Today is my last day in Korea! Just when my skin has started to faintly show the effects of the miraculous air and water here which gives the Koreans such flawless, radiant skin, I have to leave.

In fact, by the time this post is published (on timer), I will already be on a plane bound for Hong Kong for transfer to Singapore.

Korea is a wonderful, wonderful place. Will elaborate on that another day. Just wanna share some photos first!

Enjoying Korea with my favourite girls. Our first overseas trip together without the guys! Awesome, heh.

This next photo is possibly my favourite of the entire trip. Nanny Wen enjoys doing this thing she describes as “bombing my photos”. That’s when I’m self-camwhoring and she’d sneak into my frame without me knowing, to make a funny face. This is her best bombing yet.

Here’s another one. But this time, I kinda knew she was going to do it already, so I was laughing. Her funny posture and expression was just her trying to rush into my frame before I snapped the picture.

Here’s one she didn’t get.

Shopping in Doota, a popular mall in Seoul. I can’t stop thinking DotA (the game). I didn’t shop much this trip. Somehow, kinda lost the mood for crazy shopping.

Hello Kitty hair accessories. I wanted to buy some, then I looked at the prices, then drooled at them for 10 minutes and ended up not buying any. They’re, like, S$30 to S$60 each or around there. For hair clips! Crazy!

Prettiest luggage bags ever. I would have bought some if I hadn’t already spent a grand on my Mickey Mouse and Guess luggage bags. These are pretty expensive, too. I think the small ones are around S$100. Didn’t dare look at the big ones.

This is the outside of a palace. There are many palaces in Seoul. Five or something like that, I think. I might share my photos of our palace visit. But it was a bit boring to be honest.

I think Koreans are really good at interior decoration. Many of their restaurants are really nice and pretty and cosy.

Really big dog in a shopping alley.

A random street.

Our first meal in Korea was of street food. We were looking for a restaurant to eat at and decided to stop and get a small bite. Then we kept adding on to our order because everything tasted so good, and actually stood there and ate an entire meal.

Seoul is bursting with cafes. You can’t walk two steps without encountering one!

The night life is quite vibrant in Seoul. Restaurants and pubs and shopping. Or maybe because we stayed at the university district so it’s more happening there.

Two Korean cuties in the subway.

Our lodgings in Korea.

We stayed in a place called Ann Guesthouse. It looks like some kind of office building with units converted into home-like spaces. I really love it here. It’s so cosy. It’s just directly above the subway and very near shops and restaurants. And it’s really cheap!! S$30 per person per night in a family unit with five beds. Free daily laundry services, too.

There’s an upstairs area like an attic. Well, it’s kinda plain but I love it cos it feels so cosy! Nanny Wen and I shared the upstairs area. I bumped my head countless times on the ceiling.

It’s usually the going downstairs that does it. I kept bumping my head on that jutting ceiling just above the steps.

Sitting on the steps.

Okay, that’s all! It’s really tiring blogging when overseas. So many activities in the day, then, like, there isn’t much time left to rest and sleep at night before the next day starts again. Even though our itinerary has been super relaxing to the max. lol

Will blog more when I get back to Singapore! =)

Advertorial

I think this will sound a bit masochistic but I’m always excited whenever I get a cut or a scratch. That’s because I have a collection of colourful, cute plasters with all sorts of designs. They make the hurt feel better instantly!

(I’m not really masochistic okay. I still don’t like getting hurt and I don’t purposely hurt myself.)

Besides the normal kind of plasters, there’s this other kind I use for my sports injuries: SALONPAS Pain Relief Patch.

By sports injuries I mean mild ones like aches, sprains and bruises. If, like, you fracture a bone or something, please go see a doctor, instead.

SALONPAS patches don’t come in colourful, cute designs. I guess that’s because not many people care about making a fashion statement with everything they do and wear.

But I do, so I made my own fashionable SALONPAS!

