A BBGS Yacht Party!

Happy 25th Anniversary BBGS Class of 1987!!!  'OMG! How are you?'.. 'I remember you!'.. 'Haven't seen you since we left school!'.. 'You look great!'.. 'Where are you staying?'.. hand-shakes.. hugs.. chatter-chatter.. excited voices.. all the commotion right outside the 7-Eleven store at the Sentosa Cove Arrival Plaza. When the 16 of us had gathered, we headed to the dock and boarded the yacht.. 'Xiao Lin'. Then it was time for champagne-popping @Joanna and May Yee.. 3 CHEERS for BBGS! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray!.. good food.. thanks for the custom-made cupcakes with the BBGS badge @Elis.. fried beehoon @Jeannette.. chicken wings @Patricia.. and most important of all.. GREAT company!

And of course.. we must not forget the compulsory photo-taking sessions.. there was the sweetest choral-speaking conductor.. school vice-captain.. maths extraordinaire.. superb portrait artist.. model rule-abiding BBGS student.. Kongsi Gelap gang.. boy-chaser.. forever-young-looking mums.. and even a grandmother! And who could resist reprising the iconic Titanic-pose and our very own Cleopatra??! 

Some ladies.. who could still look GOOD cladded in bikinis.. went for a dip.. Kiew Puan did laps as though she was training for the Olympics.. whilst Jean made a hilarious attempt at synchronised swimming. The rest of us who were not so adventurous enjoyed the music from the 80's in the comfort of the air-conditioned room.. and we can build this dream together.. standing strong forever.. nothing's gonna stop us now.. 4 hours flew by quickly and the catch-up time seemed too short.. thanks for the great time and memories gals!!! Spa resort next time?

BBGS School Song
 

Nisi Dominus Frustra.. Without God all things are in vain..

BBGS we pledge to thee
Our love and toil in the years to be
When we are grown and take our place
As loyal women with our race

Father in heaven who lovest all
Oh help Thy children when they call

That they may build from age to age
An undefiled heritage

Teach us to bear the yoke in youth
With steadfastness and careful truth
That in our time Thy grace may give
The truth whereby the nations live

Teach us delight in simple things
And mirth that has no bitter springs
Forgiveness free of evil done
And love to all men 'neath the sun

Anyeong-Seoul Korea (Day 7 - June 2012)

Time just flew by and I can't believe it's our last day in Korea! We had a fantastic breakfast spread @Mercure.. I felt like a glutton as I piled food onto my plate.. smoked salmon, crab meat salad, pumpkin salad, grilled vegetables, chicken wings, mussels, potato wedges, bacon and cheese omelet and sunny-side-up eggs.. washed down with orange juice and coffee! After rolling off the chair and onto the floor.. we had to get our bags.. load them onto the bus.. and check out. 

The first destination was The Presidential Blue House (Cheongwadae).. located only about 70km from the not-so neighbourly border and separated by a big mountain.. which may have been sufficient in deterring the enemy's attack in the past.. but definitely not in the present age with the weaponry that THEY owned. A couple of police officers were stationed outside the compound, near the fountain. They sportingly posed for the photographs with tourists who approached them and we were even allowed to use their motorcycles as props.. COOL!!!

Then just around the corner was Gyeongbokgung.. originally built in 1385 and burnt down twice.. before the final reconstruction and restoration project which started in 1990 and completed just last year in 2010. The lakes and lily ponds that were frozen surreal in winter.. looked so tranquil in summer. We were told that the Korean King's symbol was a dragon with 7 claws.. which was designed in protest against the rule of the 5-clawed dragon of China's Emperor.

Our  last stop was Shinchon Street for some last minute shopping and we also briefly visited the famous Ewha Women's University.. I found that quite an interesting concept since I had studied at an all-girls school myself. Lu Sean finally got to try topokki (rice cake).. kimbap (sushi roll).. and kimchi nigiri.. before heading to Incheon Airport.. Anyeong ha se yo! Hope to see you again...

Seoul Korea (Day 6 - June 2012)

Today's breakfast (I forgot the name of the place) was unpalatable in comparison to everything we've had so far. The soy bean drink was bland and tasteless.. the pao was hard and too salty.. and that which I was thought was fried noodles turned out to be bamboo shoots!

We visited the Korean Taekuk Ginseng Gallery and learned the virtues of Korean ginseng. Apparently, the planting and harvesting were tightly controlled by the government. A person could only harvest 2-3 crops in his life-time because it took 6 years for the ginseng to mature adequately to be of medicinal value.. after which the land had to rest for 11 long years.. and then planted with fruits.. (e.g. strawberries) for the subsequent 3 years. In the old days, the men would hike up the mountains in search of wild ginseng and would bring along a set of white clean robes and red thread. They would change into the clean clothes after praying to the mountain spirits for luck and protection.. and if they found any ginseng cluster.. they would tie a red thread on the leaves. A story was told of a woman who accidentally found some tasty 'vegetable' up in the mountain.. she ate 3 roots before discovering each one was worth about $4000! We ended up buying ginseng capsules which was more convenient than the powder form.. let's see how effective it really is?

Next stop was the Amethyst Factory.. where Lu Sean bought a sweet-looking necklace with a flower-heart pendant.. my favourite purple! It was super crowded at the Cosmetic Showroom.. the most impressive product was the Lady&Skin Botox serum.. you only have to apply on the skin instead of injecting it.. obviously with much less side-effects. We also learned that it was bye-bye BB cream (Blemish Balm) and hello CC cream (Complete Cover).. 

