Dear Dayre,
I'm here to update about my first day in Korea!!!!
Actually, there's not much to say. We basically didn't do anything except
1. Get our hair washed and blow-dried ala Korean style
2. Walk walk and walk
3. Eat eat and eat
That about sums it up!!!
We touched down super super early, like 5.20am! So tired, because it was really hard to sleep on the flight and I think I barely got a few hours in.. I did manage to watch Frozen (the cartoon hahaha) and it was so entertaining and amusing!! Super love animated films. So that was one good thing out of the 7-hour flight.
The onboard meal was quite meh which was disappointing! Ah well.
This perked me up though.. Welcome package from the sweet people at Étude House!
I think I haven't mentioned (or have I?) but the reason why @evonnz and I are in Korea now is for an Étude House media event which is happening tomorrow so I am supaaaaa excited! First time attending an overseas media event and I have high hopes! Heh.
While the rest of the Singapore delegates decided to head for breakfast, Evonne and I stayed in at the hotel until our rooms were ready and we both ended up crashing and taking a much-needed short nap.
And what better way to celebrate our first day in Korea but to go for a true blue Korean hair wash and blow dry session!
Our hotel is in Gangnam area, and we were recommended to Juno Salon, a popular salon franchise with the nearest branch about 10 minutes walk away!
End result? SUPER CHIO HAIR.
It was an incredible experience cos you'll definitely not be able to experience the same in Singapore!
From the moment you step into the salon, you are taken care of, your coat hung up for you, belongings placed in a locker, hairdressing robe held out for you to step into.. Woah.
Super impressed.
Not to mention the meticulous job done on both our tresses, the hairstylists really pay attention to details, and are really good at what they do!
A couple of the staff speak good mandarin, so we were able to converse and chat in mandarin.
Singaporeans seem to be somewhat of a surprise to Koreans. They are shocked we speak mandarin, and they always mistake us for other nationalities! Considering how popular Korean culture is in Singapore, I find that kind of strange.
But the staff at Juno salon were all extremely pleasant, friendly and warm!! Had such a great experience that @evonnz is thinking of going back there again in a day's time.
$42 is pricey for a hair wash and blow dry, but I totally don't regret spending the money at all, at least once in my life time!
Like a chioooo only!
We left the salon feeling all happy and pretty! ☺️ And then it was time to get some food into the tummies, so we walked around and settled upon a seemingly small coffeehouse to grab a couple of bites.
I say seemingly small because we saw different branches of the same cafe at least 3 times later in the day so it isn't such a small coffeehouse after all 😅
Weren't so hungry so we went for the sweet stuff straight away: this strawberry dessert thingy was just 😻!! Light and fluffy and mmmmmmm oh-so-good!!
I actually liked the gelato waffle too, it was dense and chewy and sweet and the gelato went superbly well with it!
Trust me, looks are deceiving! This was so yummy too!!!
I can feel it already, I am so gonna get fat in Korea! 😰
Testing the new Samsung Galaxy Camera 2, this is cool cos it runs on Android and you can connect it via wifi and upload pictures straight away onto social media, like Instagram and Facebook!
My hair looks especially chio in this picture, with the blend of purple and violet highlights that are feathered into the ends of my hair! Even the Korean hairstylist complimented my hair color! Salon Vim is still the best ☺️
Random street near Cheong Dam.
Thank goodness the weather is just right, it's neither too cold nor is it too warm, it feels pleasantly cool and just a little chilly when a breeze passes by. Perfect for strolling on the streets, and we really walked quite a distance today, all the way from one end of Cheong Dam to I'm-not-sure-where!
It's terrible that neither Evonne nor I can read or understand Korean. Not really too worried because we have google maps and also people are generally helpful!
Another pit stop we made after walking about for streets, just about every two to three steps brings you to another cafe or coffeehouse another the corner! Quite amazing, really.
A honey grapefruit drink, and a honeycomb milk ice cream.
The honeycomb milk ice cream is pretty popular in Korea I think! Cos Woon sent me a picture of something similar before and told me I had to try it! It was rather addictive actually, with sticky honeycomb bits that went well with the milky ice cream.
Just me and a giant ice cream cone 😂
And seriously, what is Korea without the BBQ?! We walked what felt like miles and miles to look for a BBQ restaurant and finally found one that was fairly affordable! Each of us paid about 20,000 won if I remember rightly. Around $24sgd! The meat was cooked for us and the grill was replaced regularly so all we did was stuff our faces with meat.
Luckily I didn't get a tummy ache 🙊 Sandwiched all my meat inside raw lettuce to try to meet my veggie quota for the day!
Okay I shan't bore everyone with every single detail of today, and also because I need my beauty sleep and also because if I Dayre everything no one is gonna read my blog anymore when I blog about it… But I wish to end off with.. MY STRAWBERRIES!
I have made it my personal mission to buy fresh Korean strawberries because they are really the best. Found some huge juicy ones inside the supermarket near our hotel and munched on them for supper! 🍓🍓🍓
I think I'm a lil crazy. I really, really love eating the fresh produce of every country!
When I go HK, I eat 菜心 at every meal cos they're just so fresh and sweet.
When I go BKK, it's coconut after coconut for me!
And for Korea, the strawberries are a MUST! You won't ever taste Korean strawberries like them in Singapore. Really got difference one.
Gonna eat the rest of my strawbies for breakfast tomorrow 😻
Good night! Seoul happy to be here in Seoul! #badpun