During the December school holidays in 2023, we went on a 6D5N free and easy trip to Hong Kong. It was towards the end of December and the weather was freezing cold! Obviously, the ladies in the family were insufficiently dressed and attracted amused stares from the locals! It was a very memorable shoot for all of us as it was drizzling in Mong Kong on the morning of our photoshoot.
I had engaged the services of Cyan Production after chancing upon their works on Instagram which gave off the vibes which I like. Was pleasantly surprised that their rates are actually very reasonable and affordable in contrast to other photographers that I had contacted. I wasn’t willing to splurge on a one-hour shoot as all I wanted was some decent family photos during our holiday that wouldn’t (further) burn a hole in my pocket.
A whatsapp chat group was set up before our shoot and Patrick was our assigned photographer. We decided on the meeting point and time, and also communicated on the type of photos I was looking for.
I love the look of Hong Kong’s old buildings and big colorful signboards, both of which are very unique and representative of the country. As it was really cold, the one-hour shoot actually felt kinda long but we enjoyed ourselves!
Would definitely recommend doing an outdoor family photoshoot if you are travelling to Hong Kong, or anywhere in the world!
Photos from Hong Kong Disneyland coming up next! ๐
The Chewys went on a short 4D3N to Bangkok in June 2023 during the school holidays and I cant believe it took me almost a year to post this! I have always wanted to do another traditional costume photoshoot after our last in Korea and Bangkok is the perfect place to do so.
I chanced upon Sense of Thai online while I was doing some research for our trip. They offer modern pastel colored Thai costumes which instantly won me over.
Another bonus is that they collaborate with freelance photographers so it’s very convenient to just make a single reservation for costume rental and photoshoot.
We chose the earliest photoshoot time slot which was 11am to 12pm because we wanted to just get it over and done so that we can relax and go about doing whatever we wanted for the rest of the day.
Thankfully, the weather was cloudy and kind to us despite the not-so-ideal timing. To save time, I prepared screenshot selections of the preferred costumes for all of us and simply showed them to the Sense of Thai staff to hunt for the fabric for us. We were in and out in less than 20 minutes inclusive of fitting with help from the staff.
Photoshoot location was Wat Arun temple. We had to take a ferry about 2 to 3 stops away and our photographer Aofaum was already waiting for us at the entrance. I actually contacted him via IG because the response from Sense of Thai was very slow. He actually got back to me on the same day.
There is also a small entrance fee for Wat Arun temple but the freelance photographers are stationed there all day so we didnt have to pay for his.
Aofaum was very professional and good at directing poses so we felt natural and at ease.
Annyeong Chewys! It’s been such a really long time since I updated this dusty blog of mine that I had almost forgotten my login password hehe. Time flies~ Both littlemisschewy and minimisschewy are in primary school now. So before minimisschewy entered Primary 1, we went on a winter vacation to Korea (Seoul and Busan) with my parents last December (in 2022).
My last trip to Korea before this was a couple trip with misterchewy. We did a hanbok photoshoot as well but it was at Gyeongbokgong and it was in May or June so the weather was pretty good. For this family trip, I really wanted to have everyone dressed in hanbok and I’m glad that nobody had any violent objections LOL.
Since it was mid December, the weather was really cold. Sub-zero temperatures if I’m not wrong.. We rented our costumes from Hanbok That Day and they had a pretty nice variety of hanboks for adults and children. Tip: Always book the earliest rental slot and arrive at least 5 minutes early to avoid the crowd.
We booked a one-hour photoshoot via Sweetescape and were very lucky to be assigned a local photographer who converses well in English and is also very talented as evident from the photos here. You can look up @jinkim.photography on Instagram.
Like I mentioned, the weather was crazy cold and freezing! We actually donned our thick jackets but had to chuck them on the roadside whenever we stopped for photos. It was pretty hilarious!
Some lovely shots of the grandchildren and grandparents.
I have always wanted to strike a couple pose in Kdrama style! Hahaha.
The following photos were actually taken before we walked to Bukchon Hanok Village. We had arrived a lot earlier than our photoshoot time slot and decided to seek refuge from the cold at this pretty Baskin Robbins ice cream shop while waiting for our photographer to arrive.
