they say that when live overseas alone, you’ll miss your family most when you’re sick.

I cannot deny that fact.

normally my grandma would force me to eat medicine I do not like and force me to wake up for breakfasts to consume ANOTHER round of medicine. know what to let me eat and what not to, all I have to do is just let them take care of me. but this time, I have to take care of myself. there are only pharmacies in Korea rather than Clinics and if you want to be consulted by a doctor you MUST go to the hospital. I was very surprised each time my friends asked me “should we take you to the hospital?” when back in Malaysia, we would just rest until we get better unless it’s quite severe.

today, is the 3rd day of me being sick since I came to Korea for a month. a week after arriving to Seoul, I caught a fever from the cold bathroom that I wasn’t used to. I took off my clothes while waiting for the cold water to run through the pipes so I can have hot water. and that has taught me that wasting water for the sake of getting hot water isn’t as bad. used to not waste water almost at all. so nowadays I have been wasting 20 seconds worth of flowing water each time I bathe.

next, I got food poisoning. last Thursday. I woke up 4 in the morning because I feel sick and ate some medicine where I puked 3 minutes after consuming it. then, I went for breakfast and took some food poisoning medicine again where I almost instantly went to puke. it was the WORST feeling since I’ve been here. even having fever wasn’t that bad. I then didn’t dare to eat or drink anything when I was at class, came home, slept and ate only the non oily and non meaty food for dinner. the very next day I felt a little better and the day after I felt like as if I’ve gotten all well. so that day I ate chicken and went for the Sinchon Barbeque Buffet and then the next day, which is today, I had diarrhea but I did not consume that same medicine. feel like puking all the time but didn’t (or haven’t). only had rice, seaweed with some anchovies and kimchi soup for dinner. have absolutely no appetite. =(.

I guess my rants shall end here. shall blog more when I get better. =S.

THIS. is. Cheonggyecheon Stream.

little did I know, this beautiful stream was once a drain when somebody awesome had the idea to turn it into one of Seoul’s major attraction today.

this is only my MORNING Cheonggyecheon post. I am looking forward on going there again at night as I’ve heard that it’s even more beautiful. but I’ve always loved the sunlight when it comes to photographing. hmm.

I really really like how they designed the start of the stream; so very unique. U_U. layering = awesome.

and here we are! standing at one of the cascading levels are definitely a fun thing to do =D. even though by just.. standing there. well, you might have the fear of accidentally dropping your jacket into the stream but having water flushing by beside me, I felt like a little girl without stress =D.

and from here, is where my few km walk begun.

I’ve always wanted to walk through under the bridge ever since I watch super hero movies from America pfft. they all look so cool. but I’ve never actually walked through any in Malaysia because there are not many. even if they have. they are not low like..

this!! happy girl touching the bridge wth.

one side’s higher than the other. and a place for the lovers. it’s quite awesome that they have these awesome date activities that doesn’t require money. romantic or not shall be your own personal preference but I guess it’s pretty alright since I love talking and strolls at places like these, you can go on and on with your conversation.

I was completely taken away with this sight when I was there. I sat there for so long until I saw my friend walking in circles behind me hahaha.

I don’t know if this is a Korean thing, but usually the “girlfriend” walks on the deck above while (sometimes) trying to reach for the “boyfriend”s hand. looks pretty romantic in movies but I am not sure if it’s because it lacked of some ballad background music so it didn’t seem so romantic to me =S.

the thing I am most afraid of is probably stone steps like these. I always have the feeling that I’d be clumsy, trip over and there goes my camera. I guess all photog’s who accidentally drop in the water would do the same HAHAH.

but I finally found my huge stones. but I still crossed with fear pfft.

at one of the tunnels. students practicing their guitar! =D.

I always say this but I still want to say it again.. I CAN’T WAIT TILL IT’S GREEN!! I saw shoots growing out on the bald trees near my school already!

camho.

lala I prefer crossing bridges like this. but as I’ve remembered, there was only one of it PFFFFT.

camho. again.

this is where I sat for 10 minutes and is unwilling to go.

BECAUSE IT’S SO NICE SITTING HERE! knee length socks are very important here IMO. because you don’t actually get cold from your bare thighs, but your calves.

again and again. this is all for now!

I realleeeeeeeeeeeeee need to work super hard. everybody in my class seems to know much more compared to me =S.

