11th July 2010: Goodbye Korea!

It has been years since I last stayed up all night long. Song and I spent so much time together for the past hours.

Finally in the morning, we got ready for our last breakfast together....more kim chi for the last time :D. We finally departed for Incheon Airport at about 8.30am and arrived at about 9.30am. There were long queues at the check in counters. We quickly checked in our luggage. I was thankful for the extra baggage allowance. My luggage weighted 31.7kg and it was checked in straight all the way until Penang without additional charges on me....yahoo! We bid farewell to Kim and Song and headed to our gate. It was such a waste that we didn't have time for the KAL Golden Lounge or time to admire the world class airport.

We boarded MH067 and flew straight back to Kuala Lumpur. This time the business class was completely full but I was too tired and slept on most of the time. We finally arrived in Malaysia at close to 4pm. I bid farewell to the other folks and headed to the Golden Lounge. I continued my flight back to Penang and arrived home at close to 9pm.

These 10 days were very exciting. I got to see the world and enjoyed world hospitality.

For more photos,please refer to FB album

10th July 2010: Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty

This was my 9th day in Korea.

In the morning, we had a very satisfying breakfast prepared by 대모. Yummy cakes and buns...so much on the table :D. After the breakfast, we followed 대부 and 대모 to do some shopping at the local supermarket. The supermarket has all sorts of things and they were all so fresh. 대모 also showed me tips in buying Korean ginseng and Korean chopsticks set. Thanks 대모 for all those tips! My mother would surely love those ginseng and chopsticks.

In the afternoon, we learnt to cook Korean style vegetarian curry from 대모. There could be so many flavours of curry and I love them all. The Korean style was pretty much the same as the Japanese and Hong Kis style. So nice to cook, eat and wash up together.

After the meal, 대부 and 대모 arranged to bring us Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty. I was so excited before our road trip. It felt like I was about to go for a family outing. I missed those days going out with my family members. 대부 and 대모 showed us around the world heritage site and told us about their legend. I enjoyed spending time with them and this ended my homestay experience in Korea.

Then we departed back to Seoul and checked in to Lexington Hotel. It was just a quick stop at hotel to drop our luggage. Then we went shopping at Namdaemun market again. I got a lot of souvenir there at a very good bargain but those guys were even better shopper than me :D

Later we walked to Myeongdong Market and met up with Soomin, Jisu and Cha Hee for another round of pizza as dinner. Another special treat for us again. This was the best pizza we got in Korea. I love their beef pizza. It has my favourite beef chucks and onions on it.

Later at night, we went to Hongdae with Jisu, Cha Hee, Song and Kim for supper. We ordered Shoju, 삼겹살 and another meat dish. They showed us how to make delicious fried rice on the pan. The oil and crust were excellent to make fried rice. The night was still young. We continued on our night walking along Hongdae area. We searched and searched for the ideal club for us but we finally changed to a bar instead. It was an ideal place for us all to chat. We were there until 3am and Park asked us to join him in the hotel.

Park bought us another round of drinks and we continued our night in the hotel room watching the 3rd place World Cup Play-off. This was a fascinating day in Korea with the Koreans. The Koreans really exhibited the true Asian hospitality spirit.

For more photos,please refer to FB album

9th July 2010: Cultural Exchange

This was suppose to be a very interactive day with a lot of focus on cultural exchange.

We have Yueun, Jisu, Inae, Seolah and Sehee joint us at the "Cross-cultural Awareness Programme" at Miseong Middle School. The school visit was very impressive. The environment was very conducive and with complete facilities, WEE room, art room, music room and all that I could name. The middle school students were very hyperactive too.

Our cultural presentation was not satisfying especially with the non Malaysian culture Chicken Dance and Fruit Salad. Perhaps this was my worse ever cultural exchange event. We have no Malaysian music, no Malaysian dance, no Malaysian food and nothing Malaysian other than 15 of us. I blamed on myself for not getting any posters or promotional items from the Malaysian Tourism offices.

The 2nd exchange program was cancelled. We continued our program with lunch at Mr Pizza Restaurant. This time we got a special pizza to ourselves...yummy bacon pizza but again the salad bar was better. Thanks Kim for the special arrangement!

After the great meal and dropping off the Korean youth delegates, we headed to the Goyang City. It was almost an hour ride to the city. We arrived at the Goyang City for the Home-stay program. We were a little early so we got some time to do shopping. I bought a jacket there...hooray!

