Saturday, February 25, 2012

Project Europe II




Project Europe 1 was here.



I know that some would call me crazy/over-spontaneous, some would call me adventurous/courageous, but whatever it is, I'm really excited this time!


In December 2011, I found out about Emirates' Global Sale (I subscribed to their promotional emails), and the discounts were to die for! A return ticket to Maldives was only RM1800, a return ticket to Brazil or New York was only RM4000 (usually return tickets to Americas region is about RM6k - 7k, I know this cos I researched about South America last time. At one point of time, I was interested in South America hehe. Give me a few years to save for South America! :p)
What caught my eye was the return ticket prices to Europe - It was RM2600! I was like OMGOMGOMG this has never happened to Emirates before. I like Emirates a lot so I have always been observing their prices, particularly to Europe.
Took a few days to think about it, typed some details, clicked a few buttons, and there you go, ticket booked :)



Project Europe 1



Everyone who knows me personally would know about my (burning) passion/desire for Europe ever since I was a teenager.
Attempted to plan for it in 2009 & 2010, but both attempts also failed.
Finally, by holding on to my dreams for 10 years, I finally went to Europe in June last year.
Project Europe 1 consisted of 3 countries - France, Spain & Italy.
I covered 6 cities in about 10 days - Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Venice, Florence & Rome.
Yes, majority of my time was spent in Italy :) Everyone who knows me personally would know about my (fiery burning X 100) passion/desire for Italy haha.
What has made it even more memorable was that I went there alone. Yes, crossed over more than 14,000km to another continent all by myself. Until now, my friends still look at me in awe haha.
It was the most beautiful experience in my life.



Project Europe II


This year, I'm organizing Project Europe II, which consists of 5 countries - Portugal, Switzerland, Croatia, Czech Republic, & Greece.
The cities are :
Lisbon & Porto (Portugal)
Geneva (Switzerland)
Dubrovnik (Croatia)
Prague (Czech Republic)
Athens & Santorini (Greece)



I did a few drafts on deciding which cities to go this time, it took me quite a while to decide/finalize the cities. The first & second drafts included Amsterdam & Madrid too, but in the end, I chose the cities listed above.



I'm really excited this time and hope & pray that everything goes well.
I just can't get enough of Europe, it's my favourite continent in the world :)





Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The Timeline





Subscribed for the Facebook timeline, finally. Accidentally clicked on year 2010, saw my tributes to my father, can't help but feeling the pain again. It was a difficult year, I wish things were different. Learnt the biggest lesson of all, never ever take your parents for granted, even tearing for a million years will not bring them back. It's almost a year and a half now.
I wish I had more time with my father.




Sunday, February 19, 2012

To Seoul With Love






To Seoul With Love!




My video of our journey in Seoul in January 2012.
It's also currently playing on the small screen player on the right side of this blog haha.
The Korean song in the video is Jun K (from 2PM) featuring Lim Jeong Hee - Kajima (Don't Go).
I love this song, it was the first Korean song that I have loved so much, hence I used this song in the video as I felt that it has represented our trip so much.
A month has passed now but my heart is still in Seoul :)






Friday, February 17, 2012

A n y e o n g h a s a y o





Seoul, South Korea
10 - 16 Jan 2012

Sunset at Children's Grand Park :D


The day view of Seoul from the Namsan Hill, at Seoul Tower.


Nothing is better than having a steaming hot bowl of Korean Ramen during such freezing weather, it's like an orgasm!
There's this big Family Mart at this Children's Grand Park, who provides tables and chairs for you to sit down while you enjoy your steaming hot bowl of Korean ramen instant noodles (they provide hot water too). I think it's a really smart idea (good business strategy) of theirs cos we definitely need hot food during winter as we get hungry really fast.


The note that I have written for the owner/boss of the guesthouse that we stayed at.
We were really lost on the first night upon arrival in Seoul (after a late flight), it was already midnight in Shinchon after we took the airport bus from Incheon airport (The airport is in Incheon, the 2nd biggest city after Seoul. The bus journey took about 1 hour), I tried to ask for help at a convenience store but the guy couldn't understand English, but he was helpful enough to help me to call the guesthouse.
Eventually we found the road to the guesthouse, it was about 1.30 am, streets were deserted, and we had to walk into a dark alley.
Suddenly a guy in his late 20s walked out of nowhere, asking us where we were heading to.
We were seriously freaked out, we almost ran for our lives!
Then it turned out that the young guy was the owner of the guesthouse, he was just waiting for us! We laughed about this the whole night after that.
We didn't expect the owner to be so young haha.
It was 2am by the time we checked in, but he was nice to show us around the building - the pantry/kitchen, laundry area, etc.
He even spared his time giving us tips on where to go, the cheapest ways to go around Seoul, he drew & wrote everything on the map for us, it was really really nice of him, we were so grateful to him.
It didn't hurt that he was cute too ;)



