Asia Tour 2011 - Japan

Aug 18-24


JAL airplane food

I landed at Kansai intl. airport(関西国際空港) around 2pm, I passed immigration and got my bag quite quick.
It was my first time to land in Osaka(大阪)! I found the bus quite easy after Sachiko unni's description.
I bought my bus ticket and waited 20 min before my bus that would take me to Uehonmachi (上本町) came.
I had no idea how long it would take but it took around 45-50min. I was surprised that it took that much time (^^;;) on my way I saw alot of buildings and also some palm trees!


I arrived at Uehonmachi station however Sachiko-unni had not arrived yet, I got a bit nervous just like in Taiwan. However after 10 min Sachiko-unni arrived! It felt so nice seeing her again, I really missed her just like all the other friends, it has been so nice to see everybody again.
We went down to the underground and headed towards Sachiko's house, or actually we went to her grandma's house. Her grandma is in hospital, a bit sad, however we had the whole apartment for ourselves (^^;;) a very nice apartment!

After a small talk and change some clothes we headed out again, we ended up in Shinsaibashi (心斎橋) First we passed by Johnny's shop. I bought some Arashi photos. actually it was quite fun, unni didnt remember the way so I said that we should follow some middle school girls.. ^^
Anyway we found it and it was a lot of people inside.
Afterwards we walked down Shinsaibashi main arcade, we stopped by a crepe café. According to unni it's fameous and it tasted really nice! a great start ^^

Osaka shopping

And the shopping.. OMO.. I love Japanese fashion!! however since I just arrived and had 6 more days I didn't want to spend all my money at once so I hesitated abit, which I do regret a bit now because they had really nice things in Osaka.
We also passed the "little sister" to Uniqlo. it was even cheaper, however I didn't buy anything.
For dinner we met up with Yuuka unni. we walked around to find a good Okonomiyaki place.
At last we found a buffee place, however we had to wait at least 30 min before we got a table.
Finally and super hungry we started to make our okonomiyaki. I started off with a cheese one.
The heath from the pan was tooooo hot! It felt like sitting in a sauna, the highest level!
I thought I was going to die from the heath.
As for my second I took a shrimp okonomiyaki... we all choosed different ones and shared with each other! However we couldn't even finish the 2 batch. the heath made it difficult to eat! it was delicious though. The table next to us was filled with Koreans so we had a nice chat before leaving.

お好み焼き Okonomiyaki time

On the way we passed a "300-yen" store, I bought a headband and a hat! I have searched for a hat like that for a long time, however in Korea it cost a lot more than I thought it was worth and here is was.. 300yen!!
We also passed some other stores and we also did purikura (sticker photos) it was fun, because the new trend in Japan is to make your eyes bigger and skin more white! the machine fix it for you and I went 100% just because it's insane (^0^;;) afterwards we all did some small shopping before heading home.

Back home I had a long shower, to get off the okonomiyaki smell ^^ Sachiko-unni turned on the aircon to max and we watched tv for quite some time, we watched AKB, SKB and NMB 48 do their tasks, challenge children! it was funny. Also it's awesome how their popularity have increased within the past 2-3years!


Next morning I packed my stuff and we headed out, first stop was Namba (なんば), I bought my train ticket for Nagoya and locked my bags in a coin locker.
Then we headed out for lunch, sushi!!! we went to the place that started with the sushi train (回転寿司 Kaiten sushi). The price for each plate was 130 yen! really cheap!!on each plate there were 2 pieces! and it was really delicious. I love sushi! I had a great time and so happy that unni brought me there.
Afterwards she took me to DonQi. The store is amazing, it has everything.. good things and crappy things ^^ I wish we had that kind of store back home!!
The time passed fast however before heading to the train we found a nice clothing store, I bought a t-shirt! :)
Back at Namba station I grabbed my bags, hugged Sachiko unni for a long time, I didn't want to leave but...
I said my good-bye. Even though it was only for a short time..it was a great time!


In the train I slept half the time and looked out the window for the rest... it took around 2.5 h to go to Nagoya (名古屋). Jina unni was still at work when I arrived so I walked around in a shopping mall close to Nagoya station. At Liz Lisa I found some really cute clothes, I ended up buying a pair of pants!!
24h tv did a lot of promotion at the time, since it was going to start within less than 1 day and I ended up buying a pin.


At 6.30pm I met up with unni and we headed to her house. We left my stuff, talked abit the rushed to the underground station to meet with Midori-unni. We ended up at a Izakaya called Yama-chan (山ちゃん), Yamachan is a local izakaya in Nagoya. and we ate and drank alot and enjoyed the time! Jina-unni and Midori-unni matched really well and Midori unni gave me "ニッポンの嵐" as a birthday gift. She's so sweet ^^
After dinner we headed back to Jina-unni's very hot house. We were supposed to drink wine but she didn't have a bottle opener so we couldn't. Midori-unni was quite tired and fell asleep quite fast, while me and Jina unni stayed up talking before falling asleep.

Japanese sushi is the best in the world!!

Next morning we headed out in Nagoya city.. first we had breakfast/lunch at a sushi place, again..I know ^^ but sushi in Japan is THE BEST!! there is nothing better so I just enjoyed the moment and great company. After the meal Midori had to leave and Jina-unni and me continued walking around in Nagoya city.
Today they had some kind of summer festival so there were street stalls. If it wasn't raining it would have had been perfect.
I ended up buying a few things, and we also went to subway to try their "cream soda", and even though it was subway it tasted really good!
For snack I had a ramen burger, instead of bread it was ramen noodles ^^ I also tried a japanese styled cucumber! more walking in the rain.

Ramen burger

We came home relaxed then walked back to Nagoya station and had dinner, Japanese styled pasta with chopsticks!!
I also bought my shinkansen ticket before heading home, I also gave Mitsuo-san and Takako-san a call. We deciced that I would go alone from Shinagawa(品川) to their home in Oookayama(大岡山).
Back home we watched tv, talked and I also checked some email and had a long shower! ^^

Japanese styled pasta

Next morning I woke up early and packed all my stuff, then we headed out towards Nagoya station, had breakfast at Yoshinoya (吉野家), we had gyudon (牛丼).. typical japanese!
Then we headed back to Nagoya station and I said goodbye to my "sister" and boarded my train!
I chose a Nozomi train (のぞみ), the fastest shinkansen train(新幹線 電車). It took around 2 h and 30min to go from Nagoya to Tokyo.

