And just like that… we’re back in Singapore!

September 10, 2022bryologue Leave a Comment

As mentioned in my previous post, we re-booked our flight to SG from October to September after our visas to South Korea were approved!

Aside from us not wanting to waste (yet again) a bunch of tickets, we decided to go overseas for our 14th anniversary. The last time we were out of the country for that day was way back in 2018 in Taiwan. We did not want this year to be the same buffet and movie. Besides, we jokingly justified that we had an unused Klook voucher for the Jewel Changi from our trip to Singapore last July to be expired!

Same as last time, Mon’s sister agreed to look after the cats for the next couple of days. It won’t be a very long trip anyway, and we’ll be back before the weekend. So bye for now, to our dear cats!

Unlike our previous trip to SG, we flew this time via Cebu Pacific, thus we had to go to NAIA Terminal 3 instead. I loved this terminal among the others because, well, it looked the most pleasant and modern. It was also the quickest trip from Makati from the Skyway.

Going to the airport… again!

Again, unlike last time, we made sure this time around that our Php 1,620 travel taxes were paid way ahead. There was already a long line by the check-in counter, but not as long as last July. It only took us 30 minutes to check in our luggage and get our boarding passes.

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Revenge Travel: Singapore 2022

July 10, 2022bryologue Leave a Comment

Prelude

(I think it is much better to do a one-time post, instead of the usual multiple posts in our previous trips. This way, I have everything in one go.)

Months before the pandemic began, we had travel plans that did not push through. We already booked tickets to Beijing and Phuket, but had to cancel these trips as I had to transition to a new role towards the end of 2019. We thought it would not be wise to go on leave when I barely started. So, au revoir tickets.

Then COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill.

A lot of travel plans were put on hold as we were all not sure what we were dealing with. Traveling surely was the last on everyone’s list. The young and old, healthcare workers and the common people were falling left and right like flies. It was a grim time.

Even as the world began to open up last year after the vaccines started rolling out, we were still apprehensive to travel again. Earlier this year, however, we already began having more confidence. More people were doing it. The tourism sector, which took a big blow in the past 2 years, was also going to great lengths to gain people’s confidence.

So, ready to fly? Yes? Yes!

Even back in 2021, we already knew that our first trip would have been to South Korea this July (i.e. inclusive dates from July 4 to July 11). We had to eventually reconsider this.

We have been to South Korea in September 2011, December 2012 and December 2016. Granted September was supposedly early autumn, it did not feel like it as it still felt like summer that time. The last two December stays were obviously winter. We thought that perhaps spring or autumn would have been better. Spring has already passed, but autumn this year sounded perfect to us.

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Winter in South Korea – Day 4: Simone Handbag Museum

January 17, 2013bryologue 7 Comments

*extremely picture-heavy post*

For our last day in Seoul, we already have our itinerary in set and it was non-negotiable for us not to go to one of my must-see places. Back in October 2012, I previously expressed my anticipation of visiting Simone Handbag Museum and I could not believe that I finally had the chance to go and visit it. It was very uncommon for tourists to include a bag museum to their travel itineraries but I consider it a sin for sort-of bag lovers like myself not to drop by when in Seoul. So from Myeongdong Station, we travelled all the way to Sinsa station in the upscale Gangnam-gu to visit the museum (directions to this place can be found at the end of this post).

Simone Handbag Museum’s building in Gangnam-gu

Rainy winter - me on the bright side, while Mon in his neutral ensemble ---- and I love out transparent umbrellas we bought for only KRW 3,500!

Rainy winter – me on the bright side, while Mon in his neutral ensemble —- and I love our transparent umbrellas we bought for only KRW 3,500!

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Winter in South Korea – Day 3: Nami Island

December 27, 2012bryologue 31 Comments

Sculptures on Nami Island

*extremely picture-heavy post*

(Applying for a visa to South Korea? You might want to read here how to quickly check the status online!)

