IMified, Discovered
A colleague of mine (IT geek, hehe!) recently discovered IMified and shared his new found knowledge with me. It's quite a fascinating tool.

So what is IMified? This is a summary of it, taken from their site:

IMified is an instant messenger buddy that works across all major IM networks and offers access to a growing number of web applications, as well as productivity tools like notes, reminders, and todo's. Imified helps you get things done faster.

It's relatively easy to use... Just add one of the IM buddies to your buddy list (i.e: MSN messenger) and you're ready to start! This blog post was posting using IMified :P Testing testing ma~

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Korean Abalone Porridge
We had a chance to eat abalone porridge for breakfast during one of our days on Jeju Island, Korea. Temperatures in Jeju Island is a little warmer, maybe 3ºC - 6ºC while we were there XD.

This is the abalone porridge the restaurant served each of us. Free refills of course (already part of the package, "yum sek mm lau!"). I guess you can call this bonjuk... hor?

You see the abalone piece? That's in the porridge XD A very tiny baby abalone, ekekekekeke! Most of the abalone is already in small bits, so I guess I was lucky to find an abalone still intact. Jeju Island is famous for shellfish, harvested by the haenyo.

Overall, the porridge was quite tasty, not too strong a flavour. Some of the tour members may have found the porridge a little bland, then again we Malaysians are quite used to eating food with very strong flavours so I guess having something a little bland for a change may not suit all taste buds. I ate the porridge with some of the side dishes like kimchi and seaweed.

I'll definitely pay a visit to Bonjuk @ Desa Sri Hartamas :) To see if the bonjuk here is like the ones I had in Korea.

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Haenyo

Taken from Wikipedia: The haenyo, literally meaning "sea women", are female divers in the Korean province of Jeju. They are representative of the matriarchal family structure of Jeju.

The haenyo will dive as deep as 20 feet, staying underwater for up to 2 minutes, to harvest shellfish and seaweed, with no breathing apparatis. These remarkable women dive all year round, even during winter! Imagine diving the the freezing waters!!!! After harvesting, they will proceed to sell their catch so everything is really fresh. You can even eat the catch there, live! We saw a few people eating freshly chopped up squid O.O The sotong's tentacles were still squirming around! *double O.O*

Back in the olden days, the women will be diving and the men stayed at home to jaga anak. Roles were reversed then. They say women were better suited for the dive due to the amounts of body fat women have, thus acting like an insulation against the cold. Obviously I don't have enough fat, so I kenot dive lah XD

The tradition of women divers is still being practised today, and when in Jeju Island, you're bound to see these ladies sitting by the shores, after a hard day's work of diving. It's been reported that 85% of the registered haenyo today are over the age of 55. Which clearly means the younger generation of women are opting not to be haenyo, preferring to seek jobs in the big cities.

Such as it is, the sad facts of development.

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Switching To NGV
*Take a break from my Korea trip postings ya.

My dad recently installed 2 NGV tanks in his massive 4WD. Good for you dad! Not only do you save $$$ on petrol (petrol prices are going up this year), you'll also be doing some good for the environment :D

You see, my dad's 4WD is quite a fuel guzzler now. The truck's about 8 years now, I reckon. Maybe more, cannot remember lah. Driving a 3.2 litre around does take a toll in the long run. Further more, he goes on his fishing trips a lot, driving up north to Thailand or down south to Johore. Plus traveling in and around town. Only makes perfect sense to switch the NGV to save, right?

The cost to install both the NGV tanks and whatever workmanship costs about RM 7K++, he said. But it'll be money well spent. No doubt he'll probably lose a lot of boot space (NGV tanks are huge you know), but it's a small matter compared to the benefits of switching to NGV. I also joked with him, that he'll have to queue with the taxis to pump NGV, and also identify all the NGV stations in the country. The pathetic thing is, once you drive out of Klang valley, NGV stations are scarce. Sad, right? Considering Malaysia produces NGV and export them to Japan. My dad said every petrol station in Thailand has NGV. But over here, it's selective. Tsk~!