I arrived at Shinagawa Station(品川駅), I headed down to the Yamanote line (山手線) and took the train to Meguro(目黒) and changed for the Tokyu Meguro line. However first I had to buy a pasmo (underground/bus pass). it went fast and soon I arrived in Oookayama. I almost reached the house when I saw Takako-san. She said that I was super fast, because she was heading out to see me at the station! Instead we went back inside. I put all my stuff in my "regular" room upstairs then went down to greet them both, had a long talk about this and that.
I also watched Takako-san prepare the dinner, I love her cooking!! I like japanese food and sure restaurants are great but Takako-san's food is 10000 times better. today's dinner was tofu, donkatsu and sallad!
Before sitting down Mitsuo-san asked me what I wanted to drink, actually he asked me what kind of alcohol I wanted to drink! ^^ I asked him if they had any japanese styled alcohol which Takako-san said they didn't have however Mitsuo-san ran off and came back with a big bottle and said: I have kept this one away from my wife and laughed. So in the end I got my japanese alcohol and very delicious food.


Later in the evening I got a bit worried because Sayuri-unni (さゆり)had not called so I asked to check my email, and saw that she had written to me. I answered her back and suddenly the telephone rang and Takako-san came upstairs, it was Sayuri-unni. We decided to meet at Shibuya station (渋谷駅), Hachiko exit (ハチ公口) at 10am the next morning.

Then I had a hot shower and went to bed.

Rainy Shibuya

The next morning I woke up in time, had a nice breakfast - a mixed one between Japanese and Western style!
I think some people would find it strange to have soup made of cabbage, potato and wieners. with sallad, yogurt, bread and tea at the same time.
After breakfast I headed out to Shibuya. I arrived a bit early and decided to look around. At first I was in schock because I couldn't spot the usual HMV sign, so I crossed the road and walked up to where HMV used to be and found out they had closed, instead Forever 21 had open a huge store.
It was raining and it made me feel a bit gloomy, so I walked back to the station, where Sayuri was waiting.
It was great seeing her again, I haven't seen her for more than a year, she was my first friend in Korea back in 2008.
First she gave me birthday presents, "hichew" candy with photos of us - she had ordered them online. She also gave me a clearfile with Arashi's Sho-kun. She got it from his latest CM for Aflac, and since she knew that Sho-kun is my fave she gave it to me (^0^)

Then we walked off to Shibuya 109 and began our shopping day. In 109 they have all kind of stores, clothes, shoes, bags, accessories etc. I love the place ^^ and since it was a weekday it was not too crowded.
After spending some time inside we had lunch at a ramen restaurant nearby. I had a negi kimchi ramen ^^ Sayuri-unni paid..she is so nice, I have missed her so much and we had a fun lunch.

Afterwards we headed down to Harajuku (原宿) and walked around Takeshita-dori (竹下通り)
I found my fave stores, Momo, Wonder rocket and of course Liz Lisa. (^_^) then also all the small stores like Paris Kid's.
At last we came down to AU by KDDI and went inside, it was full with Arashi stuff - as always ^^
They also had the bench where they had taken the photos for their latest CM ^^ and one of the staff said it was popular among fans so Sayuri-unni forced me to take a photo! actually I don't really care for that kind of stuff, I mean it would have had been different if they were sitting next to me but..if they sat there months ago who cares!? :P
Anyway I sat down on the place where Sho-kun had been sitting down and took my photo!

The day continued and we headed to Ikebukuro (池袋). First stop was Tokyu Hands, I bought some kitchen supplies I had seen on TV. One was a pasta maker, you can cook pasta in the microwave. then there was also some kind of lid you put on the pasta pack and it measure 1-1,5 portions. Sayuri-unni also bought one ^^
Afterwards we walked around Sunshine city, I bought lots of stuff..haha
We took a coffee break at a cafe that had Chu creme and bubble tea. I have never had chu creme so it was a nice experience.

After some time we headed to LOFT, we didn't have much time so I checked it quickly. Then Mikina-unni (みきな) called, I let her speak to Sayuri since it was easier for her to explain where to meet. We had already decided to meet up with Setsuko-unni (せつこ) in Shinjuku (新宿) for dinner. When we arrived we couldn't find the right exit so we had to ask someone for direction, obviously we had taken the wrong stairs (^^;;)
Finally we all met up and walked to a restaurant, a typical Japanese styled one! a very nice experience and of course VERY nice company!
Setsuko unni gave me some presents, all Arashi stuff. She had gone to the Arashi school event and had bought me a towel, stickers and notebook, so cute of her and I was overjoyed ^^
It was also great seeing both Mikina-unni and Setsuko-unni!!

After dinner we headed to a bookstore and I picked up a manga book for Shao, then we went to a purikura place. first we had normal ones, we used the "most popular" machine. Then I saw some girls doing cos-play so I begged my unni's to do the same.. After showing them puppy eyes they agreed! Not Setsuko unni who said she was tooo old. Anyway we got to rent the outfit for free just because I had have my birthday earlier this month.
We all dressed out in School uniforms, sailor style!
I was seriously over the moon.. so happy! As I have never had the chance to have a school uniform it was fun for me and the sailor outfit was really cute ^^
The time was getting late and we had to split our ways and go home... Before saying goodbyes we took some photos at the station. I also called "home" saying I were on my way.

I had an AMAZING day with some of great friends, short amount of time but better than nothing!


Next morning I had to wake up at 6am. Had breakfast but was close to throw up!!
Then headed out to Ebisu station(恵比寿駅) to change train for Kuki (久喜市) in Saitama(埼玉県). When we sat down on the train Takako-san told me it was ok to sleep because it was going to take around 1 h to get to our stop.

They even have a toilet in the underground car

We finally arrived and I could see Yoko-san! It was great seeing her again, and soon after Taeko-san arrived too. Then we headed down to the car where Yoko's husband Susumu-san was waiting.
First we went to a market and they bought lots of food, then a discount shopping mall and I bought some socks. After that we headed to today's main attraction - ONSEN
I love hotsprings!! it's a great way to relax.. I almost fell asleep!! After 1 hour or so it was time for lunch, I should have had taken something cold however the Curry Ebi tempura udon looked too delicious!!And it really was.
After a long lunch we went back down and had another bath!

