Category Archives: Travel

Ohaiyo Japan! (1)

Ohaiyo!

Ohaiyo is the informal way of saying Good Morning in Japanese, the short form of Ohaiyo Gozaimasu.ย I won’t be teaching Japanese on my blog here, as I only know of a few casual phrases myself. ^^

 

Have you checked out our Kizuna 10 FB page? Check it out and LIKE it here if you have not!!!

 

Over this week, I’ll be uploading photos from the 10 day trip that my school mates and I took back in March. We were very generously sponsored and invited by Japan to be part of the Kizuna (Bond) project as part of 100 Singaporean students and tutors to visit and indulge in the rich Japanese culture and heritage! You can check out more of the Kizuna project here.

Without further ado, here are some photos from the 1st 2 days of the 10 day trip that my school mates and I took back in March! ๐Ÿ™‚

Ena Japan 2013

Japan Kizuna Trip 11th March – 19th March 2013 (Arriving back to Singapore on the 20th March)

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Pre-flight, with my lovely travel buddy Ying! ๐Ÿ™‚

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The view from the plane as we were about to land in Japan… It was the end of winter and early Spring, thus the brown fields.

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As we near nearing, we can begin to see the plane’s shadow! So cute right? ^^

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This is how they unload the cargo from the plane! Yes, I had a very good view from where I was seating. ^^

Our plane landed at about 4pm and we were scheduled to reach the hotel by coach at about 6.30pm but due to peak period traffic, we reach only about 7.30pm! ๐Ÿ˜ฎ

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Finally got the keys to our room in Tokyo Grand Hotel! I love how vintage the room keys are. ^^ The yellow book is our very detailed and informative handbook for the trip! My schoolmates and I were part of Group A with other students from Temasek Poly and Raffles Design Institute.

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ย How the hotel room looks like! Small but well equipped. Beds were very comfy. Japanese style robes were laid on the beds for occupants to change into. The view from our room shows the office opposite and at 7.30pm we still saw office workers working away!

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ย The toilet is clean and well equipped.

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As we reached pretty late, dinner was prepared in very dainty lunch boxes. It was far too much rice for us to consume… Heh.

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Post dinner, our first night’s activity began with convenient shops shopping! HAH. There were 3 convenient shops around our hotel and pretty much nothing else. We would soon realize that’s pretty much all the shopping we could do during this except for the last day at Tokyo. ๐Ÿ˜› Here you see MUJI stuff at their convenient store! In Singapore MUJI shop has its stand alone boutiques in town, Orchard. The prices are definitely cheaper in Japan, almost 50%! ^^

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This, my dear friends, is one of my favourite food in Japan. It’s sold in the convenient store and you pick out what you want and place them in the containers provided, pour a little soup in and pay up. I bought the sausage and vermicelli ย and they were AWESOME. Super tasty! ^^v

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We were told that Tokyo Tower was a 10 min walk away, so the Lasalle group decided to take a walk out together! We came across a subway station and decided to take a look and “recee” for our last night when we get back to Tokyo. ๐Ÿ˜›

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We made our way back to the convenient shops again! Check out the cup noodles from the land of Nissin! ๐Ÿ™‚ Totally reminded me of my JC PW (for the uninitiated, stands for Junior College Project Work) where my group mates and I researched and presented on Momofuku Ando, the founder of Nissin cup noodles!

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My supper for the night! Tasty sweet courn noodles with dessert!

Day 2~!

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My outfit for day 2~

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Selca with cutie Ying~

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Candid of Lasalle peeps, Xav, Adeline, Alex and SJ, during our morning walk around our hotel! ๐Ÿ™‚

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Even the dogs in Tokyo are cute!

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This photo commemorates our Lasalle hero, Alex who wore shorts out in the cool weather of below 15 degrees. *thumbs up* ๐Ÿ˜›

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Our resident cutie Desmond, with his ice cream and Alex photo bombing. HAHA.

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Billboard along the streets of real life Japanese criminal hunt list. :O It’s scary!

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The use of order, pattern and symmetry is found practically everywhere on the streets of Japan.

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Even the office workers smoke in an orderly fashion!

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The flowers along the roads are happy. ^^

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The waterworks covers are too cute! This one’s self explanatory, is for fire hydrant hoses in case of fire.

We had to attend a talk back in the hotel on Earthquakes in Japan, but I won’t be going into details about that. ๐Ÿ˜›

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Our sushi packed lunch, rice and egg and seaweed.

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After lunch on day 2, we had some free time so we took a walk around the hotel and we discovered this! The REAL Yakiniku (Japanese barbeque) which we often see in Singaporean malls!

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Our brave tutor/supervisor/”SUPER leader” Ginette took the first plunge. HAHA. AND boy it was GOOD. ๐Ÿ˜€ So we all took turns to buy one stick and shared with each other. ^^

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Here’s a random shot of Ying all happy and cute. ^^

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Look, Ma! Penang restaurant in Japan! ๐Ÿ˜›

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My buys of the day from convenient store shopping. HEH. Coffee, gums and sugarrr.

After attending the afternoon talk, we packed up and moved out on coach for our next destination for the next few days!

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We stopped at a pit stop during the coach ride and LOOK WHAT I FOUND. A basket of cuties!!!

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I simply couldn’t resist. So I brought one with me. ^^ It costs about S$6. And it has beans in the tummy! It’s happily on my desk now.

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We arrived! At Hotel Omoide Roman-kan, Daigo Town, Ibaraki Prefecture! It’s a Japanese traditional type of hotel stay.

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This is how the room looked like when we first got our bags in and trying to get them sorted~.

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The balcony area.

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The toilet area.

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And I realize in Japan, the exit is called “้žๅธธ ้˜ถๆฎตโ€œ which when translated it means “not the usual steps” cool huh! ๐Ÿ™‚

In case you were wondering, I can read and understand chinese characters and traditional Japanese characters use chinese characters. ๐Ÿ™‚

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We quickly got things sorted and went down for dinner! ๐Ÿ˜€

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LOOK AT THE SPREAD YO. This one’s dessert cakes and the super yummy greek style yogurt in the steel bowl! ^^v

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Tomato pasta!!!

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Super yummy Japanese tempura (fried) sticks! An assorted choices of fishes and vegetables with the descriptions, if you can read, on the end of the sticks! <3

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Along the walkway you’ll find many pressed floral art like this! So pretty! ๐Ÿ™‚ย 

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When we got back to our room… IT WAS TRANSFORMED! ๐Ÿ˜€

ย 

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We decided to try the tidbit offered in the room! It was complimentary. this one’s plum flavored soft pastry. Super nice, I bought 2 boxes back home before we left. ๐Ÿ™‚

That’s all for today! Come back soon for my next update!

