Langkawi

It has been 3 years I last visited Langkawi and I must said it has changed! It is more commercialize now with all the Island Hopping tours and cruises. Is just like Thailand Islands and Bali. It has so much to offer now.

Just wants to highlights few of the activities that I personally thinks it the higlights of this trip.

1) Stardust Day Cruise

This is similar like the Santorini Cruise we had in Greece. With the price ard RM325 -350/pax, you are offered to free flow of alcohol and drinks, buffet lunch, sea water jacuzzi, sun bathing at the deck and enjoy the view in the middle of Andaman Sea with only max 8 guests on the cruise.

2) La Chocolatine French Bakery - the croissant is to die for! This restauarant is open by a French. He decided to settle down in Langkawi.

3) Orkid Ria Seafood restaurant
4) Laksa Tower

San Francisco Weekend Gateway

San Francisco Weekend Gateway



Went to Houston for business trip and decided to spend my weekend at San Francisco solo and I am glad to make my choice to San Francisco. She is so beautiful... a mixture of city, culture, beaches... A must visit city!



Date	Days	Descriptions	USD
10/10/2014	Fri	Flight	246
		From Airport to hotel
		The BART station at SFO is located in the International Terminal. It's a short walk from United Airlines in Terminal 3 -take the escalator down to the departures level and walk straight ahead to the BART station. Board the Pittsburg/Bay Point train .Powell Street- Use the Hallidie Plaza exit for the Intercontinental, Parc 55, Hilton, Nikko and Union Square hotels.	10.25
		Buy 48hrs hop-on-hop-off ticket to take advantage of the night tour (which is a must!) and the Sausalito route.
		http://guideyou.com/best-sellers/hop-on-hop-off-san-francisco-tour-19-stops-24-or-48-hour-pass/a12U000000087HPIAY	45
		E-Ticket of hop on and hop off so can start taking bus from Union Square
		Buy 3-Day Visitor Passport - Muni Pass for Muni and Cable car buy at Powell /Mkt station to take advantage of hassle free for transportation and unlimited rides of the cable car. Cable Car single ride already cost $6/ride.	23
		STOP 9 Hop on and Hop off - Chinatown Gate
		Grant Street @ Bush – across from Chinatown Gate
		“The Dragon Gate” entry to Chinatown. Also, San Francisco’s very own quaint French Quarter.
		Directions:
		Powell-Hydetowards Hyde & Beach - Powell St & Clay St
		Food:
		http://www.10best.com/destinations/california/san-francisco/restaurants/best-of-san-franciscos-chinatown/
		Hong Kong Clay Pot Restaurant - 960 Grant Ave
		Great Eastern Restaurant - 649 Jackson St
		Capital Restaurant - 839 Clay St
		Delicious Dim Sum - 752 Jackson St
		Good Mong Kok Bakery - 1039 Stockton St
		STOP 13 Hop on and Hop off - Pier 39 / Aquarium of the Bay
		Go to Sea lion view deck to view the sea lions. Enjoy the scene but please just window shopping and don’t buy any souvenir there as it is more expensive there. Buy your souvenir at Chinatown.
		Directions:
		Walk to Powell St & Lombard St>Head east on Fielding St toward Stockton St>Turn right onto Stockton St>Turn right onto Lombard St>Turn left onto Powell St> take towards Fisherman's Wharf train> stop at Kearny St & North Point St>Head northwest on The Embarcadero toward Kearny St
		STOP 1 Hop on and Hop off - Fisherman's Wharf
		Directions:
		From North Beach - Walk to Columbus Ave & Lombard St> Powell-Mason Cable car towards Taylor & Bay> Columbus Ave & Chestnut St, walk 8 mins to Walk to Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco, CA
		From Pier 39 - Walk to The Embarcadero & Stockton St by heading Head west toward Pier 39 Concourse> Embarcadero & Stockton St take Ftowards Fisherman's Wharf via Downtown> Jones St & Beach St>Head north on Jones St toward Jefferson St
		Food:
		SCOMA Seafood ,Pier 47,Al Scoma Way,San Francisco, CA 94133 Fisherman's Wharf, North Beach/Telegraph Hill
		2-Hour Panoramic San Francisco Night Tour:
		Departs from Stop 1 at 6:30pm, 7pm & 7:30pm (through Nov. 1). A courtesy shuttle back to Union Square will be provided at the end of the tour. Live commentary in English. View the City in difference perspective, the night view is awesome. The ride also brings you to Treasure Island, stop by for you to take the night/evening view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
11/10/2014	Sat	Ferry Building Marketplace Walk to Metro Powell Station/Downtown>Light rail towards Visitacion Valley via Downtown> Metro Embarcadero Station > Walk to Ferry Building
		There is a food market every Saturday morning where the locals and tourists will hang out there to get fresh vegetables, food sampling and a lots more.
		A great place to sample the local fruits and food.
		STOP 3 Hop on and Hop off - Golden Gate Bridge  (joining point for Sausalito Loop)
		South Vista Point
		Great views of San Francisco’s skyline, Alcatraz island, and the span of the bridge over the entrance of San Francisco Bay. Access point to walk the Bridge.
		A Must to Do! Walk over the Golden Gate Bridge. It is very windy and cold so please wear enough warm cloth. When you return to the southern end, board either Muni bus no. 28 or 29 (be sure to ask the driver if the bus is headed toward Golden Gate Park).
		STOP 3 Hop on and Hop off -  Golden Gate Bridge
		South Vista Point
		POINTS OF INTEREST: Joining location for the Sausalito Woods Loop from the regular San Francisco Hop-on Hop-off Tour (stop 3). Enjoy great views of San Francisco’s skyline and Alcatraz Island or walk the span of the bridge over the entrance of San Francisco Bay.
		STOP 2 Hop on and Hop off - Sausalito
		Behind Bank of America (Humboldt Avenue and Bay Street)
		Spectacular view of San Francisco and the Bay. It is like a small village with chill and relax environment. Walk besides the bay, enjoy the scene and the view. A Must!
		Union Square
		Shopping! And Ride the cable car at night.
12/10/2014	Sun	Union Square
		Cable car in the early morning like 7.30am to avoid the crowd and view early morning of the San Francisco city. The sun rise, the up and down road, the people, the building… Did not go to Alcatraz as I personally don't like to go to visit Jail.

