Back to Singapore

Seoul - The Limo bus to the airport departs from the bus stop just outside Shinsege departmental store and leaves at 6:40am and I arrived at 8am - just 1 hr before departure.  A good timimg...

Seodaemun Prison History Hall

Seoul - As I had time on my hand - one of my customer and YJ decided to bring me to 2 interesting places that is a must for travellers to Seoul.  Surprise after 80+ trips, I have not been to neither of them.

Seodaeman Prison is a grim reminder of a time of sadness and sacrifices of which the modern Koreans benefit today.  It was also a reflection of how the extend of cruelty to another human being and we should never cross this path in the future again.   This prison was built during the Japanese occupation of Korea and it stood for 80 years as a living monument of grief for all Koreans.

A volunteer guide of elderly age took us around the Prison but she can only speak Korea which was translated for me via YJ.   Her patience was commendable in spite of the rain which we had to 'cuddle' at times under a small umbrella.

There were school children all around as it was an educational tour for them.  I think in Singapore we should bring our children to places to show how many people in Singapore sacrificed their lives during World War II and also the 3 years of Japanese occupation.    There are places that depict the scenes but unfortunately are not part of school's educational curriculum.  They go to  nice places like zoo, bird park, Malay village, Snow city, new water , etc but never to places that remind us who we were and the people that sacrificed for us.  Hopefully, someday it will change.

Huge rice cooker for inmates

This prison room are meant for 30 inmates

The small door to push food to the inmates

Rice scoop for inmates - the wood

 will be place in the rice scoop if the

inmates are being punished

At the end of the tour, this kind Korean lady gave me a booklet in English - there is a cost but it's free for me.

A Wet Spring

Seoul - Arrived at Incheon Airport - the weather is wet and cold 10 degrees Celsius.   I decided to stay at  Courtyard Seoul Times Square @ Yeongdeungpo.    The journey took about 2hrs and went the limo bus was nearing Times Square - I was comtemplating whether to stop at Shinsege Stop or final bus stop (which I thought would be nearer to the Hotel entrance).  I was wrong and had to back track to Shinsege Stop and continue walking to the Hotel entrance - quite a distance as I had to lugged my hard case luggage across the traffic light.   The Hotel is situated on the 5th floor.

Finally got into the room - set the temperature to 21 degrees for me to be nice and warm.  

12 noon - YJ came and we took a taxi to see one of our customer. 

Arrive in Jakarta

Jakarta - It was traffic jam majority of the way to my Hotel.   Ambhara Hotel - South of Jakarta - rated 4 star hotel and the room that was given to me is very old.   The hotel room floor is solid surface (like marble) and no carpet so had to wear the slippers that they gave me.  The bathroom is dirty and some parts of the bath tub is cracked.  The bath towel has the hotel emblem on it and looks rather old and being used over and over again.  

Tried to take a bath and the shower cable was bend and water came out of the shower head - as a result I had to use one hand to make the shower cable straight and the other hand to hold the shower head to bath.   Rp 998,000 per night (about US$ 100) with breakfast. 

This hotel was chosen because it's a 5 minutes walking distance to my customer office.

Hwacheon Ice Fishng

Seoul - My customer decided yesterday to bring YJ and I along to a day trip to Hwacheong for ice fishing - fully paid by them - thank you.   I had to get up early as my customer will come at 6.45am to pick me up and take subway 1hr journey to the chartered bus at Lotte Hotel.  Brrr, it cold outside and was warned to pad up as the temperature will fall sub zero - much colder than Seoul.  So, double everything and as prepared as can be. 

This is a famous International event and here is the website...
http://www.narafestival.com/07_global/?lang=eng

Me and Chae Yun

Freezing cold -10

Many people ice fishing on the frozen Han river

Young Jin preparing the fishing tackle

My customer trying to catch our lunch

Hand fishing in -10c water

Chae Yun with one fish caught - our dinner!

This is the toughest and I did not want to 'hurt' myself as it will take a toil on my body.   Mr Ko was shivering very badly in the sub zero water. 

At the location, you can also visit the Ice palace....

For Dinner, we had small live fishes that goes well with sweet chilli sauce.  The small fishes are actually baits which the river trout loves and now we are eating it alive dip into the chilli sauce.  It is actually very delicious. 

Our dinner

Fish alive

Bizarre Korean Food - fermented fish

Seoul - Temperature was nice and bit sunny about 1 degree C.  Fairly warm for Korean standards.   But I like it very much, of course I still had to pad myself warm. 

