withered thorns

what a gloomy day.

it's raining, and here i am working.

but, i suppose it's a good thing coz if not, i'd be sleeping myself till next year. -__-

Interbiu PTD

My first PTD interview was on January 2013. Panel waktu tu adalah orang nombor 2 kat SPA. Though I passed the exams and PAC semua pada percubaan pertama, I failed the interview round. Pendek cerita, aku tak mohon pun lagi PTD lepas tu (sbb kecewa =P). So, kawan2 lain yg pernah fail before ni repeat exam semua, aku mendiamkan diri. Tiba2 pada October 2014 yg lalu dapat SMS suruh dtg interview pada December 2014. Terkejut gak time tu...taktau plak diorang still simpan. 

Anyway, panel yg aku dapat nama dia Y.Bhg. Datin Norasmah bt Samsudin. She was a really nice lady. She has been in this field of interviewing for a looong time. She knows all your cliche answers so try to make your answers a wee bit unique/interesting. Panel kedua Pn.Salmah. Also a nice lady. Berikut adalah tips yg ingin dikongsi:

1. Jika anda wanita dan berbaju kurung pada hari tersebut, JANGAN pakai blazer di luar. Just..jangan. Ok? Sebab tak sesuai. Salah. Sebab baju kurung itu sendiri sudah formal. Baju kurung itu baju kebangsaan. Samalah jika kita pakai cheongsam ke..sari ke..dress ke..jangan pakai blazer di luar no matter how smart you think it is. Worst case scenario? You could be asked to remove your blazer right in that instance by her. 

2. Soalan-soalan yang aku dapat, kebanyakannya sudah dijangka. Contohnya, aku dah kerja time tu. So datin tanya kenapa awak nak tukar kerja jadi PTD pula? Aku pun kata, ni mmg cita-cita saya. Dengan pengalaman dari pekerjaan yang saya buat sekarang membantu saya dalam menaikkan martabat sekian sekian....pepandailah korang jawab.

3. Interviu kali ni aku rasa lebih rileks berbanding yg 1st time dulu. Takdelah cuak sangat. Cool je time tu. Alhamdulillah... So if you feel that you have prepared and done your homework, don't panic. Just answer and elaboratelah sket jawapan. Sometimes soalan mudah je. Macam aku dia tanya, siapa nama penuh bos awak? Kalau dalam keadaan gelabah, mungkin den x dapat nak jawab nama penuh plus title boss den. =)

4. Normally, datin akan tanya soalan based on your resume. Contohnya dalam resume aku ada tulis aku penah tolong tagging time event2 yg dibuat di tempat kerja sekarang. Dia pun tanya soalan pasal position kalau KSU federal datang event kat state siape patut diutamakan? Federal or state? Aku jawab salah. Sekian.

5. Lagi satu soalan common, awak nak ditempatkan kat mana? Kenapa? Hampir semua orang akan dapat soalan ini. Jawapan perlu relevant dengan resume atau jawatan yang korang tengah sandang. Dan jika korang sebut Kementerian sekian...sekian, mungkin Datin akan tanya pula, siapa timbalan menteri atau ksu kat kementerian tu?

6. Dia banyak tanya soalan opinion and analisis based on what you are doing now. Misalnya if right now you are involved with something relating to finance, then you would be asked your opinion relating on that area (maybe a current issue). Soalan ni nak tengok tahap kebolehan analisis korang kat sesuatu isu.

7. Dah nak habis tu mungkin dia akan tanya soalan pasal pekerjaan ibu-bapa, adik beradik berapa..takde pulak tanya "do you have any questions?".. sebab interview 1st dulu ada tanya soalan tu. Aku pun kata takde apa2 soalan. Padahal adalah lebih elok jika kita tanya at least one question. Contohnya "is there anything you think I need to improve on?"..

Good Luck.

HO CHI MINH

Baru balik HCM semalm. Pergi dua org je..females. Alhamdulillah sepanjang perjalanan ok je..tapi mulut mmg tak berhenti kumat kamit baca doa lah jugak. Untuk tahu lebih lanjut, boleh lawat blog bilakakiberjalan. Gambar pun aku cilok dia punya sikit...

