2 fighters + 5 Guppies became the Sentinels for my fish tank.
Now my tank got 4 guppies and 4 other (quite hideous, but I still like them) fishes.
After 5 days of warming up, I think they can get along well 
Hope they can survive when I go back hometown for 7 days!
Look at my fish tank!!
Nice, isn’t it?
Har har har.
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
Erm….
16
16
16
16
What have I done…
Will be 160 very soon.
God help me.
Day l (10 Aug)
Arrived at
Seoul early in da morning with luggages, eyes weary but wide, wondering what happens next in this foreign city of
Seoul .
Then a dude with APDSA t-shirt carrying a banner appeared. We naturally identified our mother and flocked to him. And noticed oh so many other unsure faces went to him! All to the grand gathering of APDSA.
Nigel, Karen, Mina and I took our first subway experience and rode to our first lunch which chopped our heads. 29000 won (rm100 plus) for a super plate of pork to be wrapped in vege and a big plate of cold mee. We wowed at d porpotion.
We head back to Olympic Parktel and checked in. My roommate Mina. Our room! was great, I mean never I expect students hostel to be so posh. Too pampered and spoilt if u ask me.
Noon… I forgot what we did. Met up with Keng Hong, Hiew Lye, Gaik Lee and Fara. I think we compensated our much needed sleep. Oh, to finalize my final SRC presentation.
Night… Opening ceremony. Aiyo… Separated and seated in groups of a fair mix of international dental students.
Dinner was grand and outdoor. First experience of outdoor dinner! Just tat d dinner table consist of ppl talking chicken and duck…
Even got fireworks to welcome us!
Day 2
am… almost late for lecture, missed bfast. Lunch was tasty n beautiful
pm… City tour to Olympic Peace Gate, Geongbokgung palace, Usell Italian dinner… duh. Then
Han River Cruise.
Back Slept by myself, Mina came back at 4am after elected as General Secretary of APDSA.
Day 3
am… Scientific Research Competition. A lil bit gan jeong but still wishing that it’ll be over soon. I thought I did alright. A least my command of English is okie. I scribbled at the back of my nametag and turned to it over and over again
Saviour, let me walk beside Thee,
Let me feel my hand in Thine,
Let me know the joy of walking
In Thy strength and not mine.
Same lunch but nice except d sour soup.
pm… Recreation! Under d scorching heat. 3 reps from my group, the rest went shopping.. Our team D lost d.
Much fun, conducted by professional game master.
Dinner was WOW WOW WOW. In a sense very beautifullll but only taste so-so. Biggest rice bowl I’ve ever seen! A bimbimbap.
Night - Cultural Night
Acted as k-lefeh…. Enjoy seeing ppl in yukata and hanbok.
then join Mina and Dr Tokiko for yukata costume pics taking!
Then clubbing with Taiwanese, Japs, and Dr Zac Morse at Korean Lounge. Took 2 shots of Korean rice wine called Soju… 44% with some delicacies. Nice experience, except tat gotta pay 10000 Won. Back to Parktel 3.30am. Tired o…
Day 4
am… Lotte World til 9.30pm.
pm… Back and bath, then suddenly felt hungry and went Namdaemun for supper. Hard time communicate with taxi driver. Traditional nien koh, and pizza. Interesting and affordable.
Back around 2am, but Mina still havent come back o…
Day 5
am… Free and easy. On our own, went to Insa-dong for souvenirs and craft shopping. Lotsa teeny weeny interesting stuff.
Soon met Jennifer and Kyung A, 2 Koreans who shown excellent hospitality. Bought us to superb lunch at 2plus pm of fish/ bulgogi. Finished rice for da first time.
pm… Went to Myeongdong a busy street. Before tat, drop by d most delicious doughnut I’ve ever tasted called Krispy Kreme!! I’ll like to open a branch in
Malaysia . At Myeongdong, bought more souvenirs.
Rushed back for Closing Ceremony…. Almost missed dinner. We were seated in group again, and I felt like Christmas receiving gifts from all of them. I, shamefully, prepared nothing lo… Gee. I am terribly happy when a Korean gal Kyung A agreed to lend me her hanbok for pictures taking. Took lotsa pictures, and called it a night at 12. Prepared luggage for check-out….
Day 6
Woke up with a fresher feeling. Today is unplanned. Anything may happen and anything is allowed to happen.