What’s better than having ice cream? Having ice cream in cold winter weather! Brrr!
Yup ice cream is always a good idea!
Hope you guys enjoyed this set of photos from our Korean hanbok family photoshoot! Till’ the next time! ๐
A few months back, we had the opportunity of trying out ice skating at The Rink, JCube, for the very first time as a family. Ice skating is not new to me, I had been to Fuji Ice Palace when I was really young so that was many years back!
Putting on our ice skating boots!
We were introduced to Coach Mag who then gave us an introduction on the basics such as balancing ourselves and how to get up from the ground.
Without further ado, we were whisked onto the ice skating rink!
Both littlemisschewy and minimisschewy went straight for the penguin aid LOL. It certainly helped while Coach Mag provided them with some guidance.
After spending some time with Coach Mag, we were pretty much able to skate freely on our own. It was really fun!
There are various packages and classes available at The Rink. Click here if you wanna know more! ๐
Annyeong! Omg I’m so embarrassed that this actually took ages for me to blog about. Finally blogging about the last day of our Korea 2019 trip!
Since we were driving, we made a pretty long 2.5 hours journey to a very famous and popular Korean drama filming site!
JJA-JAAAAAN! Yeah it’s none other than Jumunjin Beach, which is the original filming location of Goblin, starring Gong Yoo, Kim Go-eun, Lee Dong-wook, Yoo In-na and Yook Sung-jae.
The Korean drama was really popular when it was released in December 2016 and Jumunjin Beach was flooded with throngs of Goblin fans. Since we were there about 2 years later, the beach was pretty empty so we kinda had all the time in the world to take photos. The downside was that it was difficult to get people to help with the pics but luckily a Korean guy was there with his mother and we managed to enlist his help.
Bringing a tripod is a good idea too!
Heard that this restaurant along Jumumjin Beach used to do very well due to the high amount of human traffic.
We then made our way to another Korean drama filming site, Raramuri along Deungmyeong beach. This place can be seen in dramas such as Encounter, Goblin and Legend of the Blue Sea.
It was a pity that it was not like what it seemed in the dramas. This place looked kinda run down and deserted. Nevertheless, it was nice to make a trip here.
Had a simple lunch to warm nearby and the food was quite good.
On the way back to Seoul, we stopped by Playground Brewery for some drinks and bar bites.
Love the tap handles! So unique!
We loveeeee the Korean bbq at Wang Bi Jib and decided to return for a meaty feast with some soju bombs!
Just sit back and relax while the servers would do all the magic.
Click here to read more about our Korea 2019 trip!
For our remaining two days in Korea, we rented a vehicle so that we could travel to places that were further away from central Seoul which were also not so accessible by public transport. There were some minor hiccups when we picked up our rental car in the morning but luckily, our itinerary was a very relaxed one that day so we weren’t exactly in a hurry to get anywhere.
After about an hour of misterchewy driving really cautiously (because left-hand drive!) on the road, we reached Incheon Chinatown (์ธ์ฒ ์ฐจ์ด๋ํ์ด). This place is certainly very traditional and retains the flavors of China. If you have an extra day or two, I definitely recommend that you stop by this place of interest.
There are two things which you will not miss at Incheon Chinatown – Jajangmyeon (noodles in black bean sauce) and Bing Tang Hu Lu (candied Hawthorn stick)!
The hubs and I adore Korean jajangmyeon, which was the main reason why we decided to travel to Incheon Chinatown. We heard that Gonghwachun(๊ณตํ์ถ) serves the best jajangmyeon in Korea! Not only that, the famous and popular restaurant has over 100 years of history!
Gonghwachun offers a few different types of Jajangmyeon and we went for the special one with loads of premium ingredients like prawns and pork. The noodles were served separately so we poured the gravy with ingredients in and gave everything a good stir before tucking in. It was a really delicious and satisfying treat!
We also ordered Tangsuyuk (ํ์์ก) as we often see this crispy, deep-fried pork dish drizzled in sweet and tangy sauce being eaten together with jajangmyeon in Korean dramas.
