Author archive
11 June 2022
Above: My delicious breakfast came to only SGD3.20. Singapore is lucky to have poorer neighbours for its labour and produce. Catch-up with friends I started my day with a breakfast of thosai, vadae and chai at the Indian Muslim place nearby. After checking-out around 1100, I spent a couple of hours with my aunt. […]
10 June 2022
Above: Sign on the MRT suggest people not to talk to each other or on the phone to minimise the spread of Covid-19. Likewise, singing and wind musical instruments are not permitted indoors. While in Korea I had been waking up early around 0530, being somewhat on New Zealand time. This should have continued here […]
9 June 2022
Above: Asiana Airlines’ bibimbap “as served” but one is supposed to mix it all up with the condiments provided. Train to Incheon Airport I have a train to Seoul at 0810 this morning. My brain refused to let me fall into deep sleep all night even though the wake-up time isn’t any earlier than previous […]
8 June 2022
Oryukdo Skywalk I had made arrangements to meet an old university friend at Oryukdo Skywalk at 0945 today. As I had kept somewhat on New Zealand time, I took breakfast at 0645 and was on the bus at 0740. The ride took about an hour before getting dropped at the last stop in front of […]
7 June 2022
Bus to Busan I woke early at 0600 and took breakfast before the official time of 0800. I left soon after on a 5 min walk to the bus stop where I managed to get a bus to the Express Bus Terminal. I’m bound for Busan today and it was a lot costlier to go […]
6 June 2022
Morning walk Despite sleeping around 2300 last night, I woke at 0530 and went out for a walk around 0645. The sun was out but the forecast was for cloud and showers so I had to make the most of the weather. I found an elevated platform on a hillside where I had hoped to […]
5 June 2022
Killing time in Seoul I woke at 0530 and finished the little bit of muesli I had brought along with coffee. I have the morning to take in a few more of Seoul’s sights but nothing appealed to me. Also, things don’t really open that early in the morning here. So instead, I hit the […]
4 June 2022
Hanok Bukchon I woke at 0515 after last night’s early rest and was out at 0715 on the metro for Anguk to explore Hanok Bukchon, the traditional village area. I was hoping to get a breakfast of steamed dumplings from somewhere close to where I stayed last time. Unfortunately, at around 0800, nothing was open. […]
3 June 2022
Despite our delayed departure, we landed at Incheon on time at 1855. It’s my second visit to South Korea, having visited 11 years ago and loving it. It was a long walk from the aircraft to the health checkpoint and then immigration. I got the feeling that the Air New Zealand staff had been overzealous […]
3 June 2022
Stressful lead-up It had been a stressful few weeks before my departure today. Due to recent reopening of borders after (?) the Covid-19 pandemic, flights to Singapore were fully booked for about 2 months. It would be risky for me to use airline staff standby tickets to get there and onwards to Malaysia. There weren’t […]