In between meetings, I had a hankering for doungnuts.  Maybe it's the cold making me crave for sugar bout to keep warm.   I don't eat much nor hanker for doungnuts in Singapore - it's a strange feeling jut wanting to eat doungnuts so we found Krispy Kreme and it was so delicious.

Dinner was with our new channel partners and we went to a Korean sashimi restaurant - chose a private room for 4 of us to discuss business matters.   There was much food of various fishes and it was overwelming.   The highlight of the dinner was this really smelly fermented fish - Hong Eo홍어 - it is actually deeply fermented skate (type of fish - that is similiar to sharks) - that Young Jin says 'smells like toilet' - I think it smelt worse than that.   This is really bizarre...

You wrapped the Kimchi cabbage with the pork + Hong Eo + Squid and put all in your mouth. In the photo, Hong Eo is betwen the Pork and the Squid.

Koreans love to drink and between the four of us we drank 2 bottles of San Sa Chun (a type of rice wine), 4 bottles of soju and 6 bottles of HoeGarden beers (from another place because the soju was not enough). The room also smelt of tobacco because the 3 Koreans are heavy smokers so when I am back in Singapore it's time for detox - I never smoke and rarely drink hard liquor back home only red wine.

San Sa Chun is rice wine brewed with corn starch and haws. The blend of rice, corn starch, and haws provides you with a unique and refreshing taste unlike most rice wines. The natural sugars in the fruit provide a subtle sweetness to the taste.

San Sa is the Korean word for Hawthorn, which are various trees or shrubs having clusters of white or pinkish flowers and reddish fruits. Haw is the fruit of the Hawthorn. After this research, I was surprise that San Sa is also called here in Singapore as San Zar, also known as Haw Flakes. Kids love it as tit bits and I have grown on this tit bits - not knowing that it is from the same Haw that was made into wine. Surprise, Surprise!!

San Sa Chun

Courtyard Seoul TimeSquare

Seoul - The day before I checked the temperature of Seoul and 'ouch' -3 degrees C, very cold.   But, I was prepared mentally for the cold coming from an area of 32 C.    This time I decided to stay at a newly opened Hotel by Mariott - Courtyard Seoul Times Square @ Yeoungdeungpo-gu. 

For the uninformed, this is not your regular Airport Limosine Bus that makes regular stops at Hotel but at Bus Stops along the road.   The event unfolds when I bought my ticket at the Airport Limo counter and had to repeat 'Courtyard Seoul Time Square' and 'Yeoungdeungpo-gu' a number of times and was given Bus 6008.

The Bus 6008 does not stop at hotel entrance but at the certain bus stops and some near the Hotels.  So, you need to know which Bus Stop to get off.   I asked the driver but he speaks no English -Oops.   Hmm..I saw a number of pretty Korean ticket counter ladies - surely they speak English - they waved their hands 'saying no' and pointed to the one infront (not sure who it is...).  Until a nice gentleman said 'I am going that way and will tell you once the Bus is near' - Thank you.

The Bus moved but the voice in English was too voice from where I am seated - but it was fairly crowded and do not want to seat with anyone just to hear the announcement.    I needed my space after such a long cramped trip over.

I dozed off but was awoked by the heat to my feet - ouch!  It's the heater to heat up the bus and it's coming from the vents near the bus floor.  It's really hot so I had to lift my feet way up after the hot air vent.

The voice activated announcement started so I knew it was the begining of the alighting of passengers - one by one alighted and finally the kind gentleman said to me 'the next stop'.  Coincidentally, another gentleman from the same Singapore Airlines flight alighted at Shinsegae Department Bus Stop.    It was drizzling, cold and had to pull my luggage through the drizzle - ahead saw the Shinsegae Department Store and asked for directions - Go to 5th Floor.  That would be easy - arrived at 5th Floor and no directions any where - so, I had asked again and was directed to go out of the building cross the courtyard to the next buidling.  Yes, I saw Courtyard Seoul Times Square - It was quite a journey, not something that you look forward to after a long trip. 

If you need to check the bus route here is the web site.
http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/IABIe.cfm

Courtyard Seoul Times Square is a brand new and modern Hotel and the amenities are good.  I think the only drawback is the directions to the Hotel.   The Hotel is near Time Square mall and there are a dozens of restaruants to choose from.  I realized later that if I alighted the last and final destination on the Bus 6008 route it will be much nearer to the Hotel.   .

The Hotel is within a huge Mall - Times Square - 300,000 sqm of 7 floors of shoping, entertainment and dinning.   I had my dinner there with Young Jin at one of the restaurants there.