Day of Surprises
Aww man, I told Mellers I wouldn't update right away, because I'm so darn tired...but today was really crazy!!
Welcoming Malaysian Students
Mellers and I tagged along with Eugene to welcome Malaysian students who will be studying in Japan for a few years. Mellers and I barely slept and left at 5:45am. Met up with Eugene and went to Narita airport. Was able to call home, but only Chris was able to talk to me. Mellers and I hitched a ride with the students on the rented bus, b/c Mellers ended up helping more than she expected. We took some of them to Haneda airport because they would be attending a school called Aomori near Hokkaido. Then some were dropped off at Yamabuki Ryo (hostel),Senagawa hostel and J-Dream at Shinjuku. It was a really long ride and I think we finally got off the bus at around 1pmish.
The last sets of guys being dropped off were staying at J-Dream..which ended up not being what they thought it would be. Lucky for them Mellers also speaks Korean, or else they'd gbe in trouble! Then we tried to look for their language school, which ended up re-locating and then we had torrential cold (like winter) rain. I felt kind of bad for them...must have been so overwhelming for their first day of their new lives in Japan. The rain was so coldddd and falling really hard. Mellers and I got soaked! We ate at an Italian style restaurant and then her friend msged her with some news that YG would be having an event with Big Bang & Gummy. (For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, they are supertalented Korean singers/performers) OK...yes, I told everyone that I wasn't going to Japan for a concert and I wasn't...this just fell into our laps hahahaha.
Big Bang & Gummy
We took a cab there b/c it was supercold. Luckily her friend had lined up and got us tickets too. The line was superlong and we had to line up too. By the time we got in, there was no way we could get close up. After trying to find better places, we ended up behind the soundstage area. Mellers was very persistent and we tried everything. Finally she was able to stand on something and take some fancams. I was able to take a few too, but of course a few heads were in the way sometimes. Whenever someone bumped me, the camera went out of focus. My arms are so sore for holding up the camera for so long, while holding two umbrellas and both of our bags!
Gummy was talented as ever. The fans also brought out a cake for her and everyone sang happy birthday. Then the moment everyone was waiting for...Big Bang came out. They are so good! My apologies to everyone who told me I was missing out. They are awesome live. I'm converted to their music now!!! (I'm sure Meller's account of this will be way more exciting)
After the performances, we waited outside. Mellers was sure they would come out of a certain exit and of course she was right. Because I was filming, I couldn't do much but stare at them aahahhaha. Mellers was able to shake Tempo's hand!! They were really nice and weren't avoiding their fans at all. They got into a small bus/van and were watching the craziness. Then they finally drove away.
It was really cold and I was getting really tired. I think the most tired I've been so far on this trip, but I am absolutely happy to have been here for this. THANKS MELLERS! <3 I'll never forget what awesome performances and how close Big Bang & Gummy were to us. *fangirl*
When we got to our station, we ate at the small food place there and went home. I took a warm shower and dried my hair before sleeping. I totally crashed too. I started this last night but I had to finish it this morning kekekeke...
-Sam
p.s. correction to previous spelling error, it's Keio University, not KO.
random thoughts: the crows here are gigantor!
originally written: Apr 4, 2007
Aww man, I told Mellers I wouldn't update right away, because I'm so darn tired...but today was really crazy!!
Welcoming Malaysian Students
Mellers and I tagged along with Eugene to welcome Malaysian students who will be studying in Japan for a few years. Mellers and I barely slept and left at 5:45am. Met up with Eugene and went to Narita airport. Was able to call home, but only Chris was able to talk to me. Mellers and I hitched a ride with the students on the rented bus, b/c Mellers ended up helping more than she expected. We took some of them to Haneda airport because they would be attending a school called Aomori near Hokkaido. Then some were dropped off at Yamabuki Ryo (hostel),Senagawa hostel and J-Dream at Shinjuku. It was a really long ride and I think we finally got off the bus at around 1pmish.
The last sets of guys being dropped off were staying at J-Dream..which ended up not being what they thought it would be. Lucky for them Mellers also speaks Korean, or else they'd gbe in trouble! Then we tried to look for their language school, which ended up re-locating and then we had torrential cold (like winter) rain. I felt kind of bad for them...must have been so overwhelming for their first day of their new lives in Japan. The rain was so coldddd and falling really hard. Mellers and I got soaked! We ate at an Italian style restaurant and then her friend msged her with some news that YG would be having an event with Big Bang & Gummy. (For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, they are supertalented Korean singers/performers) OK...yes, I told everyone that I wasn't going to Japan for a concert and I wasn't...this just fell into our laps hahahaha.
Big Bang & Gummy
We took a cab there b/c it was supercold. Luckily her friend had lined up and got us tickets too. The line was superlong and we had to line up too. By the time we got in, there was no way we could get close up. After trying to find better places, we ended up behind the soundstage area. Mellers was very persistent and we tried everything. Finally she was able to stand on something and take some fancams. I was able to take a few too, but of course a few heads were in the way sometimes. Whenever someone bumped me, the camera went out of focus. My arms are so sore for holding up the camera for so long, while holding two umbrellas and both of our bags!
Gummy was talented as ever. The fans also brought out a cake for her and everyone sang happy birthday. Then the moment everyone was waiting for...Big Bang came out. They are so good! My apologies to everyone who told me I was missing out. They are awesome live. I'm converted to their music now!!! (I'm sure Meller's account of this will be way more exciting)
After the performances, we waited outside. Mellers was sure they would come out of a certain exit and of course she was right. Because I was filming, I couldn't do much but stare at them aahahhaha. Mellers was able to shake Tempo's hand!! They were really nice and weren't avoiding their fans at all. They got into a small bus/van and were watching the craziness. Then they finally drove away.
It was really cold and I was getting really tired. I think the most tired I've been so far on this trip, but I am absolutely happy to have been here for this. THANKS MELLERS! <3 I'll never forget what awesome performances and how close Big Bang & Gummy were to us. *fangirl*
When we got to our station, we ate at the small food place there and went home. I took a warm shower and dried my hair before sleeping. I totally crashed too. I started this last night but I had to finish it this morning kekekeke...
-Sam
p.s. correction to previous spelling error, it's Keio University, not KO.
random thoughts: the crows here are gigantor!
originally written: Apr 4, 2007
Installment 4: Daiso killed me....
Installment 4: Daiso Killed Me
KILLER DAISO
Today I went shopping at the "daiso" (dollar store) and it killed me. Why? Because everything there is cute. I think I spent close to 70 dollars there and that's only because I got rid of some stuff first!! nande?!?! (whyyyyy?!?!?) ok i definitely got to stick to my budget...lucky that is part of the spending budget!
some of the stuff I bought:
-origami paper
-some cuuuuute face towels
-school stuffies for Chris (Chris man, I spoil you rotten yo!)
-these awesomely cute magnet thingies that remind me of cookies
-cute stuff in general...
They must have thought I was a weirdo. I had to sort through my basket twice before getting to the counter! Went back to Meller's place and re-arranged my luggage again to fit in my purchases. I think because a lot of it is paper, I will try to fit more of that stuff in my carry-on, since weight doesn't matter with that.
JOS WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?
I haven't talked to Jos at all, which is weird. Finally I was able to talk to her after I hijacked Chris' facebook. Yes, kids, I was on facebook! but as a spy. Sadly, that was the only way to get a hold of Jos since I can't "nudge" her when she's not on msn. And I wasn't sure if she'd check her email, BUT I KNEW she would check facebook before sleeping! So yeah we caught up a bit, but everyone else was sleeping. Wake up Mom and Dad...I haven't talked to you in ages... Sorry Chris for hijacking your facebook! T__T I don't care what everyone says...more facebook for everyone else =P
MELLERS, IS THAT YOU?
I heard the buzzer ring and thought it might be Mellers, but it was a Japanese lady talking... so I said "I don't understand" and "sorry" then hung up. I took Meller's keys to open the door for her anyway, but she was already waiting at the top of the steps. With the gigantor language barrier, I was only able to understand 1/3 of what she was saying. Basically where's Mel and when is she coming back. I tried my best and said that Mel was at Waseda. I don't know when she's coming back and I gave her Meller's phone number..
Later on, Mellers came back with Krispy Kreme donuts. Oh my gosh, they are sooo good... I ate one and then Eugene came to visit again. Did I mention they are nuts about Prison Break?!?!? So much so, that I think I might try to watch some when I get back. I know Sean wanted me to watch it too. I went to the 7 eleven by myself and got cold soba noodles and chicken. I was also buying bathroom tissue, but I didn't have my phrasebook. So I said tissue, and the guy behind the counter was like "huh?" and he pressed this button. Another guy comes out..."tissue?" *look of confusion* I point at a kleenex box. "Ahhh" and then I said for bathroom and he shows me where it is. Mannn gomenasai Ko, I'm trying to improve my Japanese I swear!
Ok...I'll let you rest your eyes now. <3
-Sam
originally written: Apr 3, 2007
KILLER DAISO
Today I went shopping at the "daiso" (dollar store) and it killed me. Why? Because everything there is cute. I think I spent close to 70 dollars there and that's only because I got rid of some stuff first!! nande?!?! (whyyyyy?!?!?) ok i definitely got to stick to my budget...lucky that is part of the spending budget!
some of the stuff I bought:
-origami paper
-some cuuuuute face towels
-school stuffies for Chris (Chris man, I spoil you rotten yo!)
-these awesomely cute magnet thingies that remind me of cookies
-cute stuff in general...
They must have thought I was a weirdo. I had to sort through my basket twice before getting to the counter! Went back to Meller's place and re-arranged my luggage again to fit in my purchases. I think because a lot of it is paper, I will try to fit more of that stuff in my carry-on, since weight doesn't matter with that.
JOS WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?
I haven't talked to Jos at all, which is weird. Finally I was able to talk to her after I hijacked Chris' facebook. Yes, kids, I was on facebook! but as a spy. Sadly, that was the only way to get a hold of Jos since I can't "nudge" her when she's not on msn. And I wasn't sure if she'd check her email, BUT I KNEW she would check facebook before sleeping! So yeah we caught up a bit, but everyone else was sleeping. Wake up Mom and Dad...I haven't talked to you in ages... Sorry Chris for hijacking your facebook! T__T I don't care what everyone says...more facebook for everyone else =P
MELLERS, IS THAT YOU?
I heard the buzzer ring and thought it might be Mellers, but it was a Japanese lady talking... so I said "I don't understand" and "sorry" then hung up. I took Meller's keys to open the door for her anyway, but she was already waiting at the top of the steps. With the gigantor language barrier, I was only able to understand 1/3 of what she was saying. Basically where's Mel and when is she coming back. I tried my best and said that Mel was at Waseda. I don't know when she's coming back and I gave her Meller's phone number..
Later on, Mellers came back with Krispy Kreme donuts. Oh my gosh, they are sooo good... I ate one and then Eugene came to visit again. Did I mention they are nuts about Prison Break?!?!? So much so, that I think I might try to watch some when I get back. I know Sean wanted me to watch it too. I went to the 7 eleven by myself and got cold soba noodles and chicken. I was also buying bathroom tissue, but I didn't have my phrasebook. So I said tissue, and the guy behind the counter was like "huh?" and he pressed this button. Another guy comes out..."tissue?" *look of confusion* I point at a kleenex box. "Ahhh" and then I said for bathroom and he shows me where it is. Mannn gomenasai Ko, I'm trying to improve my Japanese I swear!
Ok...I'll let you rest your eyes now. <3
-Sam
originally written: Apr 3, 2007
Installment 3: If I thought yesterday was crazy, I didn't know the half of it...
Installment 3: If I thought yesterday was crazy, I didn't know the half of it...
Waseda Faculty Ceremony
Mellers and I bought onigiri (rice balls) before heading to Waseda. We went to the SILS building to wait for Eugene. Once the three of us were together, we headed off to the ceremony. We had to walk through the campus and everyone was buzzing around getting ready to promote their extracurricular clubs. I almost lost them at one point, and Jos, sorry to say but the strap of the Harajuku bag broke off totally T_______T I'll have to get it fixed when I get back.
Ceremony started and I listed to Paul Snowden's speech. He's their dean of SILS from the UK. He's actually quite funny. Then the associate deans did their speeches. There was a closing speech and then the glee club came on to teach the new undergrads the Waseda school song and then songs they sing when the Waseda baseball team goes against the KO university. They are really talented. The symphony came on next, but I thought it might be a good idea to leave earlier so I could meet Mellers by the tree. I peeked outside and holy crap there were a bazillion people out there. There were two lines on each side of the three entrances, so that ppl had to exit between the lines. All the clubs were there, pamphlets ready to recruit new members. I was actually a little scared to go outside but I did (with my head down, walking really fast). I didn't get hassled much. Probably because the ceremony had not ended yet and I wasn't in a full suit (a definite sign that I was a new student).
When the ceremony ended, it was INSANE. The new students were forced to exit through the lines and were bombarded by flyers by new clubs. By the time Mellers found me, she had a gigantic stack of flyers! So did Eugene and Sharon! It was crazy. When we were leaving, ppl started giving me flyers too. I just nodded my head or said "domo" (thanks). Eugene went for his interview and Sharon left, but Mellers and I went to look for the cafeteria. We ended up going back in the madness and all of a sudden I was getting flyers like crazy too. They would just add to my pile that I had to carry with two hands. It was seriously exciting, interesting and crazy at the same time. We made it near the caf, only to find out that it was closed. So one more time into the madness. It was pandemonium! There were also ppl doing performances and demonstrations and in the middle of it all, people performing the official song again. I can now sing it by the way..ahahahah Mellers caught me singing it when she was watching the videos I took.
Took the bus home to drop thing off and look through the flyers. At 5:45-6:00pm we left for Harajuku. I bought some stuff, like the "tabi" (toe) socks and a few shirts. Also a new bag, since Harajuku bag is busted. Then we got hair cuts.
MALE HAIRSTYLISTS
Mellers decided we would try out this new place. All the stylists were men and I was a bit apprehensive because I have a phobia about male stylists. (b/c of a Korean movie I watched) ahhaha. We both got taken in at the same time and both the stylists were awesome. The longer I talked to my stylists the cuter he got ahhahaha. He tried so hard to speak to me in English and I was trying to talk to him in Japanese. I told him a couple of specific things I wanted to do with my hair and then basically the rest was up to him. Man, he was so cute! And the assistant was so nice as well. He would try to explain in English what he was going to do with my hair, I guess so I wouldn't get worried? He'd say things like "shampoo"..."conditioner"..."massage head"..."treatment"...kekekeke it was so funny! and I was able to tell them I was working in a library and I liked Japanese music and dramas. They asked what I was going to eat for dinner...etc. I even took a picture with my stylist..but it doesn't do him justice. Mellers just laughed at me when we left and told me I was hopeless, but her stylist was hot too. kekekeke. She was right. Male stylists just know what looks good on women. hahaha
We got yummy crepes and headed off to meet Eugene. We ate hotpot which was really good and then headed back. Slept relatively early this time and woke up automatically around 7amish...but forced myself to go back to sleep and then woke up at 1pm! eeep! Ok, gotta go...OMGOSH this is a novel. Sorry sweeties!
Sam
originally written: Apr 3, 2007
Waseda Faculty Ceremony
Mellers and I bought onigiri (rice balls) before heading to Waseda. We went to the SILS building to wait for Eugene. Once the three of us were together, we headed off to the ceremony. We had to walk through the campus and everyone was buzzing around getting ready to promote their extracurricular clubs. I almost lost them at one point, and Jos, sorry to say but the strap of the Harajuku bag broke off totally T_______T I'll have to get it fixed when I get back.