My knees hurt every time I skate. I think it’s because of the half-bending position that skaters maintain all the time. Plus my knees aren’t in tip-top condition to begin with, after long years of indulging in sports.

So this is me skating with SALONPAS on my knees:

And this is me making a fashion statement with SALONPAS:

If you think that’s idiotic, you have no sense of humour. If you like it, I like you!

I made the words in photoshop, printed them out on normal paper, then pasted the pieces onto the SALONPAS patches with double-sided tape!

You can get creative and do all kinds of nice designs to suit your mood and clothing. You don’t have to demonstrate a nutty sense of humour like I did.

SALONPAS Pain Relief Patch is the first US FDA-approved over-the-counter topical analgesic patch in Singapore.

It’s used for temporary relief of mild to moderate aches and pain of muscles and joints associated with arthritis, sprains, bruises and simple backache.

It contains methyl salicylate and l-menthol as active ingredients!

Attractive features:

• Thin, stretchable and flexible, minimising tension.
• Snug fit over joint areas.
• Improved adhesion.
• Painless when removing.
• Inconspicuous skin colour.
• Penetrates quickly for fast-acting, long-lasting relief.
• Use on many areas (e.g. neck, shoulder, back, elbow, knee, foot, calf).
• Easy to peel off backing and apply.
• No greasy residue after removal.
• Now with a choice of cool, minty scent!

What a lot of features!

You know how they’ve made SALONPAS patches an ordinary skin colour so that they’re less conspicuous when wearing? Well, for some reason, people don’t like to be seen wearing plasters and patches. I guess I can understand that. People like appearing healthy and not debilitated in any way.

But I like having some fun in my life, and making fashion statements is fun, even if it may not be very practical at times.

I think my Fashion SALONPAS works just as well, even if sticking a piece of paper on a patch makes it a bit less flexible.

I can use it also when I go running!

Warming up:

Running gives me a backache sometimes, so I stick a patch on my back:

Okay, I don’t normally run in such sexy gear. I’m a t-shirt and shorts person, mostly. I specially put on a sports bra to show off my SALONPAS patch.

Because this outfit goes so well with my lovely cute SALONPAS heart:

So adorable, right? Similar to my knee patches, I printed out a heart, pasted it on the patch, then cut it up. Sure, there’s some wastage, but sacrifices must be made for art and fashion.

You can minimise wastage by choosing a different kind of shape that will use as much surface area of the patch as possible. Then you’ll get more of the medicine, too.

I actually made a pair of Hello Kitty faces, intending to use them on my knees. The Hello Kitty face shape gives very minimal patch wastage when you cut it up. But my friend says I can’t show them here because of copyright issues.

Sad. They are very cute, too. Imagine a pair of Hello Kitty on my knees!

Anyway, back to my heart patch. Even though small, I can feel the medicine working its way in and relieving pain. Anyway, my backaches aren’t too severe so I don’t need the entire patch. =P

SALONPAS patches aren’t only used for sports pains. They can be used for daily strains and sprains.

I’ve been getting stiff necks/shoulders since young. I remember getting stiff necks as early as primary school days. Maybe I was born with a lousy neck. =(

And I worsened the situation for myself by being a gaming addict and sitting at my computer for long stretches at a time my whole life. And I mean really long stretches, like 10 hours or more, without any breaks.

Now, my neck is, like, constantly stiff. Using SALONPAS helps numb the pain so I don’t feel like cutting off my neck whenever it gets really bad.

It’s even more crucial now that I’m addicted to iPad gaming.

The iPad is very much a lap device, so that means more neck-bending when using it, which causes more strain.

SALONPAS to the rescue!

Cute SALONPAS to the rescue!

This elephant was a bit harder to cut up, but it’s worth it. I love having an elephant on my shoulder!

Or how about a star?

The best thing about the new SALONPAS, I think, is the minty fragrance. It doesn’t smell like the Chinese medicine that people associate with these patches, so you can go out wearing the patches and people will just think you’re chewing gum or something.