Am… Final American Buffet breakfast at Parktel. Loh Hong Sai joined Mina and I.
10am, Mina and I went to Room 714 to borrow hanbok for photo taking. So sorry, the Koreans celebrated til 5am, and I woke her up. With sleepy face, she dressed us and took our pics and taught us the Korean bow.
Then we went back to room and continue our journey to dreams while waiting for Nigel and Karen. Checked-out… and an angel by the name of Kyung A appeared.
Have you ever been to a backpackers’ place? FYI, it’s usually situated at nooks and corners of unlikely alleys. To have Kyung A being willing to bring us there in a Jumbo taxi is truly splendid. Thanks to the fact that our luggage indicates that we were migrating. And thanks to the additional fact that we’re gonna have heck of a great time communicating with taximen in
Korea .
Pm… Our Jumbo taxi kena curi. Kyung A terpaksa called a second one. Found our hostel… But causes more probs to dear gal K.A. They were talking in Korean but obviously something was wrong with our booking. Suddenly Kyung A just turned around and asked ‘You want to stay at my place tonight?’ She… I mean we all just knew e.o. coupla days superficially and here she is, volunteering her rented room to 4 silly Malaysians with luggages enough to feed elephants.
If there’s something I learn from this trip, I must say very much is from this person.
Nice receptionist boys tried asked around for available rooms while we took shelter from a heavy rain. Then, Kyung A taught us a traditional Korean game called ‘yunodi’. Since we have a whole day without a plan, the game was enjoyed with much laughter as it rained outside. A Canadian even joined us.
Finally settled in ‘Seoul Backpackers Hostel’. We went to Insadong again. This time to hunt for lunch. Time report: 3pm. Superb tour guide, I got to eat a nice bimbimbap. That was when we officially gave Kyung A an English name, Angel.
Angel bought us to Cheongyechoon Stream, City Hall where Mina, Karen and I played water with kids. Also to entrance of a palace, introduced us to Milkis , and ordered a taxi to send us to
Namsan Tower while we bid our fast farewell.
Broke some rules in
Namsan Tower and produced superbly artistic and beautiful pictures. Then took another cab to Namdaemun for a late dinner/supper. No hurries, baby. We played games to clear off some kimchi as punishment. All due respect….
Back to hostel. Bought T-shirt, bath, online a while, transfer pics then Zzz.
Such a perfect day.
Day 7
Tour begins. Our fellow tourists all ffk, so we have a personalized tour for ourselves. Tourguide: Eddie.
Am… Drive to
Namsangol Hanok Village only to find that it is not open…. So we went to Everland, a themepark. To pay RM100 to get inside, basically killed us, so we brought our own lunch, sponsored by Nigel. Sien sien ar…
Pm… We unsuspectingly sat in front of a Summer Splash Show… We laughed at people who sat high and up behind us in raincoats. Har Har Har. To cut a long story short, finally we were drenched wet, from every single hair to every fibres on our clothes. It was so…… FUN. Never had a splash party before!!
Night… We changed our chicken wet clothes to our backpackers T-shirt. Dinner:Korean BBQ Pork. I must say, I ate lotsa pork. No choice, I really missed chicken and fish. But it was delicious! We BBQ a lil too much that we need to play game to finish it. Eddie tought we took too long and asked us to hurry up.
Checked-in to New Rasung Hotel. Mina and I shared a room directly opposite of Nigel and Karen, but we still usually use the phone.
Bath and rest a while and 4 of us took a stroll around
Ansa City . Love the stroll a lot, coz we were taking our sweet time and heading towards who knows where. Nigel and I were even crazy enough to do so wearing the hotel indoor slippers (which is anything but pretty).
Midnight, saw a Family Mart and went inside. Chose a pack of ‘mando’ and heated it there and then. Before this, Mina described a certain triangular sushi which I wanted to try. But no stock… So when new stocks came in at midnight, Mina was so exceedingly excited we bought one with bulgogi flavour. Bwush! Was so spicy!! Mina then bought a milk with Korean wordings. After tasting it, we conclude it’s Banana flavoured. Haha.
Having had a nice lil supper, we went out of da Family Mart and hung around as a man is playing an operated machine. It started to rain and we started to run. Back to hotel, we ganbei and sleeeeeeep. Love a day like this.
Day 8
Today a full force day. We covered a lot of places!
Am… Deok Su Gung Palace. Lotsa facts and interesting histories given by Eddie. First time I listened to him intently.