Onsen

After being wet and dried we took a trip home to Yoko-san and Susumu-san, where both Yoko-san and Taeko-san gave me lots of presents! As always ^^
Also I could see some marks after the terrible earthquake from March inside the house. It felt surreal and scary to see it still happy that them all were safe.
Soon it was time to head back to Tokyo and Setagaya(世田谷区), where Itsuko-san and her family lives. I had my final dinner with the family of Mitsuo-san and Takako-san (both their daughters and their children) and Taeko-san.
We had homemade sushi for dinner!!absolutely fantastic!!! A great evening!!
I also saw photos from Kyoko-chans trip to Australia. It was soo many photos yet very interesting.


Next morning, Wednesday and final day in Japan, after breakfast I headed out for some last minute shopping in Harajuku. I found some stuff ^^
Back home Takako-san had made some cold ramen dish for my final lunch, it was delicious as all her food is. As for dessert I had a icecream made of redbeans, actually I'm not a fan of it but it tasted good!!

After lunch we headed down to Shinagawa, I bought my train ticket for Narita Express aka NEX (成田空港), but before boarding we went to a café and Takako-san bought me a mango/peach smoothie. I also had time to buy a magazine, I found the latestet RAY magazine.. with no one other than Sho-kun on the cover!!!
2 in 1, I mean awesome fashion and my fave Japanese boy!! ^^
I had to say goodbye to Takako-san, it felt sad.. as always.. She is like an extra aunt for me. She is so nice!! I really like her!

I hated to go through immigration at the airport, I didn't want to leave Japan already.
Tokyo is maybe my fave city in the world and for the past 6 days I had a great time with friends and "family". I hope I can go back soon again!!

JAL Airplane food

Asia Tour 2011 . South Korea (2)

Final stage of my Asia Tour - back to Seoul!

Aug 24-29

First when I checked it I had to do it myself and something weird happened since I got another persons boarding card. So I had to explain in Japanese/English and ask some of the JAL staff to help me out! I have no idea how that could have happened, neither could them! They had to call for help, but at last they solved it and I got MY boarding pass.

Before boarding I bought some candy, Kit Kat with Green tea and Sakura taste, Sony earphones... I wanted to buy another magazine but didn't have time to check.

On the plane I tried to watch a movie I have wanted to see for quite some time, GANTZ 2! It even had Eng sub. However I couldn't watch it alone, the "grandma" next to me kept on talking to me.. You see when she came on the plane she asked the flight attendant things, however she only spoke Japanese and English, so I had to translate... Anyway since I'm much younger than grandma I just had to deal with it... I even offer her my wine, thinking she would fall asleep (^^;;)
Anyway she was a nice older lady. But what bother me the most during the flight was that the air attendant came back with other passengers, Koreans, and I had to translate between them.. To be honest I felt pissed off, it's not my job and I didn't get anything for doing it.. Or well the air attendant said 1 million thank you. Next time JAL give me some Arashi goods!! (^^;;)


I landed quite late and decided to take the subway back, because it was the cheapest method and also I have never taken it all the way downtown Seoul. It opened after I left.
I changed at Hongdae ip-gu(홍대입구) and took Line 2 to Euljiro il-ga (을지로 입구).
I checked back in to the Myeongdong hostel, got my bag, changed abit then went out for a very late dinner. It was already midnight but I was too hungry!!
I found a Kimbap Cheokguk (김밥천국) across the street and ordered a tuna casserole (참치찌개). Then went home to bed.


Next morning I woke up early and headed down to Krispy Kreme Donoughts where I met with Eri unni (에리언니). We walked to Coffee bean and had breakfast. We had a long talk, a fun talk before unni had to head for work and I went down to Lotte Mart(롯데마트) and bought lots of food, noodles(라면), seaweed (김), cookies (과자) etc to send home. I had so many things I decided to take a taxi back, and on my way I called Eun-jeong unni (은정언니) and asked if she had have lunch already but lucky enough she had not, so we decided to meet up. We had lunch at MyeongDong Gyoza (명동교사) we had their fameous noodle soup (칼국수) and dumplings(만두). It was fun seeing her again and had a good chat.

Myeongdong noodlesoup!

After lunch I headed back to the hostel and picked up all the food and other things I wanted to send back home, then headed down to the Central Post office(중앙우체국).
Then I headed to the massage place where I had made an reservation. I got a full body massage, it was like heaven! I didnt want the 75 min to end!! And the best part, it only cost aprox 250 Krona(43 ooo원)!

It was nice just to be by myself, tired after almost 2,5 weeks moving around ^^ in the evening I went to Dongdaemun (동대문) for some shopping, I ended up buying quite alot..as said before it's the dongdaemun effect. Also I bargain so I got good prices. I bought jeans, jeans shirt, skirt, west, umbrella and many accessories!!
The ajumma at my fave accessory store at the Migliore is always so kind to me, I havent seen her for almost 1 year still she remembers me!! (and imagine how many people who go shopping there in one year!!) I had so many things so while looking she took care of all my bags behind the counter.
I bought maybe 7 things, and when I finally paid I found one more item, and when I asked how much it was she said I could get it for free..!! she also gave me some other stuff for free!! she is soo nice!!


Friday morning, I decided to mail some more stuff home because I had been shopping and there was NO way I would be able to come home without overweight!
I also went to the Lotte Duty free and bought some Anna Sui stuff. As said before Anna Sui is one of my fave brands, and you can only get it in Asia and US.. so when you have it infront of you, you have to buy it right ^^
Afterwards I headed down to Keonguk uni (건대) and met JiSeon unni (지선언니). We had lunch at a BBQ place and ordered a samgyepsal set (삼겹살).



Korean BBQ

I have missed JS unni alot and it felt strange in one way seeing her in Korea, we usually have met in London! However she moved back to Korea just a few months ago. Then we walked around the area and we ended up.. or JS ended up shopping alot, I only bought a few things ^^ (I know I shop a lot..but many things are cheaper in Korea and it's also nice to buy things that you can't find in Sweden.)
After coffee we headed down to Techomart and met a friend of JS, who wanted to sell her camera.

