Chicago-Tribune-kisich

Alrighteeee, am ready to start blogging! Woohooo!!!!

Okay, first of all, gotta tell you all that we used Cebu Pacific airline and the departure and arrival time is not what everyone can accept. Well, beggars can’t be choosers right~ Hehehhehe. And, can travel to a new country (Philippines) not bad also mah. Plus, it’s two hours to Philippines, and another three hours to Seoul, not bad right~

(Truth is, tickets to Seoul by AirAsia was pricier than Cebu Pacific at the time we booked)

It was already 12+ am when we checked in and the only shop that’s opened in the airport was Jollibee!

The travelling trio. My travel mates this time, SL and Vai.

1.24am – waiting for boarding


In case you wondered how air stewardess of Cebu Pacific looks like.


 
Discount voucher on the arrival card! Steady or not.

My poor luggage upon arriving NAIA.


Very blah porridge from Chubby China. Went there for a quick meal + wifi. But my porridge was still better than SL and Vai’s noodles, so so so salty macam sea water soup base can!

Checked in Salem Domestic Guesthouse because our next flight was 4pm. We had around 10 hours there and prefer to sleep in. 

Lugged our luggage to the 3rd floor. Oh well, its only a guesthouse and cost 1800 pesos for 3 person, cannot expect so much right. I’m usually not a fussy person when it comes to travelling especially. To me, good or bad, it’s still an experience to remember for life. Hence, I prefer to travel with “low-maintenance” people who won’t complain about the weather, the walking distance, the room, the food and everything else.

Our room.

Quickly changed into our sleeping clothes and called it a day… or night.

Woke up at 10 something, got ready to hunt for some breakfast and later saw my friend sewing his belt. He brought a sewing kit! Once a friend asked me wouldn’t it be very inconvenient to travel with a guy and I answered with an assuring tone, “I don’t know about other guys but SL is definitely one awesome travel partner I can count on… (and not feeling guilty when I go shopping)”

Jollibee is Manila is awesome!

My meal, I forgot what is it called already but the meehoon tasted like kolomee hoon. Its pretty awesome!

SL’s Chicken joy

 

Yummy nuggets!

Vai’s sour cream fries and peach mango pie!
(She’s a vegetarian fyi)

Right opposite Salem

Convenient store selling all sorts of mini/travel pack stuffs!


Even deodorant comes in fun-sized!

Salem Domestic guesthouse’s DND door hanger. Hhehehee. My favorite game of all time.

Walking around the area, sometimes we’re being sort of “escorted” by security guards (think they were just being nice protecting us tourists kua) . All the security guards have pistols with them, and it kind of makes me feel safe and unsafe at the same time. Even when we took a taxi back to NAIA T3 (that’s the airport), there’s policemen checking the storage drawers in the taxi and also, even getting in to the mall, all our bags also kana checked also.


Felt like Ho Chi Minh.

Jeepneys! I wanted to take a ride in it but.. so hot and crowded.. nevermind la.

Arrived in NAIA once again


Resort World, right opposite NAIA T3

Took this pic because I was fascinated by the auntie’s hair style, the one in pink. Yes! It’s a SHE, not HE.

Sat sat beh chio

Bunch of Korean guys queuing in front of us. They’re very funny. One of them was sitting at another person’s luggage and when the other person found out, he fly-kicked the guy (in a comedian way lah). Then when the staff told them their baggage was overweight, they moved their items in and out and tried to perform magic. Still in the end, they went to pay for the excess. Dunno lah, I find them very hilarious.

Vai’s vegetarian ramen from Roku… except the fish cake.

Beef rice. Not sure what’s the proper name but beef rice with poached egg basically describes everything in the bowl.


Bunch of noisy Korean kids who cut queue. Lucky they’re flying to Busan and not Seoul. Imagine how noisy would the plane be.

Cabin crews played a game with us. Sort of like a lucky draw lah. 3 prizes… it’s those travel neck pillow I think. And once they got the passengers attention, then they started selling those duty free goodies. Nice way huh~

I don’t get sick playing this. Played it on my lappie, my NDS and now my iPad. Still not sien.

Everyone has an i-Something to occupy their time.

SL and the guy sitting next to him had similar pose. That big American guy was watching  Stephen Chow’s movie and SL was watching some boring movie… about… okay, I don’t even remember what is it about already.

The in-flight magazine featuring our mosque

 
Lots of passengers arriving Incheon.

Waiting for the train to go to the passenger terminal. The airport is big!

Nah nah nah, can see how many people there liao or not?

Average 5 minutes got one plane landing one. We queued for almost 30 minutes at the immigration there and people just keep flooding in.

The “before”

Queuing queuing queuing

 

Bought bus tickets. It’s 10,000 won per person to reach Myeong Dong. Better than taking MRT because,
1) have to change a few lines to reach Myeong Dong, I’m so not going to lug my luggage up and down
2) It’s slightly pricier since we’re taking the airport bus, not the deluxe type limousine bus.

OMG! SO CUTE!!!!!
Pink polka dots luggage! I wantttttttt!