Finally back in the city council, we were assigned to our homestay. I was with Gangga and Ain. We were picked up by Mr Jung. Mr Jung and Mrs Jung were a nice mid age couple. They have 2 children but both were not at home. I was really impressed to see how this couple able to show their affections. Mr Jung told us a lot about their family. They have a cosy and comfy home.

Later in the evening, 대모 was so kind to make us home cooked meal despite her busy day at work. She purposely made us vegetarian bibimbap. She mentioned that she did a lot of research online about our eating habit. She cracked her head over the appropriate menu for us. Thanks her for the excellent meal and for teaching us how to make a simple Korean meal.

After the excellent meal, 대부 and 대모 brought us to nearby park. for the nightly Water and Light Show. While waiting for the show to begin, we walked round the park. It was a huge park with numerous theme garden. The locals enjoyed exercising in the park. We enjoyed the show very much. According to 대부, this was the largest scale Water and Light Show in Asia. It lasted about one and a half hour.

We got back to home and retired to bed early after a short chat. This was the earliest day I was on the bed.

For more photos,please refer to FB album

8th July 2010: We could be better

This was one of the worse day I had in Korea. Firstly, my attire wasn't that appropriate for formal calls. It could be better if we were given the program earlier so I could plan my luggage. Secondly was the silent rooms during official meets in which I was stuck right at the middle and being the attention of both parties. Thirdly, being an interpretor wasn't such an easy job. I would said I did a great job but it was just not enough to please some people.

Our program today started with courtesy call to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. We arrived early at the ministry building and have some time to stroll around but I just wasn't in mood despite the beautiful Cheonggyecheon Stream right in front. Anyway the time was just too short for any enjoyment.

In the ministry office, we were led into the conference room and greeted by the Korean officers, led by Mr Jeon, Director - General for Youth Policy. The meeting officially began with welcoming speech by Mr Jeon. Then it was the speech by our NL in our national language and direct Korean translation by Bryanna. Thank god for our brilliant cooperation, the translation went well and without the awkward and puzzle stares over NL's pantun. I couldn't recall the complete pantun but it began with "Ayam siam .....". I dropped the words from the pantun but still able to deliver his message well :D

After the speech, it was policy and update on youth development in Korea by Mr Jeon. It was very impressive to see how much effort the policy maker team put together for the benefit of its people. Then it was the most embarrassing question and answer session ever. Some less brilliant guys tossed me a paper filled with a lot of less brilliant questions and commanding me to ask them due to his incompetence to speak in English. I refused and did translation for him instead. So at least I was the one who actually ask those less brilliant questions.

After the meeting we headed straight to welcoming luncheon hosted by the ministry. It was a Korean traditional course. One dish after another...there were so many dishes. However being the translator, I could not get to indulge the meal. I could only swallow quickly, clearing my throat to translate for NL and Mr Jeon. One of the most remarkable statement mentioned was "Anak adalah kurniaan dan takdir Allah. Kita hanya perlu berusaha".

Mr Jeon shared a lot on history of Korea. Being translator was good at time. Just an advice for all national leaders to be, please read up about our national history before heading out. Translators or interpretors should equip yourselves too, just in case your bosses have not done their homework. Thanks to all my pass history teachers or else we would embarrass ourselves!

Later in the afternoon, we attended a courtesy call to the Embassy of Malaysia in Seoul. We were greeted by our ambassador and officers. We had a speech by our NL and ambassador both in Malay. So this translator got a breakaway for a moment :D After all the official stuff, we were served with tea. They got us yummy mee goreng and some kuih. Those were good but to be honest, I didn't really missed those as much as compared to the others. I could survive months without Malaysian food, just like when I was in India with those roti all the time.

The last official program of the day was the visit to the Seoul Youth Media Center. I was really very exhausted by then but have no choice to hang on, to listen to every word by our kind presenter and make lines of notes in preparation to fill the Q&Q slot. So I asked my questions and did another round of translation of the less brilliant questions. Anyway the visit to the center was interesting with the photographing session and news broadcasting.

Next was the shopping time at Namdaemun Market, one of the many traditional market in Seoul. It was a quick 40 minutes shopping spree there. I only manage to get 5 pairs of chopstick sets and scouted around for the best souvenir price. I got to do it quick purchases on the next visit :D

After the quick shopping, we went back to Lexington Hotel for a quick refresh then it was dinner at VIP restaurant next door hosted by Mr Yu, Ms Park and Mr Park. We enjoyed the delicacies of the buffet and another chat session with our great host.

In the evening, we got together with Song for drinks. She introduced us to Shoju, local berry wine and local beer. We diluted the Shoju with orange juice and yogurt drink. It was such a great combinations. With the drinks on hand, we talked for hours until wee hours again. Thanks Song!