Kos perjalanan: 　

Flight tickets Airasia: Return 2pax = RM 913

Plus luggage 25kg depart, makan pergi, return 20kg sorang, 

Seorang = RM456.50 

Hotel: Book dari Agoda 4 hari 3 malam (double standard bed) = RM194.50

Hotel 25, 25 Dang Thi Nhu, Nguyen Thai Binh, HCM

Sorang = RM97.25

Day 1 11 DEC 2014:

Turun airport belok kanan. Cari bas 152 sebelah Burger King. Turun depan Ben Thanh.

Lepas check-in terus shopping.

Tambang = 5000 VND

Mineral water airport = 30000VND

Photostate passport untuk bagi hotel = 1000VND

Buat spek kat kedai cermin mata depan Song Anh Hotel = 1,500,000VND

Kain sulam = RM50x4 (harga dia bagi RM65)

Prada lace 2meter = RM50x4 (harga asal RM60)

Prada lace design baru = RM60 (harga asal RM70)

Kongsi beli kopi Vietnam (250g) and Robusta (250g) = RM55/2

Memang menarik dapat buat spek dengan harga lebih kurang RM240. Aku ni dahla rabun tahap 9000, mmg takkan dapatlah spek dengan harga macam tu kat malaysia. So, sesapa yg rabun abadi tu, digalakkan buat spek ye kat sana. Kitorang pergi kedai depan Song Ahn Hotel. Ada je banyak lagi area tu.. Korang rajin2lah pusing, jalan dan tanya.

Tak perlu motor..tak perlu beca..jalan, jalan, dan jalan sahaja!

Pasar Ben Thanh yg terkenal itu

Kecewa habis bila sampai kuda tu dah hilang. Tak sempat nak brgambar..

Day 2 12 DEC 2014:

Pusing2 cari travel tour murah ke Cu Chi. Rata2 rate diorang letak 7-9USD, atau RM30-40, atau 150000-200000VND untuk half day tour. Kebetulan dalam laci hotel kitorng ada rate 100000 untuk half day oleh Vina travel. So bergeraklah kami mencari kat area Jalan Pham Ngu Lao. Mmg murah.

Aktiviti untuk hari kedua adalah Handicapped Handicraft factory, Cu Chi tunnel, lunch di Banana Leaf Saigon, War Remnant Museum, malam tu shopping kat pasar malam.

Half day Cu chi = 100,000VND (RM16)

Entry Cu chi = 90,000VND

Aiskirim = 20000VND

Coke = 16000VND

Entry War Remnant Museum = 15,000VND

Makan kat Bananaleaf Saigon 2pax = 365000VND/2 = 182,000VND

Postcard = 10000VND

T-shirt x9 = RM90 (ni kitorng rugi sikit. Ada tempat lain boleh dapat RM8 sehelai. Rugi RM18)

Keychain and magnet = ni kitorng rugi besar. Ntah kenapa mood nak menawar sangat low masa tu. Satu papan keychain ada 10 patut boleh dapat RM5 tapi kitorng bayar RM15. (total loss RM30 T_T)

Pouch kotak Vietnam = 6 pouch untuk RM50.
Harga asal satu pouch RM10. Boleh je dapat murah lagi tapi mlm tu mmg serius agak malas nak menawar.

Malam ni mmg malam pape jelah. Takpelah, kira bagi untung lebih sket kat peniaga malam tu...(padahal hati masih sakit kne cas lebih2)

Kat Cu Chi (abaikan tarikh itu)

Tour guide kami di Cu Chi. Slim namanya kerana kekerempengan empunya badan.

Mangsa agen oren di kilang kurang upaya sedang membuat handikraf

Kat dalam terowong Cu chi. Semput merangkak

Day 3 13 DEC 2014:

Mekong full day = 200,000VND

Beg kat Bee Farm = RM15 (murah woo..kalau x kerana luggage dah beli 3 dah)

Coconut drink = 20,000VND

Topi Vietnam = $1

Ice Blend Chocolate Mint = 35,000VND

Ice blend tu beli kat kedai dekat2 area hotel kitorang. banyak je..boleh tahan murahla gak. ada yg 3 hengget secawan, 5 hengget, tapi yg pasti takde yg lebih seploh hengget kat kawasan ni.
Masa balik tu hujan lebaaat gila. Jalan pun banjir. Boleh plak time tulah tak bawak payung, tak bawak raincoat. Padahal ada je dalam beg lagi satu. So bergantung pada topi vietnam $1 jelah aku masa tuu..

Tour guide untuk Delta Mekong.

Di Bees Farm. Tgh bancuh minuman madu.

Row row row your boat..