What to eat at Korea? Part 2

1) Gwangjang Market is a market full of local food. Must tried is the korean fried pancake.

Look for this stall:

We ordered 1 corn pancake and 1 pork cake and it only costs us 6,000 won. Worth trying!

There are also other food stall like the korean fish paste , bimbibap and etc.. all the local food can be found here. To taste the best, go for the one the longest queue :)

* How to go by subway:
Jungno 5-ga Station and look for Gwangjang Market (which is a little bit South of the station) exit 8
Jongno 5-ga station (subway Line 1) exit 8
Euljiro 4-ga Station (subway line 2,5) exit 4
6-1 Yeji-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
* Market hours: 09:00-18:00 / Closed on Sundays
* Food market: 09:00-23:00 (Open year round)

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2) Jeonju Jungang Hoekwan (전주 중앙 회관/全州中央會館) bibimbap

* how to go by subway:
Address: 24-11 Chungmuro 1-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul
Myeong-dong Station (Seoul Subway Line 4), Exit 6. Look for Uniqlo, there’s a smoothie king next to it. Walk into the alley.

Bibimbap + tofu stew soup = 17,000 won

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3) 新村美食：新村食堂새마을 식당 - Korean BBQ

* how to go by subway: refer to this blog for further details:http://www.wretch.cc/blog/judyer1010/17316524

Em.. We think is not so great, Malaysia Korea BBQ taste better and have more side dishes.

Our meal : 1 Meat + 1 Noodle = 8000 won

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4) To Sok Chon - Ginseng Chicken

The restaurant is best known for one thing: samgyetang -young, spring chicken -- stuffed with chestnuts, garlic, dried jujubes, and ginseng.  A bowl of samgyetang costs ₩15,000.

85-1 Chaebu-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul (서울특별시 종로구 체부동85-1); +82 2 737 7444; Open daily, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.  Pls come before 11am to avoid the crowd.

My thought: Dont really fancy this ginseng chicken , I think the Jeju Island one is much better.
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5) Butter Finger Pancakes @ Gangnam

Go to Butter Finger for Brunch and Waffles -near exit 9 of Gangnam station.shops opposite American Apparel. Is easy to locate this shop.


The brunch is great ! is like the one in Antipodean Malaysia (I still prefer Antipodean :)
A lots of waffle selection !
Is a nice place to chill and the food is great. A lots of young korean came here to chill.

