seoul-searching (part2) - Everland

Do you remember how you used to dream about waking up one day, getting out of your house and finding yourself in the middle of a street covered with snow? On January 23rd, the dream finally became a reality.

DAY 3

While we were eating the dumpling soup that Jina cooked for breakfast, she told us that we were in luck that day for we will finally be able to experience snow fall. True enough, when we looked out the window, snow was indeed falling! We finished our bowls in no time and got ready for a snow-packed adventure for the day. We were scheduled to go to one of Korea's famous theme parks and snow was definitely welcome in our itinerary!

When we stepped out of the guesthouse, snow wasn't falling anymore. Bummer, right? Nah, because when we got off the subway, it was snowing again! Yes, we looked really silly taking pictures of each other in the middle of a busy street! But who cares?

Yeah it doesn't look that busy in this picture, we had to wait a freakin' long time to be able to capture this "random-person-less" picture because people kept passing by. After a couple of minutes enjoying the moment, we finally boarded a bus to Everland.

We were a bit behind schedule but we could not strike lunch off our list so despite our extreme excitement for the buwis-buhay rides in Everland, we had to sit down for a while and have our dose of Korean bulgogi!

Remember how everyone says that a dish will always taste differently when prepared at the place where it originated? It's true. Somehow, I think that even though bulgogi is available in Manila, the taste of bulgogi is somehow adjusted to suit the taste of the consumer, and thus, the authenticity is sacrificed. But we were lucky enough to try the real deal, and it was great! The beef strips were tender. Every bite reminds you of the harmony of the ingredients in the marinade, you could almost hear the music. You want proof? As soon as the spoon touched our lips, there was silence across our table as if we all wanted to just savor the moment and enjoy the dish. We did, and boy did we clean up those plates pretty quickly! We're ready for Everland now!

Unfortunately, the snow won't stop falling! The buwis-buhay rides we were excited about weren't in operation because of this so we went for the indoor rides! Can you smell the desperation now? The indoor rides were basically for kids, but we didn't mind. Any chance we can get to feel all nice and warm again was very welcome, because snow fell like crazy! We really loved the experience of having snow around but its hard to enjoy the moment when your hands are all stiff and blue! We made the decision to embrace it though since there was nothing left to do but to just savor the moment. So what if Everland theme park was pretty much closed (since most of the fun rides were)? There was just so much snow around that sure is enough for an afternoon of fun!

snowball fight, anyone?

perhaps a snow angel?

and ofcourse, we can't miss the opportunity to do a jumpshot in the snow!

and ofcourse, my favorite shot...

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the snow like kids :)

I know, I should post more group pics, right? Sorry, can't help but show these shots to you :) I'm too happy to keep them to myself! Alright, here are the group pics :D

So as you can see, the buwis-buhay rides would have made that afternoon crazy, but we didn't really need the rides to make an adventure out of the Everland trip. We just needed a whole lotta snow, a camera and each other :)

We had to wait for the bus for about an hour outside Everland and we were freezing like ice pops. To distract ourselves from the idea of being frozen to death, we held a little boxing match between GM's two boxing toys, the Golden Monkey and Kangaroo Jack, and we did a little dancing too. Yes, in public, and no, I am not posting the video. Yes, there is a video! And again, no, I am not posting it -- yet :)

seoul-searching (part1)

We booked our tickets last year without any idea what we can find in Korea other than, well, snow. Yes, that is the sole reason why among the several international destinations CebuPac traveled to, we chose Incheon, Korea for our first trip for 2011. We wanted to experience winter and see snow!

So armed with our roundtrip tickets, bubble jackets, thermal wears, earmuffs and gloves, we braved the land of Hangul and made our dreams come true!

DAY 1

We were able to book a family room at Namu Guesthouse which is a few minutes away from the subway station by foot. Prior to the trip, I have been exchanging emails with the guesthouse's manager Jina, who has been a big help to us in preparing our itinerary. Namu Guesthouse was like our little home in Korea. We got the family room which had a double bed and a double deck for 90,000 KRW a night.

