the juice is worth the squeeze

dates: August 27, 2009
location: shangri la rasa ria resort, kota kinabalu, malaysia

                                                     

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2b_gypsy_house.zip (8242 KB)

apparently, the island had previously housed a large population of migrant gypsies who would resided in temporary houses for a season per year.  we visited the gypsy house, saw several traditional malaysian fishing huts, and enjoyed delicious coconut juice and sweet rice cakes (i think it was rice but it might have been something else).  we were joined by a pleasant honeymoon couple from australia.

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dates: August 27, 2009
location: shangri la rasa ria resort, kota kinabalu, malaysia

                                                             

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2a_gypsy_house.zip (9684 KB)

woke up early in the morning to enjoy the exotic island of sabah by taking a scenic boat ride.  seyoung saw her first cow ever, checked out interesting baby crabs in the mud, and there was plenty of wildlife to remind us of how beautiful this world really is.

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dates: August 26, 2009
location: shangri la rasa ria resort, kota kinabalu, malaysia

                               

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1_kota_kinabalu.zip (4704 KB)

arrived in kota kinabalu for a relaxing vacation with my girlfriend.  the shangri-la was gorgeous and as soon as we arrived we enjoyed a cocktail by the beach and watched a short sunset while it began to rain.  for dinner we enjoyed the best indian food i have ever had at the naan restaurant... somewhat odd considering the location but delicious nonetheless.  after wandering around a bit we called it an early night.

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dates: June 28, 2009
location: bizbaz restaurant in the coex, seoul

                                   

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bizbaz.zip (6130 KB)

decided to take a lazy sunday brunch with seyoung...we love to stuff ourselves needlessly on weekends.  of course, it's not exactly "brunch" since we started eating at 1:30, and it definitely was not of the omelette and pancakes variety.  instead we found ourselves at bizbaz, a buffet brunch run by the chosun hotel that you can find on the second floor of the coex convention center right above the mall.

if you're looking for a satisfying meal on sunday, bizbaz has crab legs, fresh sashimi and rolls, dim sum, korean-style marinated beef ribs, made-to-order thai barbecue, specialty coffees and desserts, and just about anything else you would want to eat.  the cost for lunch is about 45,000 KRW per person on weekends, which is probably the best deal you can find for a hotel-quality brunch in seoul, considering the quality of the food, service, and atmosphere. not fine dining of course, but then again, it's a buffet...you go in knowing what you want!  lots and lots of food ;)

we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly...my belt, however, is still suffering from being overworked.  (sigh) so much for my new years resolution to diet!

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dates: June 19, 2009
location: Itaewon
who: jp and minji

   

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double_date.zip (681 KB)

newlyweds (well not so new anymore i guess) joonpyo and minji joined seyoung and i in itaewon to try out a spanish restaurant.  the restaurant sucked but it was still an enjoyable evening filled with sangrias and smiles.

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dates: June 13, 2009
location: Seoul
who: seyoung and her med school friends

                       

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wedding.zip (4311 KB)

seyoung dragged me along to the wedding of one of her close medical school friends.  of course, she had to be the one "chosen" to catch the bouquet (that's how they do it in korea)...and i was brought along to take pictures and look good.  didn't even get a piece of the cake :(

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seyoung cooked me homemade chicken soup from scratch! first time for her and it turned out to be fresh, healthy, and delicious :)

   

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chicken_soup.zip (4285 KB)

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dates: July 10, 2008
location: Cebu, Philippines
who: me, derek, queenie and friends from the bar at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu city

           

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080710_Impromptu_Trip_to_Cebu_.zip (178 KB)

It all began because the HR manager at my company made a mistake with my visa.  On the day it was going to expire (for the third time that year), she found out and gives me an urgent call at 6pm.  "You have to get out of the country now!  Hop into a cab and go to the airport!"  So I did.

