USS 02.04.16

this was such a last minute trip.

we bought airasia tickets to singapore

for a weekend trip, around a month before.

itinerary:

USS & Gardens by the Bay.

:D

i've been to USS last year

but since then,

they've reopened Battlestar Galactica

and added a new attraction:

a Puss in Boots ride.

early morning flight.
sooooo sleepyyy

crossing selat tebrau

finally arrived, and queue is already long
we travelled around singapore with MRT, easy and convenient!
*addendum: traveling around singapore carrying all our heavy bags T.T

waiting for parade
came on a saturday, so many peopleee

the madagascar kids ride :D

seoul #5 - kwangjang market, dongdaemun market, namsangol hanok village

last day in seoul! :(

seriously, i had so much fun in seoul.

maybe because i was out with friends instead of family,

and maybe because of the city itself..

but i truly enjoyed it :)

bought a mini bagpack from this guy :D
i think kwangjang market is supposed to be famous for its food,
but we only went to shop for kain, so early in the morning..

dongdaemun market, where we hunted for food.
see those cute one-person pots..

grilled fish everywhere.. omggg

not sure whether we were actually hungry,
or because i genuinely like korean food,
but this is the best meal i've had in seoul.

seoul #4 - cheonggyecheon stream, gwanghwamun square, dongdaemun design plaza

so these are the places we went to without a tour guide in seoul.

pretty easy to navigate :)

in the train. everyone's looking sharp with blazers.
also quite a wide train.
something you don't get to see in malaysia..

cheonggyecheon stream at night! gets pretty cold here.

sadly when we went there, it was in between decorations.
if we came a week later, there would've been lanterns here.. sobs
i can imagine just how lovely this place would be.

ignore the excited face.

many couples chilling by the river.
you can look up the history behind cheonggyecheon, it's quite a cool story.
surprisingly, it's not man-made. but they had to do a huge restoration project.

seoul #3 - nami island

and.. we're back to seoul :P 

just bear with me, 

 i'm determined to finish all my travel stories before my next flight out 

 (6th of august to jogja - yeay!) 

everyday meal
7eleven onigiri (known as samgak kimbap in korea)
and banana uyu! this thing tastes heavenly..
only at 1000 won (RM 3.50) each, i think!
here in malaysia they are sold up to RM10 per bottle!

in front of our hostel..
our room was on the topmost floor, thank heavens there's a lift!

welcome to nami in autumn, peeps!

those are not actual balloons..

first up, lunch!
this is famously called nasi goncang (dosirak in korean)
bits of tuna and egg,
shake it well and eat!
actually this is not really my cup of tea,
i'm not a big fan of tuna and gooey egg mixed together..
otherwise, quite a big portion and fills you up so good.

so anyway, pictures and more pictures..

Flight Tix Prices

Updated: 18/09/2017

So, here is the entry that I will update whenever I buy my flight tix, haha.

Just so I have a place to jot them down and refer to in the future.

All flights are from Kuala Lumpur unless stated otherwise.

London-Paris


Melbourne, Australia

Travel date: Jun 2015
Bought 4 days earlier
Airasia return tix = RM 1582.10


Seoul, South Korea

Travel date: Nov 2015
Bought 10 months earlier
Airasia return tix + 20kg luggage + 1 meal = RM 962


Singapore

Travel date: Apr 2016
Bought a month earlier
Airasia return tix = RM 183.08


Tokyo, Japan

Travel date: Apr 2016
Bought 6 months earlier
Airasia return tix + one night in capsule hotel (Airasia Go) = RM 1130.61
1 meal + 20kg baggage return (bought a week before flying) = RM 228.00


Maldives

Travel date: May 2016
Airasia return tix + 2 meals + 20kg baggage return + insurance + seat = RM 1070.08
(this one sponsored by parent.. hehe)


Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Travel date: Aug 2016
Bought 3 months earlier
Airasia return tix + 5 nights in The Phoenix Hotel (Airasia Go) + 20kg baggage + insurance =  RM 914.92


Perth, Australia

Travel date: Nov 2016
Bought 5 months earlier
Airasia return tix + 20kg baggage + 2 meals = RM 729.087


Chiang Mai, Thailand

Travel date: Jan 2017
Bought 7 months earlier
Airasia return tix + 2 nights at hotel (Airasia Go) = RM 405.57
25kg baggage + insurance = RM 105


Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Travel date: Mar 2017
Bought 5 months earlier
Airasia return tix = RM 189.60


Hong Kong

Travel date: June 2017
Bought 7 weeks earlier
Airasia return tix + 20kg baggage = RM 842


Kuching, Sarawak

Travel date: Jul 2017
Bought 8 months earlier
Airasia return tix = RM 119.10


Osaka, Japan

Travel date: Nov 2017
Bought a year earlier
Airasia return tix + 25kg baggage + 2 meals = RM 859.10


Seoul, South Korea

Travel date: April 2018
Bought 7 months earlier, through Expedia.com
Korean Air return tix + free 2 meals + free 23kg check in luggage both ways = RM 1449.40


Luang Prabang, Laos

Travel date: July 2018
Bought 10 months earlier
Airasia return tix = RM 151

2016 is my crazy travel year

for those who have been paying attention,

they'll notice that i am still halfway through seoul and tokyo in my entries.

and yet i came back from maldives about a week ago.

so that means, i have 3 travel stories that i need to update.

-.-"

this year being my crazy traveling year,

me and my best friend already made plans for august

 before i went to maldives.

and after i came back,

another two friends joined in and we bought flight tickets for november.

which means..

yes, i have 2 upcoming travel plans :D

i doubt that people have been asking where i got my money;

i don't share my travel pictures except here and on instagram.

i rarely share on fb since there's a wider audience there.

for some reasons, i don't want to shove my travel pics up on everyone's news feed.

and btw, if you ask where i get the money..

it's from my own hard-earned salary.

seriously, i barely have any savings this year.

this got me to really thinking..

you know, money just don't rain down from the sky.

with travelling, that's the deal.

you travel now and live poor most time of the year

(i rarely buy clothes.. it's sad)

or you wait until later, when you have more money yet more commitments

and your health is also not at its peak.

seriously, i'm only 25 but my back hurts almost every day. sigh.

so, yeah. i'm not too proud of my savings account balance.

i might regret this someday, or i might not.

but i don't think i could regret saying i've lived my life.

you can't ever guarantee tomorrow.

maybe you don't get to live until you're 60.

so, on that basis, yeah..

i'm glad i got to see some parts of the world.

some places more beautiful than home,

but still the thought of home fills you with a sort of loneliness.

i'm glad i got to travel when i'm still young and single.

money-wise, then..

i just have to learn to spend wisely.

sounds easier said than done, really.

i can't resist when someone asks me to go anywhere, haha.

wish me luck.