Namu Guesthouse has comfortable beds, clean shared comfort rooms, fresh towels, 2 desktop computers with internet, unlimited supply of drinking water, coffee and tea, and homemade breakfast! Jina was a welcome sight in the morning; aside from preparing our breakfast everyday, she also made us a traditional Korean dish -- a dumpling soup that reminded us a lot of our local molo soup :)

First on our list was to get a dose of the famous Korean rice wine called Soju. At first, we thought that this was consumed straight from the bottle ala beer/vodka ice so we ordered four bottles. It's a good thing that the waitress did not understand us and gave us one bottle and four shot glasses instead! We don't know how to say Cheers in Korean so just shouted "Kampaiiiii!" every time we took a shot :)

It's a nice way to end a tiring "we got lost looking for the guesthouse because we had the wrong map" day :)

DAY 2

After having breakfast, we headed off to Insadong which is South Korea's art and antiques neighborhood. This is one of Korea's tourist attractions as a stroll along its streets could easily give you a feel of Korea's culture. Stores selling tea sets and teas, traditional toys, handpressed papers, costumes, caligraphy brushes, crafts and ofcourse, food, are all lined up and enjoyed by thousands of tourists daily. We were able to try Hotteok, a korean pancake filled with honey and cinnamon, which tasted like Christmas if it were flat and chewable (this is really how I remember it, no kidding!).

We only bought and shared one, which we deeply regretted later on, after we found out that it was extremely good and unfortunately, kind of hard to find outside the streets of Insadong. While walking along Insadong-gil the Kkultarae boys in white also drew our attention. Kkultarae, a traditional Korean snack made of honey, is something you can enjoy not only during consumption but during creation as well! Watch this video (not ours) to find out why:

We bought a few boxes and continued our food/culture trip along the streets of Insadong. Of course, part of our itinerary was the infamous Starbucks Insadong branch, the only branch whose store sign is not in roman alphabet. Let's just say that Starbucks, a western coffee shop, doesn't quite fit in Insadong, the traditional neighborhood of Korea, so they had to adapt and you get the picture. We just had to see it for ourselves because of two reasons: (1) I had to purchase a tumbler to add to my growing (YEY!) country tumbler collection, and (2) I just had to get my picture taken outside the cafe with the Starbucks sign in Korean characters! An experience too cool to pass up on :) Besides, we were freezing cold already and we had to stop somewhere to make our freezing fingertips and toes all warm again :)

When we were done with our souvenir shopping and food tripping, we headed back to the subway and searched for TripAdvisor's #1 restaurant in Seoul: Tosokchon!

I blame myself for not downloading a better map, at first look it seems so easy to find, but it turns out we had the wrong map (again) and actually passed by the restaurant without us knowing it! The good thing about Korea is that even though some of them don't understand nor speak very good English, they are very willing to help! We bumped into a lady who didn't speak english and didn't really know where Tosokchon was but she helped us find Domino's Pizza which was in the map but really isn't anywhere near Tosokchon (as I have mentioned, we had an unreliable map). The second lady we bumped into also couldn't speak English but she knew where Tosokchon was so she just made a sign for us to follow her and indeed, she led us straight to the restaurant! Have I mentioned how kind koreans are? :)

When we finally found Tosokchon, we sat down and each ordered a bowl of Samgyetang, a ginseng chicken soup which is their specialty.

Tosokchon's Samgyetang, Kkakdugi, Kimchi and Insamju

According to their menu, "It is made by boiling more than 30 medicinal stuffs and food materials such as endemic chicken, ginseng, chestnuts, pine nuts, gingko nuts, pumpkin seeds, garlic, adlay, black sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, brown rice, herb seeds, barley, black beans, walnuts with a will." Food preparation sounds complicated and it was justified by the taste! It was like nothing I have tasted before. I liked this dish because it was very rich in taste and texture. The ginseng, along with the 29 other ingredients that make up the extensive list of ingredients, gave it an "oldies would love this dish" factor, and the way they slowly cooked it made sure that the meat would fall off the chicken bone the moment your flat metal chopsticks touched them. It tasted like how a Korean royal dish would taste like, and true enough, even SK's ex-president is a fan! However, not everyone appreciates this kind of dish, so if you are not fond of herbal food you might want to skip this one and order barbeque chicken instead (but that defeats the purpose of dining in Tosokchon so I suggest you give it a try at the very least).

After paying for our meals, we walked a bit and found ourselves at the west gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace -- a closed gate at that, since we got there at around 5:00PM. Yes, we had a late lunch because we started our day late, but that did not stop us from taking pictures outside of the palace.

