Olympic Park

Back in June I used my day off to visit Olympic Park. (This post has actually been lying in the draft for ages because I was too lazy to edit the pictures… but here it finally is!) I’ve read about the rose garden there and I really wanted to visit. However, since I went in the middle of June, there actually weren’t as many roses as I expected. Rather than just seeing the rose garden, I decided to take a walk around the whole park to make the trip worth something. There’s a sculpture park there, I’m actually not sure if it’s an official park but there were many artworks on display outdoors. There’s also two museums there, I was thinking about visiting the art museum but I decided not to. It was very peaceful there and not many people, mainly elderly taking a stroll. All in all, it was just a nice place to take a walk and get a breath of fresh air. If I lived close by (ie. a walkable distance) I would probably visit a lot, but honestly, it’s not a trip I would make again just to see it. But it would be a nice place to have a picnic or just an outdoor day with friends, families, etc.

Olympic Park is located right outside of Exit 3 of Line 5 Olympic Park Station. There’s an information center there where you can pick up a map or ask the workers for directions.

(Note: If my photos appear a bit too saturated or contrasted it’s because my laptop calibrates photos differently. I’ve tried everything to fix it so people can see the images how I see it, but it gets tiring to check back and forth from different monitors so I’m just posting this because it’s way overdue!)

1600 Pandas+

I found out that the art collaboration between WWF-France and artist Paulo Grangeon was in Korea! You can read the history on the site but it basically started to help spread awareness of wildlife conservation! The exhibition came to Korea and will move around the country. While it’s still in Seoul, I thought I would go have a look. The date I went, it was held at DDP (Dongdaemun Design Plaza) which is pretty close to where I live.

Unfortunately, the day I went it was raining. After being in 80s (fahrenheit) the whole week, it decided to rain on the weekend. It was only raining a bit though, more than sprinkling but less than heavy rain so they still held the exhibit outside. DDP also offers a lot of sights to see such as the design museum and lab. Dongdaemun is also the fashion mecca of Seoul so it is a must to visit the shopping malls there.

Site: https://www.1600pandas.kr/index.html

Dance, Dance, Dance: The King and the Clown

This clip is from a dance competition show called ‘Dancing 9.’ It’s a show I enjoy and although it’s all in Korean, dance does not need to be translated. Out of all the dances shown, I chose to post this one because it was just purely beautiful. It might not touch the hearts of some as much as it affected me but it was so great I just wanted to share.

The concept was taken from the movie ‘The King and the Clown (왕의 남자).’ This film was a huge hit in Korea and the movie itself is a work of art. I highly recommend watching it. Both dancers are contemporary dancers, Kim Seol Jin and Han Sun Chun. Personally, I find Kim Seol Jin to be a better dancer but he tends to hide in the background and let his partner(s) shine on stage. Together, they were so great at acting and dancing, and just expressing the music. This is from episode 8 of Season 3.

Weekend Trip to Hong Kong Day 2

Egg tart, a must-have in Hong Kong! This is how foggy it was up at the Peak when I went.Another picture to prove just how foggy it was! I’m 100% sure that the view would have been beautiful if only the weather was cooperating so if you happen to be in HK on a good day, it would be worth the trip!

My second day in Hong Kong was spent seeing and doing everything I wanted to do. It was my only full day in the country before I headed back to Seoul the next morning. I started with Kowloon Walled City Park and made my way down. I looked up bakeries that have the best egg tarts and chose one (and the favorite of the blogger) that was close to where I was in Kowloon! It’s called Hoover Cake Shop and it wasn’t too hard to find! I’m not a huge fan of egg tarts, but I don’t hate them either. They’re just alright but these egg tarts were great. Only 7 HKD, it’s pretty cheap and a must-have in Hong Kong.