Ceremony started and I listed to Paul Snowden's speech. He's their dean of SILS from the UK. He's actually quite funny. Then the associate deans did their speeches. There was a closing speech and then the glee club came on to teach the new undergrads the Waseda school song and then songs they sing when the Waseda baseball team goes against the KO university. They are really talented. The symphony came on next, but I thought it might be a good idea to leave earlier so I could meet Mellers by the tree. I peeked outside and holy crap there were a bazillion people out there. There were two lines on each side of the three entrances, so that ppl had to exit between the lines. All the clubs were there, pamphlets ready to recruit new members. I was actually a little scared to go outside but I did (with my head down, walking really fast). I didn't get hassled much. Probably because the ceremony had not ended yet and I wasn't in a full suit (a definite sign that I was a new student).
When the ceremony ended, it was INSANE. The new students were forced to exit through the lines and were bombarded by flyers by new clubs. By the time Mellers found me, she had a gigantic stack of flyers! So did Eugene and Sharon! It was crazy. When we were leaving, ppl started giving me flyers too. I just nodded my head or said "domo" (thanks). Eugene went for his interview and Sharon left, but Mellers and I went to look for the cafeteria. We ended up going back in the madness and all of a sudden I was getting flyers like crazy too. They would just add to my pile that I had to carry with two hands. It was seriously exciting, interesting and crazy at the same time. We made it near the caf, only to find out that it was closed. So one more time into the madness. It was pandemonium! There were also ppl doing performances and demonstrations and in the middle of it all, people performing the official song again. I can now sing it by the way..ahahahah Mellers caught me singing it when she was watching the videos I took.
Took the bus home to drop thing off and look through the flyers. At 5:45-6:00pm we left for Harajuku. I bought some stuff, like the "tabi" (toe) socks and a few shirts. Also a new bag, since Harajuku bag is busted. Then we got hair cuts.
MALE HAIRSTYLISTS
Mellers decided we would try out this new place. All the stylists were men and I was a bit apprehensive because I have a phobia about male stylists. (b/c of a Korean movie I watched) ahhaha. We both got taken in at the same time and both the stylists were awesome. The longer I talked to my stylists the cuter he got ahhahaha. He tried so hard to speak to me in English and I was trying to talk to him in Japanese. I told him a couple of specific things I wanted to do with my hair and then basically the rest was up to him. Man, he was so cute! And the assistant was so nice as well. He would try to explain in English what he was going to do with my hair, I guess so I wouldn't get worried? He'd say things like "shampoo"..."conditioner"..."massage head"..."treatment"...kekekeke it was so funny! and I was able to tell them I was working in a library and I liked Japanese music and dramas. They asked what I was going to eat for dinner...etc. I even took a picture with my stylist..but it doesn't do him justice. Mellers just laughed at me when we left and told me I was hopeless, but her stylist was hot too. kekekeke. She was right. Male stylists just know what looks good on women. hahaha
We got yummy crepes and headed off to meet Eugene. We ate hotpot which was really good and then headed back. Slept relatively early this time and woke up automatically around 7amish...but forced myself to go back to sleep and then woke up at 1pm! eeep! Ok, gotta go...OMGOSH this is a novel. Sorry sweeties!
Sam
originally written: Apr 3, 2007
Installment 2: Waseda University Opening Ceremony
Ohayou! (Good Morning)
It's 3:35am and I'm still awake but I'll explain why very soon!
PREPARATION
We rushed around this morning preparing for Meller's opening ceremony at Waseda University. She looked really nice in her business suit. I'll be watching the ceremony and I'm really excited. We took the bus there.
WASEDA UNIVERSITY OPENING CEREMONY
Mellers and I separated.and I followed the rest of the families to watch the ceremony. We had to line up to be counted and then were led to a classroom. I guess they ran out of seats? So here I am sitting in class room 208 watching it live from a projector. It was kind of cool. There was the master of ceremonies talking and suddenly a bunch of cheerleaders. It was really random! There was a male cheerleader leading them in the black pants uniform. It's nothing like the ones in North America. It kind of looks like the regular high school uniform for guys, but better and he had an arm band on his forearm. He was so loud he didn't need a mic. I was quite impressed. It's really hard to describe.
The faculty came next and there was lots of talking going on and speeches, but not too much. Then they sang the Waseda song and the cheerleaders came back, but with black blazers over their yellow cheer outfits. The parents in the room were singing the song too. It was kind of cute. Shortly after it finished.
THE AFTERMATH
I think there were around 3,000 students there and it was only the second ceremony. There was one more at 4pm. I was engulfed in the crowd so it took a while to leave and then I sat on a bench and waited for Mellers. I asked a student sitting on the bench if I could borrow his phone to call Mellers and he was nice enough to let me. I also talked to an older lady. It was interesting communicating through broken Japanese, my phrasebook and sign language. She was really nice.
Mellers found me and then we went to meet her friends, Eugene and Sharon. We ate takoyaki (octopus balls - there's octopus and mayonaise and stuff in it, hard to describe), but it was interesting. Then we went for Indian food and then for coffee. They are both really nice and we took some fun pictures. I shopped around a little for stationary for Chris and perfume/body mist. Sorry Chris, nothing yet, I'll probably get it from Harajuku.
ZZZZZZ
We took naps when we got home. I slept from 5pm to 10pm! ack! Eugene came over again. Mellers and I watched some Toshinki stuff. OMG Chris I need to buy this for us. We spazzed a lot..a lot..ahahhaha kekekeke. Then we went for dinner at a really nice restaurant. The atmosphere is great! We are now back at her place but wide awake b/c of our naps. Tomorrow is her faculty ceremony which I will go to as well. I will set up a photobucket of pics when I have time or perhaps when I get back.
Ja Ne! byebye
Sam
originally written: Apr 1, 2007
It's 3:35am and I'm still awake but I'll explain why very soon!
PREPARATION
We rushed around this morning preparing for Meller's opening ceremony at Waseda University. She looked really nice in her business suit. I'll be watching the ceremony and I'm really excited. We took the bus there.
WASEDA UNIVERSITY OPENING CEREMONY
Mellers and I separated.and I followed the rest of the families to watch the ceremony. We had to line up to be counted and then were led to a classroom. I guess they ran out of seats? So here I am sitting in class room 208 watching it live from a projector. It was kind of cool. There was the master of ceremonies talking and suddenly a bunch of cheerleaders. It was really random! There was a male cheerleader leading them in the black pants uniform. It's nothing like the ones in North America. It kind of looks like the regular high school uniform for guys, but better and he had an arm band on his forearm. He was so loud he didn't need a mic. I was quite impressed. It's really hard to describe.
The faculty came next and there was lots of talking going on and speeches, but not too much. Then they sang the Waseda song and the cheerleaders came back, but with black blazers over their yellow cheer outfits. The parents in the room were singing the song too. It was kind of cute. Shortly after it finished.
THE AFTERMATH
I think there were around 3,000 students there and it was only the second ceremony. There was one more at 4pm. I was engulfed in the crowd so it took a while to leave and then I sat on a bench and waited for Mellers. I asked a student sitting on the bench if I could borrow his phone to call Mellers and he was nice enough to let me. I also talked to an older lady. It was interesting communicating through broken Japanese, my phrasebook and sign language. She was really nice.
Mellers found me and then we went to meet her friends, Eugene and Sharon. We ate takoyaki (octopus balls - there's octopus and mayonaise and stuff in it, hard to describe), but it was interesting. Then we went for Indian food and then for coffee. They are both really nice and we took some fun pictures. I shopped around a little for stationary for Chris and perfume/body mist. Sorry Chris, nothing yet, I'll probably get it from Harajuku.
ZZZZZZ
We took naps when we got home. I slept from 5pm to 10pm! ack! Eugene came over again. Mellers and I watched some Toshinki stuff. OMG Chris I need to buy this for us. We spazzed a lot..a lot..ahahhaha kekekeke. Then we went for dinner at a really nice restaurant. The atmosphere is great! We are now back at her place but wide awake b/c of our naps. Tomorrow is her faculty ceremony which I will go to as well. I will set up a photobucket of pics when I have time or perhaps when I get back.
Ja Ne! byebye
Sam
originally written: Apr 1, 2007
Tokyo, Japan [Mar 2007]: i'm here and safe
Konnichiwa Minna-san
I am here and safe. I didn't get lost yay! Plane was delayed one hour though. I wrote a long journal entry but I need to take a nap before we go clubbing huuhuu. I was so proud of myself for getting there without freaking out. I got on all the right trains, the only thing is I couldn't get through to Mellers. It kept giving me a busy signal, so that's when I started to worry a little. I called her 5 times from the airport, 5 times from Nippori stn, and another 5 at Takadanobaba stn. Then I asked ppl to direct me to a phone again, but then I heard my name and here came Mellers running towards me. I only waited 20mins so it wasn't so bad.
I will email more about adventures, but I have to nap now.Sayonara! byebye!
Sam
p.s. Please forward to those not on the list...b/c I have to sleep *i owe you hugs if you forward
p.p.s. this doesn't count as an installment. kekeke that will come later
originally written: Mar 31, 2007
I am here and safe. I didn't get lost yay! Plane was delayed one hour though. I wrote a long journal entry but I need to take a nap before we go clubbing huuhuu. I was so proud of myself for getting there without freaking out. I got on all the right trains, the only thing is I couldn't get through to Mellers. It kept giving me a busy signal, so that's when I started to worry a little. I called her 5 times from the airport, 5 times from Nippori stn, and another 5 at Takadanobaba stn. Then I asked ppl to direct me to a phone again, but then I heard my name and here came Mellers running towards me. I only waited 20mins so it wasn't so bad.
I will email more about adventures, but I have to nap now.Sayonara! byebye!
Sam
p.s. Please forward to those not on the list...b/c I have to sleep *i owe you hugs if you forward
p.p.s. this doesn't count as an installment. kekeke that will come later
originally written: Mar 31, 2007
16th Installment: Ending Tokyo with a bang
I've shopped here, but not as crazy as when I was in Korea..hahaa...and yay! I stuck to all my budgets too!
Questioned by Cops?!!?
After a long cab ride, which included the wonderful night scenery of Tokyo and the infamous Tokyo Tower we entered Ropponggi. Walking to club we saw many cultures. Des has informed us that many of the black guys here pretend to be American when they are really Nigerian, or at least African. They trick lots of Japanese women into thinking that too. Wahhh we saw lots of them..trying to speak Japanese and trying to get girls into their clubs or pick up.
Oh yes...back to the email. Mellers went to ask the police if they knew where Gaspanic was b/c she hadn't been there before. One officer talked to her and then another one came and he was kind of eyeing her. After we walked away, we told Mel that he was interested and suddenly I look over and they are running towards us. They started talking to Mel and she was talking some fast Japanese. I really couldn't translate much except that she kept saying she didn't know. She started translating while she was talking to them.
They were asking for our I.D. Des didn't have her passport and I showed them my health card. They kept insisting for our passports and Mel's too. She told them we left them at her place and if they wanted to see them, they'd have to drive us back to get them. It was so weird! Des and I are convinced they just wanted to find out our info, especially Mel's since she looked like J.Lo with her outfit. They let us leave but told us that in Tokyo, you always have to have your passport...
Gaspanic - We OWN that CLUB!!
Finally got to Gaspanic. We went upstairs to get drinks..I don't exactly remember what they had, they ordered me a tequila shot. After that we headed to the dance area. They were playing hiphop and R&B. Des was not feeling it b/c she likes other music, so we left her in a corner with her drink. Mellers and I were dancing and many ppl were staring. We looked up at the bar and there were around 5 girls on top of the bar dancing. But they sucked...really...they were barely moving their hips... So sad, so sad...! There was this bar on the ceiling that they were holding on to... Is that supposed to make them look more attractive? Mellers is a really good dancer. I'm very impressed! Seriously, none of the girls there knew how to move their hips, except for a few.
As the night went on, they finally played some house and Des was happy. She danced with us. We were getting quite a lot of attention, b/c we danced differently than the other girls. The girls started competing with us too. It's strange how things happen like that. Fear not, we behaved. We declined a lot of guys... The funniest thing...well it's kind of bad...but there were these two girls on the bar and when the music got really loud they started dancing and fell off the bar. No one rushed to catch them so they just hit the floor. Yikes @_@ They were ok though... There was also this Japanese girl who really needed a toilet. We brought her upstairs to show her the other washrooms and she was so happy she kissed all three of us and the cheek. So random! We made some friends there too and after the club closed, we went to another one with them...yup we left the first one at 5am and left the second one at around 6am. We got home around..oh geez I don't remember..maybe 8am? Didn't sleep till 10am and woke up again at 3pm..hahaha. Mellers and I really suffered too. Our legs are killing us...ahha please no more stairs!! Going down the stairs is the worst...boooo
HARAJUKU - Land of Cosplayers and Teenagers
When we finally left we ate lunch and headed to Harajuku. We saw some funky styles and ppl dressed up as anime/manga characters. I didn't have the guts to take pics of any of them..b/c most of them were just walking around. It was raining but not real rain. It wasn't even spitting or drizzling... Can someone please tell me, why then, did ppl have umbrellas? They had them open and there was barely any rain hitting their heads. Could it have been the bright lights they were trying to shield themselves from? Why they walking around like it was about to thunderstorm? ahhaa... it was kind of funny! Later on, it wasn't raining at all and some still had their umbrellas open. Japanese people are really interesting! ^^
We had infamous Harajuku crepes. Really yummy and we ate dinner there too. After that we took sticker pictures which were really fun to take and decorate. I love Mellers! She rocks. She took us to some really great places to see and good eats. I will never forget the fun we had in Tokyo. I'm gonna miss her lots. Just like I miss the SG gals (thanks for the laughs and just spending time with us) and all the friends I made in Korea. THANK YOU MELLERS FOR EVERYTHING! I definitely would like to visit all these places again.
Singapore was the awesome shopping, good food and lots of awesome friends... Our first culture shock with timed telephone calls, no eating in subways, squatting toilets, standing on the left side on escalators, no tipping, etc. And the heat!!...we must have lost weight from all that sweating!
Seoul was crazy awesome shopping, good food, superfriendly people and networking... Our second culture shock with the no real shower, more squatting toilets AND the evil toilet that sprayed me, trying to figure out menus and signs that weren't in English, stairs oh the stairs and hills and mountains...We met so many great and supercool ppl there. We definitely lost weight from all that walking!
Tokyo was the superexciting memorable time with Mellers. Our third culture shock, yet more squatting toilets as well as nice ones, learning how to say basic things, trying hard not to speak in Korean...ahhaa, etc. Figured out that the women here really do speak with high voices. Every single one...wahhh. It's automatic...even my voice sounded higher when I said thank you. The weight we lost was at the club..hahaa. Don't expect us to look like we obviously lost weight though.
This trip was unforgettable. I really learned a lot and feel that I am a stronger person. Everyday was carefree and relaxing. Go Cathay Pacific for allowing me to visit three awesome places. I would really love to go again next year.
Thanks everyone for going through this long emails, especially to those who responded. Sorry I didn't always reply, but yeah busy as heck here! It is 3:15am here. Des is packing after her nap and I am sending this off. We have an 11am flight to HK, then a 2:45pm flight to Toronto. We'll be home soon!
-Sam
p.s. If this makes no sense, please forgive me..haha it's so early in the morning. Also, I finally asked Des if I spoke to her when she left for Osaka. Apparently we had a whole conversation..why don't I remember?!?!? So yes, please overlook whatever errors are in here <3
originally written: Apr 23, 2006
Questioned by Cops?!!?
After a long cab ride, which included the wonderful night scenery of Tokyo and the infamous Tokyo Tower we entered Ropponggi. Walking to club we saw many cultures. Des has informed us that many of the black guys here pretend to be American when they are really Nigerian, or at least African. They trick lots of Japanese women into thinking that too. Wahhh we saw lots of them..trying to speak Japanese and trying to get girls into their clubs or pick up.