We ordered 1 pancake breakfast set and 1 crunchy walnut waffle - total costs 33,800 won
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6) Sinchon - Grilled Fish

The Grilled FISH is fresh, tasty, sweet and delicious and CHEAP! Must try this shop at Sinchon:


Location: GPS 37.558225,126.934752

We ordered 1 grilled fish and 1 tofu stew @ total costs 12,500 won.

Korea in Winter - Ski at Yongpyong Resort

I have been to Korea in Autumn and went again for Winter. This winter trip is totally different itinerary from the Autumn trip as it is more for winter activities.

For further details as in description, costs and directions, please refer to this link:http://summerandsomething.blogspot.com/2014/01/detailed-korea-itinerary-travel-to.html

Our main places to visit in this winter trip is Winter Sonata's Home Ground, Yongpyong Resort, Mt. Seoraksan and Sancheoneo Ice Festival.

Ski at Yongpyong Resort

This is the Winter Sonata film shooting area if you are a fan of the Winter Sonata. It is also a famous ski resort. It is cheaper than the Alphensia Ski Resort. I am not an expert on skiing so I choose to go to Yongpyong Resort. 

We stay at a small town near  Yongpyong Resort due to the accommodation is cheaper and it is near to the bus station from Seoul. We stay at Goodstay Daegwlnyeong Sanbang. Room ok, bed a bit hard and bedsheet need improvement but owner is very nice. Value for money. RM205/room/nite

From Seoul, we took train from Sinchon line 2 to  Gangbyeon Metro (25mins) -1250won  then walk 2 mins ( walk across the road, is just opposite the Gangbyeon station) to DongSeoul bus Terminal 동서울종합터미널and buy ticket to Hoenggye (13800 won, travel time about 3 hrs). Once arrive at Hoenggye just need to walk accross the road and walk straight 3 mins, Goodstay is opposite Paris Bakery.

We reached at Goodstay at 11am so we went for light lunch nearby. The Goodstay owner recommend his friend who provide transport to Yongpyong Resort and with Ski Rental @ 15,000 won per pax. This is a cheaper option as the ski rental rate at Yongpyong is 25,000 won and we do not need to take the shuttle bus ourselves.

We went for the beginner slope so we did not buy the lift ticket. If you have the chance to take the gondola to the top of the hill, please do so. We missed the Gondola as it closed at 4pm. The rate for the Gondola is approx 96K won. There is a small garden up there (Winter Sonata shooting place!) and you can have a bird eye view of the resort.

Mt. Seoraksan

For further details as in description, costs and directions, please refer to this link:http://summerandsomething.blogspot.com/2014/01/detailed-korea-itinerary-travel-to.html

We went to Mount Serok from Hoenggye by taking bus to Kangneung (2,500 won, 30mins) Once arrived at the Kangneung Bus Terminal then, take the bus to Sokcho Inter-city Bus Terminal (6,300 won per person, about 1hour30mins). From there, go to the Tourist Information center. You can ask him for direction to Mt Sorak. You should take Bus 7, 7-1 at the bus stop near the terminal , just down the road @ 1,100 won each (must prepare exact change) for a 30 mins journey rides to Mt Sorak. The bus stop is about 7 minutes away from the Intercity Bus Terminal , basically, once you are out from the bus terminal, turn right, walk straight & cross 2 road junctions. Then turn right and walk further down till you see the bus stop.

Entrance fees to Mt Sorak is 3,500 won and cable car ticket is purchase after walk about 300m from the main entrance with an additional fees of 9,000 won. We rent a locker to put our bag at the tourist information center which cost 3,500 won.

We are not hiker, so we choose the shortest route to go to the top of Mt Sorak and it is with the cable car ride + 30 mins of easy hike. We first walk from entrance to the cable car, our visit is less crowded so we really enjoy the view and the walk. We are lucky, the cable car queue is just 30 mins and the cable car will bring you near the top of Mt Sorak. Once the cable car stopped, then you have to walk 30 mins to reach the top of Mt Sorak. The mountain is covered by snow.. it is beautiful.. According to local, it is more beautiful in autumn. We stay at the top for a while to enjoy the view then we took the cable car ride down to the hill.

At the ground of Mt Sorak, there are a temple and a Buddha statue. We enjoy the walk to the temple, everything looks so peaceful and calm.

To go back to Seoul, take the us 7-1 again to Sokcho Intercity Bus Terminal (the same bus terminal) and take the Dong Hae express bus and is 2hours30 minutes.Rate is about 17,300 won per person and interval is about every hour. Make sure you request the 고속버스 (우등) / Express Bus (Deluxe)