matsubunny’s Neighborhood

We went to do more sightseeing yesterday, with a new tour guide. She's much better I feel, in terms of smiling, friendliness, English, knowledge of good places to go and initiative. Aniwaes, we went to Lotte World, which I absolutely loved but didn't get to ride anything except for the pharoah 3D virtual show. =( It's a place to go with friends, not family. Not a family who's afraid of the smallest things. Aniwaes, I also saw the hot air balloon ride featured in Creating Destiny. XP I think it's really destiny coz on the previous tour, I walked past this shop in Insadong that was used as Yeo Jun siter's pastry shop in the show.

After Lotte World, we went to this precius stone workshop where gm bought some jewelry. Then it was to 63 Building to view the nightscape!

Pretty ne? Looks like Christmas lightings.

Not when you look properly what it's made of. Or when you're in the middle of it.

We wentto the Wax Museum next!

I'd be happier if it was Yong Ha's role instead of Yon-sama's. I didn't even watch Winter Sonata lah! But, just for fun!

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Today is our last day in Seoul. And being very very afraid of the weather outside My face is starting to peel and turn into a pimples hotspot), we decided to stay indoors and shop at COEX mall. Surprisingly, I bought very little even at Seoul! Just bought two tops and some hair accessories. I tried to speak in Korean, and I think Agnes sunsaengnim would have been proud. We ended the day at the convenience store, and I wanted to buy some drinks. There, I experienced the power of celeb endorsements. I totally have no interest in the drinks offered by the store, and decided to jsut grab some orange juice and random sodas. And then, I saw it. HJL on a bottle! It was a soda, and so I decided to buy it. When the product itself makes little difference, celeb advertising comes to play. Aniwaes, it was a good choice because the soda tasted quite good. Even my non-fangirl gm says so.

The purchase I was most happy with was the YB Novel part 2 and the Comic part 2. They were both released 18th Dec, just a day ago! Lucky me!! If they had released it tomorrow, I wouldn't have been able to get it at such a cheap price. I haven't really read them (no time) but I browsed through it and realised that the Comic comprises 3 parts, and the third book will be out in Jan. T.T Below are some photos I took of the BTS pictures attached at the back of the Novel part 2.

Please credit karened.vox.com if reposted!

I guess I'm one of the minority who loved his hairstyle at the start of the drama.

It's the YB International Fan Project Message Book JGS is holding yo!

This was after the first forced kiss scene ne?

JGS at top, Park Shin Hye bottom.

Hong Gi top, Yong Hwa bottom.

I'm so gonna scan the chibi images into HQ and print them out!

Another thing...I was rewatching YB when I realised this tidbit about the star talk scene. Read the following dialogue:

고미남: 그 별은 아주 많은 사람이 좋아해주는 별입니다. 그 많은 사람 중에 저도 끼어서 그 별을 좋아해도 죄가 되지 않겠죠?
Go Mi Nam: That star is a star that many people likes. It won't be a transgression even if I join those people in liking the star, right? 
황태경: 넌 그런 것도 허락 받고 좋아하냐? 별한테 물어봐. 넌 지금 보일 거 아니야.
Hwang Tae Kyung: You want to get consent even for such a thing? Ask the star. Aren't you looking at it now?

Doesn't this echo the later episode where Tae Kyung said he consents to Mi Nam liking him?

황태경:고미남, 앞으로 네가 날 좋아하는 걸 허락해준다.
Hwang Tae Kyung: Go Mi Nam, in the future, to your liking me, I give my consent. 

I know how that scene of him giving consent, by itself, is a classic scene. Maybe it's just me, but seems like there weren't much discussion of the link between the above two scenes. It's like TK remembered their time together and gave MN the answer she needed.

Also, this link made the part where MN thanked TK for accepting her as a fan more logical. Actually I had a bit of an issue as to why MN thought that TK was giving her consent to become his fan. How could anyone be so dumb with regards to a confession? But with this link, I could see why. MN had heard TK's words as an answer to her previous question at her father's hometown. And when she asked that question, she had framed it as her joining TK's fans in liking him, as a fan.

my avatar pic is now nino chan <3 ahha gomen amber chan i am borrowing his face for a while XDD
i think he looks beautiful in this shot....his eyes......vERY VE mesmerizing...fell in love with the pic when i bought the mag.and no, ohchan is still my fav <3

HAHAHA XD
credits are to arashinino for the lovely scans XD

Totwi ~ 

Arashi everywhere in TOKYO~!!!!!!