Since we have started travelling together, Mon and I have never woken up early for the following day’s activities. We usually leave at around 10:00 AM the earliest, or even almost lunch time the latest.

However, it was different for the third day of our trip. I set my alarm clock at 7:30 AM because we had to travel all the way to Gapyeong to visit Nami Island (although the title of the post is misleading because Gapyeong is NOT in Seoul. It’s just a a bit of work to edit all the backlinks, though). We were to originally go to Petite France but we have half-decided the night before that our first priority was Nami Island, and should we have more time, then we’d visit Petite France.

Map of the distance between Seoul and Nami Island --- Winter in Seoul December 2012 - Day 3: Nami Island

(CLICK PHOTO TO ZOOM) See how far Nami Island (upper right) from Seoul (lower left) is?

I already knew that it was no good because it was more difficult to go to-and-from Petite France due to the limited (and expensive) transportation options.

Truth be told, my only motivation to visit Petite France was the supposed convenience of it being situated in the same train route to Nami Island. But since we had already half-planned going to the War Memorial of Korea after, I was honestly more excited for it.

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Winter in South Korea – Day 1: Testing out the winter breeze

December 16, 2012bryologue 9 Comments

*extremely picture-heavy post

So, here starts the strenuous “Winter in Seoul 2012” series. As earlier mentioned, I will not be doing the typical day by day account of our trip, rather complement it with thematic and specific posts that can’t be elaborately explained within a ‘daily’ post, and that will include the breakdown of our budget for the trip (note: like all-in-all, with the tickets, accommodation and dues we paid in the Philipine airport, I have personally shelled out less than Php 25,000 for the whole trip. =D)

Our flight to Incheon International Airport wasn’t until 1:30 AM but we were already in NAIA Terminal 3 before 10:00 PM. When the check-in counters opened by 10:30 PM, we immediately rushed to present our itinerary ticket and paid for the Php 1,620 travel tax. The staff manning the counter also weighed in our baggages to check-in and even if they were already quite heavy, we were still almost 7 kilos short of our combined 30kg limit as we have already paid for 15kg each. It was actually our first time to check-in luggages because since we started travelling together, we only have two carry-ons each and has been used to travelling light. But as we were obviously travelling to a wintery place, our usual baggage won’t cut it.

Mon and I waiting for check-in at NAIA Terminal 3 for our flight to IncheonAt around quarter to 1:00 AM, we decided to head for the boarding gate. Going there, we had to first pay for the terminal fee, which was already lowered from Php 750 to Php 550. Then next to the immigration officer who had to take a look at our passports and ask questions on how long we will be out of the country, as well as our employment record. It took me only three minutes to finish the whole thing over, but Mon took a longer time. The immigration officer even mistook him for a Korean and immediately talked to him in English. LOL One more thing, they no longer made us remove our shoes, which wasn’t the case when we travelled last year. Good thing because I was already unknotting my laces when the security personnel stopped me.

Cebu Pacific weighing our check-in baggages and we were almost 7kg short of the combined 30kg limit

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The cliché: all my bags are packed, I’m ready to go!

December 10, 2012bryologue Leave a Comment

I finished late in the morning packing because I had so many things in mind to bring that I wasn’t able to decide right away what to leave and what to pack. For the first time, I will be checking in a baggage because the winter clothes are quite bulky but not exactly heavy. I will also not be using my Keepall 50 as it doesn’t sit well (literally) above Mama’s trolley, which I will be bringing. Instead, I opted for the Givenchy duffle, whose most expanded dimension was still enough to be comfortably put above the trolley.

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One last scarf

November 17, 2012bryologue Leave a Comment

Yet again, something arrived yesterday. I only have one scarf at home that I will bring this December and I needed another one. I’ve read somewhere online that they recommend buying your winter things in Korea but as I think I’d be better off bringing most of the things on my own, I’d just risk it. LOL

When Mon and I were talking earlier about what else we’d be bringing, Mama chimed in and mentioned that she has a few winter things in our cabinet upstairs. After several minutes, she went back down with a pile of winter accessories and we were happy to see she had two pairs of thermal pants she used before when she was still working in Britain! We were already planning to buy from Greenhills at the end of the month, but as she already lent us two, then we’ll definitely save some money!