Afterwards, I headed to Mong Kok where all the markets are (Flower, bird, ladies, sports, and goldfish). I honestly was a little bit disappointed by the Yuen Po Bird Garden, I expected a lot more vendors and just rows and rows of people selling birds but it’s actually not like that at all. Still worth going to though and it’s interesting to see all the different kinds of birds. I was pretty surprised to see a parrot! I walked past the Flower market to the Ladies market. I wanted to go to the goldfish street but I’m a bit afraid of fish (anything underwater) so I decided to save that for next time when I’m with a friend. Also my feet were killing me from all the walking I did, word of advice, if you’re planning on doing a lot of walking, wear comfortable sneakers (flats, oxfords are cute but not worth it). If you look up where Kowloon Walled City is and where Mong Kok/Prince Edward Station is, that is how much I walked instead of taking a bus or the MTR. If you’re not that much of a walker, oxfords, flats and other cute shoes should be fine!

I also went to the Peak to take a look at the view. I read it was worth it so I took the little red tram which is 40 HKD for an adult roundtrip ticket. Unfortunately, it was really foggy when I went so I wasn’t able to see anything! But on the way down, the weather cleared up a little and I was able to get a glimpse of what I could have seen on a clear day, except at a lower elevation. I wrapped up my day by going eye shopping in Causeway Bay and Central. One of my favorite brands has stores in HK so I was determined to go! I actually didn’t end up buying anything but it was nice to explore the city more.

Overall, I enjoyed my solo trip and surprisingly was able to survive with just the 700 HKD I brought with me. However, I would not recommend this amount to just anyone, I tend to not eat while I travel and I like to walk everywhere rather than take public transportation if it’s ‘close enough’ so most others will probably need more than that. I did end up using only about ~500 HKD though for the weekend for anyone who wants an idea of how much it costs to travel to Hong Kong (This does not include the hotel + flight). Also, I got the Octopus card which I highly recommend! Its 150 HKD to first purchase which includes a 50 HKD deposit and the fare. I didn’t use the airport express but just bought the regular card. You can refund it later at any MTR station or at the airport and get the remaining amount back!

Weekend Trip To Hong Kong Day 1

The poor baby was just sitting in the pouring rain and wouldn’t come underneath the small shelter where everyone else was keeping dry.

This is how much it was raining! Over the weekend, I used my monthly day off to take a trip to Hong Kong! While I’m living in Seoul, I want to take as much advantage of its location and try to travel whenever I can. I chose Hong Kong this time since it’s pretty convenient. They speak English and I don’t need a visa. I arrived at noon and took a bus to get to my hotel. I’m a planner so I already booked my hotel and I just had to check in. After dropping off my luggage I immediately headed back out. From there, I made my way toward Lantau Island to see Tian Tian Buddha (also known as Big Buddha). Literally, he is BIG. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong weekend to come. It was pretty much all gloomy and rainy/t-storms. Although the view wasn’t was spectacular as it could have been, it’s still a pretty amazing sight to see. For those who are afraid of heights, I definitely suggest avoiding the cable car and using the ferry to get there. I opted for the cable car and a standard round trip is 165 HKD.

From there, I went to Central to take the star ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui (where I was staying) and also where the Avenue of Stars is located! I highly recommend taking the star ferry, it’s only 3.40 HKD (on weekends) which is like ~40 cents USD. After the Avenue, I went to Temple Street to check out the famous night market before calling it a night.

Haneul Park

Haneul Park is a park located at World Cup Stadium Station in Seoul. It’s a place I always wanted to go but never found the time to until now. There are actually several parks there but I wanted to visit this one. Maybe later I’ll go to the other ones. You can take a shuttle bus to the top of the hill where the park is or just walk up. I decided to walk up using the stairs . The park itself is separated into various areas and theres an ‘observatory deck’ there which is a unique looking sculpture. What really caught my eye though were the various houses on sticks. Those were really fun to photograph and just to look at.

To get to the park, get off at World Cup Stadium Station Exit 1 and walk to the other side of the Stadium and cross the main street. There are signs that show where you are and where the park is!