<3,

Ena




What’s Kizuna 10?

Hi!

Check out this little video which I’m in,ย here!

With that,ย I’d like to introduce to you the latest project that my friends and I are working on! It’s called Kizuna 10!

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Kizuna 10 – ย The Kizuna Experience

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Todayย marks the first day of our project! It follows the day we flew to the land of the rising sun.

You must be wondering. What’s Kizuna 10 about? Read on!

From our FB info pageย here:

ABOUT: Hi! 10: The Kizuna Experience is the Facebook companion to the 10-day social media project of the same name. We’re a bunch of students from Singapore hoping to do some good with a little bit of our creativity, so why not check us out? ๐Ÿ˜€

DESCRIPTION: Hi, we are a group of student delegates from Singapore (3rd batch) who went on a Japan exchange programme โ€“ KIZUNA BOND PROJECT โ€“ from March 11-20, 2012.ย The Kizuna Bond Project is a youth-exchange programme launched by the Japanese government as part of its reconstruction plans after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.This platform is an initiative to reach out to the mass on the understanding of Japanโ€™s revival efforts through recreating our 10-day KIZUNA experience. Day by day, hour-by-hour, we will update the site real-time, so that you, our viewer, will be able to walk with us through Japan.

Check out our tumblr page here!

I’ll be taking part in this project, but will also be posting my own set of photos on my blog, combining 2 days into 1 post. I’ll update my own blog post links here when I’m done. ๐Ÿ™‚
That’s all for now, I’ll see on you FB and make sure you like our page here ya!
x
Ena
Credits to Callison Neo for the designs and Xaveria for the video!

Ena Reviews Mentholatum Deep Moist Lip Balm

Hello~~~

Do you want to know what’s Japan’s #1 Top Selling Lip Balm Brand in Japan?

Well… YES it’s Mentholatum! (Pretty obvious from my blog post’s title eh? :P)

Today I will be introducing Mentholatum Deep Moist Lip Balm in it’s *NEW PACKAGING*~~~ ^^v

Enabalista Mentholatum Deep Moist Lipbalm 2013 Review3

#1 in Japan!

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Deep Moist & its ingredients Deeply Moisturizes & Repairs!

ย 

Deep Moist Lip Balm was introduced in 2008 in Japan and it was received with tremendous success and popularity, quickly becoming the top selling lip balm in Japan’s lip care market.

The success of Deep Moist is due to 2 main factors:

  1. the premium hydrating ingredients at value pricing and
  2. its elegant, ergonomic packaging design.

The key moisturizing ingredients in Deep Moist lip balms are:

  1. Hyaluronic Acid, a premium ingredient that forms a smooth, moisture locking shield for softer, smoother lips. It can hold 1000x its weight in water, or 6 litres of water with just 1g. WOW. *(@^@)*
  2. Shea Butter heals the skin and gives a soft pleasant texture in the lip balm.
  3. Jojoba Oil gives pro-longed, whole day hydration to the lips.

Enabalista Mentholatum Deep Moist Lipbalm 2013 Review

Really unique oval shaped container…

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And of course accompanying unique Oval Shaped lip balm stick!

The Deep Moist lip balm comes in an innovate OVAL SHAPED container design that fits the corner of the mouth well and make it easy to apply with a single swipe. Special~! No other lip balm like this one! *(^^)*

Now for my review~ *drums roll~~~*

Ena’s Review of Mentholatum Deep Moist Lip Balm

I am very excited to review Mentholatum Deep Moist Lip Balm because having tried many lip balms before and many of which are also under Mentholatum’s brand, I wanted to know and experience for myself if this little moisture rich stick was as good as it’s touted to be. I am glad to report back that it hasn’t disappointed, I applied only once in the day and it lasted well throughout the entire day, from morning to night.

The lip balm is made up of a pretty solid oil state and slight pressure has to be applied for the balm to come off to the lips. The texture feels rich, which comes from the Shea Butter and Jojoba Oil. It is however not overly sticky and feels rather lightweight on the lips.

Usually the skin on my lips will turn chap and start to peel towards the late afternoon / into the evening, ESPECIALLY if I apply lipstick on top of the lip balm. However Deep Moist lip balm proved effective in preventing my usual lips cracking which made me very impressed at how it effective it was when I was removing my lipstick in the evening and found my lips skin in tact~ !

I have not shared this on my blog yet but ever since I went to Japan I can FULLY UNDERSTAND why Japanese beauty products, especially those HYDRATING/MOISTURE LOCKING type are so raved and sworn by. That’s because Japan’s weather tend to be very dry especially in the winter wind. For a foreigner like me when I visited in March (end Winter, early Spring), my skin on my limbs and lips were turned chapped just hours out in the open, EVEN under protection, like under long sleeves and jeans. T^T So that’s why it’s the perfect place to test and produce these beauty products and if ย the majority of the beautiful Japanese girls *(^^)*ย support Deep Moist Lip balm, I don’t see why I wouldn’t! Just too bad I only received this product for review after I came back from Japan~! ๐Ÿ˜›

Ena Japan Sneak Peek

Sneak Peek of about 1000+++ photos (no kidding) I’ve yet to edit and upload from Japan *smile cries* :’)

It was the end of winter cold and colder yet when we were near the coastal regions. But when we were in Tokyo, the earth and the skies began to warm up, we caught sight of the early Sakura blossoms near the traditional temple festivities, with a group of friendly and boisterous group mates, there’s no where else we’d rather be… Japan trip was quite magical, I hope I can update soon!

Now for some photos~

Enabalista Mentholatum Lipbalm 2013 Review

To achieve this bright fuschia pink lips, I applied lip balm, followed by a layer of bb cream and then the lip stick. This is because I have naturally fairly dark lips, so the bright fuschia colour is best brought out when I subdue my natural lip colour with the cream. I find that applying lip balm first nourishes the lips and keeps it from cracking under the cream. ๐Ÿ™‚

Many thanks to Mentholatum Singapore and ย The Sample Store for this moisture stick~! ^^
That is all~ for now at least!
Still many posts from my travels and events I’ve been attending! *sweats* I totally need to be more consistent in blogging. *grins*
Till my next post~
*MUACKS*
Ena

Ena’s Hong Kong Day 3 & 4, visiting Lane Crawford and G.O.D studio

Day 3

Mouse over the photos on your desktop to view my captions! Not sure how it works out on mobile, in case you’re reading from your mobile. ๐Ÿ™‚

Ferry Ride, Lunch at Tim Ho Wan and HK Design Center

Shanghai Tang Maison Tour

Temple Street

Day 4

Breakfast and Lane Crawford Department and Office Tour

G.O.D Design Studio

 

Something different from how I usually update my travel photos! How do you find it?