For more photos,please refer to FB album

7th July 2010: Everything above expectation

Again we started our day with special customized breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast and checking out, we got on bus and headed to Daejeon Youth Simmer.

We arrived at Daejeon after about an hour and a half. Daniel was so nice to make up to us again. The visit to Daejeon Youth Simmer has been very meaningful. The center provided shelter, food and education as well as counselling service to the run away youth. As this nation practices more open and confrontational discussion, problems are always addressed earlier and solutions are being made in time. The policies and facilities in placed really benefiting the youth. This was how things can be improved and better over years. We surely have a lot to learn from them .

After the field work visit, we went over to the Pizza Hut for lunch. The pizza was good but the free flow salad from the salad bar was better. I love the sweet potato salad and the pumpkin salad as well as the noodle salad. 1 slice of seafood pizza and a big bowl of salad made my day. The other Malaysian delegates really enjoyed the meal...1 slice after another. :D After meal, we got another round of shopping spree. I got more facial product from Etude House and Skin Food.

In the evening we were back in Seoul. We visited the futuristic Samsung C&T Corporation Raemian Gallery. It was an eye opening gallery. From the bathroom to the outdoor garden, everything was so advance. They even shared with us their future living space model in the sky. I love the idea and hope that it could be a reality and hope that it can get proliferated to Malaysia.

For dinner we got to a local restaurant which served us black soya tofu with purple rice. A healthy main course with lots of traditional side dishes. One of the dish, raw crab was interesting. It was very juicy with little punch from the chili and was very salty. This dish was only bearable when it was served with rice.

After the meal, we went to the Lotte World to catch the Korea top break dance performance. It was the "The Ballerina who Fell In Love with a B-Boy" by Last for One group. It was a humorous performance with great skills and techniques both in break dancing and ballet.

At night, we 3 LIMs and Ganga went out for supper at a nearby road side stall. We have difficulty to make our order but luckily the 2 LIMs could read a menu in Chinese characters and we just pointed on 2 dishes. Later we learned that it was a cut throat hawker when she charged us RM90 for a plate of egg omelet and spicy fried squid. Well none to blame than ourselves. We should have also asked for the price prior to ordering them. Next time I am gonna flash my calculator.

After returning to my room, I got a long pillow talk with Sung. We have so much to talk, share and prank about. It was really great that we have build up so much trust and friendship shortly after days knowing each other. I treasure our differences and may our friendship stay strong forever!

It was another great day in Korea despite the cut throat hawker. Everything else was beyond expectation. Korea has so much to offer, from the laid back temple to the futuristic gallery.

For more photos,please refer to FB album

6th July 2010: Essence of Tourism in Central Region

So much of cultural highlight in a day.

Our day started with a customized breakfast for us the 3 LIMs. Thanks Kim for being so thoughtful. The eggs and bacons were good but it would be superb if we got to try local style breakfast :D

After the breakfast, we were on the bus heading to Maisan Provisional Park, the Horse Ears Mountain. This was an inspiring Zen park with multiple tapsa or pagoda. No doubt about the attractiveness of the physical appearance of the park but the myth which I just discovered while writing this was even more impressive. It was believed that the pagodas do not fall or sway even at bad weather, the temple was build by a monk with the help of tiger and if one put water into a bowl during the winter, the water freezes into a pole reaching for the sky.

Oh I also learnt some common religious practices in Korea. Never enter a temple using the main door if there are other options, no shoes in the temple (this was not strictly practice in all Buddhist Temple in Malaysia) and drinking the holy water. I wish to be able to join in a Temple Stay in Korean when I come for the 2nd time. I will surely make another visit to this park to see how it transforms between season.

Next was the savoring of my favourite Korean dish, the Bibimbap. I just loved the mixed rice in the stoneware. It has a strong aroma from the formation of thin rice crust at the bottom. The jelly made of the green bean was yummy to go with other vegetables too. It was a perfect meal for the day :D

In the afternoon, we got to craft center where we get accessed to the traditional paper fan making. Each of us were given a paper fan and some raw materials to decorate our own fan. I made a Korean Flag (*with the moon and earth interchanged) on 1 side and simple flower motive on another. It was an interesting session in a Hanok.

After the craft session, we were on foot round the Jeonju Hanok Village. As the name suggest, this small village has 800 traditional Korean house. All unified in the same wood frame and pillars with white wall and earthy tone roof tiles. We also spotted many stoneware used to made and store Kimchi right outside of the house. Kimchi is the must dish all year round for Koreans.