Our bus number, the stations and the timetable.

Bus ticket, the lady circled the bus number and the gate.

Spacious bus~ I wonder how different is this from the deluxe bus cos this is already good enough for me.

First time I put on seat belt in a bus. It’s compulsory.

Checked in our guesthouse and this is our 3 person room~

Show you guys more about the place tomorrow.

Hunting for food! Our very first meal in Korea. There’s quite a lot of restaurant along the way and three 24hrs convenient stores (7-11, GS25 and Family Mart). Talk about convenience.

(You know I’ll always find a cheap place to stay which is near to MRT station and a convenient store nearby)

Went in this restaurant, with the menu written all on the wall.

But fear no more, there’s a special menu for tourists with English and Chinese titles.

We’re suppose to tick ourselves what we want to eat, since we can read no Korean, we just point to the picture and the staff would tick for us.

Eating utensils in the steel container

Dumplings. Very meh-ish.

Kimchi and radish, nice nice!


Oh, any ramyun/ramen you order in a Korean restaurant will be like this, those Shin Ramen you can get from most supermarket. Same same. No difference.

Unless you order cold noodles or that awful soy bean noodles lah.

 
Kimchi Gimbap! Nice! We love this very much.

Reminds me of the part when the GBs went to Kimchi (as in the restaurant in Kiulap) for sungkai and Atul said, “Who are you calling Gimbap?!”. HAHHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAAHHA

Abalone porridge. It has less salt in in, the taste is very original.
But still nice nonetheless.


Follow Sa-Sa (the host from 食尚玩家)’s foot step. When I watched the episode she went to Seoul, the first thing she bought from 7-11 is this tokboki keropok and banana milk.

I DRANK THAT BANANA MILK EVERYDAY! So delicious and no constipation~ Woohooo!!!
Sorry, tmi.


Rules in Namsan Guesthouse~


T-Money! So cute kan~
SL got the Mickey Mouse one.

 

Okie, that’s it for Day 1.

Buh bai~

I'm back from the shopping heaven. Landed at about 2am and got back home in Seria at 3.30am. My body battery super flat. I can't imagine how is it like to unpack later, dreading it actually. My luggage is 27kg, with two hand carries weighing 7kg and 4kg... And I have tons of dirty laundries too.

Arghhh.. Gonna take a nice shower, head out and tapau chicken rice, catch up the episodes I'd been missing in AOD and nap. Mom is away in kk now, road trip with her friends. Steady hor.

Bah, will start blogging about my trip once everything is settled.

Okay.. it is a bit weird to tag this post under “travel log” since… err.. I don’t even see going to Miri as “traveling” but nevermind la, it’s my first time going to Kuala Lurah so it should be forgiven. No?

So… Bob-da-bi came and picked me up from Batu Bersurat at almost 6pm then went to Bunut to meet up with his braders so we could carpooled.

It was like a totally different world when we’re on our way… I felt like I was back to my mom’s Sibu kampung area. Wide un-busy road, padi fields and scarcely distributed wooden houses.

Reached the border at 6.30pm, just in time for the immigration officers to break their fast… Hence the non-moving cars.

My mom who went to Limbang the day before me said that there was still one immigration poll opened during the sungkai time. So lucky hor. And give my mom a big round of applause for being a big big girl because SHE DROVE ALL THE WAY FROM SERIA TO LIMBANG WITH HER FRIENDS (all aunties). My mom has grown up so much~ *sniffs*

7pm… the line moved~

There was some people who just parked their cars and walked across so I wondered if we could do the same. But the gentlemen in the car told me it’s a little far ever since the new Malaysia immigration office was built. But.. when I reached the eating place, I think the guys overestimated the “princess” in me. That kind of distance, I can still walk and won’t complain laaaaaahhhhhh!!! It’s nearer from walking from my house to Seria town can.



First shop, Sugarbun. Second shop, duty-free shop.

My bodyguards. Super fail lor, I was walking behind them (checking out their backsides wtf)
HAHhahahahhahaha! Just kidding okay, don’t so serious!

In the….. ermm… food court.

It’s better than what I expected. I was expecting wooden structures, with wooden tables and wooden benches next to longkang with no cover flooded with pukes and pee. Okay, I know I very over. The service was good because the drinks and food were served in a lightning speed, every request will be fulfilled, and the atmosphere was just so lively. Full of laughter, bottles clicking and occasionally some loud drunk uncle shouting at his friends. It’s fun!

My slightly more expensive stubby and lonely 100 plus among the cheaper tall bottles of beers.

This fish + tofu thing is awesome!!!!!!

Tongkeng and lambs! OMG! The tongkeng is totally to die-for! No colourings like those in pasar malam! Urghh.. it’s just for hard to find nice tongkeng around here because, me no like RED tongkeng okay. Furthermore, the tongkeng has.. the… ermm…. the “dirty” part removed. Very very very very delicious! Juicy, tender and full of flavours.

Chicken wingssssssss!!!

Oh, and you can choose if you want to pay in RM or BND. Convenient till~

Midin Belachan… $3 only.

