Korea Late Winter Sonata 2015 - Seoul -National Palace Museum

The initial plan was to visit Gyeongbukgung (Line 3, exit 5) today since it will allows us to catch up on some sleep from the previous trip to Jeongdongjin.

It will starts our actual tour in Seoul but alas! I didn't notice the fine print on my guide book that the palace is closed on Tuesday since I half expect it to be always open. Mr Love was a bit irritated that I missed out on this information and seems like we made a waste trip here.


Luckily for me, the National Palace Museum of Korea which is right beside of Gyeongbukgong is open and it allows free admission! Seems like we didn't wasted the travel here after all.

The museum opened in 1992 and it displays relics from the Joseon Dynasty. Actually it is later then we realised that the palaces' royal relics are all displayed here and what is left in the palaces are the buildings only.

So depending what you are interested in, you may wanna drop by here instead of the palaces.


The 1st exhibition we went to is Kings of Joseon Dynasty where ideology of the dynasty and how the dynasty was formed was introduced.

It also showcased how the kings or future kings were educated from a young age based on the beliefs of how a successful king should behave. This is not unlike to the Chinese dynasties.

The main attraction of this exhibition hall is the King's throne where it used be placed in the center of main hall. The king will be seated here during state affairs and in audiences with his subjects.

Royal throne

Beautiful flowers that caught my attention instead

Also on displayed are the textbooks that the royals are educated in. The interesteing thing is, it is all in Chinese writings though I couldn't understand the sentences. I guess the way words are phased back then are really different from now.

Textbooks for the royals

Then we saw the royal seals which were engraved with various titles and presented to the Kings during their lifetime or after their deaths.

Some titles included honorfic titles which is to praise their achievements and virtue. Posthumous titles reflects the deeds of the king during his lifetime. Chinese emperor's Shrine titles are presented upon enshrinement of the deceased King's ceremonial tablet after 3 years of morning. Lastly the posthumous honorfic titles are presented in reflection of the deceased kings' reign. Again, these are similar to Chinese Dynasties practices.

The only difference is, Chinese kings' seal comes with Dragons on top of the seal while Korean version comes with turtles.

Golden seals

Jade seals

Seal boxes

Silk cloth to wrap the seal

How to keep a seal

A new king will be appointed on the passing of the current ruler and therefore during the swearing in ceremony his ceremonial robe will need to be that of a mourning son.

Ceremonial robe for new King

Ceremonial head gear

The Genealogy of the Royal family records information of the royal clans It used to records list the names of the king's direct or half brothers. But King Taejong who is worried about conflicts over the throne split the genealogy into three parts and thus narrowing down the legitimate competitors to the throne.

Genealogy of the Royal family

Casing to keep the records

We also saw exhibitions of the Government officials' seals, workplace and many other artifacts used in Royal palace of the dynasty.

Seals of officials

Library

Map of old Seoul

In the olden days, the most dreaded missharp would be fire breaking out in the palace where buildings are built mostly out of wood. Water are store in big containers outside the halls but Koreans still used quite a few talisman which they hope will guard against a fire.


The tailisman is usually engraved with the chinese character of Water which they believe would be able to guard against the fire.

Silver Talisman

Interesting to see these as I always thought such superstition are unique to us Chinese only.

Tailisman that writes out Water

Ceiling decorations of Dragons

Ceiling decorations of Phoenix

Last exhibition of this level would be the Royal court life. This is mainly focus on the life of women in the Royal palace. The Queen who is the primary wife of the King played the role of teaching proper Confucian conduct for all women in the palace and also wife of prominent officials who are given official ranks.

Robe of crown princess

Shoes

Robe of crown prince

It is here that we learnt that while serving meals to the Royal family, there is a standard that you will have to follow. Meaning to say, the dishes are placed in standard positions while serving.

And they do serve alot of things during meal time. Wonder who can finish all these at one go?

Typical meal served in palace

Side table

Hot pot

Standard serving instructions

Kitchen

Cosmetic of the olden days

Vanity counter

Hairband/ Hair Tie

Hair ornaments

Wig

Ornaments

Was hungry by the time we finished the exhibitions on this level and we decided to call it a day here. This was a pleasant surprise to visit since I did not plan to come here but we had gained knowledge and also saw some artifacts of the Joseon Dynasty that was unfamiliar prior to the visit.

