Monday, June 26, 2017

Snippets of Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 2018


We are 228 days to the opening of Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. This is the XXIII Olympics Winter games and will be South Korea's first winter games, after hosting the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics. Scheduled to take place from 9-25 February 2018, this major sport event will capture the attention of media around the world. While most of us will read about the coverage online, it would be an interesting experience to be at the event and watching the athletes competing for the medals. 
KTX to Pyeongchang
With the introduction of a new line on the KTX, visitors will be able to travel to Pyeongchang from Incheon Airport or Seoul area in just 86 minutes. The fuss-free journey will aid in increasing the number of visitors who are visiting Gangwon province - not just for the Olympic games. Gangwon province is also well known for other attractions such as Nami Island (my fave!), Seoraksan National Park and many more. I will cover these attractions in another post, so stay tuned for that.
The Venue
The games will be gathered around two main venues: Pyeongchang mountain cluster for outdoor sports and Gangneung coastal cluster for indoor sports. Both the opening and closing ceremonies will be held at Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium, which boosts a seating capacity of 35,000. For those who are interested in attending the games, the online general sales will commence on 5 September. So, hop over to the official ticketing site to purchase your tickets! 
The Games
Athletes will compete in 102 events across snow, ice and sliding sports with over 100 gold medals to be won. 6 new events such curling mixed doubles, speed skating mass start etc will be added to the program. This will be the stage for the most number of mixed events in the history of Olympics Winter Games. 
The Olympic Flame
The Olympic flame will arrive in Incheon City 101 days before the start of the games. It will make its way around the regions of Korea, where a total of 7,500 torchbearers are expected to take part. A series of events/activities will be held in the cities, so people can share the excitement of the Olympic Torch Relay. 
The Olympic torch was revealed earlier this year. Designed by Korean designer Young Se Kim, the torch measured 700mm in length signifying the altitude of Pyeongchang which lies 700m above sea level. Dressed in white and gold tones, the torch mirrored the main colours of Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games Torch Relay while the 5 pronged shape of the flame is based on the Korean symbol for Pyeongchang, which is also engraved around the top and bottom half of the torch. The torch has been designed to withstand all weather conditions, so the flame will be kept lit throughout the relay.
Honorary Ambassadors for the Games
A total of 30 ambassadors have been selected for the games, with Taeyang (from Bigbang) being the latest to join the list. I was really glad to see Lee Min Ho on the list. Not forgetting Kim Yuna, the queen of figure ice-skating. 
Korean athletes in Pyeongchang Olympic Games
While watching the Olympic Special on Infinite Challenge, I got to know several athletes through the various games such as bobsleigh, curling and ice hockey. The bobsleigh team will be led by Yoon Sung Bin, Seo Young Woo and Won Yoon Jong. Yoon Jong appeared on the show, alongside with Lee Yong who is their coach and 3 of their team mates. 

Speed Skating Mass Start will be introduced for the first time as an Olympic event at Pyeongchang 2018 Games. Lee Seung Hoon will be the man to watch out for, having won the gold medal in the mass start race component of the World All Round Speed Skating Championships, hosted in Russia.  

Having read about their personal stories in interviews, I was impressed by the devotion of the athletes. They trained hard for many years and scarified a lot of family and personal time to be where they are. Hats off for their passion and let us cheer all the participating athletes in the coming games; get ready to scream "Daehanminguk"!

*all images are courtesy of Pyeongchang 2018 official website unless stated otherwise

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Goodbye, Great Granny

A picture with my great granny 2 years ago, during CNY. She left us in April, having lived to a ripe old age of 103 with 5 generations under her care. Great granny was very fortunate as all her 8 children were there to send her off on her final journey. Today is the 49th day since her passing and I'll definitely miss her but I'm glad that she can finally be reunited with her husband in the other world. 