原宿､池袋､渋谷

wow....they did it....they are the first in Japanese history to sweep ALL categories !!!!!!! Congratulations !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <33333333333333
i bet they never thought this day will come !!! BUT it did ^___^ ....hahah when i first started liking them...i never even bothered about this.....XD only wanted to watch more of their awesome interactions.....and really i never expected this either...................
they really slogggggedd like crazy .....being compared to smap then.....and then later pushed down by their own juniors.,,,,but they continued to do what they did and stuck with ppl who always gave them the chance and loyalty.....and finally they reap the fruits of their labor ^________^
these awards are not only for arashi but i am sure for everyone who has supported and worked with them.....
the fact that ppl like hatori still loved them..the fact that ANS staff are with them all the way...the fact that sho has such awesome friendships ...really speaks alot about their work ethics....and the way they treasure relationships

some "fans" might STILL be comparing them to smap and claiming that they will never touch their greatness or whatever.....and some "fans" might start to claim that they are borrreedd with them getting all the top honors.. and some talk as if it was so easy for arashi to top...but...the year was hard too....with economic problems...and tough competition ¬_¬........BUT they did it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ahhhhhhhhhh SO proud of them *tears*.......i dont really care about whats going to happen from now on.....it will be great if their 11th year is awesome too......but even if its not.....i realized i am really enjoying their shows.....like REALLy enjoying HNA...and VSA <3 and of course ANS.......i love their songs....and more importantly i really love them and the love they give to anyone around them.......so even if the world of fans turns their back on them........i think i will stick with the storm and try to not spend too much time criticizing what they do and instead just sit back and enjoy the ride...^_______^

ganbatte arashi chan !!!!!!! THANk you so much for the wonderful 3 years that i have gotten to know you and watch you grow .....and will be looking forward to the future ^_______^......GANBAROUUU!

totwi~ 

I'm like super duper tired, so this is gonna be short.

I went to Yonsei University today to have a look at my potential exchange school, and gosh the place is so beautiful! The campus looks like a Hogswarts castle with English-style buildings and rich greenary, complete with a maze-like garden. The only complaint I have is that the campus is situated on slopes and the Biz school is right at the top, so by the time I reached the building, I was panting hard.

The weather was really cold today. I wore like, four layers! The worst part were my hands...I bought gloves, but it wasn't enough. Sometimes I had to take my hands out from the gloves and within that few seconds, I can feel the chill already!

Samantha had told me that the Uni was at Sincheon station. So I took a train there, but when I looked at the neighbourhood map at the station, I couldn't find the Uni. It turned out that the station was Shinchon station instead! Fortunately, it was on the same line so I just continued taking the train along the line.

After Yonsei, I went to Myeongdong. It took me two transfers (once at City Hall station and once at Seoul station). I'm glad that it was relatively easy to understand the train lines and figure out where and how to transfer. This is one thing I prefer over Tokyo. The subway lines at Tokyo are too complicated, and as there are more than 1 operator, sometimes the transfer requires you to get out of the station and walk quite a bit to the station for the other operator. Here in Seoul, you just walk inside the station itself. However, it's quite strange that for some stations where the tracks for both directions are next to each other instead of separated by the platform, passengers have to pass through the ticket gantry on the correct side or they'll be unable to get onto the train towards the correct direction. Or maybe I just didn't look carefully for a passageway across. Also, the train map at the ticketing machines was so small! There was only one, and attached to a stan by the side of the machines. So, you have to crowd around that tiny map and squint to see the transfer stations etc.

I bought quite a lot of things at Myeongdong, and went into this idol shop. There were Japanese tourists inside and I heard the shopkeeper talking to them in Japanese. XD Demo, I couldn't find anything YB-related. Not even JGS-related! Not popular enough?

I had a few interesting encounters today:

1) I was buying train tickets at Samseung station to the Uni when this man at the machine next to mine asked me how to buy tickets to this particular station. In Korean. I guess it was because I was using the Korean interface for the machine that he mistook me as local. So, I just told him I can't speak Korean (in Korean, ironically) and decided to purchase tickets using the English interface in the future.

2) I was walking around Yonsei Uni when this student asked for directions. Again, I said I couldn't speak Korean.

