Sakura in Korea

My favorite out-of-the-country trip so far has got to be my trip to South Korea last year. I'm no fan of K-Pop but I grew up watching Koreanovelas and using their beauty products so imagine my excitement when I booked a flight going there. Hehe! Not to forget, this is the first time that I went on a trip outside the country with my college barkada and Pao. So let me give you a rundown of my first spring experience in Seoul and other parts of South Korea.

I booked our flight more than a year before the actual flight. I'm pretty sure that you already know that this is how seat sales work. Our tickets costed a little less than P6,000.00, round-trip, and my PLANNED budget was supposedly P25,000.00, airfare included. I had no idea how much the cost of living there was and my stupid mistake is not asking my two companions who have been there before. To cut this long story short, I exceeded (But I made it through, don't worry hehehe).

Alex, Pao, Camille and I arrived there in the afternoon. We went straight to our booked hotel, 2nd Casa, before we went strolling around to explore Seoul.

The very modern Incheon airport

There's a train linking the airport to other stations

2nd Casa is near a lot of establishments and a train station

Our hotel room good enough for the 4 of us

After leaving our luggages at the hotel, we went straight to find Bukchon Village where we got lost. Haha! We found it hard to look for that one street so we ended up walking in circles when we got to the area.

No lunch yet but still giddy

We met this lady selling matcha pancakes near Bukchon.

After Bukchon Village, we went straight to Insadong to have a sumptuous Korean dinner and of course, to shop.

My favorite cuisine next to Japanese <3

HANGRY

One of the malls in Insadong

After shopping, we went straight to Dongdaemun to check its museum and the night market that ends before dawn.

Designed by Zaha Hadid

First

Streetfood time!

After shopping at Dongdaemun Night Market, we went back to our hotel to finally call it a day.

Our second day comprised of touring the Gyeongbukgong Palace, Eveland Theme Park, and Cheonggyecheon Stream.

Cams and A

Right after the changing of guards

The sea of tulips in Everland. AAAAHHHHH

Spring has got to be my favorite season now <3

Baby, this is what I came for

And boy, oh boy, this roller coaster did not disappoint.

It was already dark when we got there.

Our third day was solely dedicated for the activities outside Seoul. We went to The Garden of Morning Calm, Petit France and Nami Island.

Our hotel was too cute, I highly recommend it!

Garden of Morning Calm

Remember Love from Another Star? This is where they shot that iconic scene

This is probably what my house would look like when I'm old. Too shabby for my life <3

As soon as we landed in Nami Island, we treated ourselves to Korean bbq and samgyeupsal

Papasa na ba sa Koreanovela? :))

That famous array of trees

The Soul Sistahs

Our fourth day in Seoul was spent for SHOPPING. Remember when I wrote earlier that I got broke in my stay there? I had to borrow some USD from Edgarpoo just to sustain my need for shopping. Hahaha it was that bad and no, I don't have a credit card yet during this time, hence the utang.

We first went to Namsan Seoul Tower, then shopped at Nandaemun, Myeongdong and finally, watched the light show at Han River.

We brought our own locks, oha.

Too cute

I swear, these veggie pancakes are TDF

Myeongdong, the K-cosmetic haven

Han River at night.

On our fifth and last day, we chilled-out and strolled along Hongdae. We tried some cafes there, did a little shopping and went to the Trick Eye Museum.

The only time I was taller than him

My first HK Cafe experience

Food was soooo pricy tho

Hehehe OOTD

Our flight was in the evening so we still had time to go around Incheon airport. Luckily, we were able to find something to do - try wearing their tradition hanbok.

Hahahahahaha we look hilarious, I'm so sorry :))))

My first trip to Korea is definitely one for the books! It was my first time to experience spring, and also the first time I traveled with my friends. I can't wait to go back to do more shopping and spend a little more time strolling around the city. I promise to bring more money next time also hahaha! Can't wait to be back and who knows? I might just come back sooner than expected ;)

Check out our travel video below and watch it in HD :)

Korea 2015 from Lean Jess Dela Cruz on Vimeo.