Day 4 14 DEC 2014:

T-shirt = RM8x2 (rugi baru jumpa yang lebih murah)

Cotton Thai kut = RM25 (asal RM30)

Cotton 3.5m bidang 60 = Rm18

Springroll = 90,000VND

Teksi balik = 135,000VND

Kopi Nguyen airport plus tax = 96,600/2

KLIA2 = Kluang Station Nasi Lemak & Laksa = RM50.45

Balik dari Vietnam, didapati wang masih berbaki 700,000 dong lebih! huhuu~

TIPS

1. Nak murah cari tempat yg kurang Malaysian atau banyak backpacker. Contohnya tour half day Cu Chi kat Song Anh hotel RM40. Jalan depan sikit area Pham Ngu Lau (Vina Travel) dapat RM16 tak termasuk entry fees. Tapi diorng ni macam ada kerjasama sket. So dari satu travel agen bawak ke sana ke mari untuk kumpulkan orang bagi ramai2..

2. Hotel pun jauh sket. Cons: kena banyak melintas. Pros: tak ada org mintak sedekah, jual barang or demand nak tolong bawak sana sini. Plus tenang dari bunyi hon kereta. Kitorng stay Hotel 25.

3. Kat Mekong ddk satu sampan atau satu meja dgn mat saleh. Diorang bagi tips, kitorng buat donno... Mmg kitorng pekakkan telinga je sesapa yg mintak tips

4. Nak balik suruh org hotel tolong call teksi. Dari hotel ke airport just 135,000 VND (dalam RM22 sbb rate tukar masa tu 0.16).

5. Kat airport beg kitorng lepas je. Tapi kat bilik checked baggage bersungguh kastam dia suruh tgk beg kitorng ada tak (antara yg dia tarik keluar). Pastu perasan dalam tangan dia banyak betul duit ringgit dia pegang pastu masuk poket. Apakah?

Lepas je imigresen terus tarik nafas lega..selamat. Happy travelling!

Dimanakah Sushi Halal?

I am currently craving for good sushi. A lot of them. But it's quite hard to find halal sushis even in Malaysia. So I am in the midst of asking around sushi restaurants regarding their halal status.

This post is not to give bad reviews or any racism/ ethnocentrism/ whatever 'ism' remarks about other people. It's just to guide fellow sushi lovers with certain 'unique cravings'..

1. ICHIBAN BOSHI

Status: Non-Halal

Melalui emel yang aku hantar kat diorang..ini adalah reply yang diberi. Page FB juga ada menyenaraikan menu-menu yang tidak halal. Sake (rice wine)  juga disediakan.

Updated 15 June 2016:

2. HEI SUSHI

Status: Halal

Located at Ground Floor Alamanda. Restoran ni memang apply sijil Halal Gomen. So InsyaAllah halalan toiyyiban. Sedap pun sedap.

TBC... =D

Siti Salon

Harini nak promote spa muslimah kat Bangi Gateway..
Siti Salon - Al-Zahrah namanya. Terletak kat luar sederet dgn Teh Tarik Place and Old Malaya Kopitiam. Tingkat atas, kena naik tangga sebelah Teh Tarik Place. Selalu gak aku berfacial ni.. Walaupun diri ni xde lah lawa mana..tp saja utk kepuasan dan menjaga kulit muka yg mmg selalu berjeraghat ini.

Anyway, tadi amek treatment normal facial. Normal facial ni cuci2 gosok muka biasa je. Scrub, steaming, pastu extraction. Yang bagusnya, walaupun extraction dia sakit gile *eeep* tapi dia extract semua. Dahi, pipi, hidung, u-zone..semua. Pastu dia cuci lagi lpas extract.

Yang kurang bagusnya, nampak giler kesan2 extraction lepas buat. Maybe it's just me, but obvious giler "parut" post extraction..hopefully cepat pulih dan tak berbekaslah..

Suasana pun aman tenang permai. According to a friend of mine, spa yg bagus adalah dimana bilik2 treatment mereka suram2 gelap, mendendangkan lagu2 yg mengasyik kalbu (tapi time aku datang xde pasang pape musik), dan staff dia x sibuk bergosip time treatment. Time bwt galvanic facial kat Meiko (tingkat atas gateway) staff dia bnyk borak. Tapi Meiko tu not bad lah. Rm85 Galvanic facial untuk harga promo kedai baru bukak. Pastu terbeli Royal Jelly promo price (katanya..) dgn harga rm130.. Oklaaah~

Eh..tercerita meiko plak. Back to siti spa, habis facial dia urut badan belakang. Jumlah tempoh treatment dlm 40 minit kut. Not bad.. Maybe next time nak cuba treatment collagen dia (RM90).