Han Geun Doo Guen Korean BBQ

Been walking past this restaurant for the longest time and did not have a chance to go try it out. Han Geun Doo Geun which means (一斤两斤) in Chinese is located at level 2 of Chinatown point.

The banners outside which show the food available are super tempting but we cannot just stuff ourselves silly as and when we like it right? My chance came when it is time to celebrate Mr Love's birthday which was put on hold for the longest time due to the multiple celebrations at both side for Mother's day and Mummy's bday.

He actually wanted to forgo our own celebration which I was not in favour of since it's been a long time practice of us to have a private meal of our own birthdays no matter how belated it is. I had mine in Mid April.

Booked a dinner slot at 5.30pm and we were the 1st one there. Buffet here is ala carte and there are 35 kinds of food and 14 side dishes available to choose from.

Cooking station

BBQ here is done using charcoal but I spy a stove below the charcoals. The waiter will keep a lookout for your cooking plate turning black and keep replacing it from time to time. Love it.

Condiments for BBQ

There 2 self service stations at the end of the restaurant and here you help yourself to the side dishes available and also the condiments to go with BBQ meat.

Side dishes

Cooked selection

Seafood & side dishes selection

We took kimchi, fried egg, potato salad and anchovies for 1st round of side dishes. I especially love the anchovies and went for 2more serving after that.

Kimchi here are also well seasoned and cut to the right side for eating. Totally dislike those big chunky slices. I did top up another serving of kimchi in between.

Cutlery can be found at the drawer to the right of table. Ice water and hot wheat tea are served free flow here too.

BBQ meat selection

There was so much to choose from that we did not know where to start. Meat is a must order though and we would like to try the cooked selections. Luckily we went to Korea prior to this visit and Mr Love sort of love the Korean cuisine.

Here's what we are :

1). Dumpling soup (Mandu guk)

Served piping hot with 4 mandu(dumplings) in it. The broth is clear with seaweed on top of it. Mandu is filled up with generous serving of meat, spring onions and whats' not in it.

Mandu guk

2). Korean fish pancake (Saengseon Jeon)

This is essentially fried fish cake and was a bit cold when served. Didn't go well with us.

Saengseon Jeon

3). Boneless beef short rib (Galbisal) / Sliced pork belly (Samgyeopsal)

Here comes the meat.

I especially love BBQ beef and order a portion of the boneless rib. This did not disappoint me as the beef were soft tender and juicy even after cooking. Dipped in the chilli sauce and wrapped it up with the veggies make the beef less oily. Even Mr Love who was not a beef lover took some of these.

The pork belly was thinly sliced and was easily cooked but you will need to keep flipping them to prevent overcooked. We ordered 2 more serving of the pork belly since each serving came at 5 slices only and was easily finished at one shot.

Beef ribs & pork belly

3). Prawns and fried Korean dumplings (Gun Mandu)

Prawns are a must have since it's Mr Love favourite seafood. There was nothing to rave about since Korean BBQ don't really emphasis on their seafood. Still we attacked quite a bit of their prawns.

I realized their fried food was not that good. The gun mandu was served cold (again) and the skin lost the crispiness and the filling was not as good as the soup version.

Prawns & Gun Mandu

Veggies to go with the oily meat

4). Sundubu jigae (Spicy soft bean curd stew with beef,fish & clams in anchovy stock).

This is easily one of my favourite Korean stew and I ordered one despite knowing Mr Love would not take much of it.

Love Korean soft bean curb. It is so soft and smooth that it will just slide down your mouth when swallowing.

However I couldn't find any beef and fish inside. Only found 2 clams. But nevertheless I love this soup the same and finished it all myself.

Sundubu jjigae

5). Korean Ginseng chicken sou

Towards the end of the dinner, Mr Love decided we should order one of this. Reason being, we did not have much BBQ chicken and also he was thinking about the wonderful ginseng chicken we had in Korea.

The version here was equally good though you should not expect the same as the one served in Korean. Can still taste the ginseng taste in the soup and broth is clear and tasty. Chicken inside was tenderly cooked too.