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 2018: Singapore Supporters' Goodies Bag

30 years after hosting the summer Olympics in 1988, South Korea will once again play host to Pyeongchang Winter Olympics which will take place from 9-25 February 2018. I was lucky to be selected as part of the Pyeongchang Olympics Supporters team, hence I was gifted with these official merchandise from KTO Singapore.  Thank you for the love! 
The Official Emblem
The official emblem draws inspiration from Hangul, with the shapes that form the logo stemming from the first consonants from each syllable in the word "Pyeongchang" when written in Hangul. The symbol ㅍ expresses the harmony of Heaven, Earth and Man. The 2nd character  signifies ice and snow and also symbolic of the athletes' performances. In short, the official emblem symbolises a "grand gathering of people from all over the world in celebration of Olympic winter sports, which is taking place in the harmonious land of Pyeongchang". 

Unveiling The Mascot
Soohorang, a white tiger which served as a guardian for its people, is the official mascot of the Olympics games. In traditional Korean folk tales, the tiger is often seen as a symbol of trust, strength and protection. Bandabi, an Asiatic black bear which is symbolic of strong will and courage, is the official mascot for the Winter Paralympics games. Their names are symbolic too; let's break it down further:

"Sooho" : the Korean word for "protection". To protect the athletes, spectators and all participants of the Olympics games.
"Rang" : derives from the Korean word "ho-rang-i", which means tiger. It also appears in "Jeongseon Arirang", the traditional folk music of Gangwon Province, where Pyeongchang the host city is located. 
"Banda" : comes from "bandal" meaning half-moon, indicating the white crescent on the chest of the bear.
"Bi" : to celebrate the Games.

*image courtesy of google
Interestingly, the tiger is also used in the 1988 Seoul Games. "Hodori" was an orange Amur tiger, portraying the friendly and hospitable traditions of the Korean people. "Dori" is a diminutive for "boys" hence Hodori is a male tiger. The female version was known as "Hosuni", even though she was seldom used. 
Fun fact: If you have watched Reply 1988 (strongly recommended! I super love this series man, esp with Park Bo Gum!), you would have caught snippets of the Olympics games on the drama. 

The Official Slogan
Under the official slogan "Passion. Connected", the game aims to bring together the athletes and game participants across 95 countries and gather in Pyeongchang, a place where everyone is connected with shared passion for the winter sports. 

You can purchases these merchandises from the official Pyeongchang 2018 stores in Seoul. The first store opened to public in last Friday at Lotte Myeongdong branch. Two more official stores will open next month at Lotte's department store and duty-free shop in Seoul. Currently, there are over 300 items available but the number of products will reach 2000 by October. So be sure to grab an item or more when you are in the vicinity! 
Lotte Department Store, Myeongdong Main Branch (9th Floor)
Address: 30, Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul

Lotte Department Store, Avenuel Branch (B1F)
Address: 81, Namdaemun-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul 

Monday, May 29, 2017

Cycling at Yeouido Hangang Park

I spent the weekend catching up on my fave K-variety shows and I watched the Pyeongchang Olympics 2018 special on Infinite Challenge, with my eye-candy Park Bo Gum as the special guest (*.*) Having hosted the summer Olympics in 1988, South Korea will now host the Winter Olympics in 2018. In this special, they challenged winter sports such as bobsleigh, ice hockey and curling with the national Olympic team members. For those who have missed it, you could catch the specials on Viu (ep. 524 to 526) and witness the effects of "Bo-Gum" magic. I will be focusing more on Pyeongchang Olympics 2018 in future posts too. 
Now that the harsh and freezing winter has subsided and the weather has turned warmer, there is an increase in outdoor activities for friends and families prefer to spend their time outdoors after being in the cold for so long. Yeouido Hangang Park would be one of the top choices, for there is a wide range of activities to do in the park. We exited from Yeouinaru Station (Line 5, exit #3) and were greeted with this sight! 
It was a beautiful day and I'm glad we came out for this trip instead of spending our time indoors. During cherry blossom season, this place will be packed with people, who will set up "camp" on the open spaces with families and friends, bonding over drinks and food while enjoying the scenery. This park also plays host to the fireworks festival during fall. If you had watched "Legend of the Blue Sea", you would be familiar with the scene where Joon Jae and Shim Chung witnessed the fireworks display in this park. 
The main agenda for today's trip: renting a bicycle and exercise our butts, ha! There are plenty of bicycle kiosks scattered around the park. It was easy to rent the bikes even if you don't understand Korean: you just need to indicate the number of hours, how many bikes and surrender a photo ID as deposit. Also, try to use your driving license or student pass instead of passport just to be safe.