We made stop overs at the Folding Fan Museum, 韩方文化館 which showcase the traditional herbal and medicine, Gyeonggijeon Shrine (did't have time much time. Only manage to pass by the study place as well as the bamboo garden), Jeondong Catholic Church and the Nambu market.

For dinner we got to taste a simple yet tasty bean sprout soup with rice. I always dislike bean sprout due to it's rawly taste but this was nice. The soup was crystal clear and has got the natural sweetness of the bean sprout. The eggs made it thicker and gave the smooth texture while the seaweed and the fermented shrimp gave the saltiness to the soup.

After dinner, we went to the nearby shopping haven with Daniel and JihYun. I managed to get some facial products at Missha and Innisfree...so cheap. 2 other LIMs bought more than me :D Facial products are the best souvenir one can get from Korea. We enjoyed shopping in Korea.

my travel companions...enjoy shopping here...look at my bags

For more photos,please refer to FB album

5th July 2010: Another day at Amusement Park

We woke up pretty late today. Quickly we got ready and checked out from our hostel and headed to the Caribbean Bay.

There was so much in the water park. No wonder the water park is the world biggest indoor and outdoor park. Needless to say this place was an eye nourishment for our fellow delegations. But for me the park was another entertaining place for me. With the company of my Korean friends, we enjoyed few exciting rides in the park. We spend 2 hours in the pool and again I wished that I could have longer time in the park. Oh...not to be missed to mention, the open bathroom was a norm here. I did the same too but in a much quicker pace :D After the quick shower, we had lunch in the the park. I got a noodle soup with eomuk. Yummy!

Then I was a long bus ride to the Saemangeum Sea Wall en route to Jeonju City. The Saemangeum Sea Wall is one of their mega development project. It involves 400 km² reclamation land. The was ready but the land reclamation is still under process. Even in mid of the project, the Koreans have placed much effort on branding and beautifying it. There are numerous stop-by site for the leisure of the locals as well as for the admiration of the foreign tourists. Bravo!

We finally reached the Jeonju City at about 5.30pm. Our first destination was at a local restaurant where they served really yummy noodles. Kim prepared noodles with fish stock for us. Noodle was my all time favorite. Needless to say, I enjoyed it very much. I loved the mild spicy thick fish stock base. I championed this round. I could finished it despite the serving portion was extra huge and I was the fastest too :P

After the filling meal, we walked to the nearby Gyodong-dawon Traditional TeaHouse. The tea has mild tea scent. It was calming and refreshing to enjoy the tea in such a peace and laid back environment. According to the owner, the tea was best served with wheat cracker but I found it a little too hard. Anyway thanks Kim for showing us how to make and serve the tea!

Finally at close to 8pm, we went and checked in into our hotel for 2 nights, Jeonju Core Riviera Hotel. After days in Korea without connection, finally my room here was connected. I got a PC in my room and I enjoyed facebooking again while watching Korean tv channel :D

After many dry nights in Korea, we finally broke the spell. For the first time we were out at night for a drink. We were introduced to the traditional rice wine called 막걸리, 'Makgeolli'. We took the wine with some Korean dishes and 1 of them was the silkworm. I like the worm's texture. It was unique and tasted much like fish roe. I did tried out the cashew nut ice cream too...

Everything seem so different and I am eager to experience and see more of the differences.

For more photos,please refer to FB album

4th July 2010: A day at the Korean "Land of Festival for 365 days"

This was the most exciting day in Korea...so much in a day!

We have a free and easy morning in Seoul. Adventurous Sze Wan would not waste any time abroad lingering in the hotel room. :D So early morning I dated the 2 other Lims to join me to visit the Gyeongbokgung Palace. However both the Lims just didn't have the fate to witness the palace greatly blessed by heaven.

The front desk personnel was very helpful. He gave me a map and lead me to the palace on public transport. I traveled on subway line 5 from Yeouinaru to Gwanghwamun. It took me close to an hour to get to the palace from our hotel, a short walk from hotel to the Yeouinaru passing the Yeouido Park and the LG twin towers, the subway ride and another short walk along Gwanghwamun Square.

I arrived at the palace minutes before 10am. Got my ticket and digital guide both at close to RM10 each. Reasonable charges...but too bad that my digital guide didn't work out at first, wasted much of my time. I have less than 45 minutes to spend in the palace but I enjoyed my visit. The architecture was impressive. Really a lot of restoration effort placed in maintaining the 6 centuries old palace. I could not find appropriate words to describe the palace but I would name this palace as a must visit place in South Korea.