Oh yes...back to the email. Mellers went to ask the police if they knew where Gaspanic was b/c she hadn't been there before. One officer talked to her and then another one came and he was kind of eyeing her. After we walked away, we told Mel that he was interested and suddenly I look over and they are running towards us. They started talking to Mel and she was talking some fast Japanese. I really couldn't translate much except that she kept saying she didn't know. She started translating while she was talking to them.
They were asking for our I.D. Des didn't have her passport and I showed them my health card. They kept insisting for our passports and Mel's too. She told them we left them at her place and if they wanted to see them, they'd have to drive us back to get them. It was so weird! Des and I are convinced they just wanted to find out our info, especially Mel's since she looked like J.Lo with her outfit. They let us leave but told us that in Tokyo, you always have to have your passport...
Gaspanic - We OWN that CLUB!!
Finally got to Gaspanic. We went upstairs to get drinks..I don't exactly remember what they had, they ordered me a tequila shot. After that we headed to the dance area. They were playing hiphop and R&B. Des was not feeling it b/c she likes other music, so we left her in a corner with her drink. Mellers and I were dancing and many ppl were staring. We looked up at the bar and there were around 5 girls on top of the bar dancing. But they sucked...really...they were barely moving their hips... So sad, so sad...! There was this bar on the ceiling that they were holding on to... Is that supposed to make them look more attractive? Mellers is a really good dancer. I'm very impressed! Seriously, none of the girls there knew how to move their hips, except for a few.
As the night went on, they finally played some house and Des was happy. She danced with us. We were getting quite a lot of attention, b/c we danced differently than the other girls. The girls started competing with us too. It's strange how things happen like that. Fear not, we behaved. We declined a lot of guys... The funniest thing...well it's kind of bad...but there were these two girls on the bar and when the music got really loud they started dancing and fell off the bar. No one rushed to catch them so they just hit the floor. Yikes @_@ They were ok though... There was also this Japanese girl who really needed a toilet. We brought her upstairs to show her the other washrooms and she was so happy she kissed all three of us and the cheek. So random! We made some friends there too and after the club closed, we went to another one with them...yup we left the first one at 5am and left the second one at around 6am. We got home around..oh geez I don't remember..maybe 8am? Didn't sleep till 10am and woke up again at 3pm..hahaha. Mellers and I really suffered too. Our legs are killing us...ahha please no more stairs!! Going down the stairs is the worst...boooo
HARAJUKU - Land of Cosplayers and Teenagers
When we finally left we ate lunch and headed to Harajuku. We saw some funky styles and ppl dressed up as anime/manga characters. I didn't have the guts to take pics of any of them..b/c most of them were just walking around. It was raining but not real rain. It wasn't even spitting or drizzling... Can someone please tell me, why then, did ppl have umbrellas? They had them open and there was barely any rain hitting their heads. Could it have been the bright lights they were trying to shield themselves from? Why they walking around like it was about to thunderstorm? ahhaa... it was kind of funny! Later on, it wasn't raining at all and some still had their umbrellas open. Japanese people are really interesting! ^^
We had infamous Harajuku crepes. Really yummy and we ate dinner there too. After that we took sticker pictures which were really fun to take and decorate. I love Mellers! She rocks. She took us to some really great places to see and good eats. I will never forget the fun we had in Tokyo. I'm gonna miss her lots. Just like I miss the SG gals (thanks for the laughs and just spending time with us) and all the friends I made in Korea. THANK YOU MELLERS FOR EVERYTHING! I definitely would like to visit all these places again.
Singapore was the awesome shopping, good food and lots of awesome friends... Our first culture shock with timed telephone calls, no eating in subways, squatting toilets, standing on the left side on escalators, no tipping, etc. And the heat!!...we must have lost weight from all that sweating!
Seoul was crazy awesome shopping, good food, superfriendly people and networking... Our second culture shock with the no real shower, more squatting toilets AND the evil toilet that sprayed me, trying to figure out menus and signs that weren't in English, stairs oh the stairs and hills and mountains...We met so many great and supercool ppl there. We definitely lost weight from all that walking!
Tokyo was the superexciting memorable time with Mellers. Our third culture shock, yet more squatting toilets as well as nice ones, learning how to say basic things, trying hard not to speak in Korean...ahhaa, etc. Figured out that the women here really do speak with high voices. Every single one...wahhh. It's automatic...even my voice sounded higher when I said thank you. The weight we lost was at the club..hahaa. Don't expect us to look like we obviously lost weight though.
This trip was unforgettable. I really learned a lot and feel that I am a stronger person. Everyday was carefree and relaxing. Go Cathay Pacific for allowing me to visit three awesome places. I would really love to go again next year.
Thanks everyone for going through this long emails, especially to those who responded. Sorry I didn't always reply, but yeah busy as heck here! It is 3:15am here. Des is packing after her nap and I am sending this off. We have an 11am flight to HK, then a 2:45pm flight to Toronto. We'll be home soon!
-Sam
p.s. If this makes no sense, please forgive me..haha it's so early in the morning. Also, I finally asked Des if I spoke to her when she left for Osaka. Apparently we had a whole conversation..why don't I remember?!?!? So yes, please overlook whatever errors are in here <3
originally written: Apr 23, 2006
15th Installment: Crazy in Tokyo!
Today was full of excitement with Mellers. We slept in, so we ate lunch in Ikebukuro...really yummy food!! Then we noticed an arcade game full of those crane/claw games.
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!
I decided that Asia would not defeat me. I rock at crane/claw games at C.N.E. and other places. Why should Asia defeat me? (I was still a little scarred from Lotte World) So we started playing the games and I just wasn't winning. I refused to give up and FINALLY I won a Kon (from the manga Bleach) a really cute bear!! Then Des and Mellers got really excited too and we just took over the arcade. I won three other toys: two raccoons and one green thing...Des won four stuffed animals and Meller's won three boxes with a bear inside. wahahaha we were so LOUD! We ruled those games!!
SHOP TILL YOU DROP
We went shopping for clothes and stuff and we found a couple of places that had these surprise bags that were filled with clothes. Yup we spent quality money and went to hello kitty store and other places. We did a lot of crowd watching there and also in the subways. How on earth are ppl pulling off these weird fashions?!?!? They just keep layering stuff that totally clashes. Some of them pull it off well though, while some are just...well Mellers says she wants to slap them...Des wants to slap their stylists...I just want to smack them in general. Those crazy ppl!
PACHINKO?!?!
We thought that if we did not try pachinko, we would not have experienced the real Tokyo. Well after spending around $10 and not understanding what the heck we're supposed to do, we watched these tiny silver balls flying all over the place. What the heck?!?!? I really don't understand the excitement! I ended up with some left and cashed it in for shortbread? Even stranger! I guess the good stuff comes after you have won more of those things, b/c ppl had baskets full of them. The slot machines were downstairs so we tried those. It was fun...didn't win anything. Des left with some, so she cashed hers in...for more shortbread and chocolate. hahahah I'll never understand! We had a great time though.
Asakusa Temple
Mellers took us to a temple!!! Yay! On our way there, we found a small shop that was selling yukatas (spring kimonos) for a good price. All three of us bought one for ourselves. We finally made it to the temple. This temple is where Yunho from DBSK filmed his Banjun drama {mel edit - Tokyo Holiday. the one where he went with the girl and wrote messages on the wooden block and hang it up). It was a very pretty night view!! We took lots of pictures. We made an offering and made some wishes. We also did the sticks and received our fortunes. Des and I had bad ones and Mellers got a good one. So Des and I tied our fortunes up with the rest of the bad fortunes, in hopes that the gods would help us. It's not so bad, because we make our own destinies, so I will change my bad fortune to a good one.
All-You-Can-Eat
Mellers took us to an All-You-Can Eat BBQ place. The food was so good! We ate a lot of food and Des and Mellers gave me a lesson in smuggling food out. It would have all gone to waste otherwise. MEAT MEAT MEAT! and lots of other yumminess. We had so many plates of food it was crazy. I did my small freak out over the flame and Des did a lot of the cooking b/c SOMEONE IS A PYROPHOBIC...is that even a word? I thought I was gonna die from overeating. Mellers even made cotton candy too! We took it with us.
Home To Change And Clubbing
Did I mention that we are secretly staying here? We are living dangerously..ahha not really. But Mellers' landlord isn't the friendliest so we sneak in and out. It's like we are spies or something. Makes life interesting! So we went home to get ready for the club. Mellers insisted on putting make-up on me. She did the whole mascara, eyeliner, curler thing. She also put some sparkles on my lashes and also on Des. I think we all looked really nice. We planned to go find a cab, but one drove right by us, so we took it. The club was in Ropponggi. Club story comes in the next installment....STAY TUNED!
-Sam
originally written: Apr 23, 2006
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!
I decided that Asia would not defeat me. I rock at crane/claw games at C.N.E. and other places. Why should Asia defeat me? (I was still a little scarred from Lotte World) So we started playing the games and I just wasn't winning. I refused to give up and FINALLY I won a Kon (from the manga Bleach) a really cute bear!! Then Des and Mellers got really excited too and we just took over the arcade. I won three other toys: two raccoons and one green thing...Des won four stuffed animals and Meller's won three boxes with a bear inside. wahahaha we were so LOUD! We ruled those games!!
SHOP TILL YOU DROP
We went shopping for clothes and stuff and we found a couple of places that had these surprise bags that were filled with clothes. Yup we spent quality money and went to hello kitty store and other places. We did a lot of crowd watching there and also in the subways. How on earth are ppl pulling off these weird fashions?!?!? They just keep layering stuff that totally clashes. Some of them pull it off well though, while some are just...well Mellers says she wants to slap them...Des wants to slap their stylists...I just want to smack them in general. Those crazy ppl!
PACHINKO?!?!
We thought that if we did not try pachinko, we would not have experienced the real Tokyo. Well after spending around $10 and not understanding what the heck we're supposed to do, we watched these tiny silver balls flying all over the place. What the heck?!?!? I really don't understand the excitement! I ended up with some left and cashed it in for shortbread? Even stranger! I guess the good stuff comes after you have won more of those things, b/c ppl had baskets full of them. The slot machines were downstairs so we tried those. It was fun...didn't win anything. Des left with some, so she cashed hers in...for more shortbread and chocolate. hahahah I'll never understand! We had a great time though.
Asakusa Temple
Mellers took us to a temple!!! Yay! On our way there, we found a small shop that was selling yukatas (spring kimonos) for a good price. All three of us bought one for ourselves. We finally made it to the temple. This temple is where Yunho from DBSK filmed his Banjun drama {mel edit - Tokyo Holiday. the one where he went with the girl and wrote messages on the wooden block and hang it up). It was a very pretty night view!! We took lots of pictures. We made an offering and made some wishes. We also did the sticks and received our fortunes. Des and I had bad ones and Mellers got a good one. So Des and I tied our fortunes up with the rest of the bad fortunes, in hopes that the gods would help us. It's not so bad, because we make our own destinies, so I will change my bad fortune to a good one.
All-You-Can-Eat
Mellers took us to an All-You-Can Eat BBQ place. The food was so good! We ate a lot of food and Des and Mellers gave me a lesson in smuggling food out. It would have all gone to waste otherwise. MEAT MEAT MEAT! and lots of other yumminess. We had so many plates of food it was crazy. I did my small freak out over the flame and Des did a lot of the cooking b/c SOMEONE IS A PYROPHOBIC...is that even a word? I thought I was gonna die from overeating. Mellers even made cotton candy too! We took it with us.
Home To Change And Clubbing
Did I mention that we are secretly staying here? We are living dangerously..ahha not really. But Mellers' landlord isn't the friendliest so we sneak in and out. It's like we are spies or something. Makes life interesting! So we went home to get ready for the club. Mellers insisted on putting make-up on me. She did the whole mascara, eyeliner, curler thing. She also put some sparkles on my lashes and also on Des. I think we all looked really nice. We planned to go find a cab, but one drove right by us, so we took it. The club was in Ropponggi. Club story comes in the next installment....STAY TUNED!
-Sam
originally written: Apr 23, 2006
14th Installment... Des is M.I.A.!!
So we woke up in the morning and no call from Des. Mellers had to go to school, so I waited here with her phone for Des to call. I was up till 8:30am...some of you probably know about this cuz I was freaking out on msn. Finally around 3 something in the morning she called. Holy crap...I almost cried with relief. I will let her tell you her story of entering Tokyo and spending almost 12 hours on her own. Mellers came after school and I was waiting at the station and then Des finally arrived. We yelled her name out waving our arms like a bunch of psychos. We helped her with her bags and got home. She got to take her shower and we heated up some food for her.
After resting a bit, we went out for dinner. Mellers had reserved a table at her work place and we ate some really good food!! It was so awesome. Nothing like what I had in Toronto. I don't remember all the names of the food but there was chicken and other stuff. So yummy..I took pics. The best thing I think was the dessert. It was soba powder (kind of like a mashed potato texture) with red beans on top. So amazingly good. I took lots of pics of food. hahaa...tomorrow we will go shopping and clubbing. Our clubbing experience in Seoul will be nothing compared to this, b/c apparently we are going to two clubs and clubs close at 11am here.
Well I am off..pretty short installment...but consider Des' part as the other half. When she has time she will send it!
-Sam
originally written: Apr 22, 2006
After resting a bit, we went out for dinner. Mellers had reserved a table at her work place and we ate some really good food!! It was so awesome. Nothing like what I had in Toronto. I don't remember all the names of the food but there was chicken and other stuff. So yummy..I took pics. The best thing I think was the dessert. It was soba powder (kind of like a mashed potato texture) with red beans on top. So amazingly good. I took lots of pics of food. hahaa...tomorrow we will go shopping and clubbing. Our clubbing experience in Seoul will be nothing compared to this, b/c apparently we are going to two clubs and clubs close at 11am here.
Well I am off..pretty short installment...but consider Des' part as the other half. When she has time she will send it!
-Sam
originally written: Apr 22, 2006
13th Installment: Sam vs. Airport
Samsun unnie and Soo Ryeon unnie somehow talked the male receptionist into waking up at 5am to help me drag my luggage to the airport limobus. ^^ I felt so bad for him! I've talked to him several times and he's very nice, but 5am? He finished working in the office at 1am and then the poor guy had to wake up to help me. I was so nervous about not waking up, especially with all that sweatju in me...so he gave me another alarm clock and told me to get some rest. If I didn't wake up he'd knock on my door to wake me up. What a nice guy! Thank goodness for my internal alarm clock...it would wake me up periodically. I woke up by myself around 4:15am. The alarm had been set to 4:30am...when 4:30am passed, the alarm didn't go off. T_T Good thing I woke up!
So at 4:45am I called home and left a msg whispering, since everyone else was sleeping and I waited for him in front of the office for 5am. I tried not to think of the what ifs...like what if he doesn't wake up? He actually lives upstairs...but I don't know which room. Sure enough he came 5 mins early and into the cold dark morning we went. It started to rain a bit too, so we ended up standing in the telephone booths, along with the luggage - him in one booth with my big luggage and me in another with the smaller one. I fully expected and suggested he drop me off and go home and sleep. He insisted on waiting with me for the airport limobus. So we talked. He apparently spent a year in England learning English. When the bus came, he waved it down and waited for me to board. He waved goodbye and then left. Beewon Guesthouse has seriously good customer service. I recommend them! Also Namsan was good too. They are very accomodating!! ^^ Free pick-up service for various locations in Seoul.