After landing my first job, I became more fond of going places and traveling. Since I now had my own money to spend, I decided to treat my mom (and myself of course) with a trip to Singapore.

We spent 3 days at the Lion City filled with shopping and sight-seeing. I would have to say though that three days aren't enough to explore this small city. Singapore might be a tiny city-state as compared to others but there's just a lot to do and try and explore in this beautiful place. Not to mention, the cost of living is also kind of expensive.

Our first day was dedicated to touring the entire city. We first went to Little India to see Tekka Mall, Little India Arcade and the famous Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple, Little India's oldest. There we also saw Serangoon Plaza and Mustafa Center which sells basically anything imaginable.

One of the few temples we saw during our walking tour

At my back is my favorite street in SG

Chinese ornaments everywhere

Lovely street <3

One of the most famous temples in SG

We then proceeded to SG's Chinatown where we tried the different food being sold along Pagoda Street. Southbridge Road brought us to Sri Mariamman Temple where we observed the intricately carved gate statuary called gopuram and all the many cow statues perched on the temple's roof. Admission is free for most of the temples in Singapore but donations are welcome. Further down Southbridge Road is where the Buddha Relic Temple is located. I have never seen that much buddhas in my entire life which according to some people there numbers to 10,000.

Here's my mom with a tiangge supot in hand

Humongooous

Inside the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

Doing what the locals do

After seeing the old and traditional part of Singapore, we then went to the more modern part of the city. We went to Raffles Place then walked until we got to the Singapore River. There we saw the dainty Cavenaugh Bridge which is the oldest bridge in SG that is still standing. From we were standing, we also saw the massive, white colonnaded buiding which was Singapore's former post office, now more commonly known as the Fullerton Hotel. After quite a long walk, we were finally able to see the Merlion, the half-lion, half-fish, where we took photos from the observation deck just opposite it. This spot is also perfect to get a stunning view of the central business district's skyscrapers. On the other side of the river, we spotted the two oddly-shaped buildings which seemed like durian for me. This is the Esplanade, a complex devoted to SG's fine arts. From here, we walked all the way to the Marina Bay Sands passing by my favorite Helix Bridge. We also got a view of the Gardens by the Bay and the Singapore Flyer.

Right in the middle of SG's CBD

The Cavenaugh Bridge and Fullerton Hotel at my back

SG's 1 dollar ice cream!!!

So pretty!

MBS from afar

Esplanade

Our photo with the merlion

Lol getting too touristy at the Helix Bridge

Everything in one photo

Since our time was very limited, our second day was a choice to be spent either at Sentosa Park or Universal Studios + Sea Aquarium. I chose the latter since I haven't been to any Universal Studios theme park before and I believe my Mom would enjoy it more as compared to the Sentosa Park. It was a struggle though since there were a loooooot of people there so we had to queue for almost 2 hours just to be able to ride the attractions. Unfortunately, Battlestar Galactica was being renovated during that time but my Mom loved the Transformers ride and she got crazy seeing all the chocolates and candies being sold at Candylicious.

Mandatory photo with the globe

Told you she'd like it here HAHA

She's cute, no?

First things first

One of my favorites rides

Napagod si Madame!

My mom went gaga seeing this wall of candies

We spent our third and last day scouting for the best buys along Orchard Road since it was also the last stretch of their Great Singapore Sale season. We were able to buy A LOT of clothes at a quarter of their original price with brands ranging from Zara, Cotton On, Uniqlo, Forever 21, H&M and a loooot more. I actually wished we stayed longer just to shop since there are so many malls along Orchard and a day surely isn't enough to check all of them. We also went to Bugis Mall since it was the one nearest our hotel and we even got free scoops of ice cream!

Thanks, Marble Slab!

Find happiness within.

Taken inside Changi airport

Like what I've said earlier, Singapore is a small city but it definitely has a lot to offer everyone whose interested. 5-7 days, I believe, should be enough to explore all the sights. I hope my Mom and I can come back again especially because she easily fell in love with the city and I hope to tag along my Dad also. Til the next Asian adventure!