FUH.

sorry for the lack of updates even though it has only been 2 days. hahaha. initially I thought I could blog everyday since I am so free here. but because of Yonsei’s high standard (and also because many students have said that the gap between level 2 and 3 is really huge) I am now studying at least for a few hours a day.

as for yesterday, I spent most of a time taking a reader, Twiss, around ^^. I swear I walked more than 10km. maybe around 15km? although we only went to places walking distance from my place, it takes about 20 minutes to walk to Edae and about 30-40minutes to Hongdae as well. I guess it’s still walkable at this cold weather. but if you’re talking about SUMMER……. mal-do-an-dwe. it means, it’s impossible.

the first day. I hadn’t exactly made any friends because I was shy (now you must be thinking “YEAH RIGHT.”) and I am still very very uncomfortable with speaking in Korean. I only talked to the two sitting beside me and smiled to the rest. during break time everyone did their own stuff and when school is done everyone gets out of the class quickly before I can even approach any of them U_______U. I had sundubu jjigae ALONE on the first day but it wasn’t that bad as there was this REALLY REALLY nice Japanese girl named Tomoyo (? I have the worst memory with names.) who talked to me and we spent a lottttt of time talking. she’s in level 2 and she still have a very heavy Japanese accent but its 101% cute. not to mention, she’s also very very pretty. and because level 3′s book is so darn difficult I cannot help but to panic and as soon as I came back to my room I started studying until… 10pm? very hardworking.

on the second day, everybody started opening up and even the teachers thought so =D. it was pretty nice as everyone talked to each other. and on that day I’ve already made friends with all my classmates ^______^. I have 4 Japanese classmates, 1 Turkish, 2 China Chinese, 1 Mongolian, 1 Zimbabwe-ian, 1 Vietnamese, 1 Austrian Korean and a new American whom I think is Korean. but he came on the 3rd day so I hadn’t had the chance to question him hehehe. and I think that one of the Chinese guy in my class REALLY look like an older version of Minho from Shinee. I hoped so much that there would be a Thai that look like Nichkhun in my class hahaha. too bad for me T___T. no eye candy wuwuwuuwu. then I quickly get back to my house to put down my books and went to meet up with Twiss. it was quite nice being a tour guide and.. finally the only one who knows Korean so I had no choice but to utilize my poor skills.

as for today, the third day I finally met up with Margeretti (friend I made since the placement test) for lunch and she introduced me to another 4. studied and did my homework until 6pm(others don’t study because they are already like really pro. they are either weaker in speaking or writing I guess that’s why they are in the same level as me. but understanding, most of them are REALLY GOOD. and they have a heck of a memory. like, instantly memorize words wth I need to listen to the same word a few times and USE it in order to remember it =S. after that few hours of studying (and fb-ing) I went for dinner and later went out for ice-cream while having my friend teach me some of the Korean phrases where I understand all the words in it but can’t figure out why the sentence is like that. Korean have a very different sentence structure compared to English and Chinese. so……. =S. anyway! I registered for this day trip to somewhere in the middle of South Korea for some ox fighting competition =D. I’ve read it online before so I thought it would be a very good chance since it’s free =DDDDDD.

there are actually a few things that I hoped for before coming here and that is to become slimmer since I walk so much everyday and also to get better skin since water here are muchhhhhhhhh cleaner than that of KL. well… I think instead of becoming skinnier I maintained my fat body but maybe I’d be a little heavier because I can feel the muscles forming on my legs T_______T. and you wouldn’t believe how dusty Seoul is. try walking outside for a few hours then wipe your face with a tissue. it would be the shock of your life. =D. sides, I have so little time to do everything I want to do, I only sleep for approximately 6 hours a day. and that is turning me into a zombie with the noticeable dark eye circles and deep eyebags. =S. I gave myself a shock when I came back and looked at myself in the mirror =S.

feels weird that there is no pictures on my post. so here’s one. and also its what I am gonna blog about next. =D.

here you go =D.

the other day the wind was blowing so hard and it later snowed. we had no where to go but into an enclosed place so we decided to go to COEX Mall. getting to Samsung Station is pretty far from the Sinchon (Hongdae, Edae) area but is close to places like Gangnam.

this is not COEX hahah. it’s actually the huge installation art outside U-Plex.

and this is the reason why I call it THE MIRROR. because many people tend to look at themselves on it when waiting for friends and they also camwhore a lot here. haha. in groups.

CAMWHORE!