No flights to Japan with available seats departing before midnight, couldn't get into China without a visa, and flights to US or Europe were just too far.  Luckily there was a last minute flight out to Cebu, a place I had never even heard of until that day.  Dressed in only my suit, with nothing else but 30,000 won (around 20 bucks) and no bags, I was off to Cebu.  11pm flight, just in time to save me from being deported from Korea ;)

I arrived with a plane full of honeymooners and families going for vacation at around 2am.  The airport was disgusting and dingy, there wasn't even anyone working there it seemed, and I had no idea what to do or where to go.  Everyone else had a tour group, so I asked a friendly guy, who helped me get a room at the Waterfront hotel in Cebu.  His directions were "don't take a taxi, they might screw you.  But if you pay 3 times as much I have a friend who will take you directly there in a private car service."  I had to believe him, so I took the chance.

The area in Cebu was clearly somewhat impoverished, and what really shocked me were the gates and armed guards in front of every hotel or resort.  Auspicious arrival to say the least.  When I arrived everything was closed and I asked if there was a convenience store around, but was given strict orders to stay within the hotel or else I would be in danger.  I slept in my clothes that night, and had no choice but to keep my contacts in.

The next day I woke up and immediately caught a cab to the mall Ayala, supposedly one of the largest in Cebu, and actually quite nice.  I shopped for a complete new set of clothes (from head to toe) and changed out of my increasingly smelly suit.  As I was walking around, a middle-aged woman taps me on the shoulder and starts chatting with me.  "Are you from Korea?  On vacation?  Here with anyone?"  We had a cup of coffee with her and her cousin, then she invited me to her house for lunch.  Really friendly women, but I felt it was just a little suspicious, so I decided to decline the offer and took her phone number instead.

I returned to the hotel by mid-afternoon and hit up a bar in the hotel, and that's where I met Derek, Queenie, and a bunch of others.  We quickly became friends, they wrote out a few bars I could go visit, and so I explored the night scene a little.  Based on their recommendation, I even hit up a Korean-style "room salon" which is where you karaoke with a bunch of girls, and ended up chatting up a Filipino guy and his Dutch friend.  Fun.

I returned around 12pm, had a few drinks, and chatted up the group at the bar.  As they closed up, they invited me to hang out with them and party.  So we went to a local club, which was incredibly entertaining.  Cheap drinks, dingy tables, and a dance floor complete with stripper poles.  As I went to dance, tons of girls surrounded me, and as I was having a drunken good time with one particular girl, Derek pulls me over and goes "you know that's a guy right?  look at her throat."  I looked.  Then I ordered more tequila.  Needless to say it was a lot of fun (and where all the pictures are from).

By about 4am we were out of the club and they brought me to the after-party barbecue place, and I treated the whole group of 6 people to unlimited Filipino barbecue and beer...the tab turned out to be about $17.  What a steal!  I was just a little worried about food poisoning but it turned out fine.  By the time I returned home it was 6am and I was exhausted but happy.

The next day I toured around Cebu.  A nice place, crawling with Koreans there to study English, and clearly a third-world country.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time and met up with the bar staff once more for lunch.  They were really nice and I was grateful to find them.  They invited me for their version of Mardi Gras, right around the new year, and I promised to make it out again.

Good times, great trip, and I'll definitely visit my friends there again :)

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dates: March 15, 2009
location: Hong Kong --> Seoul

               

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hkday4.zip (1542 KB)

slept in on sunday before heading out for some last minute shopping.  made a few purchases, seyoung found some cute boutique stores, and it was definitely sad to be leaving.  before we left we made sure to have an epic meal featuring some of my favorite foods: eggplant and fish bowl, won ton, hong kong style iced milk tea, pan fried cuttlefish, and fatty pork.

after we arrived back home we finished off the weekend with my favorite korean comfort food, barbecued sam gyeop sal and soju.  so satisfying!

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dates: March 14, 2009
location: Hong Kong
who: seyoung

                 

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hknight3.zip (1804 KB)

went up to victoria peak late at night to enjoy the scenic views of hong kong.  the last time i visited was when i was young and the original tram cars were still running...this time around there was an hour wait just to get on the tram, and the commercialization was rampant.  nevertheless the hong kong skyline was breathtaking, and with the beautiful weather, we were able to fully enjoy the view with some cocktails and snacks.  spending time with seyoung was really fun, we chatted about everything and anything, and capping the day off at the peak was perfect.

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