Not sure if I like this way more or the usual one…

 

Till the next post~

<3,

Ena

Fashion Food Fun Ena’s Hong Kong Day 2

Hello~

Today I’m back with HK Day 2 round of photos. I’ve decided I won’t be editing them into a scrapbook format because that’s taking up too much time and I have too many photos to update hahaha. ^^v

Here we go~!

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Selcas with bestie Bini early in the morn’

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One-shot at the floor lobby~

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One more infront of an art gallery opposite our hotel. ๐Ÿ™‚

We walk pass a rather small and cosy but vibrant local market on the way to the train station…

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And a very lovely floral shop…! ^^
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I love roses~~ Red and pink roses. Look at ’em so pretty!
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We also walk pass a local square where elderly gather to read the mornin’ papers.ย Ena HK2 7

A shot of the local breakfast place where we had most (2/3) of our local HK breakfast!
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My tutor, classmates and their funny poses, kekeke.

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I love how weirdly colourful put-together advertising bills are on the streets… Peculiarly making up a certain kind of HK design aesthetics!

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With lovely Sharlene, while we were travelin’

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This was en route to Shim Sha Tsui (unsure if I spelt it right) to the fabric market! The HKers seem to keep their floor cleanin’ a very formal affair! ๐Ÿ™‚

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We came across this building… that looked like it has a mask of pins and needles.

And we met a super cute puppy while passing by a convenient store!

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The owner gladly posed for a pic with the cute puppy. Ok maybe it’s not a puppy but an adorable grown up cute dog.

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And our three crazy Indonesian representatives in their highly expressive poses! ^^ย Kekeke. L-R: Sifra, Shella and Sharlene.

Now for photos of HK’s fabric market, where there’s rows and rows on end of fabric samples free for buyers’ a taking home to consider and deliberate to make calls back for orders! Most of them ship internationally!

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Ena HK2 15 Fabric Market

I love tweed fabrics. They come in many colours!

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Check out those lovely rose designed fur fabrics! So prettyyy and warm looking. ^^

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A lot more fur… Those on the bottom right look like wolf/animal inspired!

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Cool visually striking graphic fabric.

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Animal lovers beware… This looks like a real fox/animal skin with the nose intact. >_<#

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China porcelain inspired fabric…ย Ena HK2 15 Fabric Market7

3D inspired graphic fabric…

More graphic fabric…

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Then we had a bear-dog sighting! Look at them crossing the street!Ena HK2 16 Dog Ena HK2 16 Dog2 Ena HK2 16 Dog3

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Finally managed to get a shot of him looking towards our direction… I wondered where it stayed, considering HK houses are really small…

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Another unique fabric… this one’s like a beewax/organic inspired lace fabric.

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One last shot of a typical HK fabric market street. ๐Ÿ™‚

Then my tutors brought a few of us to visit Hong Kong Poly Uni, before that we had lunch!

This was at Misocool at a mall conveniently located right at the exit of a train station. I forgot which station now. Oops!
Ena HK2 18 Lunch Misocool Ena HK2 18 Lunch Misocool2ย I can’t be sure if I was really hungry or this was really good cause I MEGA LOVED THIS MEAL. If I didn’t remember wrongly, it’s tomato beef soup with salmon flavored rice. It is so awesome I am salivating just as I ย am typing this. :'( Anyway you can eat the rice alone or together with the tomato soup! The rice is cooked/baked to be a little crispy on the outside, very awesome!

Then we made our way to HKPU, it’s one of the top University in HK.

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We beelined our way to the Institute of Textiles and Clothing, where we met Chanel, the marketing executive lady who brought us around on a tour.ย Ena HK2 19 HKPU 2

The laboratory where they conduct research on threads and fabrics…Students having their lab sessions inside.Ena HK2 19 HKPU 3 Ena HK2 19 HKPU 4 Ena HK2 19 HKPU 5

This is the view of a Zaha Hadid designed new design school wing of HKPU. I am a personal fan of Zaha Hadid and though I would like to argue that countries should support their local designer/artists/architect, I still think it would be uber cool to be studying in a Hadid designed building…

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More views of the school…Ena HK2 19 HKPU 7 Ena HK2 19 HKPU 8

We enter the Fashion and Textiles Resource Centre which if ย I did not remember wrongly, ย it is 2 levels deep.

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A fabric art work at the entrance of the library…

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Students studying/lounging in the library.

Then we walk pass the Intimate Apparels Institute Hall of Fame where award winning works are hung up along the gallery walk way. Love the neon and multi coloured design! ^^

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Then we visit more laboratories filled with industry standard machineries. These ones are fabric weaving machines… While we don’t have technical courses in Singapore, HKPU offers technical courses for their students so when they graduate, they would be working in fabric or garment making factories.ย Ena HK2 19 HKPU 13 Ena HK2 19 HKPU 14

Now for some more interesting photos of fabric moodboards and trend boards…Ena HK2 19 HKPU 19Ena HK2 19 HKPU 20Ena HK2 19 HKPU 21Ena HK2 19 HKPU 15

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These fabric samples here are samples of what can be made from the CAD machine, where you input a design and the machine knits out these samples, whole! Amazing, I tell you.

Following the tour, we ended with a 3D, yes 3D I kid you not, show reel of their latest fashion graduate’s show case. It was honestly the most outstanding and jaw dropping fashion showcase I have ever seen, not so much for the design but the presentation of it. Not that the designs were not spectacular, but the presentation blew me away.

A few touristy shots around the campus.. here with some flowers blooming, kekeke.
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We had a free night, so Bini and I went touring around our hotel area… Hollywood road is famous for antiques and we did see a handful of antique stores and items…

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We chanced a upon a lovely store named Pantry Magic selling designer home wares… coincidentally they also have a branch in Singapore, along Club Street. ๐Ÿ™‚Ena HK2 21 Pantry Magic

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An artsy shot, hehehe, of the HK tram on HK street. ^^v

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And another, because this is my blog and cause’ I can, haha. ๐Ÿ˜›

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Look who we met~!!! Chen Hao! Famous HK actor. HEHEHE.ย Ena HK2 22 Chen Hao2

So happy to see him… Haha!