I rushed back to Lexington after the short visit...took a little break at the Haechi Madang. 'Haechi' is the mascot of Seoul. It guards Seoul citizens by bringing justice, safety and fortune to the people. So before leaving the exhibition, I got myself a Haechi shaped bookmark. May it keep me safe and well at all time.

I got back to hotel minutes after 12. Relieved to discover that I wasn't the last but on the other hand, I felt bad for branding Malaysia wrongly. After awhile we departed to Yongin for one of the Asia most exciting theme park. We experienced a little havoc during lunch distribution. Thank god that they have a little to spare and managed to pull it even.

We arrived at the Everland Resort Home Bridge Cabin Hostel a little bit ahead of schedule. So I got some time to refresh and for our contingent meeting. Oh not to forget to mention, I got a room to myself again :D.

By 3.30pm, we were all in the hall for mini camp. This was the first official meet up with the Mexican and Alzerbaijian delegates. We were suppose to present our country here but as usual, our presentation was ok after a last minute spice up suggested by me. Initially, we were to have our NL to give a short lecture on general and geographical facts about our country and I translate it, we added a simple 'Rasa Sayang' song into the presentation.

After the Three-party Mini Camp I, we were divided into 3 small groups as usual and with the guide of So Young and Gisu, we ventured in the Everland. This was surely one of the most exciting theme park that I have been to. I really scared everyone off. The 1st ride that we were on was the T-express. It is the world steepest wooden roller coaster...hooray!

The park was so huge. We, the adventerous few with the company of Inae and Jisu. Our day in Everland was filled with thrilled and adventurous ride, Double Rock Spin, Rolling X-Train, Hurricane, Amazon Express, Mystery Mansion and Rotating House...hooray! We stopped for dinner at the Holland Village. I loved the Kimchi Fried Rice with Pork Chop. As usual the appetizers were provided free, but I wished to highlight their marinated turnip...a little sweet and sour dish and very crunchy.

Besides those adventurous rides, we manage to catch the Moonlight Parade. The nicely decorated and brightly lid flower cars and mascot together with the cheering background song, it was like I am back to my childhood. The most impressive performance in Everland was the Dream of Laciun light, water and fire performance. The scale of the performance was huge but everything was so detailed and precise. The sound effect was good even in an open space. We love Everland and were so reluctant to leave the park for the Three-party Mini Camp II.

Anyway it was a great time at the Mini Camp. For at least we have more opportunity to mingle with the Mexican and Azerbaijan. I guessed it would be a cooler party if we could get some drinks there. The party ended at 11pm...a little too early for us. The night was still young for the 3 LIMs. Initially we intended to join Jungeun for a couple of drinks but we ended up having pillow talk with Souk Hung. So much that we could talk about...so much has been shared...the talk continued till wee hours.

Another extreme and fantastic day in Korea. Glad to have met so many superb Koreans!

For more photos,please refer to FB album

3rd July 2010: Another great museum visit

Woke up refresh and recharged in this Korean soil. It was a long and interesting day for me.

My day started with breakfast at 8am in the hotel's coffee shop...yummy sausages and sashimi :P After meal, we met up with a group of Korean youth delegates which includes Soomin, our guide to Myeong-dong on the night before.

We were brought to the Seoul COEX, Convention & Exhibition Center. Here we were divided into 3 smaller group and each assigned 1 or 2 Korean youth guide. I was in 3rd group with KB and 3 others and being guided into Seoul Auto Salon Auto Service 2010 by Grace. She spoke fluent English and to my surprise she majored Scandinavian Languages in Hankuk University. Interesting major...wonder if we have this back at home.

Those interior and exterior modifications exhibited at the auto show were nice but i doubt they were legal on road. Nevertheless, the cars were interesting but the models seemed to be more interesting to many. I enjoyed photographing both the cars and models. I really wished if I could grab hold of my 1000D and captured all this great stuffs. Lesson learned, never travel without my DSLR no matter how difficult it is to carry them everywhere.

As we have some time to kill after our visit, we headed to the shopping mall on the basement. Many familiar brands could be found here. We visited a music stores. I discovered that the average price of albums in Korea was almost similar to Malaysia. Even Koreans production was as expensive as in Malaysia too. And I learnt that Wonder Girls, Super Junior and Rain were not that hot in Korea after all. There were much more better ones.