There were many other Chinese snacks and delicacies at Chinatown but we were too full to stomach anything else after the filling meal at Gonghwachun.
We also read that Sim Ni Hyang sells very yummy mandu, also known as meat dumplings!
This is the building where Gonghwachun’s restaurant was originally at. It is now converted into a Jajangmyeon musuem! I totally forgot to check the details and the museum was not opened that day ๐
Well, at least we got to eat the jajangmyeon which we were really craving for!
At Incheon Chinatown, you can also find a very cute and colorful place known as Songwol-dong Fairy Tale Village (์ก์๋ ๋ํ๋ง์) where all the characters that you have read about in various fairy tales come to live in the form of painted art or 3D sculptures.
Songwol-dong Fairy Tale Village (์ก์๋ ๋ํ๋ง์)
We then went to Shinsegae. Did not buy anything but this photo with Park Seo Joon is good enough for me! LOL.
Dinner was at Wangbijib (์๋น์ง) which translates to “Queen’s House”. Read many positive reviews online and decided to try the Korean BBQ there. We loved it so much that we went back again the next day!
Service was top notch. The staff were so attentive that not would they keep checking when the meat was ready to be flipped over, they would also use a pair of scissors to snip out any charred ends before serving it to you.
Another one of my favorite Korean actors, Gong Yoo! ๐
Baskin Robbins seems really popular in Korea and I couldn’t resist a cup!
What’s a trip to Korea without watching the Nanta Cookin’ Show! We got our tickets early via Changi Recommends which was really convenient too!
No photography and videography is allowed in the theatre but I had to snap a photo of this because the Nanta crew was really entertaining and displayed superb camaraderie. Everyone was roaring with laughter throughout the 1.5 hour show!
This concludes our 6th day in Korea! Next post will be on our last day of our Korea trip! ๐
Annyeong chingu! This post covers our 5th day in Korea! We had just returned to Seoul from Busan the night before and I’m glad we got our day tour package to Nami Island, Gangchon Rail Park and Garden of Morning Calm via Changi Recommends!
It was a nice change as we did not have to fuss over the logistics of booking entrance passes and transportation. Shuttle bus service is provided so all we had to do was just to hop on and off at the designated timings! The hubs could finally take a break from all the navigation he had to do over the past few days.
There are 3 pickup locations namely Hongik, Myeongdong and Dongdaemun. We selected Myeongdong as it was closest to our accommodation and we picked up some delicious gimbap along the way!
Our first stop of the day was Nami Island! Gotta take a photo with these adorable snowmen figurines! My first trip to this attraction was more than 10 years ago, after watching the famous Korean drama “Winter Sonata” starring Bae Yong-joon and Choi Ji-woo. I’m sure most of you would know that the popular series was shot on Nami Island!
There are a number of activities which you can do at Nami Island, one of which is to take photos of/with the beautiful flowers!
A collection of photos from Winter Sonata!
I remember there used to be this life-sized cardboard cutout of Bae Yong-joon and Choi Ji-woo in this exact same pose.
Our very own version! Can pass? ๐
We saw some people riding rented bicycles around the park but I don’t know how to cycle so we stuck around taking photos.
Our local guide told us to meet him earlier if we wanted to eat the best Dak Galbi on Nami Island and since it was lunch time, we thought it was a great idea! I’m not sure why we opted for the non-spicy version though since I’m a fan of spicy food! We also ordered some tteokbokki and garlic fried rice. Mashisoyo~!
Do note that this isn’t included in the tour package but it’s really yummy so you wouldn’t wanna miss this!
Spent the next hour on the shuttle bus to get to our second destination of the day, Gangchon Rail Park! To be honest, I was most looking forward to this part of the day tour! It seems like rail bikes are fast gaining popularity in Korea.
If you wanna have some privacy with your friends or other half, I would strongly recommend paying a little bit more for the private rail bikes. The queue is also significantly shorter.
This was the queue for the shared rail bike which was snaking all the way to the back. Also, I strongly suggest that a trip to the washroom be made before you start queuing for the rail bike tour as the queuing plus activity itself would take about an hour.