We came across a mini mall near our hotel.. Not too sure what it’s called but it had a lot of nice setting to cam-spam with. hehe ^^

Ena HK2 23 NutcrackerWith lovely nutcracker…
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And a British telephone booth! O-hai~! ^^

Ok, now that I came back from London recently, and I did not take pics with London Telephone booth, this photo is proving a little funny. Anyway, the reason we find a lot of Britain inspired aspects in HK is because HK was colonized by the British until their unity with China back in 1997, so HK feels very much like an extension of Britain, albeit in a chinese populated place.

Moreeee UK in HK Telephone Booth pics, kekeke.

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I am talking to no-one in particular…
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Yes it’s nice to play pretend for the photos.. just like we were young and we play pretend cooking and playing house all the time… ^^

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Bestie and her victory sign in the booth~ ^^vEna HK2 23 Telephone Booth8 Ena HK2 23 Telephone Booth10

For dinner, we all arrived at Chilli Fagara, touted to be one of HK’s best spicy boutique restaurants.

Address: Shop E, No. 45-53, Graham Street

Take note that it is near the Soho area, as there is another Graham street near Central HK.


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This is the meat in lettuce wrap dish. Very yummy.

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This is their recommended dish, the Chilli Fagara Chicken dish. Super spicy but oh-so-good! It’s crispy fried chicken prepared with a lot of chilli fargara – the huge chilli flakes you see above. It’s so spicy but deliciously crispy that though your tongue is burning you keep picking up another piece for more!

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Here’s 2 shots of us crazy Chilli Fagarettes~ we went crazy battling with chilli. ^^v

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And two shots of our meek Crispy Duckettes as they resigned to eating Crispy Duck and posing with it. kekeke. ^^

The restaurant is designed to be very dark and oriental inspired.. Check out some props:

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And they won a Trip Advisor cert! I approve! ๐Ÿ™‚

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A long flight of elevator up the Soho area…

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One of the real classy looking restaurant around the Soho area. It is so named Soho as a lot of expatriates and wealthy tourists frequent the area for dinner and after dinner drinks in the night and boutiques opened in the day.

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I couldn’t help but LOL-ed when I saw this…. This really really small tiny apartment quite out of nowhere. Look at the number of people below the apartment, it’s literally just 6-8 people wide! o_O This i guess, is a testament to just how tiny HK apartments can get!

Some of the cute boutiques we passed by that was already closed in the night…

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And a very HK road side supper/dessert soup store. Too bad we didn’t get to try it!

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Ending off with a shot of a cute artshop, named Artitude. Very cool indeed. ^^

This ends off my HK Day 2 photo travel log~
I hope you enjoyed it!
Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below and I’ll answer you~
xx,
Ena

No longer a Student, Not yet an Employee (???)

HI

So, I am having A LOT of difficulties to focus on finishing my FYP project.

I’m in a state of INERTIA. As my title says, I’m no longer a student but I’m not yet an employee, with ??? – ย question marks. Let me explain. So my classes have officially ended last Wednesday but my final presentation is on this Friday (some of my classmates have their slot on Thursday) and our documents can be submitted the following Thursday.

BUT unfortunately this entire journey feels exceedingly drawn out that’s why I feel like I have not more stamina and I sincerely just want to finish up but somehow there’s this inertia that’s getting to me and I have been trying to fight it continuously since… like for the whole of April. T^T

On a slightly different note, being in this stage of my life feels awkward. VERY awkward. People are CONSTANTLY asking me, so are you done with school/have you graduated/are you working – depending on how young/old they perceive me to be. Unfortunately, the impression I let on is a lot older than I really am. I’m only 22 going on 23 but it seems like people think I have been working for.. a while. Sadly. Though arguable that’s true because I did work / intern during my hols and before my degree started. Heh.

AND I feel that I need to document this awkward stage of my life down. It’s not like I’m going to experience many times of graduating from university and worrying (but not really) where I’m headed to after.

I think being in this state of flux… the between, unsettles me. Not knowing how to move forwardย wanting to move forward perhaps out of a subconscious fear of losing the past. I hold dear to my life in school, I do, I don’t deny it. I love it. I feel protected, challenged but sheltered. It’s not that I feel I’m not ready to begin work. But work life is tiring, I know it, I’ve been through it and I think being thrown out of a student’s life and into work life, it’s daunting, its sad. This stage of my life can be summed up in one word – bittersweet. Sick-sweet, like dried up roses in the window pane.

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Sorry guys, this isn’t me and I stole this off tumblr, I think.

I have gone for job interviews, but I have no confirmed offers. I’m genuinely not worried because I think at worseย  optimistically thinking, I can be a full time home tutor that earns a lot money and besides I like teaching! HAHA. Ok, I’m half joking and digressing. The truth is, I just rest assure that God has it all worked out and my fretting ain’t gonna do any good to me. ^^v

OH yes and the ??? in the title is also regards to I don’t know yet if I am going to be an employee or enjoy being called that. I don’t want to be an employee. I don’t like that term. Contributor yes maybe. HAHA. Anyhoos. Moving on…

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Easier said than done. BUT DO IT ANYWAYS! (image cr: RemedyQuarterly)

OK so I’m just gonna crawl back to finishing up my work. AND I promise myself (kekeke) I will upload work I’ve done in the 3 years of my life in LASALLE, from business reports to trendboards and project proposals, AFTER I’ve graduated, which is SOON!

THAT plus photos from HK and JPN.

AND I am heading to UK, London this Sunday, how exciting is that? Anyone from UK reading this? Please contact me for a meet up! ๐Ÿ˜‰

After UK, I’ll make it back for my own graduation show preparations before leaving to Philippines for my THIRD mission trip there! CAN’T WAIT.

xx
Ena

p.s. addicted to this song atm:

Let’s begin with Hong Kong!

Hello hello~!

It’s been almost a month since I last posted. ๐Ÿ˜›

So before the days pass to months and months pass to years, I’d better upload my travel photos from HK before they become stale! ๐Ÿ˜›

Together with 2 tutors and 9 other classmates from Lasalle, we went to Hong Kong (HK) for a 4 Days 3 Nights fashion exposure trip, to see their fashion stores, school and design studios.