Total damage = Rm65.

Benefit-tint!!

Hari-hari mood panas. Shopping dapat menggembirakan hati yang duka marah ini..

Semalam ikut kawan shopping cari lipstick. Mula2 singgah Mac. Jumpa lip gloss boleh tahan murah. Tapi ikut hati x berapa nice kaler bagai.. Salesgirl pun cam x best. So...lompat kedailah ke Benefit bertentangan kedai Mac. Oh ye..peristiwa ini berlaku di Alamanda Putrajaya.

Kat kedai tu salesgirl nice tu promote lipbalm. Kawan tu pun test2ing lah.. Kita ni yg xde niat nak beli ni pun mundar-mandir kedai tu. Pastu bila kawan ni dah decide nak beli yang lolli balm, nampak plak satu set kotak balm sekali dgn tint. Satu lip balm 70 hengget. Satu set balm n tint tu 145 hengget.

Disebabkan masa try tu aku rasa lawa warna dia..maka aku pun terikut terbeli. Dapatlah sekali beberapa sample kosmetik.

Note: The tint is a nice red colour. Not too reddish and compliments my tanned malay skin when I use it on my cheeks. You can also apply it on your lips before wearing the balm. Best..saya suka.

Total damage: 145 bahagi dua = 72 hengget 5 kupang 

Sekian.

I need to release this... -_-

Sometimes...aku x faham betulla dgn pe'il org timur tengah ni. Diorang ni kat tempat sendiri mcmana belajar?

Of course, yang betul2 datang sini belajar mmglah wujud. Tapi yg majoriti ni....serius MENJENGKELKAN. Bold. Capital letters.

Kau ingat..kau datang class 2/14 kali, hantar assignment kawan kau dari sem lepas (ingat aku x tau??), pastu tak dtg presentation bagai...boleh dapat A?? B%$#@.

Tu belum lagi spesis drama swasta. Alasan menggunung. Cakap kosong pot pet pot pet tak tau nak brake. English diorang...haiih semput aku. Sape penulis skrip tu mmg patut dapat award. Award terjun laut. 

Aku tau x patut cakap benda ni. Tapi sungguh. Ada sebahagian tu... urghhh. Lampi. Ni pun boldkan. Berapa kali kena cakap baru nak faham. Cakap slow dah slow dah. Ulang bukan takat 3-4 kali. Mana taknya, kalau tau tak ingat tu..tulislah! Ni datang class pun tak bawak pen. Nak exam pun boleh takde pen???!? ASDFGHJKL!

Ok..yang tu takpe lagi. Ni spesis terakhir ni...yang KURANG AJAR. Kau dahla kat negara orang. Mesti sebab ko fikir kau ada back-up eh? Macam tu ke? Back-up kau kuat mana pun, kalau asas tempurung kau tu kosong, memang tak ke mana lah kau wahai a#$%^& rejim Al-@##!@#...

Tak peliklah situasi negara diorang macam ni kalau generasi muda sedia ada begini. Sedih aku tengok. Sedih sebagai manusia. Sedih sebagai seorang Islam. Sedih sebagai tenaga pengajar.

Sedih kat orang yang bakal menjadi mangsa kebodohan dan kezaliman spesis macam kau.

Gipang Goons

Such annoying news. Is it because he was doing what the majority ppl wanted and did not listen to you gipang goons? Because you selfish power hungry insects did not get what you desired from this man whom you thought could be used as a puppet for your own agenda hence you seek another more willing to comply marrionette?

Do we not have a say in this? Do the rakyat views not even matter? Are you guys even considering the sake of the majority here?

Seriously, your wife does not deserve to be MB. She does not have the capability or ability to do so. If she had both, even if she was a female, I myself would have no issues about it. At all. 

Let's see where it goes from here.

The lobster dish

I've been craving to eat lobster for weeks. It's really hard to get one in supermarkets where I come from. They only sell it in bangsawan shops. And I found out the reason why. It turns out that a seekor lobster costs RM163 at Cold Storage. Luckily for me, there was a whoops price. So I got to buy it for RM85. Still mahal though...