Fried calamari. Normally this is like very precious if ordered in Brunei.. but compared to other food, this is just so so so normal and… nothing to wow for.

Finally got my cravings for sting ray killed! I was looking for this in pasar malam in KB last week but don’t have nice one (actually all sold out… but I bet this is better) $9


Dumplings! On nom nom nom nom nom! How to resist?!

Our table.. super packed with food!
Very unhealthy but what the heck~

When WC asked KR if he ordered fried sausages, I was thinking in my head,

(the above picture is what I imagined it to be… very the home-cooked nothing special very blah fried sausages)

fried sausages got what so special oh? When it was served on the table and I took the first bite, wah lao eh! WHY SO DIFFERENT FROM THOSE I ATE BEFORE ONE!!!! The batter was crunchy and the sausages.. Rose brand one. Cannot compare to any of the local brands!

How can make till so yummy???????!!!!!!

The crunchy deep fried chicken wings! Any crunchier I’m going to check if they add plastic to the oil already!

 

It was such a wonderful night… Chit chatting, with a table of yummy (and cheap!) food and reminiscing the past. Oh man, I’ve known this bunch of guys for 10 years already! 10 years ago, they always hanged out in cyber cafes play counter strike, lepak in Gadong centerpoint and the Mall was not built yet. I walked from Batu Bersurat to Gadong almost everyday just to see my (ex) boyfriend. Then when everyone wanted to have a break, we’ll go to the Indian shop for those martabak (Bobby’s gang). My goodness, we were so young back then!

We’re so going to visit Kuala Lurah in the near future. A bit regret why we only discover it last week since it’s so near (nearer than going to Miri) and the food is so good and cheap!

Today while walking back to Bobby's car...

Bobby: Chalie laopoh~
Nonnie: Eh, no ring yet, don't call me laopoh, I feel rugi.
Bobby: Ya meh? Got like that one meh?
Nonnie: Gotttttttt! Thats why I never call you laokong lor, later u rugi. HAHAHAHHAH
Bobby: But I'm a generous person~

Palanting....（;￣O￣）

Saw this “ad” in Pandan 5….

Wah lao ehhh… daring also!

I know you all must be curious what is it about… it says something like,
“If you have problem collecting debts, our company can help you collect on behalf. And if you have financial problems, we can help you arrange too.”

Well, it’s kind of obvious already kan…

When Chef Wan signed his autograph on the mini cookbooks set for me, he said with a heavy sigh that he really wished that people who bought his cookbooks will try his recipes and not just put it on the shelf as display. And I did! For a start, I picked the easiest one…

I’m usually bad in making sweet treats because:
1) I’m not much of a sweet tooth
2) Unlike cooking that I can just pause, taste and adjust to my liking and be creative with ingredients
3) No one knows whether the cake/cookies/tarts/pie will be a success until you shove it in to the mouth!


Hassle-free ingredients and only 4 easy steps!

Me no haz mixer…. and me lazy borrow from neighbour… me ask me boyfriend hand-mix it.


I forgot (intentionally) to buy muffin cups and I remember seeing recipes from my pie maker that it can be used to bake muffins as well, so I put my beloved pie maker in to good use!

Big big thanks to 48, who hand-carried it back for me from kangarooland!
Every time I use also must feel grateful for having such awesome best friend (who doesn’t go online a lot these days and yes! CCM! I iz complaining you! Hahhaha. Got buy me souvenir from Fiji or not?)




*ta da*
Nicely shaped muffins! (with caramelized sliced banana on top)
Best served with vanilla ice cream!

Next project: Apple and pear tart with butterscotch sauce and chicken kiev!
(Requested by Bob-the-bi)

8.15am : Woke up
8.35am : Drank a cup of Green tea protein drink (don't ask, my mom just mixed it for me as my daily energy drink)
8.45am : Decided to blog about it
8.50am : Wonder what time should I eat breakfast and think if I can tahan till dinner time
9.30am : Ate Kolomee veryyyyy slowwwwwwwlllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy (so that I don't have to be hungry for a longer time, walaupun seminit)
12:30pm : Short nap after watching few episodes of Kangxi Lai le
2.30pm : Woke up by sms asking me to go tea
2.45pm: Sampai Universal cafe but just order a drink while my useless friends ordered a table of french toast with cheese, butter toast, roti kahwin and teased me asking if I'm going to convert, else why was I even thinking of fasting....
5.30pm : Went online and check the sungkai time!
6.15pm : Had a snicker bar in my hand until the chocolate melted a little when it's finally time
6.35pm : Ate the snicker bar, some corn crackers and asked my mom when dinner was going to be served.

I have whole new level of respect towards people who are fasting now don't play play! And now when my students ask me, "Cikgu puasa kah?", at least I can say "Yes, cikgu puasa, tapi cikgu drink water..... fail a bit". A student even encouraged me and asked me try not to drink and gave me tips.

Anyways, my puasa fail one. Because I "sahur" at 8am and still drink water... Give me some time to get used to it and maybe one day I can really do the no-cheat fasting!