During noon, we headed to ...could not recall what that area was called now. We took our lunch in a typical local restaurant but not the typical Korean dishes. We got toufu as the main dish and few other cold dishes. It was a nice to experience the Korean food using the Korean way, with flat chopsticks and long spoons. Not to forget their rice in stoneware which one could filled it with some water to produce tea like soup for after meal. The environment was nice as well. Our delegates were mingling well with the Koreans delegates. "사랑해요, Sarang he yo" was the most spoken Korean words by the group.

After the meal, we went to the National Museum of Korea. This was the most interesting program of the day. We were give 1 and a half hours in the museum and another hour to watch the summer cultural performance. 1 and a half hours were not enough for KB and I. We have Grace to guide us through the museum and she was pretty good in explaining about their history to us. We could only cover 2 stories out of the 3 stories exhibition hall but we really did enjoyed it. We wished we could have more time in the museum.

At 3pm, we were back at the entrance of the museum to catch the cultural performance. It was interesting to see how they were able to swing the ribbon on their hat so easily and surprise to discover that they too have their version of 舞虎. The performers also sang a traditional folk song.

Next was dinner time again. This round, we got a whole grilled mackerel to go with 밥 Bap...short-grain rice, thick miso and numerous cold dishes. This meal was really enjoyed by everyone.

After the full meal, we were transported to the ChongDong Theater for the Traditional Korean Arts Stage, MISO. We also got to try on the traditional Korean clothing, the Hanbok 한복. We looked gorgeous in it but seriously the head dress was too heavy for me. My head was tilted all the time.

Then at 8pm sharp, MISO began. It was a story about the love of a lady. In that one and a half hours performance, they managed to showcase to us the Korean traditional dance move, musical instruments and narrative song as well as more of their traditional clothings. It was an interesting performance but I was just too tired and at some point some scenes were too long. I actually dozed off at some points but still managed to capture the message of the performance. Blame it on me please!

poster from visitKorea site. No photo shooting or recording was allowed in there :S

It was an interesting day and we have got a lot of interaction with the Korean youth delegates. All of them have very interesting profiles. Grace majoring in Scandinavian languages, Cha Hee did her internship in Sweden, Soomin doing some international relations(Japanese) and many more with unbelievable profiles. Envy of their system. They really do promote diversity but at the same time still preserved their national identity.

For more photos,please refer to FB album

2nd July 2010: Impressive Koreans

~Written on the Korean soil~

We finally touched down in Incheon International Airport at about 7.30am. The airport facilities was impressive, there were AEDs everywhere. Though it was not as happening as Singapore Changi Airport and Hong Kong International Airport, it deserved the to be in the list of world 5 stars airport ranking by Skytrax with the other 2.

At the arrival hall, we were greeted by the program manager, Ms. Yu, Mr. Park, Mr. Kim and Ms. Sung. They all spoke fluently in English. We were then transported to the Lexington Hotel passing the Incheon City into the Seoul Metropolitan , experiencing the Seoul traffic.

Malaysian delegation with Ms Yu and Mr Park

When we finally reached the hotel, wao....never thought of getting such a luxurious accommodation. It was a 3 or 4 stars hotel and I was lucky to get the room to myself.

After refreshing ourselves, we gathered at the lobby and went to the hotel restaurant for buffet lunch. This was the first hiccups for the Korean. Our fellow countrymen did not eat those food saying that the food was non halal. With all due respect for my friends, especially the one seated in front of me, I didn't eat much as well despite the superb food being laid.

As I was appointed to be the interpreter for our Malaysian delegation, I have to explained our situation to the Koreans and asked for more vegetarian or seafood meals for our team. It was really hard to explain to them on our Malaysian understanding of 'Halal' food. Got to cover the type of meat, slaughtering method as well as the utensil used. :S Just discovered that the middle East Islamic followers were less strict in terms of food selection.

After the meal, we headed to the Seoul Transport Operation and Information Service, TOPIS operation center. This was the control and monitor hub of the transportation system in Seoul. They have a super impressive and well organized system. The system covered managing the subway system and public buses as well as road traffic management. They have CCTV to monitor the traffic flow as well as the monitor regulation violator. Summons could be issued remotely from here. The visit ended with another round of hiccups from our delegation. Some irrelevant questions were asked :S

monitoring illegal parking violation and issuing summons

We got back to hotel at close to 4pm. The original plan to visit to Cheonggyecheon Stream was canceled due tot he heavy rain. Anyway we 3 LIMs managed to sneak out when the rain lessen and before dinner. We walked around Yoido and stopped by the Yeouido Park, a huge green park in business hub. We discovered many interesting signages and landmarks. We even got to try eomuk, 어묵 by a street vendor.