Lunch Ginseng Chicken Tongfoon.
When I got back on the van, Eddie started his lecture and I already decide to just fall asleep. I did think that this is also what I’ll do when I’m back in
Malaysia listening to lecturers.
Then to
Seoul War Memorial Park . A
Pm… Eddie dropped us at a street which I forgot what’s the name. It’s a posh street, people were well dressed, carried no umbrella even it’s so hot, unsmiling faces. I do felt invisible although I don’t mind.
Then we went to Myeong-Dong (2nd time). 4 of us split. This time my travel buddy is much alert and herself. We walked along the busy and colorful street. Makan satu Korean pork satay. Then we went to Lotte Store with a mission in mind. Krispy Kreme. Couldn’t forget it since the first day I met it. Haha! We Q along and got a free each. Nigel and Karen… How could they…. queue 3 times!! And we also bought kimchi as souvenirs. Hand carry o, and lotsa worries that it will rosak or anything. So frens who received kimchi, pls appreciate lo… like Amy. Took a lot of trouble for tat.
Checked-in to Coop Residence Hotel. Wow! Can cook there, It’s like a personal house setting. Mina and I excited to see the room! Didn’t even bath or change cloth, I hopped into Dongdaemun. Wow!! Some kinda fashion heaven for women.
Strolled. Our dinner is truly special. Some street side food shared. Simple but really really nice. Walk, look, buy…. Look look, wah wah and buy. Look test buy. Then declare bankruptcy. Mina and I went back to hotel to replenish our Won, at least to ask the receptionist where we can change money. Solution: Borrowed from Nigel.
Past midnight already when both of us hit back the streets of Dongdaemun and u:U2 building. Shopped till dropped at 1.30am gam yun go back hotel. Bath, pack a little, sleep happily.
Day 9: 18 Aug 06
We woke up to another great day! Gonnabe really really special coz we were broke. Thanks to Dongdaemun!
Breakfast- Buffet somewhere with sum Chinamen
We went to a
Kimchi School ! and each made a kimchi tat we took away but still haven’t got d gut to eat yet. Later, will do so with drinks in room maybe. Final day d, anyway.
Then HANBOK!! Nice… Took lotsa lotsa pics. And dun really wanna take it off and return it. Aw…
Korean taekik ginseng next.Shown lotsa displays… Given lotsa facts… None buy anything of course. Hahaha.
Then Amethyst factory. This is a purple country with so many purple gems. We all bought nothing.
Lunch- Shabu shabu with a very delicious stone rice.
A long ride to Insadong hypnotized me to sleep again. Eddie’s voice is really like a lullaby. Gwash, tis is what gonna happen to me next week when I’m back to school.
Insadong with only 1k left simply changes what we can do there.
This time around we shall aim d art gallery… Something tat requires no Won… Haha! Can’t believe we couldn’t even afford a normal 2k cup of drink! and i spent my final 1k on a Rubbery cake, a traditional rubber tat requires high masticatory forces to chew.
Went to Cheongyechoon Stream again, this time we dun walk along the stream but simply settled down and plunged our feet in the icy water.
Dinner- The last one was something also like Shabu Shabu at Incheon. Travelled a long distant to that and slept in the van. Took a ferry ride and fed the seagulls with biscuits. Dinner was colorful and delicious too.
Settled in another posh hotel. This time with a bath huge enough for 2 person! But water was too hot for me to jump in, so didn’t bother. We packed everything in preparation to back
Malaysia . When done, Nigel and Karen came to our room and we ate the kimchi we made ourselves. Game it all away! Til late late early in the morning, we retreat ZZzzZzz.
Last Day
Simple breakfast at hotel and check-out.
Check-in airport. Thankfully kimchi no problem lo. Others alright. Looking forward to go home already but to think about clinics again…. Duh.
With my heart, I thank God for this experience, this opportunity and all. Thank you Lord for my frens Mina, Nigel and Karen. Thanks everybody, mom and daddy.
When I got back to UT, it’s glad…. To be back in Malaysia and to normal days. Teng Kai then told me my 2 fighting fishes and a guppy floated after a dose of anti-chlorine.
Right now…. I’m wearing shorts in the common room of a Backpacker place in Seoul, logged on and connected.
Ooo… Many stories to tell.
APDSA finished d… Our free day tour is today… And tomorrow starts our guided tour! Wahaha! Clinic and lectures seem so far far away. Wonder how’s my partner Woon Ling doing?
