SPRING AT YEOUIDO HANGANG PARK (여의도 항앙공원)

So my detailed post came more than a month later, but it's better late than never. 

Last April was my fifth time to South Korea. This may sound mad but truthfully it really isn't, but I have been trying to go on yearly visits to this country ever since my first visit in 2009. That first trip on 27th December 2009 which I went with my dad and siblings really opened up my eyes to Seoul, especially, and I totally fell in love with the place.

This year, we decided to go in April in order to catch the Cherry Blossom season. One thing you must know is that this particular flower season only lasts for a week or so. It's timing is unpredictable - yes, science allows one to predict it's blooming dates but then again, sometimes even science fails on us. Which was what happened this year. We booked our flight tickets before the official blooming dates for 2014 came out. This was a huge risk that we took, but in order to secure cheap(er) flights and accommodation, this had to be a game. We based it on last year's blooming dates and decided to go a week earlier than that because QQ's friend told us that it will bloom a week before than last year's date).

 

Different cities had different blooming dates because of their temperature difference. The two major festivals that people always go to were the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival and of course, the one at Yeouido. When the official dates were released, we were so relieved that the dates for Jinhae's festival fell on our travel dates but were pretty bummed that the start of Yeouido's festival will be our last day in Seoul. 

However, a few weeks later, the dates for Yeouido's festival got revised to one week earlier! We were so elated because Nad could catch it as well and we didn't have to rush because our last day is usually reserved for last minute shopping. //

So that's the story behind choosing of dates and how incredible lucky we were that the two festival dates coincide with our stay in Seoul.

Finally, one strike off on my list.

ONE STEP CLOSER.

Apologies for the lack of updates! It has been a hectic 2014 so far with loads of new things coming up. Firstly, me and cmt finally got engaged last weekend on 19th January. It was a small family affair and despite one major hiccup, which managed to be solved in the end, everything else went well. Alhamdulillah. 

I can't wait to get the official pictures from my cousin's friend and cmt's colleague. 

JEJU PHOTO DIARY PART ONE

OEDOLGAE / TEMPLE / HARUBANG / O'SULLOC TEA HOUSE / INNISFREE HOUSE / TRICK EYE MUSEUM / DINNER

Melbourne.

This post is more than a month old but it felt like yesterday that I got onto a plane and flew off to Melbourne for QQ's graduation. I was excited and told myself I will enjoy every minute of my time there because I know there won't be any reason for me to visit Melbourne again in the near future.

I wished I had blogged about this earlier just for memories sake.. because now I can't exactly recall the events that happened in order. Major ones of course has got to be QQ's graduation, followed by an awesome dinner of steak. One of the best steaks I've ever had (this reminds me of MB's mini intro for his pageant page). Other than catching up with old friends who stayed in Melbourne, like WL and Sumi, I also visited some places which I frequented back in those days as a student. Sigh. Miss those times terribly and I wished I had treasured them more - not that I didn't.. But you know how the saying goes, you never know what you're missing till it's gone. So true. One thing that I couldn't do but would really love to though was to try the cafes that I didn't had a chance to in the past. Since it was the fasting month, I had to give that a miss. 

The hardest thing was the fact that I had to say my last goodbye to our apartment. Our humble abode for the past 3 years. Great memories were created there. Random cooking and movie nights. Burning the midnight oil with QQ during exam period. Good times.

Lapin.

Ultra-packed Saturday. Tourist for a day, Harry Potter Exhibition (which was totally worth my SGD20!), Vina's send-off, Paps' 56th.

contd.

So, before I forget whatever I did aside from the raya festivities, here goes.

Managed to pay USS a visit thanks to cmt :) Halfway through, we decided its much more fun going together with the peeps. Not that we did not have fun at all, but honestly, the more the merrier !

Of course, there were the random meetups with the usual peeps. Plenty of Liat SB goss session with the bff, Noi. The moment I stepped into Liat - affirmation that I really don't fancy the new layout (already decided on not fancying it judging from the pictures I saw even before I touched down Singapore), BUT BUT BUT, I somehow got used to it. It has this whole communal feel to it, and it has somewhat become a more conducive place to study. Even the crowd at Liat is different now. More students (with laptops), more working class people, none rowdy M&Ms. I guess they've flocked someplace else. Because I went there almost everyday (I am not kidding, haha), I safely came to this conclusion.

Wished I had taken more pics during the 2 weeks stint, but most of the time I was busy talking rather than snapping pictures. Bal was the one snapping most of the pics during our meetups and it was not a wonder that most of the pics of me, I had this super full-on talking/discussing face/expression.

Photo credits: Baaalooooo

Yep. See what I mean? Haha. Crap.. I miss Liat SB already :/ What I do best with the peeps. MAKAN.

What we do (the second) best : TWEET. 

Okay. Miss the company of you peeps already :(

We even managed to catch the F1 on its final day, where Mariah Carey performed - and yes, her infamous fall.

It was a fun night - I was dead tired even before the night ended because we actually had jalan raya with the peeps earlier in the day. Totally zonked out when I reached home.

Photo credits: Baaaalooo.

Finally, the last batch of pictures comes from missing boy's graduation parade. Me and QQ missed his POP earlier this year, so we were ecstatic that we're able to make it for this one.

Can't believe it. He's all grown up now. ORDing next year, and then uni. Omg. I am getting old.