My dad said he would be able to toggle between petrol and NGV, so if he's outstation and there's no NGV stations around, he has the option to switch to petrol. Not bad. Now if only more fuel guzzlers switch to NGV and more NGV stations in the country...

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Ski + Snow!
Most people that opt to holiday in Korea, will go ski. Comparatively, it's cheaper to ski in Korea than in Japan. For the both of us, it would be our first experience with snow and the idea of skiing :P The ski resort we spent a night at was Phoenix Park, Mt Sorak. I've seen some other tour packages that take people to Vivaldi Park or Muju Resort.

While on the way to the ski resort, we had to stop and rent all the ski equipments. Before we departed for Korea, we've already estimated the rental for such equipments, approx USD 50 per pax. The young chap welcomed us into his shop (he was speaking in Cantonese, muahahaha!) and gave us a brief summary about skiing and the equipments. After that, each of queued up and got a set of ski suits to try on. After paying several thousands of Korean Won later, we're off to the ski resort.

The building where you rent your ski boots and skis. Lockers are available too.

Due to the massive traffic jam earlier during the day, by the time we reached the ski resort, it was already getting dark. Yea, bad traffic jam on the way to the mountains due to the holiday season. Our tour guide said it's probably because the following day is a working day, hence most Koreans who spent the holidays in the mountains are all rushing back to the city.

One part of the ski slopes. The advanced slopes are at the back, do you see it? *points to where the bright lights are*

Ok Ok, so Oli looks puffed up. What other nick names can you think of, eh? Cold ma, -12ºC you know... Some of the tour members paid extra $$$ to sit on the cable car up to the higher peak, and they said it's even colder up there due to the strong winds.

This photo was taken the following morning, after we had our breakfast, about 7.30am (6.30am Malaysian time). Temperature was -14ºC... bbbrrrr~~~~!!! A small group of us went out to get some fresh air and played with snow. The snow wasn't soft enough to make a proper snowball la, haha! But never the less, we had fun walking on the snow and just enjoying the very cold air around us.

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Daemyung Condo Aquaworld Danyang
Part of our itinerary was a one-night's stay at Daemyung Condo Aquaworld. This place is kinda like a theme park up in the mountains, with facilities like amusement theme park and hot spring indoors. HOT SPRING!!!! Oh wow!!!!

Exterior of Daemyung Condo Aquaworld

Sorry folks, but no photography indoors of the hot spring. So you have to use your imagination la. Since it was winter, for obvious reasons the outdoors water theme park is closed la. but the indoor hot spring was the main attraction! Imagine soaking yourself in hot water amidst the bitter cold weather outside..... aaahhh~~~~

Hygiene has high priority here, hence anyone that walks into the hot spring facilities has to be in proper swim wear and you must have your swimming cap on. Each of us were assigned lockers, and we have to keep all our belongings in them and keep the locker key (the key is attached to a wrist band, so you just wear that wrist band with you).

Female and male dressing rooms are separated, and the Korean culture is... you strip bare. Hang loose. All the Korean chicks, young and old wear walking around naked. Lotsa different shapes and sizes, yes. It's the same in the men's lah, hubby says. People were showering, wiping themselves, even blow-drying their hair in the nude. So imagine the weird stares WE bunch of Malaysian women got, when we walked in :P But heck, they won't remember us anyway, ahaks!

One of the attractions in Daemyung was the "Dr Fish" spa. These fishes are usually found in Turkey, where people dip their feet into the pond and the fish will feed on dead skin. The Dr Fish spa had recently opened at Daemyung and we're lucky enough to try it :D For 2,000 won (approx RM 7), you get to dip yourself into the warm waters for 30 minutes. And the feeling? At first it was really ticklish, cos the fishes would be nibbling at your feet XD Geli wei. But after a while, we got used to the sensation and just sat back and relaxed to enjoy the therapeutic process. If you're wanting to try this, head over to Pavilion KL to experience it. Singapore has it too, and I was told you only dip your feet in. In Korea, we can dip our entire body.