Time passed and soon I had to leave, I had arranged a meeting with MinYoung unni (민영언니) at Coex (코엑스). First we went to Bandi Lunis bookstore and unni payed for some manga books I wanted to buy, she said it was her b-day present for me.
Then we had dinner at Omuto tomato, a Omurice restaurant. A restaurant both me and unni loves ^^ To be honest.. I think our first meal in Korea we had together 2 years ago were at that restaurant ^^
It was a nice meal... then we walked around the mall and we also paid a visit at the Lotte Duty Free shop. I bought a perfume for my mum.
On thing that surprised me was that it was 20USD cheaper down there rather than at the Lottee Duty free at Myeongdong!!
I also found a Samsung Galaxy S2 phone but the price was outrageous!!so I asked the staff why it was that expensive, then he said it was for the chinese people ^^;; He also said it only came in English and Chinese langauge. Normally it comes in many langauges... well well.. Chinese like to spend money when they travel so why not!!

I came back to my hostel and some new girls had checked in, we said hi, then all went to bed.

Saturday morning, I talked more to the girls, they had come to Korea for exchange studies for a year. We ended up spending most of the day with each other.
First stop was Edae (이대) we looked around, did some shopping, I bought converse shoes and a hat. then we walked down to Sinchon, made a visit at penpia and bought some stationary before going to Yongsan (용산). In Yongsan I wanted to buy some movies, I ended up buying 9 movies and 1 tv series. All for 180 Swedish Krona! (30 000원)
We had lunch at the mall, because of the heat I had cold noodles (냉면). Afterwards I showed them to Dongdaemun and they went shopping. I helped them bargain since they didn't know Korean.

For dinner we went down to Namdaemun Market (남대문시장) and ate food from a street stall, we had ddeokbokki (떡볶이), kimbap(김밥), odeng (오뎅) and pajeon (파전). The girls found it interesting and tasty.
Then we walked back to Myeongdong(명동) and walked around the main shopping streets, shopped, ate icecream etc before heading back to the hostel. Time to pack!!


Sunday morning.
I packed my final stuff and checked out!
I had breakfast with Amy, one of my roommate before heading down to Jong-gak station(종각역) where I met up with HeeJung unni (희정언니) First we had lunch, talked alot, then unni wanted to buy some clothes since she had her hiking gear on from yesterday! She had slept at a friends house and she wanted to change since well.. we were inside Seoul ^^
Then we took a walk around Insadong (인사동) had a coffee then went down to Kyobo books (교보문고). I bought another movie and some pens and lots of stickers.
I still don't understand why it has to be so expensive in Sweden and so cheap in Korea!! That's why I love Korean stationary and bookstore.
Kyobo used to be my second home, I can spend hours inside just looking or pull out a book from a shelf and sit down reading it all. In a way it feels like a library rather than store..!!
Both tired and we sat down by the Cheonggyecheon stream (청계천) and relaxed and talked.

Busy sunday afternoon in Myeongdong

Soon enough we were back in MyeongDong... We were supposed to meet up with Pamela and David for dinner, we had decided to meet at 7pm however they didn't show, so at 7,30 we went and had dinner ourselves, then suddenly I got a phonecall from Pamela saying they just arrived and couldn't make it since I had to leave for the airport too.
Me and Heejung unni had a shabushabu similar dish for dinner, then we went back to my hostel and collected my bags, However when we reached Lotte Hotel there were no bus to be seen.
I ran up to the front desk and asked them, they said I had to take a taxi to Incheon, or the train.
I ran back to Heejung unni and we decided to go take a taxi to Seoul station, then take the train from there.
It was sad saying goodbye after such a short time. Unni means so much to me, she always help me out when I'm in trouble or if there is something I don't understand. She is like an ANGEL to me!!

I boarderd the train and after 1 hour I arrived at Incheon Intl Airport.
Since I had checked in online I could skip the looooong queue, however my bags weighted 29kgs! and I were only allowed 23!
The person who helped me asked what I had in handluggage then told me to take some stuff out and put it there, I managed to get it down to 27kgs and I passed!!
Before going through security I went down to McDonalds and bought some kind of Blueberry drink. I had seen it all through my travel in Korea but never had the time to drink it, and this was my final chance. And it only cost 10 kr (1800원).

McD Blueberry drink

At immigration the man asked me something in English but I didn't hear what he said so he asked me in Korean, I answered with I don't know, why!?. He said I had to come back to Korea before 2013, because of my Visa :P and I said yes I know.. I will be back!
Inside most places were closed, I picked up the Duty free stuff I had bought at the stores in Seoul.
Then bought some cookies and candy for my dad, had a small snack before it was time to board!


My flight left at 00.50 am!!
Time to go back to Sweden, time to be a regular student again....
Time to say goodbye to Asia, once again.. Time to be seperated from close friends.. AGAIN!

Asia Tour 2011 - Taiwan

Aug 11-15

I arrived quite late, it took 4-5 h to fly from Singapore to Taiwan's capital Taipei. I slept most of the time. I chose a budget airflight, Aussie Tiger Airways, I don't think I'll use them again unless that's my only choice. It's like Ryanair in Europe however one good thing was that I got 3 seats for myself and slept on all of them. ^^ The plane was quite full still I had no one beside me!!
I managed to get my bag and come through immigration quite early. however when I came out I couldn't see Sangbong-unni anywhere, to be honest i started to panic abit since I don't know mandarin language (except a few words) never been to Taiwan before.

After 15 min I got a text saying she was on her way, finally when we met i got so happy!
I havent seen her for 1 year and it felt so good seeing each other again.
Unni said we were going to take a bus then change for another bus etc to get to her house. However I asked how much a taxi would cost and she said around 200 swedish krona. bus would have had been maybe 50. but being exhaused i said i'd pay, since taxi sounded better in my ears!
The taxi ride took maybe 1 h and we were dropped off right infront of unni's house.
I had to carry my heavy bag up 3 floors...i almost fell on my back but managed to stay up.

After greeting her parents, put my bag in unni's room we went out for a late dinner ^^
We ended up at Mos burger! I had a rice burger. instead of bread it was rice rapped around the burger! totally awesome and only in Asia ^^
I also spotted a very funny thing - when there is a green light the "green man" is walking,however when it's only a few sec left he starts to run like crazy ^^;; so funny!! and probably ONLY in Taiwan.
After a quick stop at 7eleven we went home, took a shower then went to bed!

Rice burger

Next morning we headed out, first we walked abit then had breakfast at a local place, i had some kind of tuna omelette. it was very nice. And I also bought a milk tea! (Taiwanese milktea is AWESOME)
Then we headed to Maokong cable car. in order to get to the top we took a bus, it was a bumpy ride!
we took a all glass car, so i could see everything, unni was scared, she hates hights!
After maybe 20min we came down, it was a long ride but very fun! I could see much of Taipei!