Of course, the fast pain relief and the ease of application are great, too. You can take them out and use them whenever needed, easily.

Okay, I feel very inspired after this photoshoot. I shall start my running and gymming routine again soon! (Been neglecting my exercise for a while because of iPad gaming. Eeks!)

SALONPAS Pain Relief Patch is available at all major pharmacies, supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores and neighbourhood Chinese medical halls.

DISCLAIMER:
(In case you’ve only looked at photos and haven’t read a word the whole post.)

The “fashion patches” are not available for sale. They were created by me. So don’t scold people if you go to the shop and can’t find them.

And be sure to read instructions carefully before you use any medical products.

Now, wanna try SALONPAS for yourself? =)

RECEIVE SALONPAS:

Here’s your chance to receive a sample pack of five SALONPAS patches.

Just go to this link and submit a short note on how you would use SALONPAS!

You need to do it before October 19, okay?

GO GO GO!

All photos in this post by Justyn Olby, my awesome photographer.

One of the first things you’ll notice about Korean youngsters is that they like to wear huge, geeky black-framed glasses. You can’t miss seeing them everywhere you go. I think they look very cute!

So I decided to try on a pair.

Oops! Wrong one.

This one, actually. =P

I tried them on for fun because my friends were in the spectacle shop buying real glasses. I mean, as in, for optical use.

Elyxia, Wang Wang and Nanny Wen all bought a pair of prescription glasses each. I’m the only one who doesn’t need glasses but I couldn’t resist buying a pair. I was just wearing them for laughs when I realised that I quite like them!

I’m really impressed by the level of service in Korea. I bought this pair of glasses and two pairs of cheap sunglasses costing about S$85 in total. I thought I was just gonna pay for them and be done with it.

But this guy made me sit down and then he put the glasses on me one by one, then took them off me now and then to run off to adjust them or something. He spent, like, 10-15 minutes on me. I’ve never had any retailer care whether the cheap sunglasses they’re selling me fit me nicely or not!

Above pic. I was laughing because he had just taken the specs off me and it had gotten caught on my hair pin momentarily. He was so apologetic about it, and it wasn’t the first time that had happened, so he was always apologising profusely, which made me rather embarrassed, therefore the laugh.

He’s really sweet, though.

All Koreans are really sweet!

So, do I look Korean in geeky Korean specs?

If not, how about this:

There’s this Korean period musical called Miso, in Chongdong Theatre. They have an area where visitors can pay KRW5,000 (S$5.70) to put on a costume and take photos.

They don’t have a good selection of hanboks, though. These were the nicest we found.

Not the prettiest but good enough, I guess.

Nanny Wen being a photographer in costume, lol.

Okay, I don’t think I look very Korean in a hanbok.

Korean women are so beautiful. Most of them have fair, smooth, radiant skin and pretty, demure features. So envious! They’re very well-dressed, too.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of photos of them. It’s a bit hard to take random photos of people in the streets. They walk so fast!

Anyway, I’m having fun so far. Three more days to enjoy Korea before I return home!

Synopsis

Sheylara is a bimbo who enjoys shopping, playing games and Facebooking. She’s always late in paying bills because she thinks banking and accounting are tough, boring tasks. But she will soon find out how wrong she is!

Cast of Characters

Previously

Cutie Prime worries about being cut off because Sheylara keeps procrastinating her phone bill payment. So, Fluffy the 2nd comes to the rescue, enticing Sheylara with the Wishlist feature in Breeze! Sheylara now thinks banking could be fun, but her phone bill still remains to be paid…

Chapter 2: Sexy mobile secretary

One day, Sheylara was playing a game on Cutie Prime.

Actually, it wasn’t only one day. Sheylara was always playing games, if not on Cutie Prime, then on her PC or iPad or DS or Xbox 360 or PS3 or Wii….