The bus came at around 5:15am and we arrived at Incheon around 6:15am. The Cathay Pacific counters weren't even open till 6:30am so I lined up (first person too!!). I'm so proud of myself for not getting so lost!! I went through immigration and here I sit in front of this computer emailing you. I will wait to see what the rest of today brings before I send this email. I have the flight to HK and the flight to Narita. I expect to be such a pro at flying that I will try to get my own pilot license...umm not really...narcolepsy sucks!
I got to Narita airport and the customs lady searched one of my luggages and then I was free to go. Mellers came soon after, even though she was worried she was late. I almost didn't recognize her if it wasn't for her dimples and her rocking roxy skirt. She was wearing really high heels too. She is my angel for picking me up. I looked really bad..ahhaa cuz HK airport was hot all I did was sweat. I had my glasses on too. >_< I hope I didn't make a bad physical impression. We took the train and now we are in Meller's room. I have showed her my tower of cds/dvds and all the gifts. So fear not, I am in good hands. I took a nice shower too. Woohoo!
That's it for this entry. We're gonna watch some Shinhwa dvds!
-Sam
originally written: Apr 20, 2006
So at 4:45am I called home and left a msg whispering, since everyone else was sleeping and I waited for him in front of the office for 5am. I tried not to think of the what ifs...like what if he doesn't wake up? He actually lives upstairs...but I don't know which room. Sure enough he came 5 mins early and into the cold dark morning we went. It started to rain a bit too, so we ended up standing in the telephone booths, along with the luggage - him in one booth with my big luggage and me in another with the smaller one. I fully expected and suggested he drop me off and go home and sleep. He insisted on waiting with me for the airport limobus. So we talked. He apparently spent a year in England learning English. When the bus came, he waved it down and waited for me to board. He waved goodbye and then left. Beewon Guesthouse has seriously good customer service. I recommend them! Also Namsan was good too. They are very accomodating!! ^^ Free pick-up service for various locations in Seoul.
The bus came at around 5:15am and we arrived at Incheon around 6:15am. The Cathay Pacific counters weren't even open till 6:30am so I lined up (first person too!!). I'm so proud of myself for not getting so lost!! I went through immigration and here I sit in front of this computer emailing you. I will wait to see what the rest of today brings before I send this email. I have the flight to HK and the flight to Narita. I expect to be such a pro at flying that I will try to get my own pilot license...umm not really...narcolepsy sucks!
I got to Narita airport and the customs lady searched one of my luggages and then I was free to go. Mellers came soon after, even though she was worried she was late. I almost didn't recognize her if it wasn't for her dimples and her rocking roxy skirt. She was wearing really high heels too. She is my angel for picking me up. I looked really bad..ahhaa cuz HK airport was hot all I did was sweat. I had my glasses on too. >_< I hope I didn't make a bad physical impression. We took the train and now we are in Meller's room. I have showed her my tower of cds/dvds and all the gifts. So fear not, I am in good hands. I took a nice shower too. Woohoo!
That's it for this entry. We're gonna watch some Shinhwa dvds!
-Sam
originally written: Apr 20, 2006
12th installment: Fare thee well Korea!
Today is my last day in Korea...I leave in bright and early tomorrow
morning...5amish. Connie and Esther timed the limobus and it took less than
an hour
Last night there was a thunderstorm. I hate those! I ended up sleeping with
the light and tv on. I had asked for a wake-up call at 10am and they set up
an alarm clock for me...when I woke up it was 1:30pm?!?! I was really
disappointed because I had planned to see the palace and missed the last
English tour. T___T I worked on packing for a while and then I went
downstairs to tell them. I looked up to see that according to their clock
it was 10am...and I looked at my watch and it was 2:30pm...what the heck? My
watch is messed up..not to mention the backing is missing...yipes! I will be
seeing Samsun today. She is KMP's friend. I'm really excited. I think I
will bring my luggage down the steps tonight so I don't wake everyone up and
I will pull an allnighter so I don't miss the limobus.
Boo it's been raining all morning. There goes my plans to visit the palace.
Arghhhh how can not see it and it's right beside me. Tour is no fun in the
rain. I think I will try to order some delivery food. Let's see how that
goes...
Food was good. Met Wyona (another staff member) who is very nice. She
ordered for me and the food was good. Took pictures.
Samsun
I met Samsun and Soo Ryeon Choi. They are awesome!! They took me to
one of the palaces and we took lots of pictures. My battery was low so
I didn't take so many. They are really nice and cute too. I even took
a traditional picture..hahaha..that's all I'm going to tell you...
After that we went to a Korean BBQ restaurant. We had Sam Gyup Sal
(sp?) [bbq bacon] and lots of other stuff I haven't tried. I took pics
too. I really love them..they are so nice. They treat me like a
younger sister. We had soju too. Two bottles. Samsun unnie calls them
sweatju (sp?) b/c it is straight soju and stronger. I think I am a
little bit tipsy, but it's ok, b/c I am staying up all night. I don't
want to miss my flight!! I'm really nervous about being at the airport
alone. We'll see how this goes. NO sleeping tonight. Maybe I'll call
home and force them to stay up late with me.
Samsun and Soo Ryeon are really nice. They took me to the palace
and shared their umbrellas with me. They took time out of their busy
schedules to take me out. Samsun unnie is an archaeologist. Ryeon Choi unnie is studying childcare. We had a really good time, but I think I brought the bad weather. Just like I brought the storm to Singapore and the typhoon to Philippines two years ago. ahhaha...
Not much shopping today. I'm being good. lmao...i really have to
organize my luggage better. I'm still getting used to my haircut. It
looks very different. Samsun unnie and Soo Ryeon unnie said it looks
good. I'm off to Tokyo from the 20th to the 24th with Mellers and my
partner in crime, Des...Look out Tokyo! I've already asked Mellers to
help me ship some stuff..but I've also decided to leave some stuff behind here. I can
live without a couple of my Canadian clothing...
I wish I could stay longer...but I also miss home. 4 days in Tokyo and
I'm back in Toronto. Do you miss me?
-Sam
p.s. Do you still want to hear the adventures in Tokyo, or are you sick of
these emails?
originally written: Apr 19, 2006
morning...5amish. Connie and Esther timed the limobus and it took less than
an hour
Last night there was a thunderstorm. I hate those! I ended up sleeping with
the light and tv on. I had asked for a wake-up call at 10am and they set up
an alarm clock for me...when I woke up it was 1:30pm?!?! I was really
disappointed because I had planned to see the palace and missed the last
English tour. T___T I worked on packing for a while and then I went
downstairs to tell them. I looked up to see that according to their clock
it was 10am...and I looked at my watch and it was 2:30pm...what the heck? My
watch is messed up..not to mention the backing is missing...yipes! I will be
seeing Samsun today. She is KMP's friend. I'm really excited. I think I
will bring my luggage down the steps tonight so I don't wake everyone up and
I will pull an allnighter so I don't miss the limobus.
Boo it's been raining all morning. There goes my plans to visit the palace.
Arghhhh how can not see it and it's right beside me. Tour is no fun in the
rain. I think I will try to order some delivery food. Let's see how that
goes...
Food was good. Met Wyona (another staff member) who is very nice. She
ordered for me and the food was good. Took pictures.
Samsun
I met Samsun and Soo Ryeon Choi. They are awesome!! They took me to
one of the palaces and we took lots of pictures. My battery was low so
I didn't take so many. They are really nice and cute too. I even took
a traditional picture..hahaha..that's all I'm going to tell you...
After that we went to a Korean BBQ restaurant. We had Sam Gyup Sal
(sp?) [bbq bacon] and lots of other stuff I haven't tried. I took pics
too. I really love them..they are so nice. They treat me like a
younger sister. We had soju too. Two bottles. Samsun unnie calls them
sweatju (sp?) b/c it is straight soju and stronger. I think I am a
little bit tipsy, but it's ok, b/c I am staying up all night. I don't
want to miss my flight!! I'm really nervous about being at the airport
alone. We'll see how this goes. NO sleeping tonight. Maybe I'll call
home and force them to stay up late with me.
Samsun and Soo Ryeon are really nice. They took me to the palace
and shared their umbrellas with me. They took time out of their busy
schedules to take me out. Samsun unnie is an archaeologist. Ryeon Choi unnie is studying childcare. We had a really good time, but I think I brought the bad weather. Just like I brought the storm to Singapore and the typhoon to Philippines two years ago. ahhaha...
Not much shopping today. I'm being good. lmao...i really have to
organize my luggage better. I'm still getting used to my haircut. It
looks very different. Samsun unnie and Soo Ryeon unnie said it looks
good. I'm off to Tokyo from the 20th to the 24th with Mellers and my
partner in crime, Des...Look out Tokyo! I've already asked Mellers to
help me ship some stuff..but I've also decided to leave some stuff behind here. I can
live without a couple of my Canadian clothing...
I wish I could stay longer...but I also miss home. 4 days in Tokyo and
I'm back in Toronto. Do you miss me?
-Sam
p.s. Do you still want to hear the adventures in Tokyo, or are you sick of
these emails?
originally written: Apr 19, 2006
11th Installment: The Human Pillow...are you tired of me yet?
Brekkie & Guesthouse mates oh boy
Guess who actually woke up in time for brekkie? Yup I dragged myself out of my room. I met three German guys. The two younger ones had been soldiers and were taking time off before school. They were living in Australia for 5 months and then decided to travel around Asia. The older man was just travelling in general. I didn't stay too long but I did have a good chat with them.
THE HUMAN PILLOW
I wasn't so lonely because I met up with Connie and Esther, my other Singapore friends from Namsan Guesthouse. Yay! We decided to go to Coex Mall, which is an underground mall and I promised myself not to buy anymore heavy things!
I was supposed to meet them at 12:30pm, but I was slightly late b/c I confused the exit and the transfer point. Oops. Oh well they found me anyway. So we were riding on the subway and we actually got seats. The guy beside me was asleep (looked like a student) and he kept inadvertently leaning on me. Yup, even his head ended up on my shoulder. I kept thinking maybe I should move his head and Connie was even gonna push him with her pointer finger. Well, I decided to be nice and let him have my shoulder..heaven knows I've done my fair share of sleeping on the transit...i'm waiting for good karma...hahaa... He woke up just before our stop and didn't even realize what he had been doing. lmao...oh well..
COEX MALL....will my wish come true?
We went straight to the food court and there were some little pools there where ppl could throw coins into the jar and our wishes would come true. We ate our food and then decided to throw our coins. The pool we went to, had a statue kid holding the jar. So I decided since I am ambedextrous, I'm going to throw two coins. I decided left first...so I aimed for the jar and threw. LMAO...it landed just under the jar and hit the kid where the sun don't shine! How did I not notice the statue was nude and how did I not notice it was male...omg...we laughed so hard. So embarassing. The throw with my right hand wasn't even close..hahaha
Kimchi Museum
Decided to check out the kimchi museum. Very interesting...but seeing as I was so full, just watching the kimchi made me feel even more full. I was also getting pretty tired. I took pictures of jars and stuff like that and then we left.
What's Sweeter Than Frozen Yogourt?
We were feeling pretty sluggish. We tried to go to the aquarium, but it was kind of pricey and we didn't really need to see fish. We went to this frozen yogourt dessert place. OMG it was so good. It was frozen yogourt with pieces of watermelon, pineapple, tangerines and kiwi on the sides. There were peanuts and chocolate sauce drizzled over it too. So yummy and really refreshing. We felt better after that. While we were eating, there was this supercute 3-4 year-oldkid. She was adorable! She kept coming up to us and saying "an nyoung haseyo" (hello) and winking at us! What a cutie ^^
A New Look
I decided to get a haircut. Esther and Constance had gotten some really nice ones, so I asked them if I could go to the place where they got there's. After looking around Myeong-dong we found it. The people there are so nice. Pretty and cute stylists. They were really excited to practice their English with me and we even took pictures. How does my hair look? You'll have to wait and see. I look different ^^
A Dinner to Remember
Esther and Constance took me to a restaurant in Insadong someone had taken them to. We ate at a low table with our legs crossed. The food was so good and the side dishes were excellent. The two things that really made it unique were a kimchi wish serated leaves and chilli sauce and crab legs in sweet pepper sauce. The food was awesome! The cod was really good too. After that they walked me back to my place. We discussed how I would be able to get to the airport, seeing as my flight is at 8:50am!! I think I will take the limobus but I might be cutting it a little short, since the bus doesn't start till 5:45am and it takes about an hour to get to the airport. Esther and Constance offered for me to stay in their room with them and then they would help me with my luggage..I don't know. I'll have to think about it. I have all tomorrow and then I must leave the next morning.
Fare thee well chingu!! Until the next essay...
-Sam
originally written: Apr 18, 2006
Guess who actually woke up in time for brekkie? Yup I dragged myself out of my room. I met three German guys. The two younger ones had been soldiers and were taking time off before school. They were living in Australia for 5 months and then decided to travel around Asia. The older man was just travelling in general. I didn't stay too long but I did have a good chat with them.
THE HUMAN PILLOW
I wasn't so lonely because I met up with Connie and Esther, my other Singapore friends from Namsan Guesthouse. Yay! We decided to go to Coex Mall, which is an underground mall and I promised myself not to buy anymore heavy things!
I was supposed to meet them at 12:30pm, but I was slightly late b/c I confused the exit and the transfer point. Oops. Oh well they found me anyway. So we were riding on the subway and we actually got seats. The guy beside me was asleep (looked like a student) and he kept inadvertently leaning on me. Yup, even his head ended up on my shoulder. I kept thinking maybe I should move his head and Connie was even gonna push him with her pointer finger. Well, I decided to be nice and let him have my shoulder..heaven knows I've done my fair share of sleeping on the transit...i'm waiting for good karma...hahaa... He woke up just before our stop and didn't even realize what he had been doing. lmao...oh well..
COEX MALL....will my wish come true?
We went straight to the food court and there were some little pools there where ppl could throw coins into the jar and our wishes would come true. We ate our food and then decided to throw our coins. The pool we went to, had a statue kid holding the jar. So I decided since I am ambedextrous, I'm going to throw two coins. I decided left first...so I aimed for the jar and threw. LMAO...it landed just under the jar and hit the kid where the sun don't shine! How did I not notice the statue was nude and how did I not notice it was male...omg...we laughed so hard. So embarassing. The throw with my right hand wasn't even close..hahaha
Kimchi Museum
Decided to check out the kimchi museum. Very interesting...but seeing as I was so full, just watching the kimchi made me feel even more full. I was also getting pretty tired. I took pictures of jars and stuff like that and then we left.
What's Sweeter Than Frozen Yogourt?
We were feeling pretty sluggish. We tried to go to the aquarium, but it was kind of pricey and we didn't really need to see fish. We went to this frozen yogourt dessert place. OMG it was so good. It was frozen yogourt with pieces of watermelon, pineapple, tangerines and kiwi on the sides. There were peanuts and chocolate sauce drizzled over it too. So yummy and really refreshing. We felt better after that. While we were eating, there was this supercute 3-4 year-oldkid. She was adorable! She kept coming up to us and saying "an nyoung haseyo" (hello) and winking at us! What a cutie ^^
A New Look
I decided to get a haircut. Esther and Constance had gotten some really nice ones, so I asked them if I could go to the place where they got there's. After looking around Myeong-dong we found it. The people there are so nice. Pretty and cute stylists. They were really excited to practice their English with me and we even took pictures. How does my hair look? You'll have to wait and see. I look different ^^
A Dinner to Remember
Esther and Constance took me to a restaurant in Insadong someone had taken them to. We ate at a low table with our legs crossed. The food was so good and the side dishes were excellent. The two things that really made it unique were a kimchi wish serated leaves and chilli sauce and crab legs in sweet pepper sauce. The food was awesome! The cod was really good too. After that they walked me back to my place. We discussed how I would be able to get to the airport, seeing as my flight is at 8:50am!! I think I will take the limobus but I might be cutting it a little short, since the bus doesn't start till 5:45am and it takes about an hour to get to the airport. Esther and Constance offered for me to stay in their room with them and then they would help me with my luggage..I don't know. I'll have to think about it. I have all tomorrow and then I must leave the next morning.