One of the perks of joining the day tour is having your local guide snap photos for you!
Wheeeee! And off we go!
Pedaling is fairly effortless only if all parties pedal at the same time. Once in a while I would be too engrossed with taking photos, leaving misterchewy to do the pedaling on his own. LOL.
The Happy Bubble Tunnel is one of the highlights of Gangchon Rail Park as there are different colored lightings and bubbles as we passed through the tunnel. Very pretty!
We were having the time of our lives!
It was certainly a very fun experience and I highly recommend trying out this activity!
The last stop of our day tour was the Garden of Morning Calm, which we ironically visited in the evening! By then we were already very tired but we were thankful to be transported in the comfortable shuttle bus which is included in the day tour package.
We were given slightly more than an hour to tour the garden and since it was fairly huge, misterchewy and I narrowed down to just two areas for some photos.
We reckon that the pavilion situated in the middle of the pond is the most beautiful sight at the Garden of Morning Calm. Also, “Love in the Moonlight” starring Park Bo-gum and Kim Yoo-jung was shot at this location! *Eyes shooting hearts*
There’s also a nice little white church which can accommodate about 8 people.
Even though we had a filling lunch earlier, we were famished after the rail bike activity and walking around the garden. Grabbed a quick bite before we boarded the shuttle bus back to Myeongdong and this marked the end of our superb day tour to Gapyeong!
The day tour to Nami Island, Gangchon Rail Park and Garden of Morning Calm by Changi Recommends is highly recommended and you can book it easily via this link. Hope you guys enjoyed this post! Stay tuned for the next! ๐
Hello Chewy friends! As mentioned in our previous post, we spent 2D1N in Busan and this post covers what we did on the second day, before we board the Korail back to Seoul.
From our place of accommodation, we took a bus which brought us to the foot of Busan Gamcheon Culture Village (๋ถ์ฐ ๊ฐ์ฒ๋ฌธํ๋ง์). Little did we know that there is a shuttle bus service so we actually hiked up the crazily steep slope. It was definitely a good morning workout for us LOL.
As we entered the village, we could see that the place is very vibrant, colorful, and full of positive vibes.
It didn’t take long for us to locate the perfect spot for photos. Gamcheon Culture Village is also known as “Machu Picchu of Busan”, as it is formed by houses built in a staircase-fashion on the foothills of a coastal mountain. The houses are so colorful and looking at them from a distance made us feel as though we were admiring a piece of art. It was certainly very uplifting to be there in person to witness the beauty of Gamcheon Culture Village.
These are not just empty houses but there are residents staying at Gamcheon Culture Village! We saw a granny hanging up her clothes to dry at her balcony.
While strolling along the alleys, we also passed by a number of shops and cafes.
Busan Gamcheon Culture Village (๋ถ์ฐ ๊ฐ์ฒ๋ฌธํ๋ง์)
We spent the next hour travelling to Taejongdae Resort Park (ํ์ข ๋์ ์์ง(๋ถ์ฐ)). Designated as a Busan monument, along with Oryukdo Island, Taejongdae represents Busan, and is especially famous for its rock beach. To be honest, there were other places that we wanted to visit in Busan but due to time constraints, it was quite impossible if we wanted to cover each place in detail. This is a model of the Danubi Train which is no longer in operation but can still be found at the park for photo-taking purposes.
Taejongdae Park is really huge and while it is possible to cover by foot, we definitely would not recommend it! Admission is free but there is a charge of 3000 Korean won for the Danubi train. It is worth taking the train to save your legs energy for the long climbs later on.
There is a train number printed on the ticket so you can only board when your number is being flashed on the screen. We waited for about 15 to 20 minutes as there was a large crowd that day.
Out of all the stops, we only visited two, the first one being the Observatory.
If you haven’t been to Yeongdo Lighthouse, you can’t really say that you have visited Taejongdae Park because it is the main highlight, so don’t miss it!
The views from the top were breathtaking and spectacular.
My legs were already protesting given my poor choice of footwear and I nearly gave up mid descent because the thought of having to climb all the way back up was scary enough.