Anyway, the only way I can cook a dish is to have it googled first. It somehow turned out well in the end though I overcooked it resulting it to be too chewy. The beer had no substitute. So I used plain water instead.

So basically, these were the ingredients I used. No specific amount. Everything just 'agak-agak'...

Pot - use a tall or wide one. Preferebly glass.
Butter - melt it in the pot
Onions and chopped garlic - sizzle everthing in
Any additional herbs or paste - I used this thai green paste
Water - google said to use beer which of course is a no-no for me. Anyone know of any supposed substitute?
Salt and sugar - according to taste

Boil everything and insert lobster.
Boil and boil. The lobster will change from blackish blue to red. After this, is up to you. If you overcook it, the meat will shrink inside the shell and become a bit tough to chew. Oh..and make sure you have he required tools to eat it. Incredibly messy this lobster stuff. I wrapped a hammer in plastic and used very tough scissors to cut through the shell. The broth is incredibly nice. Used it later as udon broth. =)

One tragedy after the other

Second week of Ramadhan and the only effed up thing that's happening around the world is that Israel Defense Forces are bombing, attacking, and murdering Palestinians civilians in the name of freedom and $#!t.

Killing children and innocent lives then claiming that they're doing it to protect themselves from Hammas. Urgh..what bull****. It's sickening to the bones. They're practically ethnic cleansing the Palestinians. I see no difference of what they're doing to the Palestinians from what Hitler did to their ancestors.

Then on the 17th of July, they invaded Palestine through ground invasion. The exact same day MH17 was shot to the ground by terrorists at the border of Ukraine-Russia. This is getting really fishy. First mh370, now mh17. Are we that easy of a target that these big powers can use to play their self interest games??

Meanwhile, I had my own tragedy myself on the 20th of July. Got myself in an accident at SKVE. Smashed the front of the Myvi by charging into the divider and a thankfully wrist-diameter sized tree. Thanks to me, we can't use the car this raya. *sigh*..

Selesema

Now that I've gotten over the Seoul Fever, I am now down with the cold. Yippee~

It's currently the dry season. We're a hot and humid country. But now, we are hot and dry.

Urghh...my throat hurts. Just emptied a bottle of gamad cough syrup. *sneezes*

Frozen - Lenovo edition

It's happened more than thrice already and it's getting frustrating.

What is it with Lenovo freezing everytime I upload/share something on WhatsApp?? Hurry up and fix the problem guys!! I know I'm not the only one out there...see??

I just bought the vibe-X [s960] three months ago. Surely it can't be broken down that soon??

Cebok

Seriously Alamanda Putrajaya...your toilets are irritating me. A few years ago, I still remember one or two tandas cangkung having handheld bidet hoses attached. But now, you've installed all those @#$%&! built-in bidets which is soo...uggh.

Sure...the washrooms on level one are now all nice and dandy, but I bet all the Muslims users have difficulties untuk bersuci.

I suppose you wouldn't even understand my rant here, but as a shopping centre in a majority Muslim country, it's common knowledge to install handheld bidets in the washrooms. Not telling you to install in all of them, at least two stalls is enough. Not that hard you know.

Now everytime I feel like going to Alamanda, I'd think twice. Sama dengan Mid-Valley. Toilet susah nak cebok punya pasal... -_-"

Pejabat pos plak dah kena campak kat luar.

You know...even Publika is decent enough to install handheld bidets.

Management dah bertukar ke? Dengar cerita sewa melambung naik. Pasang jelah bidet hose tu balik...Tak rugi pun. Or you reaally don't care?

Seoul ke Busan ke Kuala Lumpur

I am officially suffering from Severe Acute Post-Vacation Syndrome. It's soo severe I feel like resigning.
(and to think that tomorrow, 3rd of June 2014 is my 1st anniversary of working) Wowee~

Symptoms shown
i. replying with "nehh" or "dehh" to every question asked to you.
ii. still have that last bottle of banana uyu (milk) you smuggled at the back of the fridge.
iii. you add an hour when you want to know the time so that it would be the same time as in Seoul.
iv. you have already planned your next future trip to Jeju.

How it happened?
Just got back from South Korea with 3 of my friends.

How long did we travel?
From the 23rd of May to the 30th of May 2014.

Where did we go?
Seriously I tell you, 8 days is NOT enough to go through all of Seoul..what more we added Busan into the list. So we went to several compulsory tourist destinations such as Gyeongbukgi Palace, Everland, Namsan Tower, Nami Island, Jagalchi, Gamcheon Cultural Village, and stuff.
My friends (Adilah, Haq, and Nabila) will provide their version of updates on that one as I have been given the task to story-tell you guys about our cost and travel expenses.