Ginseng Chicken soup

6). Fried kimchi pancake (Kimchi Jeon)

As mentioned earlier their Fried food selection was not that fantastic and this was no exception. The flour taste was too thick and perhaps Mr Love was still thinking about the one we had in Korea and so he wasn't impressed with this.

Kimchi Jeon

7). Thinly sliced beef brisket (Chadolbagi) / Squid

The Chadolbagi was pretty small in size, once you start to BBQ it it shrinks like half. It was not as not as nice as the pork version but nevertheless good.

Squid was good and quite tasty even after BBQ.

Beef & Squid

Verdict:

The bill came to about SGD106 for both of us. Given the quality of food served, I must say the price is pretty worth it.

Not only you get to eat BBQ but also many of the cook selection. We didn't managed to order a lot of the cooked food since was quite full already but was pretty happy with what we ate. But maybe the fried version was not up to our expectations.

Since it was a BBQ restaurant, we went out smelling like a walking kitchen. Walked around the mall for quite a while before getting rid of the smell.

This should be a great place to visit if you are going with a big group of friends, then you will be able to try more variety of the food offered.

Self Healing Process

I'm due for a HSG on coming Wednesday and is in jitters these few days. This test is to see whether my tubes are blocked (hopefully not) or not and determine the next course of treatment. Should I clear this test too then I can move on to the medicine stage to help stimulate ovulation. Crossing my fingers and toes now.

It is during these time that I'm particularly down and depressed. More prone to crying especially when seeing emotional stuff. Well, blame it on my haywire hormones.

Some days in the morning, I just feel like going back into the covers and sleep the day away but somehow I managed every time to drag my sorry ass out of bed to get ready for work.

Work does keep me very busy especially at this time of the month where the crew taxes are due. If I dun turn up, who is going to do the calculations and verifications? The only one who can help is the least helpful person in the whole office.

I especially missed Lynne the most at this period since she is not there to talk to me, hear me out, console me and even let me manja a bit. It's a difficult period for me.

There is of course the ever energetic Barney who have the ability to talk nonsense non stop anywhere, anytime. Another big ability is to piss me off like at least 10times a day during conversations. As much as I hate to admit it, I actually welcome the distraction while talking to him since my mind will need to think fast on the replies to win the arguments which I usually lose. But I do enjoy the gossip sessions la. Lol. So, here's a Thank you to you Barney, for keeping me distracted so that I would not dwell on the procedure.

Anyways I found a new hobby recently to keep myself busy at night -colouring. Hehe

Brought a rainbow sunflower picture off Taobao which has numberings on it. Just have to follow the number and colour. Sounds easy? It is not.

After 3 days of colouring

Need a lot of concentration since some of the numbering and spaces are pretty small. The paint is not easy to use either, didn't turn out to be what I imagined. Will have a lot of touching up to do.

 

But it does help to keep me busy and makes me tired at the end of the hourly colouring each night. It also trains my patience which is essential in the waiting game of a blessing.

A week later

My self healing process is in progress. At least I think I am still coping well. Didn't have much emotional outburst this time hehe.

Do keep me in your prayers ya? Let this be a smooth journey from now on to let me experience motherhood.

50% done

The ring

The ring that he slipped onto my hand on that particular birthday held me tight ever since that day.

It was not a proposal ring but a birthday gift 5th year into our courtship.

It was an unexpected move coming from him since he was not known to surprise me with gifts at any occasion.

What makes him summon the courage to walk into the jeweller to select a ring with his ring finger still baffles me till now.

It wasn't a spur of moment according to him since he took quite a while to save the monies with his NS pay.

I still remember him asking me to search his bedroom for my gift and he hid it in the upper cupboard though at a previous obvious spot.

The ring that looped my heart and make me follow the buyer faithfully since then.

The ring that till now still reminds me of the sweet memories of that day.

The ring that makes me realise how much I meant to him in a way that he never told me.

The ring that still can brighten up a shitty day just by looking at it.

This is the ring. Not an expensive one but it is priceless to me.