You’d think she wouldn’t have time to go shopping or indulge in any of her hobbies, what with all this game-playing.

As Sheylara played on, Cutie Prime, as usual, was fretting over the unpaid phone bill.

Meanwhile, Fluffy the 2nd sat at the side, rolling her eyes at this. She decided that it was time to give Cutie Prime a big hint. She edged closer and whispered to the dejected iPhone.

“Cutie, get her to download Breeze for iPhone. Tell her it’s a new game.”

Cutie’s eyes brightened.

“Why didn’t I think of that?!”

Not to be deterred, Cutie Prime forcefully showed Sheylara the app and made her download it.

Cutie Prime gritted her teeth and tried to ignore the protestations of the impatient bimbo.

Just as Sheylara was about to turn the app off and continue with her game, Cutie Prime quickly flashed the most attention-grabbing thing in Breeze she could think of.

Happy that her effort was beginning to show some fruit, Cutie Prime continued to appeal to the novelty-loving gene in Sheylara.

“It’s very clever. You can send a cheque to anyone at all without actually sending a real cheque!”

“Huh?”

“You just type the details in me and Standard Chartered Bank will send a real cheque on your behalf to whomever!”

“Oh,” said Sheylara, trying to puzzle it out.

“Why don’t you try it now?!” cried Cutie Prime before Sheylara had time to lose interest.

Delighted, Sheylara set to work sending herself a cheque as Cutie Prime ran her through the steps.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Sheylara suddenly yelled out, “What was that icon thing? I want to send another cheque to someone else so I can make another icon!”

“Oh, that!” said Cutie, “You can personalise all your payees, whether it’s for sending a cheque or paying a bill or transferring money to a friend!”

“Oooh!” said Sheylara, “Show me again!”

With that, Cutie smiled slyly and said, “Why don’t we make one for your phone bill?”

“OKAY!”

Encouraged by Sheylara’s interest, Cutie Prime went for the winning shot.

“Let’s pay your phone bill now!”

“OKAY!”

Cutie Prime grinned widely and gave Fluffy a high-five.

At this, Fluffy the 2nd felt that it was time to pipe in. She was a bit jealous for not having appeared much in the entire chapter.

“Look, Sheylara!” she said.

Sheylara looked.

“I’m making a monthly reminder in your Breeze so that you’ll remember to pay your bill every month!”

“Wow, you’re like a secretary, Fluffy!” said Sheylara, excited.

Fluffy beamed happily.

“What about me?” said Cutie.

“You’re a mobile secretary!” said Fluffy.

“A sexy one!” said Cutie, striking a pose, although she looked the same no matter what pose she tried to strike.

Suddenly, Sheylara cried out, “THAT REMINDS ME!”

“Bye girls!” Sheylara yelled, and was out the door in five seconds.

Fluffy sighed.

“That girl. You can never keep her doing something serious for two minutes!”

Cutie rolled her eyes. “And she forgot to take me again. She’ll have to come back to grab me.”

“LOL,” said Fluffy.

“We’ll convert her yet!” declared Cutie Prime suddenly. She was feeling confident now that the phone bill was finally paid.

“She’ll be logging in and using Breeze all the time once we’re done with her! Then she’ll become smarter and less ditzy!”

Fluffy didn’t respond and even looked a bit doubtful.

Can a bimbo truly become a banking babe? What will Fluffy and Cutie do next?

Find out in Chapter 3, coming next week!

I don’t have time to write a blog today, so I shall link my Star Blog. =D

The 10 things I find irresistible

You know, if you never tried to list 10 things you found irresistible, you wouldn’t know how hard it was.

I was at Sandakan while working on this blog. I polled a few of my travel mates as to their list. Not one of them could come up with 10 things. They had, maybe, three or four.

I guess, in life, we don’t really think about things in terms of them being irresistible, with the exception of a few things that make us go “Aww” or “I want!”

Can you make a list of 10? Have a think about it and then come read mine! =D