It was in heavy rain when we went out for dinner at a nearby restaurant, 'Spaghettia'. We were served with vegetarian linguine and seafood spagetthi. It was a quick arrangement by Kim to cater to our special needs. Thank him for such a quick respond!

We also got to meet a new Korean friend, Soomin during dinner. She was so nice to guide us to Myeongdong Market after dinner. So this was my first subway encounter in Seoul. We took the subway line 9 from the National Assembly and transited at Dongjak to Myeong-dong on line 4 subway. After the ride I could only conclude that Seoul was really huge. It took us close to 45minutes to get to our destination.

Anyway it was a worth while journey as I enjoyed shopping for facial product there. They were so cheap here, close to half the price they were sold in Malaysia and all the stalls were so generous in giving away freebies and samples. Luckily we only have limited time there if not I could finish all my money in a night :D

The journey back was interesting as well. Thanks to Soomin for those clear instructions and my excellent instinct *got used to traveling alone in foreign places :P, we didn't have any difficulty getting back to our hotel.

As a whole it was a short day but I enjoyed being in a foreign place and to explore the differences. Looking forward for more on the following days and hope that the rain would stop on the following days!

Not to forget to mention about great Korean hospitality. Kim equipped us an umbrella each after learning that we were not prepared for the weather.

For more photos,please refer to FB album

2nd July 2010: Approximately 25,000ft above sea level

Despite the sucks PDT, I believe this will be a truly enjoyable trip. The PDT started on the 30th in the Kompleks Rakan Muda Mont Kiara. With the lack of planning, we wasted most of our time there. We made full use of our time by doing last minute shopping and got our name card printed.

Our journey from the kompleks to KLIA was really terrible. The bus was in bad shape, moving at average of 10km/h, dragging the wheels all the way to Putrajaya where we were transferred into another bus. We were worried that we would not make it in time :S

Upon our arrival at airport, we headed to the check in counter and glad to leave our extra huge luggage behind. Never on any of my trip abroad, I have such a loaded bag. I would have packed differently if I were being informed about itinerary earlier.

Anyway, there's nothing to worry about the huge luggage as we were flying on business class. For me, it was superb to learn that I was entitled to the MH frequent flyer miles :-). As we are flying on business class, we got to use the golden club lounge. I tried to psycho the team into the terminal earlier so that we could enjoy and indulge there but some suggested that only light meals will be serve there hence we got to stay out till 9pm.

When we finally got into the Golden Lounge, many regretted for having their dinner out. PT and I enjoyed savoring those yummy delicacies and not to forget our refreshing shower after the sweaty and smelly bus ride.

We boarded our flight on time however there was a short delay due to other connecting flights delay. Anyway it was a pleasant flight on a super spacious and comfy seat. My seat could be lowered all the way and still would not caused any uneasiness to the person behind. After the satay at supper and a shot of Tia Maria, I just laid down and dozed off till the time for breakfast a little while ago.

What more can I expect on this trip? Looking forward to Korea. The next post I have will be written on the Korean soil.

감사합니다!

For more photos,please refer to FB album

True Meaning of Exchange Program

I was in Korea for Korea Malaysia Youth Exchange Program which was jointly organized by Ministry of Youth and Sports Malaysia and Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Korea. This was my 2nd exchange program abroad. My first was a 2 and half months in India under AIESEC, :-) another cool NGO run by youth and especially for youth development.

As I was not given any prior hiccups on the program itinerary in South Korea and with my tight and tiring schedule at work, I didn't have much time left to do any reading on South Korea culture. I went to South Korea with an open mind and without any expectation.

With this mindset and perhaps with my past experience being in exchange program as well as running the program itself, I could cope with the cultural difference very well. Through my experience, I found many have the wrong perception of cultural exchange program. In my opinion, cultural exchange program was not just a program where people go abroad and shout out loud about their country or parade with their flags.

For the visiting delegates, I personally felt that it was time where we learn by interacting and listening to people. Of course there were times when we should promote our culture to the hosting country but that didn't mean that all our conversations only revolved around my homeland. We didn't need to call for intensive Malay language class. In my case, I did talk a lot about non Malaysia related issues. This didn't mean that I don't love my country; instead it reflected the maturity level and intelligence of general Malaysians.

Secondly I found it very annoying when people were not sincere and honest in their speech and gesture. We all respect each other individually. The best way to make friends is to be honest to each other. There was no need to say you love the food or pretended that you enjoy the food when you didn't even eat them due to religious believe. I would prefer my guest telling me that they couldn't eat them and would prefer an instant noodle instead.