View from the cablecar

Afterwards we went to Taipei Zoo. First we went to the Taiwanese animal section, it was very interesting.
I think we spent half a day in there. I think I saw 50 different kinds of turtles!! not so fun after 20 of them.
Anyway I also got to see pandas, i think we stayed where the pandas were for over then 1 h. not my plan but the rain kept on pouring down! however at 5pm we had to leave since they closed. lucky enough the rain stopped after 5 min we went out.

Found this inside the Zoo.. XD

We ended up in downtown Taipei, close to City hall.. First we checked some shopping in a shopping mall close by then met up with unni's friend Emma-li and had dinner at a Taiwanese restaurant! All dishes were Taiwanese styled food, it was different from chinese food, I've always thought it was similar but it's very different!! I was happy that they took me to such a great restaurant!! SangBong unni said that Emma-Li knows alot of great restaurants in Taipei!
After dinner we went to a bookstore, i bought a magazine from Anna Sui, one of my fave brands, and also a dvd with Japanese singer Ayaka.
Later we headed to Wu-fen, a night shopping district. I found many cute clothes and accessories. I also got discount, my bargain skills are awsome even though I do not speak any Chinese!! :P

Stinking tofu

Next morning we went to "Stinking tofu street". I've wanted to try the stinking tofu for quite some time, and finally I managed to find it and actually eat it. And not only did I find it.. it even have a whole street of its own!! XD
First I managed to find tofu icecream, and I have to say it was yummy!
As for the stinking tofu, it's extreeeeeeeeeemly popular among Taiwanese people and the taste wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. People have kept on telling me stuff so I thought it was going to be even worse. Taste was kinda okay however the smell - I have no words!! I thought I went in to a barn filled with animals and their feces... (^^;;)
I was brave enough to try two different kinds of it, cooked and BBQ stinking tofu, I think I liked the BBQ one more... I wouldn't say yummy but better!

Well back in downtown Taipei people gathered around a tent so we had to check it out, 1 meter infront of me actor Mike He popped up! At first I didn't recognize him, he looks way better on tv :P Still cool to see him close up! I don't think it will EVER happen again XD
Afterwards we dodged the fan girls went to the movies, and saw the final HARRY POTTER movie in 3D. Unni asked me to speak in English when buying the tickets and snacks and to both of our surprise they were good! Normally they have 1 or 2 people who knows English somewhat. You rather say words than a whole sentence! Anyway we got good seats and enjoyed the movie!

When we came out we headed to the annual manga convention, I was in chock! there were so many people lining up, and inside even more!! We spent several hours inside, it was really something I have never experienced before!!! Some things they sold there were (O_o;;) I mean the ones who bought those things were children! My parents would have beaten the crap out of me or my brother if we bought things like that! (For you to get a picture.. imagine a pillow as big as a human being and on the cover a young girl is dressing up in very sexy lingerie!!!)
Anyway I found some clearfiles, Skipbeat and K-on, a One Piece bag and a NANA paperbag ^^

In the evening we went to another night market, a very popular one. it was so crowded!
I bought a helmet, strawberry "shaped".. totally AWSOME!! we also tried some delicious food, mango bingsu, Taiwanese styled sausage...and finally REALLY REALLY Stinking tofu.
The really really stinking one was too much for me, I tried several bites but no. the taste and smell was too much to handle! I thought I was gonna throw up. So in the end I just took some mushroom soup ^^
On our way home we passed many petshops and so cute puppies and kittens!!I wanted them all. After a few meters we passed what I thought was a café, however it was a dog biscut shop!!!
At 7eleven I found some funny drinks, and i bought myself a chocolate milk tea drink!! strange yet tasty!!


Next morning we headed to church.
After church we had breakfast/lunch at a mall in Taipei main station. we had taiwanese beef noodles, and some dumplings. it was really nice, and so cheap!!! I wish we could buy food this cheap in Sweden too!!
Since for some reason ASIAN people do not drink much WHEN eating, i had to buy something after lunch, I bought a green tea bubble tea with "sakura" bubbles!! so awesome. I also found other yummy things but too full to be able to eat any of them.
Soon we headed to Ximen ding, a popular shopping area, however as soon as we arrived the rain started to pour down!! so we tried to find stores to walk in!! soon the rain stopped and we could walk outside again!
Once again a fameous person popped up in front of me, Jam (2nd winner of Taiwanese superstar) and Jolin Tsai!! My friend was like: I'm born and grew up here in Taiwan but I have never seen these people in real life before then you show up and see all of them! What can I say..I'm lucky!? (^0^) however I wish I could have had seen JJ Lin, Jerry Yan or someone else..I like ^^
In Ximen they also had a ABSOLUTE vodka exhibition, but taiwanese styled! So cool...Swedish still changed into Taiwanese! ^^
They also had a Hawaii Five-0 promotion thing where u should test your balance! which I did.. and I also got a price, a towel! (always useful)
On our way back I stopped at a travelbag store and found a really cute bag, perfect for my week trip to Japan! and the price was so good that I had to buy it! ^^
Unni just laughed and said that I buy new stuff every day and now a bag!! ^^
I said that I have saved all my money in order to buy things in Asia!! besides it is so cheap in Taiwan compare to Sweden!!!
Soon we headed up to the Miramar ferris wheal! The thing you ALWAYS see on Taiwanese dramas! Before going up we had a PUDDING milk tea, they seriously put a whole pudding in the bottom of the "glass". I asked unni how to drink it and she said: suck it up! (^^;;)

Pudding milk tea

The night view of Taipei was just like all other Asian countries, filled with lights! And 101 could of course be spotted!! (the Taipei 101 can be spotted from most places in Taipei)
For my final dinner we met up with Emma-Li and had a taiwanese hotpot/shabushabu similar dish. very nice and great company.
Before heading home we went to a 24h bookstore. I found a learning "chinese characters" book for a good price! I have no idea when I'll learn but some time will hopefully come my way ^^ What was good with this book was that while you study each charater it lets you know why the characters look just like they do. In my opinion many of them look too complicated :P so I hope this book will make it clearer!
I were surprised that so many people were gathered infront of the store, just hanging around, talking, playing games etc!
On our way back to the underground I was captured by a light and stopped and walked backwards! it was bank..and the interia was ALL in PINK!! I wonder if they have any male customers (^^;;)