The hubs didn’t force me but he sure had his subtle ways of encouraging me to keep taking another step forward. Oh my god just look at the view. And of course, we knew that lunch was waiting for us and that definitely kept me going.
PHEW! Finally! We reached the bottom of Yeongdo Lighthouse and thankfully, there was an unoccupied table. I realised we forgot to take photos of the ahjummas selling a wide array of freshly caught seafood. We were too fascinated by this whole thing of sitting on the table and eating fresh seafood by the sea, just like what we had seen in Korean dramas!
There’s a sheltered tent right next to us but we were crazy enough to sit under the sun because we felt that it was a better way to soak up the experience!
We had difficulty identifying the types of seafood and did not know how to converse with the ahjummas. So one of them asked, “Sashimi?” And misterchewy replied, “Ah sashimi? Ok!” Done deal. LOL! Of course we ordered beer too!
Not quite what we were expecting but the raw fish was superb when dipped in gochujang sauce!
It was all worth it!
After lunch, we decided to linger around the cliffs to take some photos as the view looked amazing! What do you think?
Taejongdae Resort Park (ํ์ข ๋์ ์์ง(๋ถ์ฐ))
Annyeonghaseyo~ Here’s a wefie of misterchewy and I on the Korail en route to Busan on the third day of our Korea trip! Visiting Busan had not crossed our minds as we initially thought that 7 nights in Korea might be barely sufficient. Well, for some reason, we finally decided to set aside 2D1N right smack in the middle of our itinerary since we had already booked our air tix to return from Seoul.
We purchased our Korea Rail Pass via Klook as we felt that the Korail website seemed a little confusing and we certainly didn’t want to risk making a mistake of getting the wrong passes or tickets. We got the Flexible Days Pass (Savers Pass) which is only offered to groups of 2 to 5 people travelling together on the same itinerary.
After grabbing a quick bite at the super crowded McD, it was time to catch our 9am train to Busan! It was a pretty uneventful 3-hour ride, with no zombies whatsoever lol.
Since it was around lunch time, we stopped by the famous Choryang Milmyeon (์ด๋๋ฐ๋ฉด), which is just opposite Busan station, before checking into our hotel. Business looked brisk! Definitely approved by locals!
We just couldn’t get enough of Korean cold noodles. So refreshing in any kind of weather!
We also decided to try some steamed Mandus and these totally packed a punch! Full of yummy meaty goodness!
Choryang Milmyeon (์ด๋๋ฐ๋ฉด)
Address:ย 225 Jungang-daero, Choryang 2(i)-dong, Dong-gu, Busan, South Korea
Do you know that Busan is famous for eomok (fish cakes)? There is even a fish cake museum!
As it wasn’t time to check into our hotel yet, we left our baggage with the staff and grabbed a Einspรคnner coffee. First time having one and it tasted so creamy and silky smooth!
Took a fairly long bus ride and finally reached Haeundae Beach(ํด์ด๋ํด์์์ฅ)! It was kinda crazy to visit the beach in such chilly weather and we froze whenever it got windy.
Even though we were kinda shivering in the cold, we took our time to snap some photos and admire the view.
Busan is also famous for its Dwaeji Gukbap (pork soup with rice). We were only feeling cold but not very hungry, so we stopped by a restaurant and shared a piping hot bowl of dwaeji gukbap. It was really comforting and heartwarming eating this in cold weather.
Took a bus from Haeundae and alighted at the foot of Haedong Yonggungsa Temple. It was a steep walk up and my poor choice of footwear made things worse but it was all worth it!
Temples are typically constructed on mountains but Haedong Yonggungsa Temple (ํด๋ ์ฉ๊ถ์ฌ) is located by the sea. The view is especially magnificent in the evening just when the sun is about to set.
Besides the beautiful view, misterchewy and I enjoyed the calming sounds of the waves and cool sea breeze blowing gently on our faces.
There are a handful of popular craft beer bars and breweries in Busan and we included Wild Wave Brewing Co (์์ผ๋์จ์ด๋ธ ๋ธ๋ฃจ์) as it is located in Haeundae area. We had been following their Instagram for a while and were enticed by their brews!