BIKE RENTAL INFORMATION
Min rental: 1h
Single/Child: 3000KRW/hr, 500KRW for every 15 min
Tandem/Advanced: 6000KRW/hr, 1000KRW for every 15 min
We selected our bikes which came with baskets so we can dump our stuff and ride with ease. 
Leecher testing out his bike and he looked like he's having fun!
We cycled for awhile; peddling furiously up the slope while cruising down slope. At this point, I was starting to curse under my breath for choosing this route. Well, we didn't exactly chose this but we just followed where the majority of the cyclists were heading, ha! I was beginning to feel the strain in my leg muscles, so we decided to stop for a quick break. Thankfully the weather was superb so I wasn't feeling sweaty even though I had a great workout. With Hangang Railway bridge as our backdrop, we took a couple of pictures before embarking on our return journey. 
That's the fun part, to feel the breeze in your hair after the intense workout of peddling up slope. 
Yeouido Hangang Park
Address: 8 Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
Tel: 02-3780-0561
Directions: Yeouinaru Station (Line 5, exit #3)

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Melbourne Travelogue 09: Loch Ard Gorge + London Arch + The Grotto + The Arch + Bay of Martyrs

Continuing on our journey on the GO drive, which triggered my wanderlust again (what's new whenever I reminisce about our holidays). Majority of the people who embarked on the GO drive would normally end the journey at 12 Apostles. However, we decided to venture further and drove along the coastline to visit the surrounding attractions. While these formations may not be as famous as 12 Apostles, I think they are worth visiting too. 
After leaving 12 Apostles, we drove for a short distance and reached Loch Ard George. The gorge is named after the clipper ship Loch Ard; the ship was bound for Melbourne from England but was wrecked at Muttonbird Island and only 2 survivors were found. 
The arch of the nearby island archway collapsed in Jun 2009. The feature now appears as two unconnected rock pillars and are named Tom and Eva, after the two teenage survivors of the shipwreck. 
There are stairs which allowed visitors access to the beach and a pathway allowed access to the eastern side of the gorge. Unlike the 12 Apostles which was crowded with tourists, it was very peaceful at the gorge with just a handful of visitors here. We sat at the beach and listened to the waves crushing against the structures - it really relaxes the mind! 
Loch Ard Gorge
Great Ocean Rd, Campbell VIC 3269, Australia
We moved onto London Arch, formerly known as London Bridge. Before 1990, this was literally a bridge that connected the arch of land to the mainland. However, a part of the bridge collapsed into the ocean in 1990, leaving two tourists stranded on the outer span and had to be rescued by helicopter. 
Impossible to get a decent picture without hair flying all over! Leecher had to pretend to put his hands around me, while in reality he was trying to "clamp" down my hair from flying all over his face. 
London Arch 
Great Ocean Rd, Peterborough VIC 3270, Australia
The stairway leading down to the next attraction.
The Grotto is essentially a sinkhole, where the limestone cliffs fall apart to meet the receding cliff line. The geological formation is reachable via the flight of stairs that leads down from the viewing platform at the top. We headed down to explore it at eye-level, which supposedly offers the best view where you can see the horizon, the pools and the jutting rock formations in one go. 
The Grotto
LOT 2 Great Ocean Rd, Port Campbell VIC 3269, Australia
The Arch, another rock formation formed through erosion along the GO drive. It was sure therapeutic to watch the waves crashing through the opening and cascading out of the other side. It almost formed a lullaby that lured us to sleep, with the constant breeze circling around us. 
The Arch
Great Ocean Rd, Port Campbell VIC 3269, Australia
After a series of rock formations, we made one last stop at Bay of Martyrs. Don't be deceived by the bright sun, it was freezing cold that even Leecher had his hoodie up to keep warm. We lingered around the place and took some pictures before carrying on the journey to Port Fairy. 
Bay of Martyrs
Bay of Islands Coastal Park, Nullawarre VIC 3268, Australia
❤ ❤ ❤ Read the rest of our Melbourne adventure here ❤ ❤ ❤

