Saturday, September 21, 2013

아뇨하세요! I'm flying to Seoul!

This year i flew out of the country 3 times.
3 trips in a short span of 3 months.

March was the very first time i went to Bangkok and i really enjoyed myself! Told myself i will return to BKK for another shopping trip soon. May was quite an impromptu sponsored trip to Brunei, was quite skeptical about the trip initially but i totally did not regret it at all, i've experienced so much during the trip and in June, (not expecting my next trip to be so soon!) i flew to BKK again because i love the place so much, and to source for apparels for my blogshop - Graphikos.

Few weeks ago, I was doing some "homework" to try plan a 1 week long year end trip during December, perhaps a country that i haven't been before. I thought of going Japan with some friends, or Gold coast for a sky diving trip. The main setback was the air fare. Traveling to places like Japan or Aussie would cost quite a lot for the air fare alone. Apparently i could go for another BKK trip (flight + accommodation + expenses) for the price of an air fare... even with budget airline like Scoot. I thought maybe i should wait awhile more for group deals which might be cheaper...

Few days later after work, i received an email from KTO (Korean Tourism Organization) asking if i can make it for a sponsored trip to Korea on the stipulated date. My heart was beating quite fast and i re-read the mail a few times because it feels like it's too good to be true. Checked my work schedule and realised i couldn't make it due to work commitments. Was quite upset about it (it's fully sponsored trip to Korea leh!) and politely rejected their offer.

Posted this on my FB shortly after i replied the mail:

 Thought i missed a rather amazing opportunity but i cannot help it due to work so life goes on. Until few days later, KTO email-ed me again giving me another set of dates (mainly 24 to 30 Sep) asking if i will be able to make it. Opportunities like these doesn't often come twice so i requested for leave again (normally i have to request at least 1 month in advance, so this is the main issue, de-conflicted my work schedule and finally, MY LEAVE WAS APPROVED!

I wanted to announce to the whole world that i'm going on a 1 week fully sponsored trip to KOREA but i stopped myself because the details were not confirm and i was half afraid the trip might not happen due to some unforeseen circumstances. Announce everywhere then in the end never go, like a pai seh right... so i contained my excitement for the past few weeks while coordinating with KTO on the details and now, i can finally announce - I'M FLYING TO KOREA!!!

It's been 3 years since i last went Korea (also a sponsored trip by LG the previous time!) and i'm really looking forward to visiting the country again! It won't be a full shopping trip as i will be traveling to 4 places Chungcheongbuk-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Gangwon-do and Seoul via the O & V trains which i will introduce in my travelogue when i return!
 
Will be departing on 24th night and arrive on 25th morning. I will be also be issued a 3G sim card over there thus i'll will be updating my twitter, Facebook and of course upload photos on my instagram so do follow me throughout this 1 week trip on social media! Also "like" KTO's FB as i'm quite sure they will be uploading photos of this trip along the way :D

Counting down to my Korea trip!

Special mention to Korea Tourism Organization Singapore for this sponsored trip:



Pre-trip | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6


Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Counting down

I know it's been awhile since i last updated my blog (last entry was a week ago) and i'm feeling super guilty to those who has been religiously visiting my blog everyday but end up seeing no updates day after day. I know i haven't been updating regularly compared to the past. Now you get like maybe average 1 post per week, or sometimes even longer.

It's not that i lost my passion for blogging but things are different compared to the past. I used to be able to attend events as and when i want, go out every now and then and have things to blog about but now with a regular job, i'm only left with weekends to do things that i want to do. Don't mention weekdays after working hours, normally i would just concuss upon reaching home. I don't know why am i typing all these or explaining and am probably gonna delete away this post after awhile since it's just a ranting post. (after all i started this blog 6 years ago just to rant, LOL)

People often ask me why i travel so much, or always eat good food every weekend. I always brush aside this question because i don't really have an answer. The real reason is probably is that i want to feel like myself again. Being able to put down everything else aside for that 2 days (i'm talking about weekends here) or for a week or so when i travel makes me feel like i still have a life and not slogging my life off at work. Perhaps this is my way of work life balance.

I'm not gonna continue further because i'm not really sure what i'm typing or how many of you reading this actually understand what this post is about. All in all, thank to you who has been reading my blog religiously, something great is about to happen next week which i will announce really soon, plus i will be revamping my blog layout, do lookout for it!



The only way to do great work is to love what you do. 
If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.
Steve Jobs

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Sunday Brunch: Nine Thirty by Awfully Chocolate!

Was thinking of a good place for a good brunch to spend my Sunday afternoon and randomly thought of ninethirty by Awfully chocolate located at Katong area. When you think of Awfully chocolate, the first thing that will come up to your mind would be their chocolate desserts such as the 'Hei' ice cream (my favourite!), their cakes and such. I was first introduced to Ninethirty by a colleague when we were thinking of having desserts at about 9pm+, then he suggested this place. After looking through the menu, i knew i had to be back one day for their main dishes/ all day breakfast!
131 East Coast Road
Opposite Katong 112 shopping mall.
 photo Photo1-9-1320545PM.jpg
Was ushered to our seats almost immediately upon entering the bistro. Was expecting a Sunday brunch crowd but the bistro was only about half filled. Maybe because we reached at about 2 plus close to 3, half the crowd was gone.

Truffle fries ($9.90) 
Big portion. Not oily, taste great.

Ordered the Croque Madame ($16) for myself.

The presentation of the food deserved a thumbs up! Classic croque madame on pan - Honey ham, cheddar cheese and egg served on brioche along with mixed sweet potato crisps. At first i thought the portion might be too little but in the end, i was so full! The potato crisps was quite interesting, mainly because of their in house seasoning. Love it!

Bangers and Mash ($14)

Classic dish with pork sausages, creamy mash potato and sauteed mushroom. The poached egg was a little surprise, my friend and i totally did not expect that in the dish. The sauce and the mash potato was a good match (even though i can't figure out what sauce it was) Everything on the plate complimented each other. Overall it was worth it at $14.

Satisfied with my croque madame! :D

Overview of the food we ordered. Initially wanted to order dessert but was too full. Oh wells.

Overall i would definitely be back to try the other dishes as well as their all day breakfast menu! I read online that there is another outlet at Esplanade, which might be more convenient compared to the East coast outlet. That's all i have!

Ending this post with a casual sunday #ootd. Ciaos