Seoul - Personal Splendors :)

You know how mothers like to keep their kids' mittens, bibs, booties and everything so that they can always remember their child's childhood? They do so even when the kids are grown up!

Before I headed out to Seoul, I told mum about the freaking cold weather and she went to dig this out for me :) :)

A hat that I used to own in my teenage (secondary school) years!!! Think I got it in FEP or bugis. But with a weather like Singapore's, you seldom wear this kinda thing out. You also wouldnt want to look like an oddball trying to act funky and getting a lot of stares amidst the Orchard Road crowd.

So I threw it away....Never thought that it was all along in the house! :):):) *the things mothers do!* It was good stuff! Kept the ears warm :) *hates cold ears*

And here's the updo that got some Japanese asking me for directions. HEH.

A peek into the room before we started our commoner living :p Dont remind us. Let us just live in this splendid moments below.

A long doorway, dual shower (tub and sprinkler room), ledge to hold FULL makeup and toiletries and a high comfy bed. We get down the bed in the mornings :)

I was alone for the first 2 days. So I slept in pretty much till mid day and head out when it's time for lunch :p

Day ONE - COEX luncheon, Dongdaemun

They have pretty decent restaurants within COEX. Randomly picked one and started the first korean meal - Bimbimbab. It came with a lot of sides! ALL refillable ok!

Cant shop like the past now, so headed for a coffee break and enjoy the slow passing me-time :) Korea really has a lot of coffee houses. The extensiveness and intensiveness of it is evident. It didnt take long for me to realise how much the Koreans love hanging out in cafes. I was spoilt for choice everyday. They even have multistoreys cafes for Dunkin Donuts and Krispy creme in Myeong Dong, a 4-storey Cafe Nescafe in Itaewon, a double storey Starbucks in Insadong and perhaps mannny more that I cant recollect off hand :) You will see them in the days that follow :)

Weather got chilly when the wind blows and everybody on the streets start to hover around these street hawkers :)

I got one chilli rice cake for myself and stood behind some walls to indulge in them.

And at the end of day one -- Lootified :)

Did up the nails since I had more me-time when I returned and the man was still out at dinner :)

Day TWO - Namdaemun

Seoul is a verrrrry pretty place. And the aroma of spring lingers everywhere. You find potted flowers all over the pavements and even along the road dividers :) Pretty!

Alot of shopping done this day. The Missha masksss weigh a tonne, they gave me a slingable shopping bag :) Walked pass a crowded food place and decided to settle down for luncheon. Hand made noodles. I didnt know it was a specialty. There was no menu. I asked for a table for one and was served immediately when I sat down :p Saved me the trouble of going through the chicken and duck process of ordering my food :p:p That red noodle is actually cold glass noodle in special chilli sauce. Verrrry yummy! and cost me only KRW 4,000!!

If you peek closely, u can see my pink Missha bag and my own black/white shopping bag that took up the seat right next to me :)

Here's where I got some long sleeved clothes for a steal from their mobile carts! You know how some sellers always quote higher prices to foreigners? I had some bad experience myself before that. So I got clever :) Remember, when in doubt, always do what the locals do! I stayed looong enough at the cart to see how much the locals were paying for their loots. Saw a lady paying KRW 10,000 for 3 pieces. So I went ahead and chose 3 perfect pieces for myself :)

Here are two of them which I wore immediately during the trip :)

A pink coat with pockets!
A black cardigan with silk drape along the sides!

All these plus another pink work jacket with crowns for buttons for only.....

HOLD YOUR BREATHE!!!

KRW 3,000!!!!!!!

Alright, I think there were some miscommunication. I handed him a KRW 10,000 note and dunno what he was saying. So with wide and questioning eyes staring at him, I took out another piece of KRW 10,000. He took the money but his body language appeared to be saying something like nonononono. So he started counting his KRW 1,000 notes right in front of me, apparently trying to show me how much I owe/still owe him.. At this moment, his own KRW 10,000 flew down from his money pile. He picked it up and pass to me. I dunno if he intended to return me my 2nd piece of KRW 10,000 or whether he thought I dropped the money.. Anyway, he then counted 7 KRW 1,000 notes from the money pile to return me. On retrospect, I think my loots actually cost KRW 13,000! Haha! It will still be a steal!

And yes. The last pic was where he spent some good moolahs in but did not walk out with a big white bag! hrmphf! Duty Free can only be collected upon departure at the airport. I should have guessed....where did all that eye for control weakness go to in Seoul?!

I was a very happy girl right after despite the PMS kicking in :):):) Think now N knows how to manage the bitch :):):):) heeeez....