Fare thee well chingu!! Until the next essay...
-Sam
originally written: Apr 18, 2006
10th installment: My adventures...all by myself...
I'm still alive and kicking..well not kicking exactly... Des has arrived safely in Osaka. Thank goodness! I miss her already. She also told me that the Japanese custom ppl don't seem to like ppl who travel often. They will probably ask me why I keep flying to Hong Kong. She also advised me to hide my cds/dvds inside clothing. Grrr...now I have to re-pack again. That sucks!
Ehwa Women's University
Since it's Monday and the palace is closed (I never made it there yesterday), I decided to check out some other things. Please forgive me in advance if I spell places wrong because I don't have my guide book with me. I heard Ehwa Women's University is one of the great places to shop, but I've told myself not to buy so many things because my luggage is very heavy. I have no idea how I'm going to drag those all over the airport. @_@ I rode the subway alone and luckily made it to the transfer stations without getting too lost. Anyway, I got there around 3pmish b/c I left the guesthouse late. It was very busy and all I bought was a new shoulder bag to carry my stuff in and a shirt. I ate lunch there and also had some yummy fruit slushy drink.
Bell Pavilion
I went to the Bell Pavilion (sorry I don't remember the full name) and it was very nice looking. Opposite was a huge tower that's famous...Jongno Tower. Very tall and nicely built. I snapped some shots and sat down with the map, trying to figure out was else I could do. Since I've never been a person who navigates well, I decided to change that. Instead of taking the subway to Anguk I made up my mind to go see Insadong and make my way to Anguk by foot. What do you think happened?
Insadong
Insadong was full of beautiful, historical pottery and much more. I looked around a lot here and even shopped a bit more. There were a lot of people there and I saw more tourists there than I have my whole trip here in Korea. I only bought small things that weren't heavy and didn't take up space. I'm considering throwsing some of my old Canadian clothes away too...just to lighten the darn thing. Aigoooo....
Where Did I End Up?
Guess...take a wild guess. I got back safe. ahhaa...I didn't get lost! When I walked around yesterday, I made sure to remember some places so when I got to that area, I'd know my way back. Yay for me! One step closer to being a good navigator. Since I ate lunch really late, I just got some food to go for later. Oh well if it's cold. I got home before dark just like I promised. It's a good thing though because the place I'm staying is kind of tucked in, so yeah...I don't think it's a good idea to be walking around alone.
Ok...off to watch k-tv and pack again for the billionth time.
Until the next read,
Sam
originally written: Apr 17, 2006
Ehwa Women's University
Since it's Monday and the palace is closed (I never made it there yesterday), I decided to check out some other things. Please forgive me in advance if I spell places wrong because I don't have my guide book with me. I heard Ehwa Women's University is one of the great places to shop, but I've told myself not to buy so many things because my luggage is very heavy. I have no idea how I'm going to drag those all over the airport. @_@ I rode the subway alone and luckily made it to the transfer stations without getting too lost. Anyway, I got there around 3pmish b/c I left the guesthouse late. It was very busy and all I bought was a new shoulder bag to carry my stuff in and a shirt. I ate lunch there and also had some yummy fruit slushy drink.
Bell Pavilion
I went to the Bell Pavilion (sorry I don't remember the full name) and it was very nice looking. Opposite was a huge tower that's famous...Jongno Tower. Very tall and nicely built. I snapped some shots and sat down with the map, trying to figure out was else I could do. Since I've never been a person who navigates well, I decided to change that. Instead of taking the subway to Anguk I made up my mind to go see Insadong and make my way to Anguk by foot. What do you think happened?
Insadong
Insadong was full of beautiful, historical pottery and much more. I looked around a lot here and even shopped a bit more. There were a lot of people there and I saw more tourists there than I have my whole trip here in Korea. I only bought small things that weren't heavy and didn't take up space. I'm considering throwsing some of my old Canadian clothes away too...just to lighten the darn thing. Aigoooo....
Where Did I End Up?
Guess...take a wild guess. I got back safe. ahhaa...I didn't get lost! When I walked around yesterday, I made sure to remember some places so when I got to that area, I'd know my way back. Yay for me! One step closer to being a good navigator. Since I ate lunch really late, I just got some food to go for later. Oh well if it's cold. I got home before dark just like I promised. It's a good thing though because the place I'm staying is kind of tucked in, so yeah...I don't think it's a good idea to be walking around alone.
Ok...off to watch k-tv and pack again for the billionth time.
Until the next read,
Sam
originally written: Apr 17, 2006
9th installment: safe and sound...
Hello Friends,
I am now at Beewon Guesthouse. Robin from Namsan was nice enough to drive me here and help me bring my luggage! What a nice guy =) The receptionist here is very nice. Her name is Kim Ji Hye. My luggage is so darn heavy, she helped me carry it up the stairs. Originally I was supposed to be on the third floor, but she changed my room so I wouldn't have to struggle with the stairs. Yay they have a computer! But it can only be used for email..so yes, you still get to read these.
Escaping Gramps
Did I mention this old Korean man who's been hitting on me at Namsan? At first it was just friendly conversation, but it's more than that. He always pats my shoulder and tells people how he likes me and that I'm cute. Yesterday, a bunch of us were by the internet cafe and he said this to me, "Come visit Florida and I'll visit Toronto."
me: "Haha only if you pay for my ticket!" (I was joking)
gramps: "Sure, ok come to Florida. You can stay at my place."
me: "I don't think your wife will like that."
gramps: "I have another house. You can stay there."
Ummm excuse me...no wayyyy! So bold. Sheeshymos! It didn't end there.
gramps: "So where is your boyfriend?"
me: "He's in Toronto."
gramps: "Oh I thought he was with you. So, you're a free girl?"
me: "No I'm not".
Jebus...so persistent. This morning before I left, he said to me. "When you leave, this place won't be good anymore." Then he attempted to kiss my hand and I moved my hand. He ended up kissing my thumbnail...ewww still so gross. I washed my hands several times.
Soooo...glad I'm away from him. He tried to find out where I was going, but all I said was, "somewhere else."
I am near three palaces I think. So, after I call home I'm going to explore. I won't stay out late especially now that Des is not with me. Fear not, I will be protected by my signature bag filled with too many things, that still smells like cigarettes from the club.
A Little Later...
I watched some Korean television and there was a big concert near the place where Des and I were staying before, but I think it happened just before we got there. I also watched a Korean concert that was held in Japan by mnet. I wonder if Mellers went... I fell asleep. I was so tired and couldn't fight it.
When I finally woke up, I decided to get some food before it got dark. I ended up eating some vendor food 20-30 minutes away. It was so good. Fried mandoo (dumplings) and gimbap wrapped in egg. Yummy ^^ After that I just explored for a bit. Lots of things to see. I will check out the palace tomorrow and explore more. There's a cinema too. I kind of want to go, but I don't know how I'll get tickets and figure out stuff. Maybe next year then...
the end of this installment has come... Did you think the rest of them would be short like the last one?
-Sam
originally written: Apr 16, 2006
I am now at Beewon Guesthouse. Robin from Namsan was nice enough to drive me here and help me bring my luggage! What a nice guy =) The receptionist here is very nice. Her name is Kim Ji Hye. My luggage is so darn heavy, she helped me carry it up the stairs. Originally I was supposed to be on the third floor, but she changed my room so I wouldn't have to struggle with the stairs. Yay they have a computer! But it can only be used for email..so yes, you still get to read these.
Escaping Gramps
Did I mention this old Korean man who's been hitting on me at Namsan? At first it was just friendly conversation, but it's more than that. He always pats my shoulder and tells people how he likes me and that I'm cute. Yesterday, a bunch of us were by the internet cafe and he said this to me, "Come visit Florida and I'll visit Toronto."
me: "Haha only if you pay for my ticket!" (I was joking)
gramps: "Sure, ok come to Florida. You can stay at my place."
me: "I don't think your wife will like that."
gramps: "I have another house. You can stay there."
Ummm excuse me...no wayyyy! So bold. Sheeshymos! It didn't end there.
gramps: "So where is your boyfriend?"
me: "He's in Toronto."
gramps: "Oh I thought he was with you. So, you're a free girl?"
me: "No I'm not".
Jebus...so persistent. This morning before I left, he said to me. "When you leave, this place won't be good anymore." Then he attempted to kiss my hand and I moved my hand. He ended up kissing my thumbnail...ewww still so gross. I washed my hands several times.
Soooo...glad I'm away from him. He tried to find out where I was going, but all I said was, "somewhere else."
I am near three palaces I think. So, after I call home I'm going to explore. I won't stay out late especially now that Des is not with me. Fear not, I will be protected by my signature bag filled with too many things, that still smells like cigarettes from the club.
A Little Later...
I watched some Korean television and there was a big concert near the place where Des and I were staying before, but I think it happened just before we got there. I also watched a Korean concert that was held in Japan by mnet. I wonder if Mellers went... I fell asleep. I was so tired and couldn't fight it.
When I finally woke up, I decided to get some food before it got dark. I ended up eating some vendor food 20-30 minutes away. It was so good. Fried mandoo (dumplings) and gimbap wrapped in egg. Yummy ^^ After that I just explored for a bit. Lots of things to see. I will check out the palace tomorrow and explore more. There's a cinema too. I kind of want to go, but I don't know how I'll get tickets and figure out stuff. Maybe next year then...
the end of this installment has come... Did you think the rest of them would be short like the last one?
-Sam
originally written: Apr 16, 2006
8th Installment: All is quiet...dumpling overload
ahha we were supposed to watch a traditional wedding ceremony at 3pm... we didn't wake up till 1:30pm... didn't leave the room until 3pm... didn't finish eating until 4pm.... didn't finish laundry until 7pm. We found out a copule of days earlier, that they only have washers and we have to hang dry our stuff. That presented a problem...since we had lots of laundry and not much to hang clothes on. Yesterday, we finally asked if we could use their clothesline. That's when we finally left...
We decided we needed some fresh air. We ate at a mandoo (dumpling) restaurant...omg the food was so good. So many dumplings..at the end I thought I became one. We felt bad that we couldn't finish everything. We went shopping around Myeong-dong again. Got home and packed.
Des and I wanted to stay up all night and then I was going to go with her to the bus stop. We were so tired, we slept anyway. When I woke up it was 7am and Des had already left. I suck T___T I really wanted to say goodbye. I don't even remember what happened...now I am alone...missing Des..missing everyone. I hope to become more independent. We'll see how that goes...
Wish me luck. My gift to you..a short installment. I hope I can find the net at the other place I'm going to. :D See you!!
-Sam
originally written: Apr 15, 2006
We decided we needed some fresh air. We ate at a mandoo (dumpling) restaurant...omg the food was so good. So many dumplings..at the end I thought I became one. We felt bad that we couldn't finish everything. We went shopping around Myeong-dong again. Got home and packed.
Des and I wanted to stay up all night and then I was going to go with her to the bus stop. We were so tired, we slept anyway. When I woke up it was 7am and Des had already left. I suck T___T I really wanted to say goodbye. I don't even remember what happened...now I am alone...missing Des..missing everyone. I hope to become more independent. We'll see how that goes...
Wish me luck. My gift to you..a short installment. I hope I can find the net at the other place I'm going to. :D See you!!
-Sam
originally written: Apr 15, 2006
7th Installment: Wild Night in Seoul!!
Ok, today we decided it was Lotte World Day. We kidnapped Louise, who is from Sweden and took her with us. Later on, we kidnapped a Japanese guy too..
DES WORKS IT!!
We went to Jamsil station and in front of the Lotte Department Store was the set-up of a mini concert. We still weren't sure where Lotte World was, so I went to ask a man. He had no idea what I was saying, but there was an army guy near by. He asked if we needed help. He was very polite and quite good looking. We told him where we wanted to go and he offered to take us to the entrance through the department store. His name is Im DoHyun and a corporal. Des was chatting him up!! And her hips were swaying *BIG WINK* Louise and I trailed behind laughing and teasing them. The two were oblivious. GO DES!!! We got his contact info too and took pics with him. Also a solo shot. Yay for Des.
LOTTE WORLD
Lotte world reminded me so much of the k-drama Stairway to Heaven with the carousel and the ice rink downstairs the mall. It was very cute and I ended up buying the necklace, just because..haha...It was not that crowded. Apparently b/c someone fell off a ride and died recently. We didn't mind that it wasn't crowded b/c we were able to just walk around and enjoy. We bought these really cute headbands with ears. Louise got a monkey one and I asked the lady to choose one for me. She chose bunny ears (one of them bent) and guess which colour she chose. I'm sure you can guess what colour by now. Yes, pink...guess this is a pink trip for me. I can't escape it! She chose angel wings for Des. We all took pics and then kept walking.
There was a Studio Ghibli store with huge Totoro's and we all squealed...goodness, we were definitely sucked in. I bought a Totoro pouch to put Josie's camera in, since I lost the case somewhere in Seoul. We saw the Magical Island and the infamous Magic Castle. We walked around the whole island, seeing many kids in uniform. We went by this stage for performances and there was a bunch of students there. We went by them, saying "an nyoung haseyo" and they yelled to us "YOU'RE SO SEXY!!" The three of us burst out in laughter.
Louise and I had the toasted corn which was really good and Des tried the slush. I wanted to go on the monorail so we could see everything. We had only bought general admission passes, so we had to pay extra for the monorail. I couldn't understand the ticket machine and stopped someone to ask for help. The very nice lady did the whole transaction for us. She was so kind. Taking the monorail just showed us that we covered pretty much everything. Good on us. After that we rode the carousel =) We also went to see the skating rink, where many young children were practising speed skating and figure skating. They were so cute. ^^ I also tried the crane game. I almost won the piggie from Kim Sam Soon...but alas, it was not meant to be. T__T
Mini Concert
The concert was featuring DJ DOC and SeeYa, with other artists performing. I really don't remember all their names too well. We missed SeeYa, but remembered that WenLy had convinced me to buy their cd. Too bad about that... LPG, a female group, also performed and I took some pictures for some of my friends. You know who you are! The music was good. People of all ages were there. Some granny elbowed me to get in front, which just made me laugh. Some guys moved in front of me too and tried to not-so-obviously videotape the girls on stage. It was a lot of fun. After it finished, we were starting to get tired and hungry.
SOJU PARTY
We decided today we would go to the soju tent. We headed back home, only to find the soju tent had moved. BOOOOO! So we ate a restaurant that had really good food and then we went to the store to buy soju to drink at Namsan. It was decided that we'd buy a number of different bottles to try them out. We got back up the mountain and Esther and Constance, also from Singapore, were there with a new guest, Takesh from Japan. Esther and Constance weren't up for drinking alcohol so they stuck to juice. The rest of us had mix drinks. The owner came out and said we couldn't drink unless he drank with us. lol. So he drank with us and even sent someone out to get snacks! Dried cuttlefish and assorted chips, as well as juice and other things. It was a party!
What did I drink? Aloe soju, Bloody Mary with soju and plum soju...all mixed by Des and Louise. Then the owner mentioned the bomb drink. That's when you have a shot of soju inside beer. Goodness we did a "bottoms up"...and wham...I felt that pretty fast. hahaha. My face was pink. The owner left soon after, but told us after 10pm we could still drink but keep it down b/c of other guests. We finished drinking and decided to go shopping. lol. Apparently there was a place near some universities that you could shop all night.