We later found out that we took pictures of the front gate and not of the palace itself! Haha!

Afterwards we headed over to Cheonggyecheon Stream for more photo ops :)

We were feeling really cold from all the walking so we stopped by a cafe to rest and (no, not to chill but) to warm our chilly feet! Unfortunately, the first cafe that we saw was Kopi Tiam, a Singapore-inspired cafe but served food that tasted nothing like the ones in SG. I honestly wish we saw another cafe, one that would serve coffee Korean style, whatever that may be, so that we would have at least experienced it. After all, Koreans did have little cafes all over the city. The reason why we had to choose that particular Kopi Tiam over other cafes still escapes me, but we did, we got all warm and cozy in it and that should be enough. And no, I am not posting pictures of the Kaya toast and Kopi that we got.

Later on we decided to go to Namdaemun Market, Seoul's 24-hour Divisoria. Since it was already past 12 midnight, the subway was closed and we took a cab. Unfortunately for us, we didn't realize that a 24-hour market does not automatically imply that it has 24-hour stalls, and when we got there, there were about 4 stores that were open and all the rest were closed for the night. It turns out, the market was also closed on Sundays and yes, we were there at 1:00AM, on a Sunday. Lucky us.

That definitely did not dampen our spirits, because after waking up a sleeping bonnet-selling lady only to find out I had my eye on a pricey 60,000 KRW bonnet, we headed off to Dongdaemun Market, again via cab, to quench our thirst for Korean Shopping. But first, a taste of Korean noodles! This time, we wanted it to be as authentic as possible, so we followed some hungry Koreans and ended up in a mini-restaurant (a carinderia of sorts) with a menu in Hangul and some pictures of food. When in Korea, pictures are all you need to be able to order a decent meal. Kinda like our turo-turo, but pointing to a picture instead of real food. Now, if there is one thing that I miss about Korea (aside from the numerous Girls Generation ads posted everywhere), it would be the Rabboki.

It's basically noodles and rice cakes in chili paste, and in this case, with boiled eggs and some vegetables. Among all the Korean dishes, this was by far the best that I had when I was in Seoul.

After dinner, we were ready to shop but apparently, the stores in the market were closed too. It was 2:00AM, we have a camera filled with hundreds of pictures and tummies happily filled with Rabboki. It was time to call it a day.

my 2010 to do list

Here's the result of my 2010 to do list:


have breakfast at Apartment 1B
jog at the UP oval
join a benefit run
open a savings account
go to Legaspi Sunday Market
visit a museum
hear mass at Quiapo Church
weigh 90 lbs anytime this year
beach escapade with family
enjoy Coron - POST
enjoy CDO-Camiguin
tour KL
tour Singapore - POST
invest in a good bag
taste fresh durian
dine at Claude Tayag's Bale Dutung - POST
travel alone - POST
prepare kits for kids (para sa HERE sana)
bake really yummy brownies
get a new phone
read (and finish!) a book
go to Manila Ocean Park
try green tea kitkat

i almost completed the list, not bad! :)
see the panel on the left for my 2011 list! :)

you belong in rock and roll

When I heard that NU107 was going to reformat, I genuinely felt sad. I have to admit, I haven't been listening to NU107 or any radio station for years now. I normally listened to radio on my way to and from school/work, but since I started renting a place near my office, I haven't had the chance to listen to radio.

It's been years since I last tuned in to NU107. They have kept me company for at least 4 hours a day, everyday, for around 10 years. Most scenes of my life had a corresponding soundtrack and NU was responsible for that. The relevant stages of my life, the ones that mattered and made me into who I am now, were all accompanied by rock music. In between farts of Zach, witty remarks of Joey, Kiko's musical insights and the amazing playlist of Myrene, I found my place. Listening to rock music kept me sane through tough times. It kept me awake during long hours of studying. It psyched me up when I almost flunked out of school. It helped me vent out all of the emotions I had during my dark days. I found strength in music and NU107 was my mecca.

Then torrent came around and I resorted to downloading new music instead of listening to radio. It's easier for a music lover to digress given this technology, one could listen to an entire discography of a certain artist without having to put up with commercials and other music not worth listening to. But I have to admit, there's something about radio that makes listening an entirely different experience. You can have the best playlist on your iPod but it will never replace a radio experience. I really can't put a finger on what it is that makes it different -- is it the DJs, the news, the commercials or the "how-the-hell-did-this-band-get-air-time" songs?