For this HK trip, I decided to design a Travel Photo Album in vintage style because the photos are almost becoming vintage since I’m taking so long to post them ๐Ÿ˜› and also because there’s a part of the old HK that evokes romantic vintage vibes. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Personally I’m not a fan of vintage fashion or design but vintage design is a very rich style, with many fans and resource available online so I had a lot of fun in designing and putting together this album. I hope you will enjoy it! And if you want to know where I got the free design elements from, you may find them at the end of this post. Also, I’ve saved photoshop (PSD) templates of all my pages, so when I’ve figured how to upload them online, I’ll also post it up so it’s free for download and people can edit for their own trips! Cool huh? ^^

Without further ado, here are my photos from HK Day 1~!

Ena HK Travel Log CoverEna HK 1 Ena HK 2 Ena HK 3 Ena HK 4 Ena HK 5 Ena HK 6 Ena HK 7 Ena HK 8 Ena HK 9 Ena HK 10 Ena HK 11 Ena HK 12 Ena HK 13 Ena HK 14 Ena HK 15

How did you find this album? Post your comments below! ^^

That’s all for now, I hope to be able to bring the next installment next week! For the record, there’s 3 more days for HK and 10 for Japan. These 15 pages took me a whole day to edit… So wish me luck! ๐Ÿ˜›

<3

Ena

Resource Credits to:

  • MaiaraMay (IGotTheLook on Deviant Art)ย for Photoshop Actions 27. I used action 2 for my photos. You can download the action set here.
  • Leather Textured Paper for my book cover by WebTexture. Available for download here.
  • DesignInstruct.com for Colored Vintage Paper: Texture Pack. Check them out here.
  • Hi-res Grunge Textured Paper used for my pages. Available for download here.
  • Polariod and Paperclips by ~atilazz on Deviantart here.
  • Free fonts: Pacifico and SeasideResortNF both available online.
  • All other design elements ย (e.g ribbons, stamps, etc.)ย not mentioned are found on google images and edited by myself to suit the design.
  • All photos and design credits to me, Ena Teo Jia En. 2013.
  • Software used: Adobe Photoshop CS5.
  • I was listening to this “Relaxing Playlist” on Youtube here while designing this. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Ena’s Thanksgiving 2012

Ena Thanksgiving 2012

On the 2nd last day of the year, I’d like to recount a few things that I’m thankful to God for. ๐Ÿ™‚

In chronological order followed by special people in my life.

Starting in January, I had a very enjoyable short stay at Avilion Cove hotel at Port Dickson, Malaysia with my sisters. You can read about the relaxing stay here.:)
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My sisters & I.
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Picturesque view at Avilion Cove.

Back in March, Bini and I went for a super last minute but enjoyable 4D3N stay at Korea. It was definitely short but a lot of fun. Check out the stay in a 3 part post 1, 2 and 3.
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With Bestie Bini :*Ena Thanksgiving Korea2 copy

Delicious, best Korean spread ever at Sam-chung dong.
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๐Ÿ™‚
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The combined hauls from Korea. ๐Ÿ˜€Ena Thanksgiving Korea5 copy

Unforgettable memories.

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At Korean, in-cheon airport.

In May, I went to Philippines (just realized my typo in the banner and image below) for mission trip with my church. It was my second trip there and a lot more fruitful. The growth in the two years is remarkable and there is a lot of work still to be done. Praise the Lord. Check out my post on the trip here.
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After I came back from Philippines, I had to immediately attend to Transmission Kaleidoscope exhibition and I am extremely thankful for the work that culminated into a beautiful exhibition, thanks to everyone in the Transmission team! ๐Ÿ™‚ More details of the exhibition can be found here.

In June, I received an influx of product review sponsorships, from lip balms, sunblocks to skin care products. You can check them out here.

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One of the product reviews.

In July, my birth month, I received two very big presents. The first is to be selected as Estee Lauder’s ambassador, to review and share updates on their latest products and events through the last 5 months in this year. It’s been an amazing journey thus far, one that I hope will continue through to the new year and beyond. I humbly believe that you my readers also enjoy reading the posts as much as I enjoyed the experiences and writing about them. ย ๐Ÿ™‚

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First bag of joy from Estee lauder, for reviews see here.Ena Thanksgiving Estee Lauder3 copy Ena Thanksgiving Estee Lauder4 copy

My #LOTD using Estee Lauder Fall Violet Underground collection, see hereย and here.

A second birthday gift was my license for Real Estate property, a culmination of studies and exams, plus I’m very grateful to pass on the first try.

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My namecards & license tag.

The following thanksgiving are for groups of special people in my life, in no particular order.

YPM Benjamin cell group members hold a special place in my heart and will always be, as we spend every Saturday evening (I mean every single week) together, through bible studies, dinners and enjoyable outings.

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Acting demure.
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Really crazy. ๐Ÿ˜€Ena Thanksgiving Benji3 copy

Claire & Xue’s baptism in April. How time flies!
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The lovely girls in the group. Ming, Bernice, Claire, Xue, Vivian, Me & Hui Ting.Ena Thanksgiving Benji5

Our Luge outing at Sentosa. ๐Ÿ™‚

I am extremely thankful for a wonderful group of girlfriends in my management class in Lasalle. I really love them, their fashion sense, unique styles, enthusiasm, joy and encouragements. ๐Ÿ™‚ <3
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Pris, Christabelle, Me.

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Photo with the group at Holland V. (My first time there, LOL)

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Bev’s 21st birthday with the cray-cray girls, post here.
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High tea!

More photos with Bestie Bini, I’ve never had a friend who’s cared so much for me, through words, time, action and gifts and I’m really thankful <3
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Together at Chanel Spring Summer show.

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Photo with Bini back in Feb, also in a review written about New York Skin solution.

My secondary four classmates are another group of friends I am increasingly thankful for, as we stay together through each year, each month. <3

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Celebrating Clinton’s farewell, see post here.

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With bestie neighbour, YL, from our HerWorld day out outing.
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With my mentor, at her surprise birthday party we threw for her in church. ๐Ÿ™‚
I thank God for using her to be a blessing to me and many more in church! <3
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With my tummies hunnies food date, a special group of us dear to my heart, friendship bonded through the May trip to Philippines! <3Ena Thanksgiving Meet Michelle Phan copy
With Michelle Phan! One of the inspirational ladies in my life, to meet her in person is like meeting my idol, I have few in my life, hehe. Don’t think I blogged about the meet up when she came, but I have this photo on Instagram. ๐Ÿ™‚
This thanksgiving post is definitely not an exhaustive one, I am thankful for each and every person I’ve met this year, whether they’ve been a blessing – or a motivation / learning lesson for me.
I hope this post inspires you to count your blessings and to give thanks for them!
<3
Ena

Ena Loves to Travel (Experience Asia Hilton Hotel & CNNGo Contest Entry)

HIIII!!!!