There were as many as 16 different beers on tap and we wanted to try everything which is obviously impossible so we ordered a beer flight.
We weren’t exactly very hungry so we shared a meat platter to go along with the beers.
Loved the beers of course and the ambience pretty chill and relaxing. A pity the brewery isn’t open to public.
Wild Wave Brewing Co (์์ผ๋์จ์ด๋ธ ๋ธ๋ฃจ์)
Here’s our accommodation for our one-night stay in Busan! Location is superb (one minute walk from the train station) and many kinds of amenities are provided in the room.
Here’s a continuation of what we did on Day 2 of our Korea trip. We spent the morning having a photoshoot in our rented hanbok at Gyeongbokgung Palace which you can read about here.
After changing back into our casual attires, we grabbed a quick bite around the area and went back to Gyeongbokgung Palace (๊ฒฝ๋ณต๊ถ) for more photos. This palace is steeped in history and its beauty is magnificent. We only took some photos outside where an admission ticket is not required as we did not intend to spend a lot of time there.
The weather in Seoul was really nice and cool back in mid to late April. Perfect for taking long leisurely walks while admiring the cherry blossoms around us.
Next, we visited CheonggyecheonStream (์ฒญ๊ณ์ฒ). It is 11km long and runs through downtown Seoul. In the summer, many people can be seen sitting by the stream and dipping their feet in the water to keep themselves cool from the sweltering heat.
There are also various art installations for people to admire and to take photos of.
CheonggyecheonStream (์ฒญ๊ณ์ฒ)
Address: Changsin-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul ์์ธํน๋ณ์ ์ข ๋ก๊ตฌ ์ฐฝ์ ๋
We spend a short time at Tongin Market(ํต์ธ์์ฅ). It is very famous for their bento boxes called Dosirak. First, you need to change your Korean won to old style coins which you can use at various stalls. See something you like and you can simply exchange your coins for the food items while filling up your bento box.
When we passed by Toksokchon Samgyetang (ํ ์์ด ์ผ๊ณํ) earlier during lunch time, we saw a horrendous queue and decided to try our luck again. So we returned at a rather odd timing at 4pm! The restaurant was quite empty so the service was very prompt. We had the highly raved about ginseng chicken which was really nice and comforting to have in the chilly weather. The chicken was tender and I enjoyed dipping it in some salt and pepper for extra flavour.
The seafood pancake was fluffy and contained a chockful of fresh ingredients. The portion is good for sharing among 3 to 4 people if you are also ordering the ginseng chicken soup. Highly recommended!
LOL I was really overjoyed to see Park Seo Joon! ๐
From watching Korean dramas, I had been very intrigued by this Korean dish called Ganjang Gejang. Basically, it is fresh raw crabs marinated in soy sauce and looks sooo delicious. I had been wanting to try this since forever! Just like Korean bbq, there are both buffet and a la carte restaurants for ganjang gejang as well. Since it was our first time, we decided to go for a la carte as we believe the quality is better. Morever, misterchewy wasn’t sure if he would like this dish.
We went to the famous Ganjang Gejang Alley in Sinsa-dong, where you can find about 6 to 7 restaurants serving this raw marinated crab dish. Based on positive online reviews, we decided to go to Wonjo Masan Halmae AguJjim. Prices are steep for this Korean dish that is complicated to prepare. We ordered a serving for 2 people which cost 60000 Korean won.
As expected, I fell in love with Ganjang Gejang at first bite. It was exploding with a multitude of flavors and the gooey gelatin consistency was really amazing. The dish was served cold which made it really appetite-whetting too. If you can handle Japanese uni, you may be able to stomach this dish.
The sauce was a little on the saltier side but went astonishingly well with plain rice. No wonder this dish is also known as “rice thief” or “rice stealer”; the sauce is so good that you will end up mixing spoonfuls of rice with it.
Wonjo Masan Halmae AguJjim
Address: 10 Gangnam-daero 99-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Headed for some post-dinner drinks at The Booth Brewing again, but this time at the Gwanghwamun branch which looks really cool!
Bought a few bottles home!
We have come to the end of Day Two in Korea/Seoul! Keep watching this page for more updates!ย ๐