Wonder if they have any male customers ^^

Back in unni's neighbourhood we went to a supermarket and I shopped lots of food, candy and some drinks. (all to send home to Sweden) To walk around in supermarkets and markets for that reason in other countries is always fun! And this time I had an expert with me on what's good etc ^^

Next morning before heading to the airport we went to the post office and sent most of the stuff back home to Sweden! (^^;;)
For final breakfast I had a Taiwanese omelette again ^^ and some milktea. In my mind I thought "I'm so gonna miss Taiwanese milk tea".
We took a taxi to a hotel downtown, where the airportbus went from. At the airport I checked in fast then bought some souvenirs for my "aunts" in Japan and posted my postcards that I had forgot to do earlier at the post office.
It was finally time to say goodbye to unni. we only had 4 days togetheer. I wanted to cry!!
When I passed immigration the lady told me: You really have a long name. (I have 3 names, first names and middle names..)
checked duty free then boarded the flight for Seoul, S. Korea.

Asia Tour 2011 - South Korea (1)

Aug 15-18

Finally back in Korea, I arrived in the afternoon, around 5pm. I talked to my dad on the phone since I wanted to hear all about his accident. (he fell of the roof of our cottage).
Then I came to immigration and held down my phone however the bitch at the immigration told me to stop the call, and I said but I'm not talking...still she disagreed and I shut of the phone and she gave me my passport!! what a ****! she totally did it to mock around!!
Anyway I got my luggage called my dad back, went outside and took a bus to Lotte Hotel, in Myeongdong.

I found my hostel quite fast, what a great location, right next to Hana Bank (opposite Lotte Hotel). I checked in, changed clothes and went to Myeongdong main shopping streets.
I walked around and tried to feel "at home" (^0^) It felt strange to be back in Seoul again. Almost a year had passed since last time.
After walking around I finally had dinner, my first meal was jajjangmyeon (black bean noodles). I felt quite tired and went home to sleep.


First dinner in Seoul!

16th of August, HAPPY B-day to me *lol*
I had a quick breakfast, with coffee from the new chain Coffee guru naru(spelling?!), then headed to my fave. hair salon in Seoul!! Ashdo.
I had a new hairdresser since my last one, Mayo, left the place. First we talked about the colour and I said I wanted colour + hi-lights, then cut some ends and fix my fringe.
They said it'd take some time and asked if it was ok. when they said time they meant 3 h+ ^^
Anyway I had lots of great japanese magazines to pass time with! and as always they were so polite. Finally done and I looked in the mirror with happiness! ^^

In the evening I first went to Edae but the rain kept on pouring down so I ran down to Sinchon to meet some friends for b-day dinner.
We walked to the dalkhanmari restaurant that had moved to another location, on the same street! It was so nice to have the dalkhanmari again!I have missed it so much *^^*


B-day cake

After dinner most of us went to a icecream café near Hyundai departmentstore. my friends bought me a Minnie mouse cake!!so cute.. my friends are the best!! *Jjang*
After some time some had to leave and then Eri-unni came by to say happy b-day but also to give me a present, some cakes from a nice bakery!! it was so nice to see Eri-unni again.
Later Maki-unni came and we had a chat, whent the café was going to close we walked to Maki-unni's husbands bar..
Tomoko-san also came and it was fun seeing her too! Then her husband brought out lots of food, ddeokbokki, odeng etc.
I think me, Matthieu, Maki and Tomoko stayed there until 3am, then I went out to find a cab and went home sleeping!

Next morning I woke up late, bought a vitamin water and took the underground up to Waedae and met Young Eun unni for lunch.
We went to a ddeokbokki buffee place close to Kyunghee dae. It was really delicious! and we picked out what we wanted ourselves.


Ddeokbokki lunch

After lunch we went back to Waedae, I helped unni with her project, then we had coffee at a café with a fameous barista. After that I headed down to Jamsil and met Hani.
We walked around Jamsil area, did some small shopping and then sat at café and talked. time passed by and soon I headed back up to Dongdaemun and met Heejung unni!
I were not supposed to shop at all instead I ended up buying jeans shorts, a jacket and some other things. But I guess that's the dongdaemun effect! + they have opened a new shopping mall called MAXstyle. It was pretty cheap compare to the other malls. + there were many other malls too and more seem to come in the near future.
For dinner we had naengmyeon and meat. really tasty and typical korean summer food.
Heejung unni also ended up buying lots, she always blame me.. since she always end up shopping whenever we go out ^^

Back home at the hostel I re-packed my bags, and in the morning I checked out and asked them about my bag that I wanted to leave behind for a week. the guy at the lobby said that I could just put it there, but the cleaning lady said it wasn't so good since I were not going to be back for 1 week, so she said to the guy to put it in his room (^^;;) the guy said his room was too small so the cleaning lady said she'd put it in the cleaning closet, no one beside the staff could access to it so it was good. I thanked her and took the underground out to Gimpo airport and checked in to my flight for Osaka.
Before enter the security gate I had breakfast, I had a tuna kimbap (^0^)

Asia tour 2011 - Singapore

Aug 6-11

I started off my tour in Singapore, it took 15 h to fly from Stockholm.
I had a 3 h long stop over at Doha, Qatar. At the time I wished it had been much faster, the airport was boring and not much to do at all.
On the plane I watched many movies, among them all Kung Fu Panda 2 (^^;;)
I was lucky and got to sit at the emergency exit from Stockholm to Doha and had much leg space etc, however during the flight between Doha and SG I had a normal seat, and I have to say the space was tiny!! and the food was so-so...


I arrived in SG at 3pm on Aug 6, Rara came out to the airport and greeted me, I was surprised that there was a huge shopping mall connected to the airport!!
Rara's mum picked us up from the subway and we went straight to their house. Their area, Upper East Coast was really nice and the houses..OMG
I so wish I could live there ^^

Also their kitchen was OUTSIDE! never seen that before. After a small tour of the house the doorbell rang and Shao, LC and LS came! we had some snacks, talked and just enjoyed the moment.

For dinner we ended up at a chinese restaurant close by, some other girls joined too.
It was the first time in a long time I had chinese food and of course great company.
After dinner we took a bus to an icecream place. it was hard to decide what to eat but at last i chose mango and a cookie flavour.
After icecream we went back to Rara's house and had cupcakes that Yolanda had brought, we couldn't even finish half of them but then again we already had a lot to eat ^^
After more eating we were supposed to head out for ktv, however i was so tired so I had to call it for tonight, after a super cold shower i hit the bed!