How’s your September coming along? Can you believe that it’s the LAST WEEK of September already? *shudders* Time reallyyyy flies in September! Personally I had this revelation recently that September is like the busiest month of the year for everyone when all the action of work/school/life is in motion and everyone’s just packed with stuff to do! Do you feel the same way too? If not, which is the busiest month for you and why? Let me know in the comment box! (:

So my school’s 1st quarter just wrapped up and I’m supposedly enjoying my 1 week break this week except that there’s actually tons of research and organizational work I have to do for school! HAHA. So alas, not much of a break for me!

Anyway I’ve side-tracked enough because as you can read from the title above, I took part in a contest organized by Hilton Hotel and CNNGo!

Do you like the video? I thought it was quite good (HAHAHA no shame for me) except that I had this constant frown on my face. HAHA. Because I filmed it a few times and I exceeded the 30 seconds mark and I ย think I was worried I’d exceed the 30 seconds mark again! LOL.

I filmed it almost 3 weeks ago but I was too busy and neglected to post it up here and garner votes. (T-T)”‘ย My video has 2 likes (I have no idea who these lovely people are, and THANK YOU).

I hope to be able to go on future travel trips and film more videos while traveling to share the experiences with you!

A few examples of cool travel vloggers are Justin on his journey with Heineken, watch the preview of his 5 parts journey from Mongolia to Bangkok supposedly (I say supposedly because I highly doubt it) paid in Heineken beer:

And the inspirational Natalie Tran with Lonely Planet in Singapore here:

She travels to many more places, you can watch them on Youtube. I love that she imbues her unique humour to her travel vlogs as well. ๐Ÿ˜€

I know I have been saying I will update my post on IT bags 2012 since like forever but I promise the next post is it! HAHA. I even have a schedule/list written! I have also attended a few art and fashion events recentlyย (previews available on my Instagram/Twitter) so do watch this space (subscribe if you haven’t) for more exciting updates soon!

Alrighty, that’s all for now!

L.o.L, <3
Ena

Philippines Trip 2012 | Beautiful People, Sweet Memories

Back in May, I went to Philippines, Illocos Norte, Laoag with my church pastor and friends to visit the churches we (our church) support there. It’s my second visit to the same area, I was there back in 2010. How time flies indeed and I am very thankful to God for the opportunity to go back again.

Here are snippets of the 1 week we spent in Philippines!

We went to a lady’s home where she cooked and fed about 100 children from 3 villages. The children are colouring pages of Noah’s Ark after we acted the story! (:

I was very impressed with this group’s colouring. It was very neat and artistic! The Filipinos are very talented in the arts like colouring and carvings.

Some of the children who were not colouring were busy playing. This kiddo here was playing with an old motorcycle helmet… Singaporean children would never be playing with a broken helmet because it’s dangerous but the children in Philippines can take anything and turn it into a toy. His coy smile is lovely isn’t it? (:This is our group of youths acting like ruffians! ๐Ÿ˜› The tricycle is a very common mode of transport in Philippines. And it’s not uncommon to see 5 passengers squeezed in one!At another stop where we conducted children’s programme. Smiling sweet girls.This family/home had a mini zoo. There were pigs, chickens and goats… This is a new kid and it is adorable!Taking pictures on top a van… With pastor Wiliam and aunty Mei Yoke!ย It was a very interesting experience to be acquainted with our lunch and dinner dish while she was still alive… Introducing Spider-pig Hermione, whom we have christened affectionately. This is a picture of her struggling while butchers get her ready to board her last trip to the butchers…

Following pictures are quite bloody so please don’t be shocked!

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This is Spider-pig Hermoine’s intestines…

This is everything else and her brain and blood in the blue tub. ๐Ÿ˜ฎ

Sunday’s combined service children’s programme!

It seems that the boy on the left wasn’t very happy at my request for a picture… Sorry for interrupting your lunch boss!
This is Spider-pig Hermione on our dining table. ๐Ÿ˜›After the home and church visits we were looking forward to Jollybee, Philippine’s famous fast food restaurant. They specialized in chicken and spaghetti. After the meal we had to take a picture with Jollybee!
This is the picture of me and Jollybee two years ago! Seems like I lost some weight, haha!Of course I started a trend this time… ๐Ÿ˜›A picture of us girls, Sandy, Joey and I while we were at the hospital waiting to visit the pastor Mayolin’s new born baby and his wife.
It was quite a culture shock to realize how dated the Badoc hospital is…ย This is the newest and most modern looking area, the lobby reception/registration area.At the orphanage where I caught our tallest member, Ryan bullying a little boy in action! Haha! Kudos to the little boy who was a brave fighter till the end… ๐Ÿ˜›

Then we encountered our little hero who, in the midst of trying to get a shuttlecock down a tree, accidentally threw his slippers up the roof instead. ๐Ÿ˜›ย 

I was very impressed by this agility and courage for climbing up the roof!

Then we watched the kids tossing an old can which was to determine who will be the catcher in a game of catching. A lot of ingenuity in kids!

On our last night we went to the seaside… ๐Ÿ˜€Us on the boat! ๐Ÿ˜€ One of the best boat ride in my life…

Where we basked in the glory of God’s creation, the skies in the setting sun.On the last day we visited a beautiful resort before setting off for the airport.

With my mentor and spiritual mother, aunty Lydia/Mei Yoke.And lovely girls, my “tummies” for the trip! (:And of course we were fascinated by a pregnant, white cow. ๐Ÿ˜› That’s Ryan and pastor Redantor.

I am thankful to be able to travel and see the world outside of Singapore. Philippines is blessed with beautiful animals and land (forests, mountains, beaches), something that Singapore don’t have. It is our prayer that Philippines government will be stronger so that the people can have better jobs, education and lives and not just be dependent on exporting their people to work in other countries.

I hope I can go back to visit them again and plan for a longer stay to visit Boracay and Cebu! (:

xx

Super Seoul Day 3 & 4


Hello! I’ve been back from the Philippines mission trip for about 2 weeks but been busy working at Expo selling biscuits… So, I’m happy to finally bring you the last installment of my Super Seoul Trip – Days 3 & 4!