The rate
I started changing currency since October. So it differed from that time (3.07) till May (3.23). So, in terms of exchange rate, I'll just say it's 1000W = RM3.20
The details below are my personal expenses during the trip. However, there may be some stuff that I forgot to write down or be missed out.

In total, I changed 750,000W which equals roughly to RM2378.25

The good news is that, by the end of the day I still had several thousand Wons with me (I think around 70,000W.)

Flight Fare
We traveled with Air Asia X from KLIA2 to Incheon Airport. The flight took around 6 hours.
For the returning flight, we departed from Gimhae International Airport, Busan. So that's why you can see the payment has sen's (cents). It was payed in Won which was converted to Ringgit.
The tix were bought separately as at the time of purchase, duit tak cukup so beli asing2.

Pergi: RM975 + RM441

Balik: RM769.14 + RM982.87

Add-on: RM41 + RM126.84

Total: RM3335.85
Divide by 4.

So roughly around RM834 per person.
This includes meal for both flights, 45kg worth departing luggage and 75kg returning luggage in total for 4 people.

This could actually have been lesser, but due to our part in not sure of how much baggage we should buy and other add-ons, we paid a bit more than necessary. However, I personally feel this is an ok price since we were departing and returning from two different places.

Rate tukar duit

DAY 1 - 23052014

Transport Fare:
T-money  =  20,000W.
Airport Limo (Bus from Incheon to Sungkyukwan)  =  10,000W
Hansung Station --> Hyehwa Station (walked from our hostel to go to Naksan Seonggwak or City Walls. To go back, we took the subway from Hansung)  =  1050W

* The Naksan Seonggwak or City Walls is a must-go place as well. Make sure you guys wear flat shoes or sport shoes. If you think you want to feel like a local, then by all means...go ahead and wear your stilettos.

At night, after checking in and settling down, we just walked from our hostel to go here. Took us a while though...We noticed that many Korean couples like to stroll here (dating2 gitu). Most of them would wear office attire. Balik keje, dating dgn gf kat atas bukit. You can see the whole of Seoul from here. Basically, it's where their ancestors protected the city from incoming threats.

Food and Stay:
Banana Uyu (susu pisang yang best)  =  1,300W
Hostel (Korea Central Backpackers from 23-27 May) =   63,000W
Plain Bagel  =  3000W
Ramyun + Uyu  =  2150W
Telur  =  500W
Nasi   =  975W
Air tin  =  1000W

Dah sampaiii~

Upon one of the entrance before climbing (pheww..) the City Walls.

Pemandangan Seoul at night

DAY 2 - 24052014

Transport Fare:
Topup T-money  =  10,000W
Hyehwa Station --> Chungmuro Station --> Gyeongbukgi Palace  = 1050W
Gyeongbukgi --> Gwanghwamun (this was a major fail as we returned back to the place we wanted to leave!)  =  1050W

Gwanghwamun --> Yeouinaru (one of the stops to go to Hangang River)  =  1050W
Yeouinaru --> Dongdaemun History & Culture Park --> Dongdaemun  =  1050W

Dongdaemun --> Hyehwa (back to our hostel)   = 1050W

Food & Shopping:
Admission fee for Gyeongbukgi Palace  =  3000W
Air mineral =  800W
Souvenirs (you can see it's a bit costly coz I bought them at a tourist spot):
- magnet tradisional  =  12,000W
- magnet kecik  =  2,500W
- postcard  =  10,000W
- cardholder  =  5,000W
Stamp (we sent ourselves a postcard!!) =   700W
Banana uyu  =  1300W

For lunch, we packed our own food from the hostel. We bought ready-to-eat rice, and some side dishes from Malaysia - sambal ikan bilis, etc.

Shopped a bit at Gwanghwamun Station
- bookmark emas  =  2500W x2
- keychain x 10  =  12,000W
- korek telinga comel  =  3000W
- air epal  =   1500W x 2
- badge korea    2000W

The stop to go to Gyeongbokgi Palace

Ancient vs Modern world

Palace Guards

Inside the Palace grounds

Tempat Maharaja bersemayam

Traditional instrumental performance

There was a riot outside.. 

Saejong Dae Hwang

*Gyeongbokgung is something like Putrajaya in Malaysia.