I think that’s the purpose of the mirror. really.

and we arrived at COEX. if you are going to COEX for the first time, do not doubt where you are going. just follow the signs and you won’t be wrong =D.

the clothes here are nicely displayed, usually very expensive but it is not like you can’t find anything reasonably priced but you might see similar stuff in Edae too =D.

popcorns in paper cups! not that worth it actually imagine how little popcorn can such a small cup put =S.

this is le famous COEX mall foodcourt which links it to another mall.

well I guess it’s famous because it has water displays around =D.

and glass flooring.

there is actually some cupid looking statue with a pot on it’s hand and people will try throwing coins into it haha.

this Sweet Space is absolutely awesome. I found familiar sweets that are also sold in Malaysia to only know that they are all actually made in Indonesia. hahaha. but still!

Korean Fashion for you? they kind of like drapy clothes rather than the tight body hugging ones actually.

absolutely weird to see Titanic with no english words on the poster.

hello kids. starcraft in 3D anyone? and yesssss, you can play star craft IN THE PUBLIC!

there are 4 of these glasses booth.

for everyone to see how amazing 3D TV’s are.

I am so amazed. because I hated 3D. those glasses are not only heavy, they gave me a headache too! I hateeeeeee watching 3D movies in the cinema. but, to my surprise the Korean glasses are made so light you won’t feel its weight at all and their 3D is so perfect, you feel like standing there for a very long time just to admire the awesome technology of 3D.

in my opinion, this is a MUST DO activity when you’re at COEX hahaha seriously, I’ve never been so fascinated by 3D. it’s not only 3D actually.. it’s kind of like HD + 3D. awesome shizzzz.

now you won’t need to buy your kids colour pencils or crayons because all they need is a touch screen monitor to draw whatever they want and then save it.

watching a movie here costs 9,000won per person. wahcowwwwwwwwww. friggin’ expensive. almost x3 the price of Malaysia. =S.

took the picture because I thought that this poster is really sexy D=. that dress is so awesome. though all my friends should know I am a little too shy to wear anything like that.

actually this drawing is super cute. buttttttttt. =S. sigh I snapped too fast and thought it was okay haha. there was a professional cartoonist drawing earlier so I guess maybe this is one of her art as well D=.

a must come place but it costs a lot. like 17,000won+++?

돈부리 or Donburi is a famous dish in Korea. and this particular Donburi shop ALWAYS have a queue. apparently it’s super delicious and all. will give it a try one day!

using my watermark to cover my frizzy hair =P =P =P.

and the outside of COEX. also, if you do not know yet, COEX is the largest UNDERGROUND shopping mall in whole of Asia. so yeah, come here for the sake of its record. haha. there is also a Kimchi Museum if you’re interested ^^.

WELCOME TO HONGIK UNIVERSITY! see that bridge thingy in front? thats Hongik. and this is the road you’re supposed to walk at if you’re heading to the Hongdae Free Market on Saturdays. just take a right turn nearby Hongik =D.

and this is Hongdae.

Hongdae has a huge variety of clothes. but the prices here are also more expensive than at Sinchon. the buy it or regret it law cannot be applied in Korea. unless you are here for a holiday. you should go to Edae before you come here if you’re shopping for clothes because they basically sell similar clothings.

LOL at the chicken jacket. clothes in Hongdae are usually more hippie and they are certainly more expensive. but if you’re a traveller and for a design that you really like, it isn’t too bad to shop here =D.

cowboy style is the in thing now. jeans jacket especially. and I have one too! =D.

Seoul’s fashion today.

where ever you go. be it Edae, Hongdae, Sinchon, Myeongdong… they all sell Korean eye glasses. because it’s such a famous thing here. haha. but not many people actually go around wearing a pair of glasses they do not need just for fashion’s sake here.

LOOK AT THE MNM’S IPHONE CASE! so cuteeeee =D.

really too bad that I don’t have one =/.

we have watsons here too! very much like the one in KL. except they place things outside. and oh, Snyder’s Pretzels are damn cheap here. and in Daiso.

one of the shops that you absolutely must visit. sometimes I really feel that I NEED a small little digital camera so that I can take pictures of stuffs inside. because with my big and noisy camera I am always afraid that someone might scold me if I do pffft. because I’ve been scolded a few times my last trip. this time not YET.

DREAM COFFEE! the place is called Cafe Dream.

here, you can find many to nom and shop. and at night, many places to drink too!

shoes? anyone? I don’t know how girls here can strut into painful high heels and walk on HILLS here. it’s mad.

man fashion! I absolutely love the way how Seoulites dress. if you put them in average clothing, they might be pretty average but because of their awesome dressings, they suddenly turn into a hot hunk.