Next morning i woke up quite late, jetlag i suppose. rara and I headed out to somerset mall, had some breakfast then met up with Shao and LC. first we looked around in the mall and i found my beloved HMV ^^ I ended up buying SNSD's japanese album!
After looking in some more stores we had lunch at the food court upstairs, we had singaporian food. I finally got to taste the fameous CHICKEN & RICE ^^


SG's fameous Chicken & Rice

After lunch we had some more time for shopping, we went to Forever 21, I ended up buying a few things, also I got a discount because I wore Forever 21 clothes!! Awsome right!? ^^
Time passed by and soon we headed for the NIGHT SAFARI.
We met up with the japanese girls, Haruka and Kaoru and Laishan, Xiuling!
Before enter the safari we had dinner, we ended up eating the "bongo burger"

Night safari was awesome, we could walk really close to the animals and it was pitch black outside so it made it a bit scary to be honest.
Laishan drove us home afterwards and it was a funny ride, it felt like being on a roller coaster! ^^
we drove around in SG and LS couldn't find her way, first rara told her to follow a bus, since the bus would stop at Rara's house! but LS refused of course..that sounded so weird yet fun, finally LS called someone who guided us and we found the high way and soon we were back on the Upper East Coast!


Night safari

Next morning we started off with KAYA TOAST for breakfast, the place Rara wanted to take me to was closed so we went to Ya Kun Kaya Toast. I had a set so I also got an egg and coffee. the egg was cooked but it felt like it was raw ^^
Afterwards we went down to the marine parade bought milk tea, which I managed to splash all over myself, then walked down to the beach!! Afterwards to the library!it was so nice.. I wish we had libaries in Sweden just like that, but I guess that's not our culture.
Because of the heat and late breakfast we had lunch around 5pm! I had some noodle soup, really nice and so cheap! Around 25 Swedish krona. Then Shao came and Rara went to Japanese business class. Me and Shao went to another big shopping mall, at Daiso I found a funny foot patch aka $2 worth of happiness! Later Shao bought me a blueberry egg tart ^^
In the evening we met up with the other girls and went to ONE ALTITUDE, a skybar at 282m! Awesome and really nice.. I also met friends of friends and the view was to die for!!!! I had a few glasses of wine and of course great company. I also took a lot of photos!


View of the Marina Bay sands hotel from 1Altitude

Next morning me, Rara, LC, LS and Shao had brunch at Robertson Quay. I had an all american breakfast. To be honest now I know why I dislike fast food and american styled greasy food.
When I saw the plate I wanted to laugh! I could only finish 1/5 of it, the rest I gave to the other girls, still now I know why I prefere Asian food! ^^;;
After a long and nice brunch we went down to Central, LS had to buy some clothes and in the meantime I managed to buy 2 pair of shoes within less than 10 min (^0^;;) The other girls just laughed and was amazed! But what can I say... when u see nice shoes and they fit and the price is also ok, you have to buy them right! ^^

We wanted to go to the museum however due to national holiday the number of visitors was too high so instead we took a taxi downtown and went to KTV, also known as karaoke.
Afterwards we had dinner, Thai Express. Before the food arrived the girls asked me what I wanted to eat tomorrow!
I wanted to laugh, that's a difference between Europe and Asia. In Europe we are more about what to see, as for food we just pick something up on the way. However in Asia it's ALL about food!! After dinner we went to a cafe and bought some cakes, but we couldnt go in so we had to take "to go" and we sat down on a gigant sofa close by! the cakes were really cute and the taste was totally ok!



Dimsum

Only one day left, we started the day with Dim Sum. Rara ordered some great stuff! I went to heaven for a few minutes ^^
Afterwards we walked down to the national museum of Singapore. We took the history part, it was very interesting I learnt new things!! after 2 hours we left and continued our walk down to Bugis area.
It was like a huge market, it reminded me a bit of Dongdaemun still sligthly different.
We also went to Little India, it really felt like we arrived in India! Such an awesome feeling!haha
We dropped by a restaurant, before I ordered I asked the waiter to explain almost the whole menu before I was rude enough :P to order something I already knew. The guy just looked at me as if I were joking with him! *poor guy* After eating we walked down to Mustafa centre! It has open 24/7 and on the 2nd floor they had a huge supermarket, it covered almost the whole floor! I have never seen anything like it!

We rushed down to Raffles Quay and tried to get a taxi, since I wanted to go to Marina Bay, however to get a taxi was IMPOSSIBLE after waiting in line for 45 min we gave up and found a bus and went home to LS for my final dinner in SG.
We had a steamboat, LS and Shao had already bought all the food, it looked awesome!! and it tasted DELICIOUS. After a long dinner while watching "bad teacher" I wanted to go to the bathroom however the girls forbid me, 2 sec later the rest of them came out with a b-day cake and a present! I almost wanted to burst into tears! The cake was really cute, a cream cake with strawberries! I also got a small "Tigger" soft toy! My SG girls are the best!!
Later we moved in to LS room and watched another movie and talked! I didnt want the night to end. Both LC and Shao had to leave early since they had work the next day and lived quite faraway.
When we walked to the bus Rara walked in the wrong direction therefore the bus passed by and Rara made a small "give me a break" shout ^^


My b-day cake from the girls


Final morning we headed out and had breakfast at a local cafe, I had kaya toast, a must.. but it was different from Ya-Kun. I'm not sure which one i prefere. I also had singaporian styled coffee.
Afterwards we finally headed to my "wanted to see spot", I'm talking about Marina Bay Sands Hotel!
We paid SGD20 and took the elevator to the 56th floor!
It felt so cool, on the 3 hotel complexes they have built what looks like a boat.
The sun was really strong so it was HOT. I wanted to take a swim in the pool, but only hotel guests are allowed to swim! (T__T) so I guess I'll have to do that next time.
After spending an hour upstairs we went down again and across the road they have built a whole shopping mall complex and casino!! I was surprised, I mean if you come here as a tourist you don't need to go anywhere else :P
All the brands are under the same roof!! They even had a small skating rink inside! however fake ice, or should I say plastic ice.
Before leaving we had lunch at the food court. I had some malaysian food and rara had some mixed food.
Back at the house I packed my final stuff then Rara's dad came and drove us out to the airport.