Day 3//

We headed to Shinsegae to shop in the morning and that’s where I got my super tasty korean seaweed snacks and biscuits! I will dedicate a whole post on that later…

I’m certain I took a whole host of pictures at Shinsegae… But it’s been so long and I can’t locate where the pictures are now. :O But it’s okay… I’ve got one here, a classy store in the men’s department where B shopped for her dad’s suits. (;

We had lunch at Shinsegae, where B recommends their traditional meals, we had to queue about 15 minutes before getting in. A pity it was just 2 of us because they only cater servings for like 4 people so we had to eat so much of the Octopus and meat stew! LOL.

Watch the transition from raw ingredients to tasty stew!

The Saba (i think) fish was tasty!ย 

Watching the Korean Ahjummas enjoying their get-together over lunch.

The wonderful Korean seaweed I bought in bags… You can’t find these tasty brands in Singapore! The ones that Shine department store in Singapore stocks aren’t as tasty as these.

We headed back to the hotel in the evening to put our grocery shopping down and called in Jajjangmyum for dinner! Apparently the hotel says we can’t but they let us do so this once. Haha!

Watching Chinese drama while eating… LOL.

Then we headed down to Myung Dong, night market street with lots and lots of skin care boutiques. I was looking for The Face Shop to buy some on YL’s behalf as well as to get some of the famed facial masks. My sister got us some the last time she was in Korea and it’s good so I also got some back. (: Umm but I didn’t take any pictures of the stores or boutiques. And I even got 10% off for buying like 100k won and above! I think that’s about S$120.ย You have to ask them for the discount if not they won’t give. HAHA. I’m such a #smartshopper. ๐Ÿ˜›

No idea how the Korean girls and ahjummas keep up with their high end labels? Here’s how! HAHA. Just kidding. But lots of pirated branded stuff on the streets! Hermes, LV and Chanel scarves above and Chanel accessories below.

LV bags… at a steal! HAHA.

A pretty lame store name, I thought they sold stationaries but it’s a beauty store.

You’d think we ended the day 3 at Myung Dong… But we didn’t! HAHA. We went back to the hotel and decided to head out to Doota again for midnight shopping because it closes at 5am anyway. We were mainly looking for a suitable luggage for B to store all her stuff on the flight back. LOL. So we survived the night till about 2am before going back for the night. And because we were too late to claim the refunds, we planned to go back again the next morning to claim the refunds (#firstworldproblems) before heading back to Samchungdong for lunch, as we did on the first day!
Day 4 // Packing up… Combined hauls. Mostly B’s lah. HAHA.
Back at Samchungdong for lunch!
With a few hours to spare after check out, we had post lunch tea… Mine’s green tea latte and B’s Americano. HAHA.
On our chartered ride to the airport. ^^,
At Incheon Airport…
We didn’t think check-in would take so long so we had to runnnn all the way for our flight and made it in with 5 min before the gate closed. #phew. Oh btw check out my pair of shoes from Myung Dong’s market. Only about S$30 and has been my go-to shoes since I got back. Been wearing it to death!
But thankfully we were rewarded with…
LOTS of empty seats HAHA. So we got to hog 3 seats per person. Awesome max. ๐Ÿ˜€
Hope you guys enjoyed my Super Seoul posts as much as I did experiencing & writing them!
xx

Shopper’s Paradise // Super Seoul Day 2

For our Super Seoul escapade day 2, we headed out to Lotte department store to shop and lunch!

Check out all the pretty displays at Lotte department store!

Love this pair of shoe, got a pair of black sneaker wedges similar to this from Myung Dong!

There was a lot of attendants at this store, featuring local designer wears.

We had traditional korean food forย lunch at level 11!

If you don’t like Korean food, it’s only because you have not tried the authentic korean food in Korea. Dae bak! (The best!)

Reminds me of Rei Kawakubo’s Lumps and Bumps Dress collection:

Love their window display! So artistic and bold.Korea’s Project Runway contestant designs on display~Had sandwich for tea while B was trimming and dyeing/inking her eyebrows!At dinner! We had meat stew for dinner at Hong Dae! We didn’t know how to order and had to trouble B’s friend to speak to the restaurant ahjumma over the phone. HAHA.
Lots of Soju! Bought one back to the hotel and it’s bland. So didn’t finish it. LOL.This meat stew was too much for two of us!At an indie store with a very friendly couple/owners. We told them we came from Singapore and they told us they visited Singapore before, with a $10 bill as proof on their desk. HAHA cute.

The store features some vintage branded clothes as well as some new designer clothes. Quite an eclectic selection. Basically most of the Hong Dae boutiques have their own individual, personalized style yet it’s not different enough to really stand out.ย 

It was a Wednesday night and the lines outside the clubs were INSANE. INSANELY LONG.Never-ending.Then we tumbled across this gothic building. Think it’s a pub of sorts, we didn’t venture in as we were headed back to the hotel for the night!ย 

Here’s one pic of me to end the post, nice? (:Will have the last installment of Super Korea Day 3 + 4 combined when I’m back from the Phillippines! Will be away for a week, on mission trip with my church friends! Do covet your prayers, please pray for our safety and good health while we are there!

xx



Best Romantic Destinations in the U.S!

About 2 weeks ago, Alexandra sent me an email saying she would like to guest write at my blog. I was very happy and thrilled to receive her email and to cut the long story short, we both agreed to guest write for each other’s blog! I will compile a summary of my Korea trip for her soon. Do check out Alexandra’s blog atย http://alexsjourneys.wordpress.com/.

Now that school’s out and holidays are in, it’s perfect time for me to present Alexandra’s first (of hopefully many) travel guest posts, enjoy! I’d definitely want to visit all of the places she’s mentioned! (;

By Alexandra Jacobs

Nothing says โ€œI love youโ€ like a romantic getaway. Fortunately the U.S. has plenty of places perfect for stealing a kiss. When only the best will do, take your sweetheart by the hand and lead them straight to one of the most romantic destinations in the US.

The Hamptons

ย 

This playground of the rich and famous has plenty to do for regular folk. Climb the 197 steps of the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse and take in the beautiful view or check out the Jamesport Vineyard where you can attend a wine tasting in a 150 year old barn.

Not everyone is lucky enough to own one of the beautiful Hamptons houses but you can stay in one for an incredibly reasonable price. The Sunrise Guest House is only steps from the beach. For a seafood dinner at amazing prices, try Duryea’s Lobster Deck. Della Femina serves some of the best Italian food in the Hamptons.