MORE CLOTHES!!! those clothes that are sold for 10,000won and 15,000won are labelled as vintage. haha.

I really like that dress. but buying even 1 shirt means I’ll over budget for the day. so no thanks T_T. because I am poor and stingy like that pfft.

if you like to sing. karaoke’s here are NOT TO BE MISSED. why? because the rooms (and sound quality) is awesome like mad. costs about 20,000won for an hour/room. so it’s better to go with a few others to share the bill. =D.

Luxury Su noraebang is another karaoke but I feel if I can only choose one of the two, I would choose this one. it looks more unique and pretty in a way. but if you’re wearing skirt. then go to Prince Edward =P. because Luxury Su’s rooms are see through and you might probably get up-skirted when you climb up the upper deck of the room. (YES! UPPER DECK SOUNDS FUN RIGHT?!)

I call it the butterfly building but it’s actually called SangSangMaDang. SSMD in short. here, you can find the most unique (and expensive) little things that are made so creative, it lures you to buying them.

random street art in Hongdae.

wait, what?

bloody bad people drew that “thing” there pfft.

SHIN MIN AHHHHHH <3. I absolutely love her she’s so cute T_T. I don’t watch too many dramas but that “my girlfriend is a 9 tailed fox” is pretty awesome if you ask me. funny and she’s really really pretty. the natural beauty of Korea. in the streets, it’s quite rare to see a beauty without plastic surgery here =S. it’s true. seen around 10 really pretty natural looking girls so far =D.

want to get your hair done? only trimming your hair costs 20,000won at least I heard. =S.

the famous building you shall recognize. coffee bean? no. NB2. this is where you should be if you want to witness the (crowded) Korean clubbing scene. NB stands for Noise Basement and 2 is because this is the 2nd one in the area. entrance fees is around 15,000won and 5,000won cheaper on Fridays if I am not mistaken. it is inclusive of a drink (or was it two) but you can cross over to the neighbouring (also underground) club, Harlem for free.

when I came, I thought I want to capture every single picture of TOP that I see.

but soon.

I gave up. because there are just too many. hahahah.

some restaurants in Hongdae are not as authentic but still alright. so just go to the ones with many Koreans in it haha. =D.

although Seoul is quite an affordable place to shop at, most things are pretty (to me, VERY.) expensive especially if you shop at malls liek Doota and so on. other than Dongdaemun, the alternative choice is Edae. I’ve previously blogged about Edae briefly but I would like to focus more on this one super crowded lane in Edae.

I went there about 5 and it was REALLY REALLY crowded.

like this. on your way walking to Ewha Univ. there is a smaller lane on the left with a lot of people. and there is where you should start your shopping adventure.

they sell from weird unique accessories..

to creative badges.

and of course, CLOTHES! if you were wondering. 5,000won is around RM15. heck, that’s cheaper than Sungei Wang Plaza! but something I would like to say is that.. you should really do some research on materials before you shop here. I recently bought a skirt which is really cheap but after I wore it once the material starts to form balls on its surface. =S.  but usually clothes with higher content of cotton wouldn’t have that problem. so yeah, know the material.

other than fashionable korean clothes, there are also UNIQUE korean clothes. in Korea, it is not weird at all wearing like that. basically you can wear anything you want and nobody will think that you’re weird. they might look at you if you sing out loud in the streets though where I’ve seen numerous times.

and more clothes.

or maybe you are looking for shoes? shoes in Edae starts from 10,000won. but they are not all comfortable. Koreans all sacrifice for the name of beauty. as you should already know. haha.

AND EVEN MORE SHOES.

clothes again. in Korea, girls prefer to wear clothes that are more covered up on top. so you would most likely NOT find any tube dresses or tops in shops that sell casual wear.

every single time I look at a Nichkhun poster, I cannot help but to admire his perfect face.

think Edae is only for the girls? well, fret not because there are shops for the guys as well! though less but at least there is a few right?

bags costs also from 10,000won onwards. but these days bags here have raised their price (even beauty brands. sigh.) so it is not as affordable for students anymore. but in Edae, you could still find cheaper bags and clothes =D.

directions : get off at Ewha Woman’s Univ. station and take the Ewha Woman’s University exit. walk towards the University and you’d find a crowded street on the left. walk into it =D.