There were other spa pools as well, one of them was the ginseng spa (30 minutes per pax, forgot how much). Another bigger spa was the hot spring spa, water temperatures at 35ºC. So hot and nice! There was another spa where water temperatures were 75ºC!!! You just dip your feet in. Hubby tried it, and after 10 minutes cannot tahan dy. Macam cooked lobster XD

There's another spa outdoors, water temperature there is 42ºC. But to get there, first you gotta brave the cold chilly winds!!!! Remember, we're in the mountains ok, temperature is probably -10ºC and the wind is very strong! Hahahahahaha!!!! I dare you to go! :P

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Korean Ginseng
Korea is widely known for its ginseng production. A lot of people that have been to Korea, would mostly brought back some Korean ginseng with them. Ginseng can be purchased in many forms: Powder, capsules, extract and the actual thing (the whole root). You can also buy ginseng sweets, cosmetics with ginseng extracts and ginseng soap.

"Lemme ask you, why do Korean women have such smooth skin? It's because they have been educated to consume ginseng since very young." says the chinapek looking consultant. Of course that's also one of their sales technique la, to convince people to buy ginseng ma ;P

In Korea, they use ginseng in many of their dishes. One of them is the ginseng chicken soup. If you've joined a tour package to Korea, chances are, they will take you to some restaurant to savour the ginseng chicken :) But of course the ginseng is a small piece only la, kekekekeke!

While at the ginseng factory, we learnt that the Korean ginseng is only harvested at the age of 6. Too early, and the ginseng is not valuable enough. Too old, and the ginseng is considered old. In the factory itelf, were 6 big glass bottles, each with a ginseng root preserved inside it (photography wasn't allowed, so I have to explain in words). Each bottle represented the ginseng's age, from year 1 to year 6. Each year the ginseng grows, a new leaf will appear. Because ginseng is a root and is buried under soil, the only way to tell its age is by looking at the number of leaves and the red flower. By year 3, the ginseng flower will start to bloom.

All of the ginseng products from this outlet has quality control, guaranteed by Samsung. No, Samsung does not produce ginseng. They are kinda like our SIRIM here, acting as quality control and assurance of high quality products.

We ended up with a box of 4 bottled ginseng powder XP On top of that, the consultant threw in a ginseng peeling gel (love it!), a ginseng soap, 2 boxes of ginseng tea bags and a box of 120 pcs ginseng capsules F.O.C.

I'm gonna be eating bread for the rest of the month XD

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Random Conversation
Via MSN (before our Korea trip). It's extremely rare to get compliments from Barney you know!!! XD

oli says: u said u wanted to see front view of me :P
doc says: PULEEEEEEZEEEEEE!!!
oli says: * Transfer of "blek.jpg" is complete. *
oli says: blek
doc says: FUIYOH!!!
doc says: They said women after marriage will be more beautiful
doc says: I always thought otherwise
doc says: DAMN!
doc says: but this photo doesn't really bring out the beauty of the hair
doc says: fuiyoh!
doc says: fuiyoh
oli says: eh, many women after kahwin still look hot wan leh
oli says: i've seen many
oli says: sum wif kid(s) too
oli says: shy
doc says: can post in forum
oli says: for wat?!
oli says: i shy wan la
doc says: you different
doc says: after marriage you look 'HOTTER'
doc says: post in the girl section
oli-madness says: lololol
doc says: then those humsups kenot comment
oli says: thanks for the compliment
oli says: but u can comment
oli says: HAHAHAHAAHHAHAHHHAA
doc says: Mr. Hamu mia product must be very bou for you
oli says: HAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHHAAA
doc says: skin also look better
oli says: HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAA
oli says: i've been taking care of myself
doc says: the arm and forearm so sexy
oli says: regular exercise, yoga wei!
doc says: like actress mia hands
oli says: wah tq tq
doc says: no need to see face, see hand liao terus kembang
oli says: i must post this conversation. very rare doc wl praise ppl wan
doc says: see face summore... letup
oli says: *kembang*
doc says: must post together with photo
oli says: eh i memang dun post my face ge la
doc says: ok... hand enuf
doc says: let them suspens
oli says: hahahahahahahahhahahaa
doc says: Now tengah writing one very for lan guan post
oli says: guess whose hand in this!
doc says: see the photo all steam also hilang
oli-madness says: hahahahhaaa

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Kimchi Kena Curi!