WILD NIGHT
Des came out wearing her clubbing gear. Louise made me wear gloss and had me change into my clubbing attire as well. She changed and we dragged Taki-kun with us, who is 17 by the way, but looks older. hahaha. I wasn't sure if we were shopping or clubbing. We took a cab to one of the universities, but we were all tipsy and the guy totally ripped us off. He didn't even take us to the right place! It was so dead...nothing was open... We took another cab to Hongdai (sp?) University and finally found the party town of Seoul. We ran into some British guy who told us to go to a club called M2. We decided to go, but asked for directions a lot b/c we couldn't seem to find the place.
After a long time, we found it. Louise bought sunglasses and Taki-kun bought a cap before we went in. $15 cover...the guy had told us it was only $5. He either lied or we were getting the "foreigner price" and a drink ticket. By then we didn't really care. The gals went to the washroom...holy SMOKE! Smoker's paradise. This place was crazy!!! The music was awesome and it was full. We danced the night away! At some point these topless guys with these batons were on stage and lights were coming out of the batons. It was crazy! I think they were called Adonis boys or something. We OBVIOUSLY danced differently than all the other girls! I think they started to compete with us too. I had a blast - all of us did. We got home at 6am. The club didn't close till 7am.
What a wild night!
-Sam
originally written: Apr 15, 2006
DES WORKS IT!!
We went to Jamsil station and in front of the Lotte Department Store was the set-up of a mini concert. We still weren't sure where Lotte World was, so I went to ask a man. He had no idea what I was saying, but there was an army guy near by. He asked if we needed help. He was very polite and quite good looking. We told him where we wanted to go and he offered to take us to the entrance through the department store. His name is Im DoHyun and a corporal. Des was chatting him up!! And her hips were swaying *BIG WINK* Louise and I trailed behind laughing and teasing them. The two were oblivious. GO DES!!! We got his contact info too and took pics with him. Also a solo shot. Yay for Des.
LOTTE WORLD
Lotte world reminded me so much of the k-drama Stairway to Heaven with the carousel and the ice rink downstairs the mall. It was very cute and I ended up buying the necklace, just because..haha...It was not that crowded. Apparently b/c someone fell off a ride and died recently. We didn't mind that it wasn't crowded b/c we were able to just walk around and enjoy. We bought these really cute headbands with ears. Louise got a monkey one and I asked the lady to choose one for me. She chose bunny ears (one of them bent) and guess which colour she chose. I'm sure you can guess what colour by now. Yes, pink...guess this is a pink trip for me. I can't escape it! She chose angel wings for Des. We all took pics and then kept walking.
There was a Studio Ghibli store with huge Totoro's and we all squealed...goodness, we were definitely sucked in. I bought a Totoro pouch to put Josie's camera in, since I lost the case somewhere in Seoul. We saw the Magical Island and the infamous Magic Castle. We walked around the whole island, seeing many kids in uniform. We went by this stage for performances and there was a bunch of students there. We went by them, saying "an nyoung haseyo" and they yelled to us "YOU'RE SO SEXY!!" The three of us burst out in laughter.
Louise and I had the toasted corn which was really good and Des tried the slush. I wanted to go on the monorail so we could see everything. We had only bought general admission passes, so we had to pay extra for the monorail. I couldn't understand the ticket machine and stopped someone to ask for help. The very nice lady did the whole transaction for us. She was so kind. Taking the monorail just showed us that we covered pretty much everything. Good on us. After that we rode the carousel =) We also went to see the skating rink, where many young children were practising speed skating and figure skating. They were so cute. ^^ I also tried the crane game. I almost won the piggie from Kim Sam Soon...but alas, it was not meant to be. T__T
Mini Concert
The concert was featuring DJ DOC and SeeYa, with other artists performing. I really don't remember all their names too well. We missed SeeYa, but remembered that WenLy had convinced me to buy their cd. Too bad about that... LPG, a female group, also performed and I took some pictures for some of my friends. You know who you are! The music was good. People of all ages were there. Some granny elbowed me to get in front, which just made me laugh. Some guys moved in front of me too and tried to not-so-obviously videotape the girls on stage. It was a lot of fun. After it finished, we were starting to get tired and hungry.
SOJU PARTY
We decided today we would go to the soju tent. We headed back home, only to find the soju tent had moved. BOOOOO! So we ate a restaurant that had really good food and then we went to the store to buy soju to drink at Namsan. It was decided that we'd buy a number of different bottles to try them out. We got back up the mountain and Esther and Constance, also from Singapore, were there with a new guest, Takesh from Japan. Esther and Constance weren't up for drinking alcohol so they stuck to juice. The rest of us had mix drinks. The owner came out and said we couldn't drink unless he drank with us. lol. So he drank with us and even sent someone out to get snacks! Dried cuttlefish and assorted chips, as well as juice and other things. It was a party!
What did I drink? Aloe soju, Bloody Mary with soju and plum soju...all mixed by Des and Louise. Then the owner mentioned the bomb drink. That's when you have a shot of soju inside beer. Goodness we did a "bottoms up"...and wham...I felt that pretty fast. hahaha. My face was pink. The owner left soon after, but told us after 10pm we could still drink but keep it down b/c of other guests. We finished drinking and decided to go shopping. lol. Apparently there was a place near some universities that you could shop all night.
WILD NIGHT
Des came out wearing her clubbing gear. Louise made me wear gloss and had me change into my clubbing attire as well. She changed and we dragged Taki-kun with us, who is 17 by the way, but looks older. hahaha. I wasn't sure if we were shopping or clubbing. We took a cab to one of the universities, but we were all tipsy and the guy totally ripped us off. He didn't even take us to the right place! It was so dead...nothing was open... We took another cab to Hongdai (sp?) University and finally found the party town of Seoul. We ran into some British guy who told us to go to a club called M2. We decided to go, but asked for directions a lot b/c we couldn't seem to find the place.
After a long time, we found it. Louise bought sunglasses and Taki-kun bought a cap before we went in. $15 cover...the guy had told us it was only $5. He either lied or we were getting the "foreigner price" and a drink ticket. By then we didn't really care. The gals went to the washroom...holy SMOKE! Smoker's paradise. This place was crazy!!! The music was awesome and it was full. We danced the night away! At some point these topless guys with these batons were on stage and lights were coming out of the batons. It was crazy! I think they were called Adonis boys or something. We OBVIOUSLY danced differently than all the other girls! I think they started to compete with us too. I had a blast - all of us did. We got home at 6am. The club didn't close till 7am.
What a wild night!
-Sam
originally written: Apr 15, 2006
6th installment: Shinhwa Adventure & Tastes Like Toilet?!?!?
oday was Official Shinhwa Day for me...well I'll start from the beginning... Shinhwa is the Korean group I'm in love with ^^
KOREAN BBQ
I woke up around 8:30am and then forced myself to sleep a little more. Woke up again at 9:00am and worked on more origami cranes. Don't know what the point is, since I don't have enough to make 1,000. Guess who forgot 500 at home somewhere? TT___TT We ate breakfast and then I went on the internet and had a bazillion convos going on. hahahaa...it was fun, but sligthy crazy! Since Des and I were supposed to meet WenLy to go to Shinhwa's Kyochon Chicken Store at 3:30pm, we ended up going to eat at 2pm. We went for Korean BBQ at a closeby restaurant. As soon as we went in we had our books out. The menu was all in hanggul and no English or pictures in sight. Lucky the man working was very kind, he came by to help us out and Des just opened the book and he pointed at the food they had.
We ended up with Kalbi (Korean style ribs)! So good! We had the spring onion salad, some soup and side dishes. We missed the departure of some of the Singapore girls.
=( WenLy is the only one left now.
WORKING THE CHARM!
I kept thinking about how I'm going to get to the other place with all that luggage on the 16th. I had already booked it before I left Toronto, so I couldn't cancel. Subway is not an option...I thought I could take the airport limo bus to Incheon and then take another one to the place or...take a cab. Two of the women staying here reminded me that they have free pick-up and delivery service here to certain places. I am lucky b/c the place I need to get to is right by one of the palaces. SCORE! They can drop me off around there, but how am I supposed to explain the luggage? I told them I am staying with a friend in that area and I asked the guys if they can drive me. I added a smile and a "please" in korean...folding my hands (like when you ask someone for help) HAHAHA...guess who now has a ride to the station?!?! Then I'll just phone the other guesthouse and ask them to pick me up. SUCCESS! and yes, this time I have the number...
YOU SHOULD LIVE IN KOREA
While we waited for WenLy I was talking to Robin and An. They were watching X-Man gameshow and I was naming the ppl on the show. They were shocked at how many ppl I knew. They said "Wahh you should live in Korea. You are like a Korean!" I even named ppl that they didn't know. hahahaa.... Also, earlier that day, the older Korean man staying here came by the internet cafe and those of us that were there, greeted him in Korean. He has been talking to me a lot and is very friendly. He said this to the other girls about me. "I like this girl. She is young and very cute!" As Rob would say...uh huh! He told me that he is selling his house in Florida and his two houses here in Korea, that's why he's staying here. I made sure he didn't know which room we are staying in just to be on the safe side... He seems friendly, but...yeah...uh huh!
Minwoo & Hyesung's Board Game Cafe, "Cafe Mall"!
Des decided to stay at Namsan because she wanted to sleep and wasn't up for it. WenLy and I took a cab to Apgujeong, b/c the streets aren't really labeled and it was better to just show the cab driver the map. There was a lot of traffic. We got to Minwoo and Hyesung's Cafe Mall (Board Game Cafe). It is not very obvious...unless you know what to look for you may just miss it! As an afterthought, I should've taken a picture of the not-so-obvious sign...ooops! Anyway we took the elevator to level three. The cafe is really nice and it was empty. The only person there was the guy running it.
Behind the counter were a lot of board games and Minwoo and Hyesung's solo promotion posters. Beside the elevator was a corkboard full of notes and pics from fans, a summer story poster and beside that Brand New poster signed. There were two computers and above, individual Shinhwa member photos with messages beside. The tables were unexpectedly covered in some type of leather?! not really sure what it was. There was a long banquette (like a bench in a booth) and tables aligned. There were also individual tables with chairs..above them were celebrity photos of those who visited. There was also a V.I.P. room I think for poker players..we asked if we could go in and we took pics.
I ordered an iced tea (which came in a big, tall glass) and WenLy ordered green tea which came in a very fancy looking pot and matching cup. The bill in the end was 10,050 won.
Before we left, we wrote out messages to Shinhwa. I wrote my own message on a paper...can't even remember all the things I wrote. I also wrote one from our forum, hope no one minds. "LOOKING FORWARD TO THE 8TH ALBUM! HWAITING! WE LOVE YOU! SARANG HAE - www.shinhwachangjo.net & Toronto Changjo"
TASTES LIKE TOILET?!?!?
I had to go to the washroom, so I left WenLy at the table. The washroom was just outside the cafe, by a staircase and it was co-ed. I was happy that no one was there. Two urinals stood beside the sink and there were two stalls - one for men and one for women. I went into the women's stall and the toilet looked nice, but complex?!?! It looked like there was a remote control beside it with all these buttons. The toilet cover was so huge too. There was a button on the side, which I thought was the flusher. Nope, that did not work...so I decided to press some of those buttons. I pressed one button and some fan started in the toilet. Then I saw another one that had some water symbol...I figured that meant flush. I pressed the button...
What's my name again? Sam... That's why things like this happen. Out comes something that looks like a straw and water starts squirting out of it!!!!...and not just a little squirt...it was like the firefighters were putting out the flame. I squealed and moved out of the way, watching in horror as the water was hosing down the washroom stall!! Not to mention that the right side of me was soaked! I frantically started pressing some buttons and THANK GOD THE UNIVERSAL COLOUR FOR STOP IS RED. Finally the darn thing turned off. I looked down and saw a mini lake on the floor. It's a good thing that water was clean!!
I tried not to freak out as I cleaned the floor. I rushed back to the cafe and waved at WenLy through the glass door. Thank goodness I had also been wearing a zip sweatshirt and a jacket, which I had left on my chair. If I didn't, I'd be walking outside soaked on one side. I asked her to bring it out for me and explained what happened. Then I went back inside and took a picture of that blasted thing. Hahah...it was my own fault though I suppose. Now I will never forget the place and never make the mistake of pressing strange buttons. Guess where the flusher was... the most obvious place...behind the huge toilet seat. I'm such a....SAM!
MUSIC LIBRARY
Went to a store called Music Library and yes...I bought a couple more cds...I'm so bad. I got to use my Korean again! "S.E.S. odie ey yo?" (I know i spelt that wrong) Sadly, no S.E.S. there, so I bought some other cds. SG Wannabe's 2nd cd, Seeya and Noblesse.
SHINHWA'S KYOCHON CHICKEN STORE
We walked to the Shinhwa's Kyochon Chicken Store. It was bright orange =) I went flash happy taking pics of every Shinhwa thing there. The big picture near the entrance, the big framed photos, the tables with Shinhwa memorablia inside, the pics near the salad bar, the mini tvs and the three gold hand prints (three were no longer up...only Hyesung, Eric and Andy's remained). WenLy ordered a small original combo (original recipe drumsticks and wings) and hot combo. They gave us caramelish type popcorn and pickled radish too. IT WAS SO GOOD! If they start a business in Canada, they will give KFC a run for their money, I think. Really tasty. I ordered take out for Des and WenLy paid for everything. Wahhh friends are sooo generous! I tried to pay, but she told me not to worry about it. Taking pics was fun, trying to avoid ppl who were trying to enjoy their meals. Someone had a birthday party too. I had a lot of fun and the take out came with the Shinhwa paper bag and a magnet. SCORE!
TAXI HOME..literally LOST IN TRANSLATION
We took a cab back b/c it was cold and we also didn't feel like climbing the mountain again...ahahha... It was interesting trying to navigate up that hill with the driver in Korean. We don't know the words for left and right, so we ended up pointing and saying "here" in Korean. haha...the poor guy. I think he was confused as to whether we wanted the subway station Myeong-dong or the Namsan Guesthouse...Finally we got home and Des was able to eat Kyochon chicken and pickled radish.
A day well spent with a new buddy and surrounded by reminders of Shinhwa!! I guess even the toilet incident was memorable..but I wouldn't want it to happen again. Now I know for Japan...sheeshymos!
No longer soaked,
Sam
originally written: Apr 13, 2006
KOREAN BBQ
I woke up around 8:30am and then forced myself to sleep a little more. Woke up again at 9:00am and worked on more origami cranes. Don't know what the point is, since I don't have enough to make 1,000. Guess who forgot 500 at home somewhere? TT___TT We ate breakfast and then I went on the internet and had a bazillion convos going on. hahahaa...it was fun, but sligthy crazy! Since Des and I were supposed to meet WenLy to go to Shinhwa's Kyochon Chicken Store at 3:30pm, we ended up going to eat at 2pm. We went for Korean BBQ at a closeby restaurant. As soon as we went in we had our books out. The menu was all in hanggul and no English or pictures in sight. Lucky the man working was very kind, he came by to help us out and Des just opened the book and he pointed at the food they had.
We ended up with Kalbi (Korean style ribs)! So good! We had the spring onion salad, some soup and side dishes. We missed the departure of some of the Singapore girls.
=( WenLy is the only one left now.
WORKING THE CHARM!
I kept thinking about how I'm going to get to the other place with all that luggage on the 16th. I had already booked it before I left Toronto, so I couldn't cancel. Subway is not an option...I thought I could take the airport limo bus to Incheon and then take another one to the place or...take a cab. Two of the women staying here reminded me that they have free pick-up and delivery service here to certain places. I am lucky b/c the place I need to get to is right by one of the palaces. SCORE! They can drop me off around there, but how am I supposed to explain the luggage? I told them I am staying with a friend in that area and I asked the guys if they can drive me. I added a smile and a "please" in korean...folding my hands (like when you ask someone for help) HAHAHA...guess who now has a ride to the station?!?! Then I'll just phone the other guesthouse and ask them to pick me up. SUCCESS! and yes, this time I have the number...