Address: 95, Haneulgongwon-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul

Osaka + Kyoto

View of Osaka from Umeda Sky Building Floating Garden. (I have this ‘mild’ obsession with airplanes which you’ll find out soon enough in other photos)

Taiyaki in Kobe

Arashiyama. I don’t know why but it reminds me of something from a Miyazaki movie (maybe it’s just me)Kyoto’s version of okonomiyaki

For Lunar New Years this year, I decided to take my time off work to travel to Osaka, Japan. I was there for about 4 days total. Before I left, I usually do hardcore research on the place I’m traveling to, from booking accomodations to figuring out what I want to go, things to see, etc. However, for the first time, I just booked my flight and hotel and decided I’ll walk around and enjoy my vacation.

Day 1.

I arrived at my hotel way later than I expected thanks to the very long immigration line and getting on the right train to the city from the airport. TIP. If you didn’t already know, public transportation in Japan is very expensive. After the cheap fare in Korea, I was surprised at how much I was spending on just transportation. Since I was only there for a short amount of time, I decided against the JR Pass and opted for the ICOCA card, which is like an Oyster card (for Londoners) or the Octopus (for Hong Kongers). I calculated at the end of the trip that either way, I would have roughly spent the same amount of money. On the first day, I went to the famous Osaka Castle. Sadly, it was too early for cherry blossoms. I met up with my friend who lives in Osaka and he took me to Dotonbori+Shinsaibashi where we got dinner and explored the night life.

Day 2.

The next day, I walked around Osaka, exploring the city and taking everything in. I ate ramen at Kinyuu Ramen because my boss told me I had to try it. It’s pretty famous and has a huge dragon sign that you can’t miss. It was really good! Honestly, my friend told me there weren’t many things to see in Osaka and I soon came to realize that, so after some debating I decided to take a random trip to Kobe. I think that’s the best thing about the Kansai region is that everything’s so close by, you can just take a train and go somewhere. Although I was only in Kobe for a few hours, it has a very different atmosphere from Osaka. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to eat any kobe beef but I will next time! TIP. Kobe City Hall offers a free observatory/observation desk.

Address: 6-5-1 Kanocho, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture 650-0001, Japan

Day 3.

Started my day at Umeda Sky Building to visit the Floating Garden. It costs 700 yen to go up and honestly, the only reason to go up is because of the building itself and to tell people you went. The view was alright but it was similar to Kobe’s skyline, which I got to see for free. Afterwards, I dragged my friend out to Kyoto because that’s his actual hometown and had him be my personal tour guide. First stop was Arashiyama (Bamboo Forest) which wasn’t as grand as I thought it would be, but everything around it such as the little shops and scenery was great. Next, he took me around the city, going to his favorite okonomiyaki place and through the Geisha District to Fushimi Inari Shrine. We arrived at the shrine a bit late so we only went halfway or a third of the way up before coming back down. We ended the day at Kyoto Station, taking in the breaktaking view of the city.

Day 4.

This day was spent for last minute shopping/souveniors. I was going to go to Universal Studios but my friend got off work late so we decided to go to Kaiyukan (Osaka Aquarium). Honestly, the aquarium wasn’t as grand as I thought it would be but it wasn’t terrible. I ended the day eating dinner with another friend and packing.

Sorry for the long post, I didn’t expect it to be so long but I didn’t want to separate it into several posts. If you have any questions on Osaka or Kyoto, or you’re planning a trip there, feel free to ask and I’ll try my best to help!

The very first

So I finally got myself to sit down and start a blog – and hopefully stick to it! This blog will contains bits and pieces of my life and thoughts. I love traveling and taking photos so I thought I would put everything down somewhere besides on Facebook and flickr. Through blogging, I can actually write about my travels, photos, etc and hopefully inspire or help others.

Besides travel and photography, I want to post random things such as things that inspire me, things I like, my fashion, and just random thoughts. I love love love reading books, so hopefully I’ll be able to read more and post reviews&thoughts about it! So, I hope to be updating often so please anticpate what is coming soon!