In an exchange program, host country plays an important role as well. It is really a difficult role to play especially dealing with a big group. On one hand, he needs to promote his culture to his guests and on the other hand, he needs to respect their needs and preferences. So it is best for the host to always communicate with his guests to know their cultural acceptance limit as well as their preferences.

As a whole, the Koreans have done a great job in sharing their culture with us while we fellow Malaysians have a lot to brush up on our hospitality way and we seriously need to raise our cultural acceptance level...maybe CCAP program Korea can be adapted here ;-)

Lastly I would like to thank my host especially Kim, Bryanna, Ms Yu and Park for being such a lovely and accommodating host. Not to forget my new found friends, the group of energetic youth delegates from Korea. I enjoyed my stay there very much thanks to you all!

To all my fellow countrymen heading abroad and to all our exchange program hosts to be, please prove to the world that Malaysians no longer live in our own caves. We are part of the global citizens.

Dissapointment from the Selection for KBS International Exchange Program

This article was written on 30 March 2010 but left unpublished till this moment I decided to spill it all out.

I was disappointed not that I did badly in the camp. I did well and was very outstanding despite me unwilling to fight for chances to outshine everyone there. I felt that everyone should be given equal chances and treated equally. We are all leaders, the cream of our respective organizations. None deserved to be abandoned at the floor. So I just went with the flow and be myself all the time.

I was sad to discover the true fate all fellow Malaysians. I have expected the selection camp to be very competitive but it turned up to be easy. Speaking in English in a bunch of non speaker, so called young leaders whom have dream of leading our country was the easiest I could get there.

I did not understand why majority of delegates there could not speak in English at all. Worse when I discovered that they have already went through one round of selection at their respective state. How can we send ambassador out to promote Malaysia when this person can't even speak any known language at the international arena more over a total foreign language?

Secondly I was disappointed to know that fellow Malaysian young leaders are shallow. In example, my group was given the topic Education to present on. The first idea that came to my fellow team mates' thought were we should present the good and the bad side of what education can bring to us. For good, just highlight his life during adulthood with good career while on the opposite side we will present how the teenage boy would end up being druggies or 'mat rempit'. Why druggies and 'mat rempit'? Was this all that we have? Was this idea appropriate when we are suppose to be Malaysian ambassador?

I respected them and listened to their ideas. Finally when my comment was needed, I managed to convince them on our role here in representing fellow Malaysian youths. I managed to remove the negative elements from our presentation and drive them to the right direction that was to promote Malaysia Education system internationally.

So we came out with brilliant ideas, making 3 scenes for our sketch. In scene 1, we wanted to highlight the education system we have now and our adaptation in making our education aligned with the IT and knowledge base era. One of the example quoted which was astonishing to me was the 'E-book' program launched at the Terengganu state. At first I was puzzled to learn about the program as my fellow team mates knew about the project at the surface only. They kept mentioning about e-book and quoting the physical appearance of the 'e-book', not knowing about what we called as Classmate PC or netbook in general.

Scene 2 discussion was the most hilarious one. We wanted to present what has education brought to us in terms of R&D achievement. So we brainstormed on the inventions by fellow Malaysians. Believe it or not, one can quote 'Microsoft buat Intel Core 2 Duo. Designer it orang Malaysia'. I almost laughed out loud listening to him. I would not blame him for not knowing who designed the processor but despise him for mentioning anything about Microsoft and Intel Core 2 Duo. Thank god, I was there to correct them on this!

Another invention quoted was a fellow Malaysian created a cure to stomach ulcer from mangosten extract. Someone asked what was stomach ulcer and the answer given was gastric...hahahahahaha. Forgive my shallowness. I just don't know the equation for stomach ulcer is gastric. btw I have not heard of any absolute cure to stomach ulcer nor gastric. I didn't say much about this as I wasn't in health care profession.

Scene 3 was about a foreigner

Youth without independent thinking...barely followers in nature. Just tried to outshine peers, but in real fact all are followers.

On the last day, we have our final challenge. It was a public speaking for merely 1 minute. I was nervous too but still manage to do it spontaneously. Earlier, I prepared a 5 minutes speech on the Government Transformation Program. I expected many to talk about 1 Malaysia but I doubt many knew the true concept of 1Malaysia what more about GTP. However I decided to change my topic to 'How to speak in public and how to overcome stage fright?' after listening to few others. They were trembling and shivering. Many could not speak fluently what more spontaneously. I wanted to help them and I mean it. I have no intention to be the best and fight for a place on the kapal belia. I just wished that these future Malaysia Ambassadors would not embarrass us during the exchange. However it was sad that I have been given too little time to share with them.