YOU SHOULD LIVE IN KOREA
While we waited for WenLy I was talking to Robin and An. They were watching X-Man gameshow and I was naming the ppl on the show. They were shocked at how many ppl I knew. They said "Wahh you should live in Korea. You are like a Korean!" I even named ppl that they didn't know. hahahaa.... Also, earlier that day, the older Korean man staying here came by the internet cafe and those of us that were there, greeted him in Korean. He has been talking to me a lot and is very friendly. He said this to the other girls about me. "I like this girl. She is young and very cute!" As Rob would say...uh huh! He told me that he is selling his house in Florida and his two houses here in Korea, that's why he's staying here. I made sure he didn't know which room we are staying in just to be on the safe side... He seems friendly, but...yeah...uh huh!
Minwoo & Hyesung's Board Game Cafe, "Cafe Mall"!
Des decided to stay at Namsan because she wanted to sleep and wasn't up for it. WenLy and I took a cab to Apgujeong, b/c the streets aren't really labeled and it was better to just show the cab driver the map. There was a lot of traffic. We got to Minwoo and Hyesung's Cafe Mall (Board Game Cafe). It is not very obvious...unless you know what to look for you may just miss it! As an afterthought, I should've taken a picture of the not-so-obvious sign...ooops! Anyway we took the elevator to level three. The cafe is really nice and it was empty. The only person there was the guy running it.
Behind the counter were a lot of board games and Minwoo and Hyesung's solo promotion posters. Beside the elevator was a corkboard full of notes and pics from fans, a summer story poster and beside that Brand New poster signed. There were two computers and above, individual Shinhwa member photos with messages beside. The tables were unexpectedly covered in some type of leather?! not really sure what it was. There was a long banquette (like a bench in a booth) and tables aligned. There were also individual tables with chairs..above them were celebrity photos of those who visited. There was also a V.I.P. room I think for poker players..we asked if we could go in and we took pics.
I ordered an iced tea (which came in a big, tall glass) and WenLy ordered green tea which came in a very fancy looking pot and matching cup. The bill in the end was 10,050 won.
Before we left, we wrote out messages to Shinhwa. I wrote my own message on a paper...can't even remember all the things I wrote. I also wrote one from our forum, hope no one minds. "LOOKING FORWARD TO THE 8TH ALBUM! HWAITING! WE LOVE YOU! SARANG HAE - www.shinhwachangjo.net & Toronto Changjo"
TASTES LIKE TOILET?!?!?
I had to go to the washroom, so I left WenLy at the table. The washroom was just outside the cafe, by a staircase and it was co-ed. I was happy that no one was there. Two urinals stood beside the sink and there were two stalls - one for men and one for women. I went into the women's stall and the toilet looked nice, but complex?!?! It looked like there was a remote control beside it with all these buttons. The toilet cover was so huge too. There was a button on the side, which I thought was the flusher. Nope, that did not work...so I decided to press some of those buttons. I pressed one button and some fan started in the toilet. Then I saw another one that had some water symbol...I figured that meant flush. I pressed the button...
What's my name again? Sam... That's why things like this happen. Out comes something that looks like a straw and water starts squirting out of it!!!!...and not just a little squirt...it was like the firefighters were putting out the flame. I squealed and moved out of the way, watching in horror as the water was hosing down the washroom stall!! Not to mention that the right side of me was soaked! I frantically started pressing some buttons and THANK GOD THE UNIVERSAL COLOUR FOR STOP IS RED. Finally the darn thing turned off. I looked down and saw a mini lake on the floor. It's a good thing that water was clean!!
I tried not to freak out as I cleaned the floor. I rushed back to the cafe and waved at WenLy through the glass door. Thank goodness I had also been wearing a zip sweatshirt and a jacket, which I had left on my chair. If I didn't, I'd be walking outside soaked on one side. I asked her to bring it out for me and explained what happened. Then I went back inside and took a picture of that blasted thing. Hahah...it was my own fault though I suppose. Now I will never forget the place and never make the mistake of pressing strange buttons. Guess where the flusher was... the most obvious place...behind the huge toilet seat. I'm such a....SAM!
MUSIC LIBRARY
Went to a store called Music Library and yes...I bought a couple more cds...I'm so bad. I got to use my Korean again! "S.E.S. odie ey yo?" (I know i spelt that wrong) Sadly, no S.E.S. there, so I bought some other cds. SG Wannabe's 2nd cd, Seeya and Noblesse.
SHINHWA'S KYOCHON CHICKEN STORE
We walked to the Shinhwa's Kyochon Chicken Store. It was bright orange =) I went flash happy taking pics of every Shinhwa thing there. The big picture near the entrance, the big framed photos, the tables with Shinhwa memorablia inside, the pics near the salad bar, the mini tvs and the three gold hand prints (three were no longer up...only Hyesung, Eric and Andy's remained). WenLy ordered a small original combo (original recipe drumsticks and wings) and hot combo. They gave us caramelish type popcorn and pickled radish too. IT WAS SO GOOD! If they start a business in Canada, they will give KFC a run for their money, I think. Really tasty. I ordered take out for Des and WenLy paid for everything. Wahhh friends are sooo generous! I tried to pay, but she told me not to worry about it. Taking pics was fun, trying to avoid ppl who were trying to enjoy their meals. Someone had a birthday party too. I had a lot of fun and the take out came with the Shinhwa paper bag and a magnet. SCORE!
TAXI HOME..literally LOST IN TRANSLATION
We took a cab back b/c it was cold and we also didn't feel like climbing the mountain again...ahahha... It was interesting trying to navigate up that hill with the driver in Korean. We don't know the words for left and right, so we ended up pointing and saying "here" in Korean. haha...the poor guy. I think he was confused as to whether we wanted the subway station Myeong-dong or the Namsan Guesthouse...Finally we got home and Des was able to eat Kyochon chicken and pickled radish.
A day well spent with a new buddy and surrounded by reminders of Shinhwa!! I guess even the toilet incident was memorable..but I wouldn't want it to happen again. Now I know for Japan...sheeshymos!
No longer soaked,
Sam
originally written: Apr 13, 2006
5th Installment: Cherry Blossom Festival & Men in Uniform!!
Before you read on...thanks for replying to all these long emails.^^ They brighten my day. Also, when I move on the 16th, I can't guarantee I will have access to internet, so you might not hear from me for a while...booo...but we'll deal with that when the time comes.
Cherry Blossom Festival =) and Hangang Riverside Park (Yeouido)
Even though Des and I already saw a street of cherry blossoms, we wanted to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival at Yunjungno Street. There are 1,400 cherry blossom trees there, so we walked A WHOLE LOT! Beside us was the Hangang Riverside Park (Yeouido) and the Han River. We bought some gimbap and ate it while we walked. We passed by this place that was giving out free bottles of water. Des asked me to pass her one so I did and then I looked at the guy and indicated I would like 1 more bottle and he gave me two. hahaha... Des just laughed at me and I gave her the extra bottle. It was nice just walking at our own pace...
National Assembly Memorial Hall
We weren't exactly sure what this place was at first b/c there was no English sign and a guard at the open gate. Everyone else was going in and out, so we went in too. There was lots of information and video of protests and other stuff. We didn't stay too long though, b/c we couldn't read the info. We also walked by the National Assembly itself. Huge!!
MEN IN UNIFORM!!
The whole time we've been here, I keep bugging Des about how I want to take a picture with men in uniform. I thought it would be fun. While we were doing the cherry blossom walk, we saw a whole bunch of them. I started to chicken out, so we walked in between them and then stopped by the curb to look up "Can we take a picture with you" or something to that extent in our phrase books. Suddenly a couple of them came up to us. One of them, who was quite good looking, asked me if I speak Korean. I told him only a little bit in English and I made the hand sign for little bit. His friend asked in English if they could take a picture with us. I told him of course. Des was smiling and laughing. So 2-4 guys huddled around us and next thing we knew, all of them came. There were about 21 of them! ahhahaah....so they surrounded us and took the picture. They were really energetic and happy.^^ I got them to take a picture with my camera too. lol..They kept thanking us and the one who talked to us shook both of our hands. Des said to me later that when he asked if we spoke Korean, she thought, "For you baby, I will speak Korean"...ahahahhaa...lmao. That was the highlight of the day. Des and I will be hanging in an army room somewhere in Korea. Those guys were insane. They'd walk in formation and then break off really quickly for photo ops with trees, mascots, etc. Des also took a picture of me with two guards...ahhaha we tried to read "take a picture" from our books but I think they understood our English.
The Elderly, the Cutest Kids Ever, and Dogs with DYED tails?!
We people watched for a while, sitting on the curb. We would say "an nyoung haseyo" to the elderly and bow our heads. Most of them would acknowledge and smile or wave. Some would give us weird looks, but most of them were very nice and polite. They are really nice people. The kids were hilarious...they would walk by and we'd say hello in Korean and they would wave and smile or say it back to us. A couple of kids would make these confused faces hahahaa. One kid, i think was still learning how to walk...we said hello and he looked at us and then fell down. OOPS! Another one was crying in the stroller, heard us, stopped crying and just stared at us. The cutest one heard us...ran away...came back to us and then ran away again. The next thing confused us a lot...we saw a dog fully dressed with a green dyed tail...what was that all about? I took a picture of that, but not that well. Another one had a pink dyed tail...what the heck? That dog even had some fancy booties for it's paws...almost looked like stilettos? (sp?) Isn't that animal cruelty?
SEARCH FOR TV STATIONS
In this area was also SBS, KBS and MBC. We went looking for them. Des is really good at reading maps. I couldn't figure out if one the stations was there or not. Des told me it was the one under construction, but I asked someone anyway to verify. Des was right of course...she's rarely wrong with a map in her hand. Aigoo...bad Sam. SBS had moved to Mokdong... We went to KBS, which was high security too..no one was getting in there without a pass. It was then I realized I had dropped the camera case somewhere! TT____TT We retraced our steps, but couldn't find it. >_< I owe Josie a new camera case. We went through Yeouido Park which was very nice and full of green and scenery. We walked/ran across a lot of streets. Finally made it to MBC and took the pics. We ate some mandoo from a vendor. They were sooooo good. Took a picture of 63 building. I can visit it next year...yes, I am DEFINITELY COMING BACK NEXT YEAR! Other than that we pretty much visited the whole island we were on. Good on us. Took the subway back to Myeong-dong without being accosted..ahahaha
Home again, home again
Got some take-out of ramen, gimbap and duk bokki...I love that stuff and headed back. We were both really tired. Up the hill we went. Des was wearing sneakers, so not in pain like yesterday. She thinks she can live here, I agree. We are both amazed at how ppl pull off some of these outfits. They mix some unique clothes together and boldly walk outdoors without a second thought. There are things they wear here that would grant them strange looks in Toronto.
We got back and talked to Robin, who works here. I overheard him say the other day that he drank 10 bottles of soju. What the heck? That's a lot of alcohol. I told him I like the bomb drink (when they take a shooter of soju and drop it into a glass of beer) He says he can drink 9 before he gets drunk and can't remember anything. Des and I have a date with the soju tent her last night in Korea. But that hill...uhhh dunno how we're going to climb that drunk. Maybe we'll drink some in the tent and buy more to drink in the guesthouse. There's a soju tent right at the bottom of the hill next to the subway station. Robin says he can recommend some good places to us. Don't worry everyone, we'll be responsible.
For those of you who are wondering...we have not soju-ed up, b/c we've been too darn busy. Everyday we are out there late adventuring around Seoul. We've had our share of beer, but soju awaits. The best things are worth waiting for right?
There are so many ppl coming and going here it's hard to keep track. We just met a Korean girl who is Swedish. She was adopted and just met her dad. Her name is Louise. At first when we heard her talk (we didn't see her) we thought she was caucasian. She talked us up and we listened to her. She staying here for a month. I met some other Singapore girls too. This morning I met girls from HK. Man...I can't keep track of all of these names? Can everyone get a number for a name?
It's 8:00pm right now...morning for the north americans..man, I get so confused with the days and times here. There are many things to see and do here. I don't think I'll get everything done, so next year it is! I think I'm due for a nap soon. I'm currently fighting some insect. Yesterday I fought with a small fly and I swear it scratched my nose. I have a small scratch..booo...it wasn't me...I cut my nails...that darned fly is vengeful. Ok, now I'm just wasting space....I'm off to relax and listen to some music, maybe watch some k-tv.
Until the next read,
Sam
originally written: Apr 12, 2006
Cherry Blossom Festival =) and Hangang Riverside Park (Yeouido)
Even though Des and I already saw a street of cherry blossoms, we wanted to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival at Yunjungno Street. There are 1,400 cherry blossom trees there, so we walked A WHOLE LOT! Beside us was the Hangang Riverside Park (Yeouido) and the Han River. We bought some gimbap and ate it while we walked. We passed by this place that was giving out free bottles of water. Des asked me to pass her one so I did and then I looked at the guy and indicated I would like 1 more bottle and he gave me two. hahaha... Des just laughed at me and I gave her the extra bottle. It was nice just walking at our own pace...
National Assembly Memorial Hall
We weren't exactly sure what this place was at first b/c there was no English sign and a guard at the open gate. Everyone else was going in and out, so we went in too. There was lots of information and video of protests and other stuff. We didn't stay too long though, b/c we couldn't read the info. We also walked by the National Assembly itself. Huge!!
MEN IN UNIFORM!!
The whole time we've been here, I keep bugging Des about how I want to take a picture with men in uniform. I thought it would be fun. While we were doing the cherry blossom walk, we saw a whole bunch of them. I started to chicken out, so we walked in between them and then stopped by the curb to look up "Can we take a picture with you" or something to that extent in our phrase books. Suddenly a couple of them came up to us. One of them, who was quite good looking, asked me if I speak Korean. I told him only a little bit in English and I made the hand sign for little bit. His friend asked in English if they could take a picture with us. I told him of course. Des was smiling and laughing. So 2-4 guys huddled around us and next thing we knew, all of them came. There were about 21 of them! ahhahaah....so they surrounded us and took the picture. They were really energetic and happy.^^ I got them to take a picture with my camera too. lol..They kept thanking us and the one who talked to us shook both of our hands. Des said to me later that when he asked if we spoke Korean, she thought, "For you baby, I will speak Korean"...ahahahhaa...lmao. That was the highlight of the day. Des and I will be hanging in an army room somewhere in Korea. Those guys were insane. They'd walk in formation and then break off really quickly for photo ops with trees, mascots, etc. Des also took a picture of me with two guards...ahhaha we tried to read "take a picture" from our books but I think they understood our English.
The Elderly, the Cutest Kids Ever, and Dogs with DYED tails?!
We people watched for a while, sitting on the curb. We would say "an nyoung haseyo" to the elderly and bow our heads. Most of them would acknowledge and smile or wave. Some would give us weird looks, but most of them were very nice and polite. They are really nice people. The kids were hilarious...they would walk by and we'd say hello in Korean and they would wave and smile or say it back to us. A couple of kids would make these confused faces hahahaa. One kid, i think was still learning how to walk...we said hello and he looked at us and then fell down. OOPS! Another one was crying in the stroller, heard us, stopped crying and just stared at us. The cutest one heard us...ran away...came back to us and then ran away again. The next thing confused us a lot...we saw a dog fully dressed with a green dyed tail...what was that all about? I took a picture of that, but not that well. Another one had a pink dyed tail...what the heck? That dog even had some fancy booties for it's paws...almost looked like stilettos? (sp?) Isn't that animal cruelty?