Hawaii

Photo by flickr user ejbst25

Too romantic to be clichรฉ, Hawaii is the premiere destination for lovers. Snorkel with your sweetheart in the crystal clear water or hike the Haleakala Crater to watch a sunrise that will take your breath away.

To truly get away from it all, head for the Lodge at Koele. This ultra-exclusive hotel may be a bit pricey for some travelers but the panoramic views are priceless. If Italian is your thing, try Capische for dinner. For a taste of local Hawaiian flavor, try Hoku’s.

Ashland, Oregon

Shakespeare Festival, Ashland, Oregon - Travel Oregon

No one did love better than Shakespeare and Ashland is a small town devoted to his memory. Take in an authentic play at the world famous Shakespearian Festival or stroll the grounds of Lithia Park, designed by the same man who created Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

Lithia Springs Hotel in downtown Ashland is an exercise in turn-of-the-century opulence with beautifully appointed rooms. For a romantic dinner in a fun atmosphere; head to the Black Sheep on the Plaza. For luxury, try Callahan’s at the base of Mt. Ashland.

Las Vegas

Photo by flickr user o palsson

Sin City has a soft spot for lovers. From the top of the Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas to the gondola rides through St. Mark’s Square at the Venetian, there are plenty of opportunities to cuddle up with your special someone in this neon oasis.

The Bellagio Hotel and Casino is the most romantic hotel on the strip. At Todd English’s Olives, Italian-style pizzas and amazing pasta dishes are always on the menu. For a natural high, head to the Top of the World restaurant at the Stratosphere where you can dine nearly 1000 feet above Las Vegas for amazing views of the city.

San Francisco

Image of The Golden Gate Bridge from http://www.ams-net.org/sanfrancisco/

Tony Bennett left his heart here for good reason. The City by the Bay was made for sweethearts. Stroll through the grounds of the Presidio for your daily dose of history or hang out on China Beach before riding the double-decker carousal at Pier 39.

The White Swan Inn on Nob Hill offers breakfast in the morning and wine by the fire at night. For fresh seafood, try Catch on Market St. For a true 1930s supper club experience, head for Bix.

Romance is often described as a lost art but the above destinations have managed to keep it alive and well. From the beauty and nature of the Hamptons to the bright lights and culture of San Francisco, this country has plenty of places to cuddle up, steal a kiss and get back to what really matters.

Now or Never // Super Seoul Day 1

** Updated with more pictures**

About 2 months ago, B and I headed to Seoul, Korea for 4D3N. With thanks to my Aunt’s travel package, we managed to get a great deal on the plane and hotel fare there! (:

Titled Now or Never, the trip was planned about a month in advance and I procrastinated a lot before uploading because of all the photos I have from this trip! But since my last and final school submission is next Tuesday I can finally find time to upload them on this fine Saturday. (: Will share more about school after this post!

We didn’t have a good midnight flight to Seoul because the seat weren’t comfy to rest in. We landed at Incheon airport and we took a mini-van ride prepared for us as part of the package to our Seoul hotel, Vabien Suite II.

After checking in, we headed out to a trendy area called Samchang Dong with indie boutiques, a multi-level F21 building and the best Korean restaurant!

Picture taking along the road/pavement outside the boutiques! It was end of winter season and we’d be shivering as the wind blew~

We were finding a place for lunch and we were judging the stores by their exterior and the number of people in it. We saw that this store was quite popular so we headed in! ๐Ÿ˜€

Best Korean traditional meal for lunch, 7000won (~USD$7/SGD$10) per set meal.

Korea is FULL of bakeries and cafes!

Our purchases from Petite Baguette, a Paris-inspired bakery nearby our hotel. B loves their milk yougurt and their butter buns are tasty!

After lunch, we headed out to shop at Doota, another trendy shopping haunt with a lot of up and coming local designer stalls, think a more up-class version of Far East plaza in Singapore.

Will now let the pictures do the talking~!

After checking out about 3-4 levels, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant, Il Mare at the mall.

Mighty tired from the day!ย 

Very tasty cheesy honey pizza!

Days 2-4 another time soon!

xx

Wrapping up SS 2011


As we are transitioning into Fall Winter 2011, I reckon I’d better review two of my favourite Spring Summer 2011 collections before it’s too late.

First up, we have Dolce & Gabbana’s incredible collection of seamless integration of lace with floral and leopard prints. Not surprisingly, these fabrics are SS 2011’s top trends.

I’m not one who hankers after branded items, but if I could pick any 2 item from all of SS 2011 collections, I’d pick the the lace and leopard dress and the see-through lace bag from Dolce & Gabanna. โ™ฅ-โ™ฅ
Next up we have Emilio Pucci‘s grecian and breezy collection. My first impression from this collection was how much it reminded me of Charlie’s Angels. Charlie’s Angels inspire and oozes sexiness, hotness and power. Now, that’s a standard perhaps many designers try to reach but few do.

I believe the pictures pretty much speaks for themselves but I shall stress that I simply love and adore the prints, the feminine, soft and flow-y designs featured in this collection.
If summer is meant for the beach, resorts and everything related to holiday-ing under the sun and on the sand, this is one collection that hits the nail and brings it home. Well done, Peter Dundas.
Xx
All images credits to http://www.style.com/

Travel Post: I <3 Shenzhen!

This is a long overdue post because uploading the massive amount of photos just puts me off. ๐Ÿ˜›

I had tonsss of fun in Shenzhen, one of the happiest moments in my life. Traveling is always so much fun, just relaxing and enjoying life. ๐Ÿ˜‰

It was a very eventful trip and one that God blessed me richly with. Firstly many thanks to Bini for inviting me to Shenzhen, offering to bring me around and just hang with me and play host! Her family was most hospitable in treating me to spa treatment, massage and buffet! Secondly I was very blessed to coincidentally travel towards Shenzhen with American fashion designers for Timo Weiland, Timo and Alan whom I met at Blueprint earlier. It was good to be traveling with them, into a foreign place for the first time! ๐Ÿ™‚

And then as you can see from the photo slideshow above, it was really 5 days worth of fun shopping, eating, enjoying. What more can a girl ask for in a holiday?!

We discovered that we make great travel buddies and that we’d like to go to Hainan Island beaches next year! We talked about how if I’ll have a boyfriend by then, we can double date on a travel trip. ๐Ÿ˜›

xx