tom n toms – BRYOLOGUE

Winter (again!) in South Korea – Chill Walking around Seoul

December 18, 2016bryologue 1 Comment

*extremely picture-heavy post

As it was a Sunday, we decided to drop by Myeongdong Cathedral. As the guesthouse was located only at Chungmuro, we only walked rather than take the train.

Weirdly, we got lost and we ended up at a Presbyterian at the other side of the road! We got confused with the spires, even though it was not our first time to go to the cathedral. We spent a good ten minutes looking for it.

When we finally arrived, the mass just ended and the people were filtering out. A bunch of them were getting free calendars from a tent. Mon tried to get one and he was given.

When I tried doing the same, an ajumma said “Give calendar after you attend mass”. T_T I am always unfortunate with free stuff.

Winter sun in Myeongdong Cathedral

They also have LED roses in Myeongdong Cathedral

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Travel/Work Thailand: Weekend in Bangkok Day 1

October 29, 2016bryologue 1 Comment

*extremely picture-heavy post

On my last few days in Thailand, Mon arrived on an AirAsia flight to spend the weekend in Bangkok. We did not bother transferring to a new place as we got a good rate from the hotel. *winks* However, it was only a breakfast for one person, so we had to eat outside.

Our morning started early, based on the research we did the night before on how to reach the temple complex. We took the BTS until the last station of Saphan Taksin, where we found a long queue of people for the ferry.

Passing by Wat Arun

By the second week that I arrived in Thailand, I felt really uncomfortable with my hair. I normally get a haircut once a week to trim the sides, but I could not muster the courage to go to a barber shop. I then had to brave the weather again, hoping not to suffer another near heat exhaustion.

It was a very delightful ride. The first thing that I have observed was how the waters, lookswise, of Chao Phraya were not too different from the Pasig River. However, I can see a couple of big fish occasionally swimming to the surface and I did not smell a hint of stinky odor. How I wish our Pasig River was as developed as this. It would have been an excellent alternative in braving the Metro Manila traffic.

Aboard the ferry from Saphan Taksin

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Winter in South Korea: Food, food and food (on the cheap)!

February 18, 2013bryologue 4 Comments

*extremely picture-heavy post

Before we visited Seoul in 2011, I was really worried over our food, as well as the amount of money we had to allocate just for it. However, we were surprised that we were able to survive that first time without having to tighten our belts and pinch the penny, and we were actually very liberal with the food we ate. So for 2012’s vacation, I did my best to take note of every food we had, as well as their prices, especially for those who might be worried about surviving in Seoul and not having to eat from convenience stores every single meal.

DAY 1

Arriving in Incheon International Airport, we had our first meal of the day from McDonald’s, right next to the heavily-decorated fountain. KFC was located on the other side BUT wow, their menu was really expensive. An average meal costs at almost KRW 10,000 for an all-chicken meal. But in McDonald’s, you can have a good breakfast in less than KRW 4,000 and that will include a cup of coffee. Yey!

Bacon McMuffin, hashbrown and coffee from McDonald’s of Incheon International Airport

Day 1 - Coffee from McDonald's Incheon International Airport

Brewed coffee from McDonald’s

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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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