SEARCH FOR TV STATIONS
In this area was also SBS, KBS and MBC. We went looking for them. Des is really good at reading maps. I couldn't figure out if one the stations was there or not. Des told me it was the one under construction, but I asked someone anyway to verify. Des was right of course...she's rarely wrong with a map in her hand. Aigoo...bad Sam. SBS had moved to Mokdong... We went to KBS, which was high security too..no one was getting in there without a pass. It was then I realized I had dropped the camera case somewhere! TT____TT We retraced our steps, but couldn't find it. >_< I owe Josie a new camera case. We went through Yeouido Park which was very nice and full of green and scenery. We walked/ran across a lot of streets. Finally made it to MBC and took the pics. We ate some mandoo from a vendor. They were sooooo good. Took a picture of 63 building. I can visit it next year...yes, I am DEFINITELY COMING BACK NEXT YEAR! Other than that we pretty much visited the whole island we were on. Good on us. Took the subway back to Myeong-dong without being accosted..ahahaha
Home again, home again
Got some take-out of ramen, gimbap and duk bokki...I love that stuff and headed back. We were both really tired. Up the hill we went. Des was wearing sneakers, so not in pain like yesterday. She thinks she can live here, I agree. We are both amazed at how ppl pull off some of these outfits. They mix some unique clothes together and boldly walk outdoors without a second thought. There are things they wear here that would grant them strange looks in Toronto.
We got back and talked to Robin, who works here. I overheard him say the other day that he drank 10 bottles of soju. What the heck? That's a lot of alcohol. I told him I like the bomb drink (when they take a shooter of soju and drop it into a glass of beer) He says he can drink 9 before he gets drunk and can't remember anything. Des and I have a date with the soju tent her last night in Korea. But that hill...uhhh dunno how we're going to climb that drunk. Maybe we'll drink some in the tent and buy more to drink in the guesthouse. There's a soju tent right at the bottom of the hill next to the subway station. Robin says he can recommend some good places to us. Don't worry everyone, we'll be responsible.
For those of you who are wondering...we have not soju-ed up, b/c we've been too darn busy. Everyday we are out there late adventuring around Seoul. We've had our share of beer, but soju awaits. The best things are worth waiting for right?
There are so many ppl coming and going here it's hard to keep track. We just met a Korean girl who is Swedish. She was adopted and just met her dad. Her name is Louise. At first when we heard her talk (we didn't see her) we thought she was caucasian. She talked us up and we listened to her. She staying here for a month. I met some other Singapore girls too. This morning I met girls from HK. Man...I can't keep track of all of these names? Can everyone get a number for a name?
It's 8:00pm right now...morning for the north americans..man, I get so confused with the days and times here. There are many things to see and do here. I don't think I'll get everything done, so next year it is! I think I'm due for a nap soon. I'm currently fighting some insect. Yesterday I fought with a small fly and I swear it scratched my nose. I have a small scratch..booo...it wasn't me...I cut my nails...that darned fly is vengeful. Ok, now I'm just wasting space....I'm off to relax and listen to some music, maybe watch some k-tv.
Until the next read,
Sam
originally written: Apr 12, 2006
4th installment: Who's pregnant? What's on fire?
I talked to Dad last night. I always seem to miss him. Talking to him made me miss all of you more. Sure I have lots of fun here, but when I buy something or see certain things, it reminds me of home. Bo go ship po T___T, but I will see you all soon. Thanks to those who read through these long things. Maybe I can publish this as a travel journal something...I probably have to fix the English though right?
Very late last night I overheard some girls talking about how they were from Singapore, so I started talking to them. One of them is from a forum I'm on, so I think we will try to hang out a bit! Also, we made friends with Ben and Ai from Thailand and we made plans to meet up and go shopping.
This morning we changed rooms, b/c we had originally reserved a twin bed room, but they only had a double available for our first two days. Des and I usually wake up b/w 10am and 12pm, so this morning I woke up early b/c I was meeting Ben and Ai for 9:30am. I checked downstairs and they needed us to clear the room before 12pm, so I woke Des up. I give her props...b/c she wasn't even gonna come out with us, but we packed crazy fast and moved into the new room. Des took a shower and changed superfast so she could come with us. We rode the subway and made two transfers. We've noticed ppl stare at us more when we are on the escalators...
WHO'S PREGNANT?
When the subway came, Des and I noticed some empty seats so we sat down. Ben gave me a funny look so I looked at the window behind me. The sign read "SEATS RESERVED FOR THE ELDERLY, DISABLED OR PREGNANT WOMEN." I was so embarassed...I quickly pointed it out to Des and we started laughing. She rubbed her leg..(it was really hurting) and I pretended to injure her. haha...in the end we both left that area and a man made room for us on one of the long seats. He started talking to us and he was very nice.
APGUJEONG & SM ENTERTAINMENT
Today we went to Apgujeong to see the shopping and look for SM Entertainment building. We finally got there and it was nothing I expected! It was a yellow building covered in grafitti! Yikes @_@ We took pictures anyway and there was a lady outside with a stack of BoA cds and I was going to ask her if we could have a tour around or just take a picture in the lobby, but that place is high security! There were cameras everywhere and the lady had to punch in some numbers and get her fingerprint read. I was so tempted to just run in, but I don't think getting arrested would be a good thing. Forgot to mention that Des' heel got stuck in the sidewalk and her bare foot actually hit the pavement..hahahaa...it actually happened more than once.
MCDEATH OR ADVENTURE?
Des and Ben wanted McDeath..(McDonald's) but Ai and I said no way..so we went to a small restaurant that had no pictures of the food and no romanized english letters..ahahha...I got to use a lot of korean there..especially trying to tell them that Ai doesn't eat meat. hahaha...I think I looked up "meat" and then said "no"...ahahah. She ended up with gimbap (like sushi). Des and I were flipping through those phrase books real fast!! We ended up ordering gimbap, bi bim bap, bulgogi and chicken soup. At the end of the meal I got the waiter's attention using what Justin and Jimmy taught us and also asked for the bill. YAY! Ben paid for all the food.
SAM'S MONEY ALLERGY & KYOBO BOOKSTORE
We found another cd store with more good prices...ppl...I swear that extra luggage is strictly cds/dvds and mellers' stuff. I bought a lot of stuff from there and the lady gave me 5 shinhwa posters, a BoA poster and also a DBSK one. How nice! I have also discovered that I've bought a whole new wardrobe...what the heck?!?!? Josie I think I can give you a run for your money in shopping now! Everything I bought actually fit me cuz I tried them on today. AND I'M STILL ON BUDGET! Shweeeet! Anyway back to the story...we looked around and then went back to the subway to hit the big bookstore. I think it's name is Kyobo. I found that Super Junior magazine and some other mags...and some of them came with posters. =D This guy kept openly staring at Des and me. He stood there until we acknowledged him and then he smile and left...weird... By now poor Des was ready to limp with her pretty heeled sandals.
BEING ACCOSTED
On our way back, some older man just came up and started talking to us. He was asking us where we were from and he kept on looking at me with this big smile. Then he kept on squeezing the back of my arm and saying how beautiful I was in Korean. He said my face looked Chinese and so pretty... Jebus...I moved away from him fast and smiled politely but he just kept coming closer. So I tried not to be rude and kept asking the others which station we had to get to. I kind of bowed my head and we walked off. YIPES T____T Des has mentioned that I have a pan-asian look...must be true...b/c ppl talk to me in Korean thinking I'm Korean, some of the Japanese guests here talked to me in Japanese and Ben thought I was Japanese too. In Singapore, ppl thought I was a local too. Has my face changed?!?!?!? =P
FREE ORANGES
Ai wanted to get some strawberries. She wants to take them back to Thailand, but I don't think they'll let her. While she was buying the owner gave each of us a free orange and encouraged us to eat them. OMG...they are so good and sweet!! We told them they were so good and he gave us each another one. Well that man has good customer service, so I bought a whole bag from him for 3,000 won.
AI UNNIE
We climbed back up that darn hill to home and Ai and I went on a quick shopping trip for her stuff. She is so nice and she and Ben offered to take us around in Thailand if we visit. I had bought both of them a magazine at the bookstore, so when we got back to Namsan, she pulled out all these accessories from Thailand. She said she wanted to give me presents so she gave me a bracelet and necklace and her two rings. She said she was happy to be my unnie. <-(older sister). She really didn't want to leave, but she had to. I hope to stay in touch with her. ^^
WHAT'S ON FIRE?
So after Des took a nap and I worked on this long email, we went for food. We decided to go to one of the vendor/restaurant places near where we're staying. We had rice cake, chicken skewers, fried dumpling, other rice cake thingies and soup. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS SACRED!!! We thought the chicken had a sweet glaze on it...no it was this brown glaze with chilli peppers underneath it. Both of us were "Mool ju se yo-ing" (water please). Our eyes were watering and our lips were burning. I had some at each end of my mouth I thought I had burned dimples into the side of my mouth. We asked them for radish. BLESS THE PERSON WHO MADE PICKLED RADISH! Des, who was cold earlier, by then, was ready to strip. IT'S GETTING HOT IN HERE, SO TAKE OFF ALL YOUR CLOTHES...literally. It was such good food, but my tongue was going to fall off~
We are now doing laundry, so I have time to finish this email. The guy at the GS25 (convenience store) knows us by face now. We got more drinks. I swear I better have really nice, sexy legs after all the uphills we've been doing and all the subway steps...plus the sweating we did in Singapore.
Miss you muchly,
-Sam
p.s. I forgot to mention the pic I took of those guys yesterday is not that clear..sorry! I also took a pic of these baseball players who were training by running down the stairs of the mountain
originally written: Apr 11, 2006
Very late last night I overheard some girls talking about how they were from Singapore, so I started talking to them. One of them is from a forum I'm on, so I think we will try to hang out a bit! Also, we made friends with Ben and Ai from Thailand and we made plans to meet up and go shopping.
This morning we changed rooms, b/c we had originally reserved a twin bed room, but they only had a double available for our first two days. Des and I usually wake up b/w 10am and 12pm, so this morning I woke up early b/c I was meeting Ben and Ai for 9:30am. I checked downstairs and they needed us to clear the room before 12pm, so I woke Des up. I give her props...b/c she wasn't even gonna come out with us, but we packed crazy fast and moved into the new room. Des took a shower and changed superfast so she could come with us. We rode the subway and made two transfers. We've noticed ppl stare at us more when we are on the escalators...
WHO'S PREGNANT?
When the subway came, Des and I noticed some empty seats so we sat down. Ben gave me a funny look so I looked at the window behind me. The sign read "SEATS RESERVED FOR THE ELDERLY, DISABLED OR PREGNANT WOMEN." I was so embarassed...I quickly pointed it out to Des and we started laughing. She rubbed her leg..(it was really hurting) and I pretended to injure her. haha...in the end we both left that area and a man made room for us on one of the long seats. He started talking to us and he was very nice.
APGUJEONG & SM ENTERTAINMENT
Today we went to Apgujeong to see the shopping and look for SM Entertainment building. We finally got there and it was nothing I expected! It was a yellow building covered in grafitti! Yikes @_@ We took pictures anyway and there was a lady outside with a stack of BoA cds and I was going to ask her if we could have a tour around or just take a picture in the lobby, but that place is high security! There were cameras everywhere and the lady had to punch in some numbers and get her fingerprint read. I was so tempted to just run in, but I don't think getting arrested would be a good thing. Forgot to mention that Des' heel got stuck in the sidewalk and her bare foot actually hit the pavement..hahahaa...it actually happened more than once.
MCDEATH OR ADVENTURE?
Des and Ben wanted McDeath..(McDonald's) but Ai and I said no way..so we went to a small restaurant that had no pictures of the food and no romanized english letters..ahahha...I got to use a lot of korean there..especially trying to tell them that Ai doesn't eat meat. hahaha...I think I looked up "meat" and then said "no"...ahahah. She ended up with gimbap (like sushi). Des and I were flipping through those phrase books real fast!! We ended up ordering gimbap, bi bim bap, bulgogi and chicken soup. At the end of the meal I got the waiter's attention using what Justin and Jimmy taught us and also asked for the bill. YAY! Ben paid for all the food.
SAM'S MONEY ALLERGY & KYOBO BOOKSTORE
We found another cd store with more good prices...ppl...I swear that extra luggage is strictly cds/dvds and mellers' stuff. I bought a lot of stuff from there and the lady gave me 5 shinhwa posters, a BoA poster and also a DBSK one. How nice! I have also discovered that I've bought a whole new wardrobe...what the heck?!?!? Josie I think I can give you a run for your money in shopping now! Everything I bought actually fit me cuz I tried them on today. AND I'M STILL ON BUDGET! Shweeeet! Anyway back to the story...we looked around and then went back to the subway to hit the big bookstore. I think it's name is Kyobo. I found that Super Junior magazine and some other mags...and some of them came with posters. =D This guy kept openly staring at Des and me. He stood there until we acknowledged him and then he smile and left...weird... By now poor Des was ready to limp with her pretty heeled sandals.
BEING ACCOSTED
On our way back, some older man just came up and started talking to us. He was asking us where we were from and he kept on looking at me with this big smile. Then he kept on squeezing the back of my arm and saying how beautiful I was in Korean. He said my face looked Chinese and so pretty... Jebus...I moved away from him fast and smiled politely but he just kept coming closer. So I tried not to be rude and kept asking the others which station we had to get to. I kind of bowed my head and we walked off. YIPES T____T Des has mentioned that I have a pan-asian look...must be true...b/c ppl talk to me in Korean thinking I'm Korean, some of the Japanese guests here talked to me in Japanese and Ben thought I was Japanese too. In Singapore, ppl thought I was a local too. Has my face changed?!?!?!? =P
FREE ORANGES
Ai wanted to get some strawberries. She wants to take them back to Thailand, but I don't think they'll let her. While she was buying the owner gave each of us a free orange and encouraged us to eat them. OMG...they are so good and sweet!! We told them they were so good and he gave us each another one. Well that man has good customer service, so I bought a whole bag from him for 3,000 won.
AI UNNIE
We climbed back up that darn hill to home and Ai and I went on a quick shopping trip for her stuff. She is so nice and she and Ben offered to take us around in Thailand if we visit. I had bought both of them a magazine at the bookstore, so when we got back to Namsan, she pulled out all these accessories from Thailand. She said she wanted to give me presents so she gave me a bracelet and necklace and her two rings. She said she was happy to be my unnie. <-(older sister). She really didn't want to leave, but she had to. I hope to stay in touch with her. ^^
WHAT'S ON FIRE?
So after Des took a nap and I worked on this long email, we went for food. We decided to go to one of the vendor/restaurant places near where we're staying. We had rice cake, chicken skewers, fried dumpling, other rice cake thingies and soup. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS SACRED!!! We thought the chicken had a sweet glaze on it...no it was this brown glaze with chilli peppers underneath it. Both of us were "Mool ju se yo-ing" (water please). Our eyes were watering and our lips were burning. I had some at each end of my mouth I thought I had burned dimples into the side of my mouth. We asked them for radish. BLESS THE PERSON WHO MADE PICKLED RADISH! Des, who was cold earlier, by then, was ready to strip. IT'S GETTING HOT IN HERE, SO TAKE OFF ALL YOUR CLOTHES...literally. It was such good food, but my tongue was going to fall off~
We are now doing laundry, so I have time to finish this email. The guy at the GS25 (convenience store) knows us by face now. We got more drinks. I swear I better have really nice, sexy legs after all the uphills we've been doing and all the subway steps...plus the sweating we did in Singapore.
Miss you muchly,
-Sam
p.s. I forgot to mention the pic I took of those guys yesterday is not that clear..sorry! I also took a pic of these baseball players who were training by running down the stairs of the mountain
originally written: Apr 11, 2006
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