Well I never really had the chance to turn on the radio and tune in to NU107 lately even if I missed it so bad. I lost my Sony headset and my iPhone doesn't have radio. Our office blocked almost all sites, radio portals included, so I had all the excuses to stick to my playlist and repress my longing for radio. Until I heard about the bad news.

I tried to listen to NU using my officemate's phone for the last time. Then it came to me, NU107 wasn't just reformatting per se, it was ending. An era of rock music, 23 years of providing quality music was coming to an end. And all the memories of my teenage and yuppy life was going away with it. I think what makes it sad for me is the fact that though I haven't listened to NU for years, knowing that I can turn my radio on and tune in any time to relive those memories and get that feeling of youth and sanity (or insanity) again is enough to get me through. Now that the station is no longer the home of new rock, but a mere senseless, neuron-reducing waste of space, I have lost that feeling of home. It feels like I lost a childhood friend, because somehow, I did.

I check my iPod and now realize that ALL of the artists on my playlist, I first heard on NU. Yes, including Tegan and Sara. So I practically owe NU107 my music knowledge and life. I probably should stop ranting now and just suck it up. The station that was 107.5 made life one hell of a ride, and we should just all be thankful that it happened, right? After all, the music lives on.

banana malcapuya loop

On the second day of our Coron trip, we decided to visit the "alleged" best beaches of Coron: Banana Island and Malcapuya Island.

Our boatman asked if he can meet us at the Pier earlier than scheduled, so we left the pier at 8:00AM and traveled to our first stop: Malcapuya Island.

The reason behind leaving early is to have more time to enjoy the islands, and boy, are we glad we listened to the boatman! We were the first ones to get to Malcapuya Island that day and we got dibs on the best spot along the shore -- the treehouse which was right smack in the center of the beach shore! Not only did we have the best seat in the house, but the treehouse also had a hammock which was perfect for chillax time! While we were exploring the island and taking pictures, our boatman prepared our lunch: a seafood fest of sorts with our grilled crabs and fish, some fruits and a big bottle of coke. What's not to love about this trip?!

While having lunch, we saw two big spots near the shoreline and got excited with the idea of corals that are close to the shoreline, which meant that we didn't have to swim too far to see the fishes. Right after lunch, we took a dip to check it out and got the surprise of our lives. The big spots weren't corals, they were schools of fish!


One was a school of small fishes and the other was a school of slightly bigger fishes! We had fun playing with the fishes that swam with us.

After enjoying Malcapuya Island, we left for another beautiful island called Banana Island. The boatman said that the island is banana shaped, thus the name. I didn't really notice this when we were there. One thing I noticed, though, is how amazing the island is! The sand is fine and white, the water is very clean and cool and the corals and fishes are very much alive and colorful! I even saw a sting ray here! I was struck with awe upon seeing the sting ray, and when I realized that I wasn't seeing it from an aquarium but that I was actually swimming with it, I panicked and swam away! Alas, GM was not able to take a picture of it, no thanks to me =S sorry! It's just that I recall Steve Irwin being killed by one so I kinda got scared and panicked.

By the way, while we were in Malcapuya Island, there was this one tourist who was walking along the beach with his lifevest and snorkeling gear on. GM and I were making fun of him because it was really funny how scared this guy is of drowning. I mean he was WALKING along the shore with his snorkling gear on, how crazy is that? But then I realized, I had my lifevest on the whole time we were in Banana Island! Who's afraid of drowning now, kiddo? hahaha!

After Banana Island, we headed off to our last stop for the day, Bulog Dos Island. It's a little island not far from Banana, which was also beautiful with its sand bar and rock formations.

We had fun taking pictures of ourselves here. The water looks great but we were already too tired that we just opted to take pictures in crazy poses. Tripods and camera timers rule!

These islands are a little bit farther than most tourist spots in Coron, I guess this is why the beauty of these islands were preserved. It really is worth the time and effort to visit these islands. Perhaps it would be a great experience to be able to stay overnight in Malcapuya or Banana, we didn't have the chance to but I would definitely recommend it.

Next post: day 3 of our coron trip -- calauit safari and concepcion falls :)