When you go out of the palace grounds, you will notice that they have this wide strip of road with buildings on both sides of the road. These buildings are the government complexes, just like the view from PICC to the Prime Ministers office in Putrajaya.

Later at night, we went shopping at Dongdaemun. I suggest that if you are looking for cheap souvenirs, then this is the best place. Actually, we only went to Doota level 5 - they can speak Malay! Masa kat Busan, ingatkan boleh dapat murah. Hampeh, laagi mahal. Oh ye...kalau datang malam, jangan lupa diri sangat. Kalau tak tren habis. Nasib baik ktorng ingat masa tu. Kalau tak balik naik teksi lah jawabnya...
Total damage at Doota 5 =  105,000W

DAY 3 - 25052014

Transport Fare:
Hyehwa Station --> Chungmuro Stn. = 1050W
Bus 05 Chungmuro --> Namsan Tower = 100W
Myeondong -->Samgakji = 1050W

Samgakji St. --> Itaewon (to go to Seoul National Mosque) =1050W
Itaewon --> Samgakji --> Hyehwa = 1050W

Food, Fee, & Shopping:
Food = 2890W
Namsan cable car = 6000W
Snail mask = 8000W
Souvenirs at Namsan = 2000W + 9800W + 6500W + 5000W
Daiso = 8000W

*After spending more than half the day in Namsan, we went to Myeondong. Myeondong is like a heaven for beauty product lovers. You can find Nature Republic like...every ten steps along the way. It was raining when we arrived so it wasn't that much fun.
We then performed our prayers at Seoul National Mosque. This is a place for tourist and foreigners. If you get lost, just ask around. You can find more Malaysians here than at Jalan TAR (lol)...

Bus to Namsan

Dah sampaaii~

Seoul

Pay before use

Cable car to go back down

'Elevator' to go further down. =D

DAY 4 - 26052014

Fare:
Topup T-money = 10,000W            Baki terkini = 19,400W
Hyehwa --> Dongdaemun --> (tukar tren) Cheongyangi Exit 1     Baki = 18350W
(naik ITX) Cheongyangi Stn. --> Gapyeong Stn. Line 1 =  4000W            
Departed 11.15am
Arrived 12,00pm

Taxi from Gapyeong to Nami Island = 3200W
Nami Island to Gapyeong = 3000W
Ferry ride to Nami Island return = 8000W

Fee & Food:
Telur rebus x 3 = 1500W
Air tin = 700W

1 hour bicycle ride = 5000W
Pau kacang merah = 1000W
Dalgakkbi Lunch = 12000W

Return Fare:
Gapyeong Stn. --> Mangu (Line 1) Baki = 17300
Mangu --> Wangsimni (Line 1)
Wangsimni --> (transfer Bundang Line) Apgujeong Rodeo = another 900W was deducted
Apgujeong Rodeo --> Wangsimni --> Dongdaemun History Park --> Hyehwa

*due to certain unexpected turn of events, we added another day to our stay. initially we planned to spend the night at a jimjilbang, but tak jadi... =(
so tambah lagi 17,500W for one more night at Korea Central Backpackers.

The ITX

The tickets

Gapyeong Station

The welcoming

The scenery

For the lost tourist

DAY 5 - 27052014

Fare:
Hyehwa Stn. --> Dongdaemun History & Culture Park --> (transfer line 2, Sincheon) Euljiro 1(il)-ga.      
Baki = 14300W

*Arrive at President Hotel, Level 3.
Bought Everland discounted tickets for 33,000W.

Euljiro 1 (il)-ga --> Jamsil Stn.
Baki = 13150W
Cross the road from Jamsil Stn. Ride the 5700 bus to Everlaand!
Baki = 11800W

At Everland:
Entered using the 33000W ticket bought prior.
Juice = 2500W
Took pictures at cable car = 11000W

Return:
Took bus 5002. Everland --> Gangnam
Baki = 9800W
Gangnam --> sadang --> Hyehwa (-500W)
Baki =

Mart = 9200W/4 + 1400W
Cheesecake = 4800W

DAY 6 - 28052014

Off to Busan!