At the airport LC also came to say good-bye and she also gave me a moon cake. My VERY FIRST moon cake!

I checked in then it was time to go through the gate. I wanted to cry but couldn't!
I couldn't believe 6 days already had passed! it seemed like it was yesterday I arrived and now I had to depart!!
I hope to see my girls again, and thank you for a wonderful week!!!

Jetlag!

I came home yesterday afternoon.
I took a taxi since my parents couldn't come out to the airport, anyway it was fast ^^

I have a huge jetlag, I just want to sleep but I can't.. I need to adjust to the Swedish time zone.

This morning I went to class for the first time, actually this semester I'm attending Uppsala University and I have never been there before anyway it went fine..

Final stage..

So I'm at the final stage of my trip, in 48 h I'll be going back home to Sweden!!

3 weeks has passed by so fast and I don't want it to end!

I'll write more when I get home however what I can say now is that I want to go back to all countries I have visited!!

I've spent an AWESOME time around Asia and been with wonderful friends! Can't believe that more than a year has passed since we last saw each other!!

I got to save and travel next year again...

Goodbye Europe!

Today is the day!!
In a few hours I'm off on my trip around Asia!
First stop SINGAPORE!
I really look forward seeing Rara and Shao!!!

Won't be able to update the blog during the time I'm away but will try!!

Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan here I come!!!

Goodbye Europe - see you in 3 weeks!


Today's song: Cir cuz - Radio

the day before the day

Today I woke up early strange enough.
I was out kinda late since it was a weekday. I only had what.. 5 h of sleep?!
After a protein shake I went to the gym, I wasn't able to run as much as I wanted but I blame me donating blood yesterday. But I did okay I guess..last time for a couple of weeks!
On my way home I passed a big super market and bought some last minute presents or what to call it ^^
I bought crisps, candy,cookies... ^^ I forgot the cinamonrolls but I forgot! I might pass a store later today otherwise I'll take that next time, I already bought alot of things ^^

Norway
Not many new news reports these days...

• Just people who said they have met Anders B. Breivik.
• His lawyer saying that he has a hard time being isolated in prison. (well it shouldn't be a good time?!)
• Some "criminal groups" has expressed anger and threats against Anders B. Breivik however so far no threaths has been expressed from inside the prison.
• People still wonder why he wanted Geir Lippestad as his lawyer, since he has not been practise criminal cases for a very long time, also he is a member of the party AP which he attacked. SOme people believed he wanted to kill Geir Lippestad. However that's just speculations so far.
• Also Geir Lippestad said that at first he wanted to say no however someone had to take on this case since it's important for both the society and democracy.
• Anders B. Breivik still won't tell if he worked together with somebody or if he did it all by himself.
• There has been more funerals this week.

Europe

the currency EURO and all the involved countries are at the edge..

Will they have to split up and create new currencies?

Is this the fall of the European dream?

Today's song: T-ara - Roly-Poly in 코파카바나

A very VERY long day!

Today I woke up early and went for a job interview!
I was surprised that there were so many people there and I was among the youngest. It went fine however the chance I get it is small since I won't be able to go to a second interview next week since I will be in Asia!
Anyway I can hope that they will call me once I come back home!

Afterwards I walked around and did some window shopping before I met up with my mum and had lunch, we bought fresh pasta sallad with chicked, garbanzo pesto and feta cheese.
It was very nice and yummy! of course from Melanders at Östermalmshallen, a very known covered market.

After lunch I headed down to the blood central in order to donate blood. It was my very first time! The reason why I did t was because I wanted to find out my bloodtype ^^ but then again to donate blood is a very good cause! You can help people in many different ways! it took around an hour, I also got to rest alot and drink alot of sweet drinks (juice).

Around 3.30pm I met up with Hanna for some shopping and talking.. she also gave me a package she wanted me to deliver to a friend of hers in Taiwan. I'm going there next Thursday so ^^

At 7pm I met up with Fredrick and Hearan, first we had some rosewine at Mosebacke, when the sun went down it became quite cold and we tried to find an open restaurant. At last we ended up at Vapiano.
Tried as I don't know what I'm finally home after a very very long day. BUT nice day!!
2morrow I'm off to my first destination... SINGAPORE!! (^0^)

Today's song: Super Junior (KRY) - My love, My kiss, My heart

Lots of music

Yesterday I got lots of new music.. Super Juniors 5th "Mr Simple" album, Alice's "Just one" album, Hwanhee's new album and some other songs.

I haven't been able to listen through them all but they all seem great...

I usually do not like SuJu's album so much at first, however compare to earlier albums I like this one more ^^

And the cover is awsome!! ie. Siwon ^^ it's really something different!

This morning I went to the gym and it was...not too many people...but more than before, I guess people are back from their vacation!

Anyway it felt good and now I'm exhaused!

Later today I'm meeting up with Sandra and do some shopping and talking!

Only 3 days left!!

Today's song: Super Junior - Mr Simple (teaser 1)

SNSD - Mr Taxi (Korean version)

a fun surprise

Today I heard something huge drop down my mailbox, of course I ran out to check what it could be ^^ I know curious George ^^
To my surprise it was a package from Yoko-san, she's like one of my aunts in Japan.
I didn't rip it but well opened fast and it was filled with stuff.. I wanted to laugh but well I got a huge smile on my lips, she had bought me pictures, fan, keychain and other stuff with a Korean guy I like.. I'd never buy those stuff myself but well when it's a present I'm just happy!! So kind of her, she said she had gone to Korea town in Tokyo and bought them!!!

She also wrote a small letter saying, next time you're in Tokyo let's go there ^^
Yoko-san always buy me stuff, I kinda feel bad about it since she always buy me many things!!
She's very kind!

Today I finally had time to check the Arashi dvd I bought, last week I had other things to do.. anyway I enjoyed it alot!! Arashi are the best ^^
I loved the live version of Time Capsule!

I have also been looking for books I need when this coming semster starts!! it's not easy however the books are not as expensive as I thought so if I have to buy them I won't be ruined!!

I have decided to go to Momo by Wonder rocket + Liz Lisa when I go to Japan!! Or well I have too they are my fave brands in Japan ^^
I looked at the homepage of both, the clothes looks awsome, i really want to go on a shopping spree ^^
Yesterday I found out I have more money than I thought I had... so I'm very very HAPPY

Today's song: Overtone - Colorblind (Invictus OST)