[Part 1] 153. Leaving for Singapore for my winter break

I barely slept last night because I had to do my laundry and tidy up everything before leaving this morning.

I thought it would be easy to get a cab in Korea and happily ate the rest of my ice cream cake in the cafeteria with EH until 9.45am before trying to call for a cab. 15 minutes later, I still couldn't get a cab -.- and went into a panic mode. My flight was at 12pm but I wasn't sure how early I had to check in my luggage so the plan was to take a cab at 9.45am and reach the airport at 10am to check in.
Thankfully, one of the cafeteria ladies came to the dorm by taxi and the security guard who was calling the cab company for me spotted her and the 2 of us ran out of the dorm to get her taxi.
Gimhae Airport is really near to Silla University. We reached the airport in about 10 minutes and our fare was 11,000원. The driver kinda sped all the way at like 140km/hr?

After checking in my luggage, EH and I went for an early lunch and hung around the airport until it was time for me to enter the departure hall at 11.30am. I think I could have checked in my luggage at 11am and it would still have been fine. All the rush for nothing!

8,000원 for this beef-rib soup

Bye Busan! See you in 3 weeks' time!

It's quite nice, taking a domestic flight because I got an aerial view of Korea. You see the Southern region without snow and then as the plane heads up north, you see the snow-capped mountains and sugar coating on everything.



My plane landed at 12.55pm and in less than 10 minutes, I was out of the airport and taking the AREX to Incheon International Airport.

I reached the airport at 1pm. My flight was only at 4.35pm but I needed time to claim my tax refund and pick up my items from the DFS pick-up point.
To claim your tax refund, you need to check in at your check-in row first but tell the staff that you are going to claim tax refund so that she won't check in your luggage there. After you get your boarding pass, head to one of the tax refund counters and get the custom stamps first before checking in your luggage there. Once you enter the departure hall, head to the tax refund booth and get your (cash) refund. Thank goodness I was claiming for cash refund and mine wasn't under Global Blue because the queue for the latter was so long!
I collected my DFS items and bought some kimchi and 고추장 before proceeding to the boarding gate. I think it's better to buy packaged kimchi from the airport itself because you don't have to worry about how you can bring the kimchi up the plane.
Also, I'm glad I did my DFS shopping at Lotte in Busan and not at the airport because I couldn't find Fresh at the airport's DFS!

It's always nice, taking your home airline home.
I took Korean Air when I went to Korea in August and now, SQ for my flight home :)
After booking my flight, I did have second thoughts about it and wondered if I should have booked Cathay Pacific and fly back from Busan instead of having to go up to Incheon to take my flight back home. But with this arrangement, I get to spend a day in Seoul before going back to Busan on the 18th because my flight will be arriving at 7.35am. At least I can finally meet Tae Kue after so long!
Anyway, the flight wasn't full so maybe that's why I got an extra packet of nuts, my favourite :P

Took Financial Times for my dad!

Dakgalbi

Lovely view of the moon. For the first time in my life, I was really close to the moon.

It's also nice, coming back to Changi. I breezed through the customs, went to the toilet, bought some alcohol for my dad, and my luggage was right there, waiting for me. And out I went, running to my parents who were fiddling with my mum's phone and didn't see me. It's good to be home :) I missed my family!!! Even though I don't say it much. But I really really really missed them.



What greeted me after I washed up. Birthday celebration with my family, and as usual, my mum decorated my cake :)

I actually blew so hard that I blew one candle off the cake hahahaha

Thank you!

I won't be blogging for the next 3 weeks! Time for a break from blogging and to enjoy my time in SG.

[Part 1] 152. My 1st birthday spent overseas

Today, I turned 24, or 25 (Chinese/Korean age)- my 1st birthday spent overseas!
Actually, I decided to go back to Singapore only after my birthday because I wanted to spend my special day with someone here.

One of my birthday wishes was to have brunch by the beach and so we did :)
We woke up early to head to Gwangan 광안 for brunch at Breeze Burn’s.

Cross this junction to get to Breeze Burn's

Lovely Sunday morning :) 

This was my 2nd time at Breeze Burn’s. The 1st was back in 2009 in Haeundae but that outlet is no longer there anymore and I managed to find this one :) 

Big brunch for me and Omelette for him

Price has increased since 2009 (of course, I know there’s inflation). It was 9,600원 then and I very much prefer having scrambled eggs and hashbrown together.  

Brunch in 2009

Omelette 11,900원

Big Brunch 10,900원 (because I didn’t want the coffee) 

My 1st brunch in Korea since I arrived here in end August!

Good hair day

It would be nice to dine outside in spring or autumn. Not when it’s almost 0 deg C. 

To most people, or maybe only the Koreans, there’s something about going to the beach in winter 겨울바다. He says it’s romantic. I guess it’s because of the types of activities that you can do at the beach during different seasons? 

But to me, the beach is the beach. Because I grew up in Singapore where the temperature has never gone below 22 deg C as far as I know/remember and the beach is somewhere I rarely go to because I don’t want to roast in the heat. I don’t play beach volleyball or sunbathe by the sea. 

So I like going to the beach in Busan when the weather’s colder because I don’t perspire. But other than that, I don’t find anything that special about the beach in winter!

ME?! 

And the waves washed the letters away

After the wonderful stroll by the waters, we went the Starbucks in Seomyeon where he got me my birthday present and we drank java chip until it was time to catch our movie at Megabox at 3.45pm. We ended up arriving in the theatre quite late because the cinema is on the 8th floor of this building and there were only 3 lifts serving a huge crowd? So we climbed up 8 floors and entered the theatre at least 10-15 minutes late and I accidentally stepped on some feet while getting to my seat. Sorry!

The movie that we watched is “7번 방의 선물”- Room No. 7’s present/gift. 

Picture credit to www.kyobobook.co.kr 

I really love the show! Even though it was in Korean with no subtitles, I could understand most of it except for some parts of the court trials. There were many sad and touching scenes in the movie and during the scene just before the girl’s father was hanged, I heard (almost) everyone around me sniffling and crying. 

After the movie ended, we dropped by Aladdin to window-shop again before coming back to Sasang for dinner at 유가네 even though I don’t really like the place because of the smell it leaves on my hair and clothes. But that place holds a special memory for the both of us.

We met up with Alex and Danielle and they gave me a cake!!!! So sweet of them!

We went to KFC for a 2nd dinner (oops) and ate the cake there. Samy came by later on too. 

I really love the designs of cakes here, not like the plain old and boring designs you find in Singapore! 

Actually, I have never liked anything coffee but this coffee cake is THE exception. The coffee taste was quite light and tasted more like chocolate :) 

So cute!

We made our own “plates” again haha

Used the straw as a fork lol 

Samy’s birthday message/gift to me

EH remembered my 2nd birthday wish and kept his promise of buying an ice cream cake for me from Baskin Robbins even though we were already full from eating the cake from Paris Baguette!
It was a pity though that we were too full to finish the ice cream cake but I’ll always remember it because it’s the prettiest birthday cake I’ve ever had in my life :)

Came back to my room and found this on my table. Thanks girls!