Taxi from Busan to Seoul Station = 6400/4 = 1600W per person
KTX to Busan = 51000W

Bought 2 Sajeons at Busan = 24000W
Wild Shrimp Burger = 6300W

Busan Inn Motel = 2 nights = 40,000W

Busan Station --> Jagalchi  Baki = 8100W

Shopping at Lotte mart:
Pantyliner (made in korea punya pasal) 1000Wx2
Seaweed 6000/4 = 1500W per person

Bas 88, Second stop = Baki 6900W
(we wanted to go to Busan tower, somehow got lost. the locals told us to get onto this bus, but dunno. wrong direction. so in the end we went back to have dinner)

Jungang Line --> Bujeon = Baki 6700W
Bujeon -->Jagalchi (-1200W) = baki 5500W

Dinner at Busan 74000/4 = 18500W

Jagalchi --> Busan = Baki 4300W

Susu banana x3 = 4300W

*Jagalchi is a seafood lovers heaven. Here, you can find all the sea creatures caught in Busan. If you go past the wet market, there will be several ahjummas calling you out and promoting you to eat at their restaurant. The fish, squids, abalones, etc are all fresh and alive.

We ordered a set of abalone, fish, rice and were stuffed!

My only regret - not ordering the sashimi as well.

DAY 7 - 29052014

Pagi2 menghirup udara Busan yang nyaman memang amat menenangkan hati kami. Subhanallah...

Untuk memudahkan perjalanan, kami beli 1 Day pass = 4500W (jimat giler!)

Since Busans' subway have a different company(?), the fare is slightly different and more expensive. So tourists are recommended to buy the one-day pass.

Naik Bas 2-2 Taesong --> Gamcheon Village = 900W

Gamcheon Village adalah sebuah perkampungan kat lereng bukit. Turun je Busan station dah nampak kampung ni yg berwarna-warni depan anda. Kawan aku panggil tempat ni kampung Smurf.

Mango ice-cream like the one Infinite and all those budak2 kpop selalu makan = 700W

Since this place is a well-known tourist spot, it's not that hard to reach here.
Warning: If you have motion-sickness it is advisable to bring along your pills coz the ride to this village is like a slow-motion roller coaster. =D

To go back down, just hop on the No.2 bus from Gamcheon to Taesong = 900W

Shrimp Burger at area BIFF = 4100W
shopping stokin and stuff kat Daiso = 6000W
Souvenirs (mahal sket compared to Doota level 5) = 9000W
T-shirt Busan = 5000W
T-shirt x3 = 10,000W
Mug x2 = 10,000W
Mask x10 (berapa banyak mask daaa...) = 3000W
t-shirt 4000x2 = 8000W
Kuih kuaci yg sedap = 1000W
Mask (lagii. heheh) = 2000W

Day 8 - 30052014

Awal2 pagi dah gerak. Sebab ada problem check-in online, so terpaksa gerak awal. =(

Teksi + tol to Gimpo Airport = 16900W/4 = 4225W
Bagel airport = 3000W
7-E airport = 2800W

Sampai Malaysia dalam 4pm lebih.. owh, sayu sungguh hati ini ~~

Baki won dalam poket = 85400W

Some stuff you need to take note while in Korea

1. Don't bother sitting on the seats for the elderly and OKU.
Tak macam kat Malaysia, dimana kita boleh selamba duduk kalau xde org tua or OKU, kat sana akan ada ahjumma2 gila kuasa yg main tarik je korang semata2 nak duduk situ. Padahal diorng bukan cacat upaya ke apa. Memang dah banyak baca dah pasal spesis ahjumma kaki sendol ni. Tak sangka boleh nampak secara live perangai diorang ni...
Ye, walaupun makcik lebih layak duduk situ daripada kami, tapi tindakan makcik main tarik je kengkawan saya tu mmg amat kuang ajar. Kalau makcik ni nama Bedah, mmg dah lama kena...

2. For travellers like us, sila bawa botol plastik masuk toilet.
Diorang 'bersuci' pakai tisu je. So disarankan bawak botol plastik untuk anda kaum muslimin muslimat di luar sana.. Advisable to bring feminine wipes.

3. Don't think too much about buying souvenirs that are not available in your country.
This is just me. Does not apply to everyone out there. This is because by the end of the day, I still had more than 50,000 won in which I regret putting back that pretty pouch, mug, and chopsticks back. oh...and them EXO merchandise! darn...

4. Send yourself a postcard!
Just a fun mission to do. Mine arrived 2 weeks later.

5. Write a list of things you want to do throughout your stay and make sure they all get crossed out!
The only thing unchecked on my list is getting Bobbkki!! =(

6. Jangan lupa untuk baca travelog Nabila! (Just click on her name)