APDSA! Eye opener. Staying at classy hostel with a bed so comfortable that it is incredibly hard to obey the alrm clock and wake up in the morning!Not to mention having a cute piggy roommate called Mina. Out of 5 days, 3 lunches are packed food, 2 dinners are grand and 1 dinner is cultural. Mind you, the pack food is sooooo delicious (but I dislike kimchi,which is guaranteed available in EVERY meal). Limited time, tell rest of stories tru pics when I return.
Aih.. Scientific Research Competition lost d. Not that I expect anything, but it’s me to be hopeful. And when there’s hope, we subject ourselves to disappointment la.
oops, the dude just chased us back to room. It’s 1 am, closing time for common room…
Looking forward the upcoming tour.
Had a superb day today with Mina, Karen, Nigel and an God sent angel, Kyung A.
I was the Operator this morning doing Root Canal Treatment. Yesterday, my housemates and I had a depressing discussion, at least to me. To realize that my clinical score is so low….
So, I’m done with a procedure and swithed the light ON to call for lecturer’s attention. I considered my skills today as speedy. But lecturer was busy somewhere, so I just stood up and walked behind the dental chair and leaned on the post of opposite cubicle. And waited. And I looked at the back of my patient and saw the total picture of my current situation, I thought…
"I’m so slow. So damn slow slow slow…."
Then Words of God just spoke to me…. (No, there wasn’t any thunder)
‘ The Lord will make you the head, not the tail…’ Deut 28.13 and If my God is for me, who can be against me?
I smile and believe it. So I shut up.
But this day had been great! Coz I got a free siew pao from Wai Chun and tuna sandwic made by Siew Leng. Blessed ar! And Siew Leng’s blessing to me blessed others too.
And coz I went to Gerai Convo. Haha, I like Convo Pasar Malam… And I went with a great thinker named Amy Then. Almost everything she said comes from a thinking brain and almost everything I said come from a crappy brain. Haha!
Then Amy da fist expert helped me in chosing 2 fighting female fish… Then gave me 5 guppies! (with a deco stone, 2 urine bottle and lotsa infos). 7 new living dudes, an excitement!!
I went home and showed my housemates the fishes! We house them inside our transparent water dispenser. A filter previously used to dispense drinking water now became a fish tank. Hope the fishies are happy there, as I am happy to have them. Haha! Hope they’ll survive til I come back from
Seoul .
As of this point of time, I should be in Seoul, joining a tour enjoying myself with my pals, Mina and Nigel.
But our flights were postponed.
Shocked initially, must admit. But it quickly turned to joy when I realize that I will be able to join Dental Care Group Gathering Night, which I had described at length in my Yahoo group. I announced my appearance for the gathering and landed myself into various duties which I did with great joy.
God must have a reason for me to stay back.
And this morning, as I was praying, God impressed upon my heart that good/great things will happen tonight. Something worth me staying back! Gee…
And tonight was here 6 hours ago and ended 3 hours ago. Unity of DCG members are really inspiring. SO many cooks didn’t spoil the brooth. Instead, there was a great outcome, and lotsa leftovers to last me til Seoul. Transportation and technical went smooth. P&W slightly staggered, but it was good. I am personally touched by Joan and Sharon’s testimony. They shared personal stuff. Their stories are in everyway real in their life and I pray that they touched the hearts of our freshies. Interview was okie, with 2 cute toddlers as guests as well. Ai Ling and Chu Bing were washing all the dishes backstage without anyone seeing.
So what was the great thing that God told me will happen? M… I truly believe that they had fun, both freshies and seniors. I, at least, got to interact more with them. They are special. Well, are these the great things God meant? I stayed back for these? I mean these are good, but doesn’t sound tat great for something of God’s powere, isn’t it…
Ps Dennis said today, he dared to ask for a miracle. And his miracle to be free of crutches happen at the very last minute. And I dare to ask for a miracle from God. I said ‘God, I don’t wanna see anything that can be done with human might. Show me something Big! A miracle that suits to Your power. All I leave unto Your hands.’
So I praise God that good things happened tonight. But I believe ‘the miracles’ and ‘the great things’ haven’t happen yet. All these are just to pave a beginning for the much awaited miracle. Yann told me a good point this morning, we sowed the seeds. Sowed the seeds. Now, that isn’t something small.
Praise God we sowed the seeds.