3) The third incident happened at Myeongdong where I was browsing in this shop and the shopkeeper was really 'friendly'. He kept recommending me clothes that he feels match my style. I understood him, but I got tongue-tied for a response. So, when I made payment, he asked if I was a Korean. I said no, and he asked where I was from. Gosh, this is like the basics in Korean class, yet I got tongue-tied and just managed a weak "Singapore". Haha, he then smoothed my ego saying that I understood Korean good enough when I told him I could only understoof a bit of Korean. XD Nice shopkeeper! And when I paid him using the old 10k won notes, he was so amazed. O.O he was like "These are old money!" Are those very rare right now?

4) This totally dampened my mood. The last shop I visited was this shop selling Korean souvenirs and idol stuff. I grabbed two copies of this Korean magazines featuring SS501, and the shopkeeper immediately came with a basket and said, "You can put them in here." In Mandarin. I haven't even spoke a word! Does my appearance betray my ethnicity? And she had to follow me really closely throughout my stay in the shop! Argh!

Overall, Myeongdong is definitely worthed the hype. It's at least 3 times as huge an area as HK's Mongkok, and the human traffic flow at least 3 times as well. As most shops are selling winter goods, I didn't buy too much. But, imagine it being summer. With that large an area, it must be shopping paradise!

Off-topic, but I just finished watching Liar Game Season 2 ep 5. Hate the cliffhanger a the end! I have a feeling that that bespectacled guy betrayed Akiyama and Kanzaki. T.T

Hi!!

soo BA was good, but the thing I hate it's that it started too early for me, hence I was quite tired when the guys finally performed DX

theeeen congrats to Shosus Saint Man of the year!! :D

whose turn will be next year??

uhh today's VSA was ok, hmmm I like how Squishy and uh Meisa look together...

ahh soo I was thinking about finally watching MG... when tartaruga139 talked about an LJ comm and I saw the confidentials posted there... now I have more DW to watch!!! :D  *thanks btw*

HOORAY!!!

but don't worry, I felt too guilty and finally re-watched MG on high speed just to have an idea of what was going on ^^;;  sorry Masakimune-kun

have both!! :D

but... Masakimune-kun, I don't think your problem can be solved the same way... ^^;;

*as usual locked in 2 days*

btw I have a few ideas for... something, but I need a liiittle help from someone who knows DW better than me... anyone?? plz??

ChristinaThorne85  LOL I'm not wearing a vegetable, I'm just quoting DW XDD

sitiko don't worry, I won't :D

See ya!!!

i am BACKkkkkkkkkk XDD
ok i am still out of it....but i AM BACKKKKKKKK XDDDDDDD
YEYYYYYYYYY
got so much to catch up on and so much to write about but i will be doing so in the next few days

to sum my trip up

SHopping was fantastic !!!'
skiiing was REalllly fun !!
tours are TERRIBLE
korean guys...................erm................i really think the only so call good looking ones you will ever find are the ones on the tv........
and korean groups......well......i think the hype is really mainly on the internet...when you are there....you rarely notice any particular dominant group...i seriously think the comedians are more famous and noted of than the rest......i think big bang is the only one with a bit more CMs than the others...but thats about it.......
hongkong is great for shopping.....
when all else in communicating fails.......hand actions prove the most useful ^_____^
i love going on hols with my family !!!!!!!!!
these are just my observations.....XD

totwi~

Cold!

Seriously, that's all I can remember from today.

It was a -9 ~ -4 degress celcius, and we spent much of the day walking outdoors, visiting Gyeong Bok Gung and Myeong Dong.

My gosh. I wore like two stockings and knee length boots, three layer of clothes and an outer coat, and yet that wasn't enough. I felt cold! Me! Me, who never ever complained about coldness! I guess it was mainly because of my hands and my cheeks. I didn't bring a pair of gloves and had made the wrong decision to leave my cap at the hotel. I never understood the need to buy those ear mufflers. But now I do. My ears and cheeks were freezing!

Then, I recall about the various kdramas I watched recently, meaning those that were filmed recently, under such cold weather. From ILPK, we have the scenes of On Dal being drenched by the sprinklers at the golf course, of On Dal and Pyung Kang being drenched by the heavy rain, and of On Dal being chased by the hooligans into the stream, from which he came out topless. And then from WISOC, we have young Kang Jin and Ji Wan jumping into the river to retrieve Kang Jin's pendant, and grownup Ji Wan being drenched by the rain. Lastly, from Creating Destiny, the scene where Yeo Jun sat in the cold at night after getting drunk at Sang Eun's house.

Poor actors and actresses.

Aniwaes, today, I came back to the hotel with many complaints to make stories to tell.

So here's round 2 of Japan v Korea.