The most surprising item in the pile was these leather gloves — it was a pair of Ermenegildo Zegna! O_O How come we have these and I didn’t know of them? I had been looking for a pair of leather gloves since last month and all along we have one stashed in the bowels of our closet. But as Mon still didn’t have a pair to use (because the one store selling gloves a month ago did not have his size), he was happy to see that the pair of Zegna perfectly fits his hands.

I found out that this pair was brought home by my father back in 2007. I was highly doubtful he’d buy something like this because he works in Doha where there was no winter, then I was told that it was just given to him by his boss. The leather was still excellent with a cashmere lining. I’ve seen the same pair (albeit in brown) being sold on Ebay.com for $ 219.99!

We’re having quite a dilemma, though. Our flight back home leaves at 7:30 AM and we intend to stay in Incheon City for our last day, close to the airport. We might be staying in a guesthouse five minutes away from the airport, but their own shuttle service operates at 5:50 AM. We’d most likely hope to leave earlier at around 4:30 AM and we are not sure what time the free airport shuttle in the area will start to operate. The last thing we can do will be to take the cab from the guesthouse to the airport, but I’m worried that the taxi stop might be far from our place. We also considered staying in “Spa on Air” but reading reviews online quite discourage me from booking. Both of us are perfectly okay to sleep in the airport, but as Mon can sleep in a snap and I’m the biggest distrustful person in the world, I won’t be able to sleep and will be most likely wide awake to guard our things. I know Incheon International Airport has a good reputation for being safe but I’m not to keen to risk it. I’d rather walk from the guesthouse to the airport at 4:30 AM in the middle of winter than get hoodwinked/robbed (which the staff mentioned to be about 10 minutes —- but I highly doubt that timeframe).

Looking forward to seeing bag heaven: the Simone Handbag Museum

October 22, 2012bryologue 1 Comment

Mon and are currently drafting our itinerary for our trip to Seoul this December, and we both agree that there will be no palace tour. We have only visited two of the Five Grand Palaces in Seoul built during the Joseon Dynasty (i.e. Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung, the latter was very near the place we stayed in), but we think that we have seen enough. =) We also agreed on Nami Island and Neverland because we did not see those places during our last visit. But one MAJOR destination, at least for me, to be visited will be the recently-built museum in the Gangnam area: the Simone Handbag Museum. It is NOT normally what tourists tend to visit and flock over, but as a person who loves bags, I really want to check it out.

(Photo from http://simonehandbagmuseum.co.kr/collection.php)

Visiting this place is non-negotiable, even if we have to walk quite a distance just to reach the place. the admission fee is 5,000 won, which isn’t bad at all, given that I will have the chance to see interestingly crafted bags way back from 16th century until contemporary period. And speaking of the more recent period, any bag lover can immediately identify wonderful pieces from “The Collection” page from their website. You can see the McQueen Union Jack clutch, a Kelly and a Birkin, a Fendi baguette (hello Carrie!), a Gucci bamboo top-handle, a vintage Moschino dripping chocolate, a Chanel Cambon tote, a Prada nylon backpack, Louis Vuitton bags, Missoni, Céline and Ferragamo.

But the question is, when can we squeeze the time to visit it? I proposed visiting the museum on our first day, mere hours after we landed, but I guess Mon won’t be too happy to go straight away to Apgujeong just to visit it. LOL But this time, I won’t be leaving Seoul without buying a bag. I’ve been wanting a canvas and/or leather backpack with a style similar to the one below, and as this type of bag looks popular in Seoul now, I will definitely look for one.

(Photo from upashion.com)

Update:

I finally got to visit Simone Handbag Museum last December 2012! See my entry about it here:

https://bryologue.com/2013/01/17/winter-in-seoul-2012-day-4-simone-handbag-museum/