Lunch was absolutely delicious.. which totally made up for the horrible breakfast. We had ginseng herbal chicken stuffed with glutinous rice.. the ginseng wine which we poured into the soup made it so fragrant! Then, it was shopping paradise at Dongdaemun.. we bargained using the magic word 'jebal' (please) at the Migliore and apM stores.. and they  complemented us with 'yeppeun' (pretty).

After dinner of dumpling soup, we took an evening stroll along the streets near Gangnam Station and had coffee at Hollys Coffee.. which was made popular by the K-drama The Rooftop Prince. Unfortunately, we didn't bump into any celebrities and had to be satisfied just ogling at the life-size posters and cut-outs.. Jang Geun Suk.. Lee Min Ho.. Kim Hyung Jun.. Yoona.. Lee Min Jung.. etc.

Mt. Sorak-Seoul Korea (Day 5 - June 2012)

It was a warm and sunny morning despite the earlier gloomy weather forecast. The bus dropped us off the foot of Mount Sorak.. Frances, Lay Choo and Lu Sean purchased pretty bright-colour hats to ward off the noon sun.. and then, about 50 people crammed into the cable car which took us up the mountain. The view of the mountain ranges and valleys was spectacular! I could see small streams meandering through the rocky bed.. which would turn into a gushing rivers during the rainy season.. and the lush green of the trees against the jagged edges of the rocks. 

We reached the 'base camp'.. got off the cable care.. and had to hiked about 20-30 minutes to  Gwongeumseong to have a bird's-eye view of Oe-Serok.. but unfortunately, we didn't climb to the peak because it was rather steep and we weren't exactly wearing the right gear.

On the way back to Seoul.. our guide told us that in the past 20 years.. as many as 3 North Korean submarines had been spotted in that vicinity. The civilians who reported them were handsomely rewarded.. about ONE million USD each.. hope I heard that correctly since he said that in Chinese? Sadly, there were no survivors to tell the tale.. they either committed suicide or were killed by their own comrades before being captured. We stopped at a quaint restaurant for lunch.. it was squid and pork.. yet again! We flipped and stirred the meat to ensure they were cooked evenly and thoroughly on the hot plate.. honestly, we had become experts after all the practice!

We arrived at Lotte World 3 hours later.. this time we managed to visit the Folk Museum which I had missed when I was there 2 years ago. The main attraction was the miniature palace and villages of the Chosun Dynasty.. a grand display of the king.. queen.. concubines..  ministers.. soldiers.. eunuchs.. and ladies-in-waiting holding court. Since the rest were NOT thrilling-seekers.. I had to settle for the Flume Ride and Jungle Adventure.. water-rafting again!

We stayed at the relatively new Mercure Hotel in Seoul.. which had glass panels enclosing the bathroom and toilet! EEEEeeee.. thankfully, there were non-transparent sliding doors that could be pulled to separate the bedroom.. PHEW! There are some things that really SHOULDN'T be shared.. ha ha!

Jeju-Seoul Korea (Day 4 - June 2012)

We were woken up at the unearthly hour of 5:20am.. admittedly it was tough going since our family holidays were mostly free & easy.. and my previous experience of a package tour was 17 years ago.. during our honeymoon to Europe! After a breakfast of porridge, chinese dumplings, fried eggs and vegetable dishes.. we left for for the airport to catch the 8:30am flight back to Seoul. 


 
First stop.. Everland Amusement Park.. where they filmed the engagement scene from the recent K-drama King2Hearts. We boarded the Skyway which took us down to the Alpine Village for lunch.. fried fish and pork fillet.. with self-served kimchi and yellow pickled radish. We could see the large roller coaster and hear the screams from way up there.. it was reported to be very fast since the wheels ran on wooden tracks that gave less friction as compared to steel?


We didn't have to queue at the Safari World since there was a prior arrangement made with the establishment.. and we could board the bus at the appointed time. We saw lions, tigers, ligers (a result of crossed breeding a lion with a tiger) and bears.. sad to say.. these bears had been taught a few tricks to entertain visitors.. and were given biscuit treats if they sat on their behinds and waved their paws or salute.

After the short tour, we were given time to wander around on our own. My sister and I went for the Space Tour.. a fun 4-D experience with Korean cartoon characters.. whereby I had to duck and dodge the on-coming fireballs or fist of the enemy on more than one occasion.. injected with loud 'OOOHHs' and 'AAAHHHs' when we flew over the waterfall and into the ravine. 

We ventured into the Mystery Mansion next.. where we were seated on a rotating cubicle and used laser guns to shoot at the spectres.. I think I was probably the lowest scoring one?! The Rotating Mansion gave the optical illusion and feel of almost going up-side-down.. rather like going on the 'Pirate Ship' except that it was ineffectual once you closed your eyes. 

Finally, the Amazon Express.. a water rafting ride that had Frances' mum quite drenched on the exposed parts.. since the plastic sheet only covered the lower half of the body.. her facial expression was priceless as she was totally caught off-guard! Ha Ha! Well.. I DID warn everyone BEFORE the ride.. 

We leisurely walked around the beautiful flower beds and water fountains at the Four Seasons Garden and Rose Festival Garden.. before cooling off a very hot day with ice mocha and churos.. sweet! But alas.. we had to make a long detour on out way as I was somewhat disorientated.. no surprises here.. and finally arrived 5 minutes late back at the main entrance.. where everyone was already waiting...

It was evening when we arrived at the Premium Factory Outlets.. but ended up not buying anything despite being sorely tempted by the cheaper Coach handbags. Dinner was BBQ pork chop and we headed to Phoenix Park Hotel which had free wifi even in the room! YAY!!! No more hanging around in the lobby tonight. I realised I got sun-burnt on the shoulders and was a definitely a shade or two tanner?! Time to slather on body lotion to avoid the peeling and the pain..