1. Toilets in Japan v Korea
   Basic standards for a toilet: toilet paper, clean/dry floors, soap for washing hands.
   Japan's typical toilet: toilet paper, clean/dry floors, soap for washing hands, special toilet bowls.
   What I experienced in Korea: toilet paper, soap for washing hands.
   
   Two complaints I have regarding toilets today, though not representative of every other toilet, are
   1) This toilet at the Zara building at Myeong Dong had a really dirty floor with footprints all over.
   2) This other toilet at a restaurant at Insadong had graffiti scribbled all over the cubicles. Well, since it was a small restaurant, maybe this isn't really unexpected. But...
   
   I was at the Korea Folk Museum at the palace when I overheard some people complaining in the toilet about how someone had relieved herself in such a way that left the toilet seat in an unsightly manner. T.T Where is my Japan toilet???
   
2. Tour guide in Japan v Korea
   I'm usually on free-and-easy for trips to Japan, but occassionally, we got a tour guide to show us around. I remember two, one for Tokyo and one for Osaka. The one in Osaka was full of smiles and he said that Tokyo ones aren't so lively. Which turned out to be true after we went over to Tokyo. The Tokyo one wasn't as warm and friendly.
   
   However, today, in Seoul, we met an even less frienly tour guide. It's not that she was rude or anything. She was just....cold...maybe it's because of the weather? She didn't smile at all, throughout the trip! In fact, there were a few times where I thought she was frowning. In addition to that, service standards. She was always sms-ing and walking around by herself. There was once where we had dinner at BK, and she just disappeared for a whole 5~10 mins, without telling us where she went. Basically, she's not as good as those we had in Japan.
    
3. Driving in Japan v Korea
   We experienced our share of traffic jams in Japan, but everything went on very smoothly, in an orderly manner. Today, we experienced jams throughout the day and those jams changed my mind about driving should I get to go on exchange to Yonsei. The driving here is crazy. Cars and buses (buses especially) cut into our lane very abruptly, and it was always a matter of inches before they knocked into the side of our van. Horns, which seemed to serve little prupose in Tokyo, could be heard everytens of minutes. Very seldom do I see people giving way. As reflected in the 'pushpushpush' incident, it seems that Singaporeans' unique kiasuness can be found here. Really, if you gave way, most likely you'll find yourself stuck at the same spot for a long while.
   
4. Food in Japan v Korea
   If seafood can be found at almost every table in Japan, beef can found at almost every food item in Korea. Ok, this may be a little exaggerated, but really, beefs everywhere! Although I have nothing against beef, the rest of my family can't eat beef...and so we always had to check before we enter a restaurant.
   
   I didn't really like Korean food because I had the impression that it was all spicy. Well, many Korean food are spicy, but we ate bibimbup today and requested for the spicy sauce to be removed. And so, that became my very first Korean dish! It was quite delicious, surprisingly. =D

I'm on my very own free-and-easy tomorrow, and so I'm planning to return to Myeong Dong tomorrow! Will prepare myself for the extreme coldness and wear a few more layers. Gosh, that means 4/5 layers! I saw alt of things there yo, something like HK's Mongkok. And then I saw like 3 Hallyu stores which I must go, to search for YB stuff!

To end off, the most irritating thing that happened today didn't involve a local. It involved a bunch of Mainland Chinese. We were at the Korean Folk Museum when this group of Chinese tourist started pushing their way towards the exhibits to take photos. It was really irritating because I was standing quite at the front when someon puhed past me to stand in front of me. So, I moved a step back. And then another pushed past me again. And again. And again. In the end I decided to just  stand by the side till the group left and to continue after them. Rude. Pure rudeness. Are they rushing to get reborned?

Men of the year: SAKURAI SHO!

so proud, so proud, so proud!!! (first Jun, now Sho <3)

I'm still on a 'Best Artist high' because of Arashi's heart-thumping performance last night.  Thus, I can't help myself but relate everything to Arashi.

Even something as trivial as this.  My ex-colleague dropped by the office yesterday and gave us her Christmas presents.  Among many others, she gave me a clip which looks like a telephone cord and plans to completely give me all the Arashi colors because she knows that I love the guys to bits.  Plus, she likes Nino too because according to her, he's got the attitude!  Gotta love my friend for saying that. :)

Hopefully, I'll be able to get the five clips so that I can wear all the colors each week.  With that in mind, I can sing along to..."Together, together, oh happy on the rainbow!" XD