The Ring

Happie Blessed bday & 14th yr anniversary

A late post as usual in wishing Mr Love happie bday and our dating anniversary a few days later .

Actually wanted to post our 1st couple photo card but it was too blur too make out our faces. Too long ago lol.

Every year this time, I'm busy with celebrations. Mother's day for his mum and my mummy's birthday celebration which is the grandest event in our household.

We didn't even have a time to properly celebrate Mr Love's bday this year though he keep insisting he is fine with not having another round of feasting.

But I insist, since it's our practice to have a dinner with just the 2 of us. I just want him to have a proper celebration for his special day.

And oh, the pressie. No surprises since he get to choose what he wants within a limited budget.hehe.

Anyways, it always during this month that I'm feeling particularly grateful that I met this hubby of mine and got attached to him and went through these years with him.

I would not exchange these memories for anything else in the world.

As we start a new year of couplehood in this month, I do pray that we remain as healthy, loving, understanding towards each other. And hopefully if God is kind enough, a blessing for us to complete the family :)

Happie bday and dating anniversary Mr Love.i love you, you know I always do:)

Korea Late Winter Sonata 2015 - Seoul - Meyongdong/ N Seoul Tower (明洞/南山塔）

Since there is still plenty of time after lunch before we are due for the night train, it was decided we drop by the shopping belt of Meyongdong for some quick shopping.

Exit 8 of Meyongdong

The main reason that I decided to drop by here is to visit the Lapalette flagship store. Fell in love with the bag designs and was told that it is cheaper to get it from Korea.

But exchange rates were not our favour. There was 50% sale for last season items but none caught my attention. Current season items were given 10% discount and is tax free.

Lapalette flagship stall

Frankly speaking, the designs this season was a tad disappointing. Didn't find one that will caught your attention immediately. Spent quite some time here trying on nearly all the bags and finally got one.

The bag costs SGD 315 after tax rebate using OCBC card at the rate of 790KRW. Not sure whether this is any much cheaper should I buy here in Singapore but I didn't check.

New bag

Meyongdong is seriously crowded on a Sunday not unlike our Bugis street and we have trouble going into shops due to huge crowd. There is a whole row of shop selling the famous skin care shops and you can literally go crazy/broke just by shopping here.

Anyways, we gave up. Cannot even get hold of a sales who is busy juggling between 10 customers each time. Besides the big spenders are getting more attention(duh!) and is more pro in getting attention.

As we return back to Meyongdong station, we came across an underground mini mart and went in to check out.

Was super happy to see so many snacks on sale her and brought some to prepare for tonight's night train and tomorrow's day trip.

Berry rice wine

I saw some pretty looking berry rice wine and decided to buy a bottle to try since I keep seeing people drink in tv shows. Alcohol here is cheap alright.

A bottle of this only costs around SGD3.

But I am afterall not a good drinker, although this is sweet, I couldn't really take the strong alcohol tatse. Took me to 4days to finish this bottle.

Brought the famous Banana milk to try too since was told that this is very nice.Guess it did not suit us and we struggle to finish this small bottle. Not sure how to describe but it tastes weird. Too use to drinking non flavoured one I guess.

Banana Milk

Decided to move on to N Seoul tower since its already 4pm and partner had earlier told us that N Seoul tower is best visited during evening time. Took Exit 3 and walked up the path to left of Pacific hotel where the cable car station is (or so as per visit Korea website).

After 15min of walking, we see nothing in sight except for 2 rows of shops along the way. Cannot even see any cable car from where we are standing.

Along the street

 Worst thing is, this is a uphill climb. Had this been a wrong direction, Mr Love would turned into a polar bear and my life would be in great danger. Tried asking a young couple but the kid just answered a " Don't Know, I anything also don't know!" and walked off with his girlfriend.

Seoulites! No where as friendly as your Busan counterparts.

How cold was your ex-girlfriend heart?

We turned right as we exit from the slope and to my delight, I spotted cable car moving up to the tower. Yay and so followed the direction of cable car and found the boarding station. But alas! The queue is an hour long and Mr Love is not in the mood to queue up.

So we took a selfie here and decided to make our way back to the apartment. This ends our halfhearted attempt to go see sunset from N Seoul Tower.

Long queue