Not really stolen, more like confiscated....! X( You see, we spent the last day at Jeju Island, and to reduce the time of rushing from airport to airport with all our heavy luggages, we checked all the big bags at Jeju International Airport itself, direct to Seoul then to KL straight. So we only have to check-in one time lah. Which gave us a wee bit more time to do some last minute shopping for Korean products. Every minute counts!

When we touched down in Seoul, we had a few hours before boarding. So the tour guide took us to some tourist spot, and one of them had kimchi. I had wanted to get some kimchi back for a colleague of mine, he's nut about kimchi. I found a vacuum packed kimchi, completely sealed properly and would last my friend at least a few days lah. 12,000 won later, we were off to Incheon International Airport. The kimchi was stuffed into one of our hand luggage.

Bear in mind that there was no signage which states what can be in your hand luggage. The tour guide also didn't inform anything. When my bag was going through the security scanner, the Korean chick asked to open one of the bags. She took the contents out, including the kimchi. Then she took a sign out, pointed at it and said in broken English... "No kimchi. Go outside."

WTF?!?!?

Apparently, kimchi is considered "liquid", and hence cannot be brought on board the flight in your hand carry. WTF WTF WTF WTF WTF!!!!! No one said anything about kimchi being illegal in hand carry!!!!! We tried to argue, saying the kimchi is totally vacuum packed, sealed, no liquid. She shook her head and could only say "No kimchi. Go outside." meaning the only way the kimchi was going through security was checking it in. WTF WTF WTF WTF!!!!!! All out luggage sudah check-in wei!!!!! WTF WTF WTF WTF!!!! And we only had 20 minutes to board the plane!!!! WTF WTF WTF WTF!!!!

By then I was so fucking pissed at Koreans, I was swearing at the Korean chick like nobody's business. Not like she would understand anyway, but hell I was fucking pissed at them for not informing their tourists and having proper indications/signages outside. I was also pissed that our tour guide never mentioned anything X(

In the end, my kimchi kena rampas! $^&$@%^*&%$*(@^$*(!@$ machibaichowcipeeeetttt!!! I huffed and puffed and just walked towards the gate, not even wanting to look at another Korean. Gah! I swear if that empty seat on the plane was a sat by a Korean, I would've threw that bugger off the darn plane X( Harrruuummmph!

Gimme back my 12,000 won you Korean flat faced woman!!!! X( *huff huff*

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Snapshots of Korea
Here are some snapshots of our recent Korea trip... :D Just to satisfy some people out there that have been rushing me *ahem* to upload some photos, blek!

Bibimbap. Our 1st Korean meal, and I didn't like it XD I don't like the big taugehs that come with it, bleeehhhh~

Korean street food in Seoul, just outside Dongdaemun shopping district. One stick is 1,500 won, which is about RM 4.

This is part of the ski resort, Phoenix Resort, Mt Sorak. The temperature when this photo was taken is -14ºC.... brrrr~~~!

One of the staff at Everland theme park, which is managed by Samsung.

One of the main entrance at Gyeongbok Palace, the palace of the first king of the Joseon Dynasty.

Part of Myeongdong Street, Seoul's chinatown (so we were told by the tour guide)

The magnificent view from Seongsan Sunrise Peak, Jeju Island. This peak is listed in the UNESCO Heritage list, along with Mt Hallasan as well.

For more photos of our trip, click here (click on the "Korea Trip" link).

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Whopper Freakout
How would you react, if this were to happen to you? :P

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Happy New Year 2008 + Oli's Back!

Night skiing @ Phoenix Park, Mt Sorak, Korea

I'm baaaaccccckkkkk..........!!!!!!! That's me in my ski suit, looking puffed up and freezing my butt off on the beginner's slope (temperature that night was -12ºC with some wind). We just got back from Korea early this morning (around 2am+) and still unpacking. Oli's got a lot of laundry to do............. hahahahahahahahaha! Give me some time to unpack and arrange all the photos we took ya ;)

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