Sunday, March 19, 2017

Melbourne Travelogue 08: Sunrise and Sunset at 12 Apostles

Welcome to the new blog layout :) I wanted to revamp the skin completely but that will take up too much time so I did some tweaks here and there just to satisfy my 三分钟热度. So, Jan and Feb came and went and now, we are almost at the end of Q1. Weekends are more precious and my preferred way is to be couch potatoes in front of the TV spend quality time with Leecher at home. 
 
We slept for only 5h before we woke up to begin our journey to the 12 Apostles, hopefully to catch the sun-rise. The journey took around 40 min from our accommodation, but we miscalculated the timing so we missed the sunrise. It was also cloudy, so we couldn't see much sun rays along the journey too.
Then, it started drizzling when we arrived. We stayed in the car, waiting for the rain to stop. A full arch rainbow greeted us when we stepped out of the car, how lucky! Wonder if we'll find gold at the end of the rainbow, lol. The place was still pretty quiet, though we can see a couple of cars in the car park. With our gear in place, we began our journey towards the park.
 
 The pathway which will bring you to the 12 Apostles.
 
First view of the 12 Apostles - item on bucket list checked! After years of procrastination (while I was checking bucket list items elsewhere), we finally got to witness the beauty of the 12 Apostles - technically 8 are standing now, with the last collapse in 2005. It certainly felt surreal as we stood there, taking in the sights. We probably would have seen lots of pictures splashed across the internet, but nothing beats seeing it with your own eyes.
 
At the end of the path, you will see this circular lookout area. For shorties like me, you can't get a decent picture with the apostles due to the fence-like structure which branched out from the walls. 
 
This area is much better for picture taking, low fence and a splendid view. #photographytips 
 
Being at the edge of the coastline, it was extremely windy and the wind was playing a game with my hair, arg! I was also freezing and had to use the blanket for extra protection.
 
No matter how I try, hair kept getting into my face and it took Leecher several tries before he can get a decent pic of me without-hair-in-my-face.  
 
Perks of having short hair, lol #oneshotonekill
When the sun is up, the crowd starts streaming in. We took it as a sign that we should head to the next stop. We walked back to the visitor center and headed towards Gibson Steps Lookout.
Along the way, we came across a field where lambs were roaming freely, such a carefree sight. 
Halfway, we decided to turn back for the sky looked threatening and we were in the middle of nowhere with no shelter in sight. We struggled with our return journey for the wind was really strong. We hopped onto the car, soaked in the sights along the coast line before ending the trip at Port Fairy (more on that for another entry). As we drove back from Port Fairy, we decided to head back to 12 Apostles to catch the sunset.  
Lucky us caught sight of the rainbow on the way back. It felt so surreal seeing the rainbows, which added to the beauty of the coastline. 
A huge group of camera enthusiasts has gathered and lined up the bridge with their DSLRs and filters, hoping to capture the magnificent sunset. The pathway was crowded, but everyone still made space for all to witness the wonderful moment. We lingered till the last ray of sunlight before deciding to call it a day. 
12 Apostles
Great Ocean Rd & Booringa Rd, Princetown VIC 3269, Australia
❤ ❤ ❤ Read the rest of our Melbourne adventure here ❤ ❤ ❤
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