We were lucky to witness a slight snowing in Namiseom island, it was really romantic there :)


Itaewon is my favourite place in Seoul.
It is dubbed as the "foreigners" land. I like it for its atmosphere there :)


Korean ramen at Namiseom island, with kimchis as the side dish yumms


Random shot of a couple that I took in Nami island


Love in Nami island <3


Really looks like autumn in Nami island hehe


Pink flowers at Changdeokgung's Secret Garden


Shopping at our area, in Shinchon


Palace guards at Gyeongbokgung Palace


Gyeongbokgung Palace



Playing with snow in Nami Island haha


Pagoda at Gyeongbokgung Palace


Took pic with Nichkhun hahaha


Dayang took this lovely pic in Nami island :)



Muruku in Gyeongbokgung Palace :p


I love this shot of Dayang cos I took it hahaha


Secret Garden tour, it was a longggg walk up and down the hills, no stamina lol


Changdeokgung Palace


Inside the Secret Garden :)





All in all, Seoul was really lovely despite the freezing weather and the cracks on my hands, I really loved it there.
People there were warm & they would try their best to help you despite the language barrier.
It's really safe there even at night, and it's a really organised country like Japan.
I would recommend Seoul to everyone, it's a really beautiful city :)
Kamsamida Seoul !



Tuesday, February 14, 2012

S E O U L









Children's Grand Park :)
I love this park, it's really huge, with lotsa happy children around, with lots of things to do - amusement park, rollercoasters, huge parks, zoo, botanical gardens etc etc.
And the best part - It's FREE!
So nice of their government to build such a huge free park for their citizens.


Purple cabbages at Children's Grand Park


Namsan Seoul Tower!


Some Korean hotpot with Octopus and lots of mushrooms and veges with kimchis and black beans as side dishes. I used to hate (didn't know how to appreciate) kimchis, but now I love kimchis!
In fact, I so love Korean cuisine now :)



Winter in Namiseom island :) More like autumn though haha
This is the island where Winter Sonata was filmed here.
This island is very nice and romantic, very ideal for couples to visit!


Hello Seoul I love you!


At Changdeokgung Palace's Secret Garden tour :)
I love the pink flowers everywhere :)


Breathtaking night view of Seoul from Namsan Seoul Tower :)
We didn't pay the entrance fees to the Tower, we actually took pics from the 'free' area haha, can save money lol.







Seoul. My heart. My soul :)










Tuesday, January 10, 2012

S.E.O.U.L




I’m flying to Seoul tomorrow for a week! <3

I’m having the Korean fever at the right time :)

I know I’m gonna love Seoul <3




Monday, December 26, 2011

The World As I See It







The world as I see it, is a remarkable place,
A beautiful house in a forest, of stars in outer space.
From a birds eye view, I can see it has a well-rounded personality
From a birds eye view, I can see we are family.
It's not hard for me to love you
Hard for me to love you
No it's not a difficult thing




Sunday, December 25, 2011

2011 : A Very Muruku Year

My 2011:
Break up. Grieving. Farewell Siem Reap. Loved Universal Studios Spore. Travelled solo to Europe. Walked under the rain in Paris. Had a fiesta time in Barcelona with Ferlynn :) Shed tears of joy in Milan. Got really lost in Venice. Climbed over 400 steps to get the best view of Florence. Made wishes at the Trevi Fountain in Rome. Felt holy in Vatican City. Job promotion. Chopped off my hair & until now still couldn't grow lol. Still grieving. Dark & depressing days. Watched fireworks in Disneyland Hong Kong. Hyperthyroidism. Self-resentment. Suicidal. Attempted to resign. Confused. Finally saw the silver lining behind those dark clouds. Never been this happy before. Bought tickets to Seoul for winter. Closure. No more sadness. No more grieving. Won a free stay at a 5-bedroom suites Villa in Bali through an online contest :) Syukur everyday for everything. A very happy Christmas. Welcoming 2012 with open arms and an open heart :) Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all! Buon Natale e Buono Anno Nuovo a tutti!



Merry Christmas!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

因為你 (Yin Wei Ni)







因為你 (Because of You)



Dearest Papa,

Happy 1 year anniversary, Papa :) This year we’ll be celebrating Christmas in our memories of you. You loved Christmas, you would play beautiful Christmas songs at this time of the year, and you loved having us around during Christmas :)

I know that you are much happier now, I am happy for you too. You are now in the safest place, with no sufferings or pain, in God’s protection. You can run freely with Emmet and Brownie, and other angels there.

It has been a rough year for me, but I am very happy now. I finally saw the silver lining behind the dark clouds. I’m sure you are very happy for me too.

Pain and loss makes everyone stronger, there is a reason behind everything, and I truly understand that now.

I will see you in heaven, Papa. Thank you for your continuous blessings, you will forever, eternally be in my heart even in my death :)





Lots of love,

Petrine XOXO