Got A Minute?

For what? for looking and trying new stuffs. Eyra misses her piano back home in Jogjakarta. Well, every time we go to a mall with a section for musical instrument...she just could not resist herself from touching the piano....... 

For what? for looking and seeing new stuffs. Freya just could not stay put. I was trying to decipher what the pictures hanged on the wall were all about. But she just kept on playing around. 

Oh, well...after all, the pictures were NOT in a gallery, instead they were on-the-spot exhibition for customers entering the Lotte Dept. Store. 

If you buy something at the traditional market........then...

THEN...you do not only buy things but you also get 'love' 'affection'  or 정 (Jeong) like what Korean people address it.

I also bumped into another interesting public announcement. I love it.

The picture depicts an ajumma or a woman who sells (vegetables?) at the traditional market.

The ad says" 전통시장은 정을 팝니다" Traditional Market Sells 'Love+Affectin" *

* 정 is one of the difficult word to translate into other language. 

But...the point is that...more and more people in Korea tend to shop at hypermarket or any convenient stores or malls or department stores that penetrates almost every corner of Korea's public space. 

E-Mart, Lotte Mart, Shinsagae, Home Plus and many other medium-sized markets have  somewhat replaced the existence of traditional markets. 

And..that fact alone has triggered a massive concern as to whether traditional markets would be able to stand against the time and the pressure of something called 'modernity'

So, despite the fact that Korean Government has imposed the rule stating that major big  department stores to 'CLOSE' their stores twice a month on (for instance) the 2nd and 4th Sunday....

Still...a lot of people are flocking the modern market....instead of the traditional ones.

Well, preferences are hard to condone.

THAT is the reason why...This Kind OF Public advertisement is deemed necessary in subways and any other public venues.

The problem is:

DO PEOPLE really READ this?

I do hope they Do.

They read and then they think..and hopefully it will lead to action.

Alone at the Toys' Corner

It was not weekend. I guess it was on Tuesday or ...I forgot. But, that's not important. We just wanted to get out and had some fresh air..and it was so cold...that we we finally--again and again--decided to go to Lotte just around the corner where we live. As it was not weekend, not many people were seen inside the mall. As for Freya, this was surely a great time for her since she could just 'eat' every toys she could grasp and play with at the toy corner.^^

"신났다"

A Day Full of Shopping

OK, first...I'd better make this clear that.....this is is not something to brag about. 

The very fact that I did some shopping at three different places at the same day does not necessarily mean that...I love shopping-spree or something. Rather, --just look at the receipts (OK, just the names of the shops, not the items that I bought)---it just shows the inescapable consequences of having to buy -stuffs-

at those places.

'Tis Friday and yes...one of the must-do lists on the day was....buying some halal meat at Itaewon.

 The only place that I could think of buying those halal meat was surely Itaewon, no other place. 

It's Friday and as usual....on my way to the Masjid, I stopped at the Foreign Market to buy the food item we need in a weekly basis.

Then, what about Watsons?  OK, I got to admit that this was purely an impulsive urge of 'having to' buy some Indonesian snacks that only Watsons provides. It's not necessary to tell right here what I bought....but..this shop particularly sells some Indonesian stuffs that I love. 

Then...Lotte Mart? I thought I could get enough for one day..but as I was on my home..I remembered just one thing that I forgot to buy....and for that reason...

Lotte Mart became my last stop for that Friday shopping spree(?)

Cheongnyangni at Night

We did not know that we spent almost half a day there. No, I mean...a few hours from late in the afternoon until early in the evening. That was the reason as to why we could see how Cheongnyangni looked like at night.

As for the other occassion whenever we go out, we also took the time to capture the moment. This time, Wawan—our friend—managed to be inside our picture .

The lighted xmas tree did shine up daringly in the midst of the crowd. Even some LED lights displays on the high wall of the store added up the Winter season’s atmosphere in the vicinity. The wind was blowing hard that time, the freezing temperature was also meagerly zipping through the loops in our not-that-thick jackets...^^

 Been fun being there, though.

So Tired of Shopping

In a good sense. Freya and Eyra had to undergo such a tremendous ‘ordeal’ of having to be with their parents who were busy taking their time off to shop. I know that it must be so tiresome and boring for them to be inside the mall without having nothing to do...but just tagging along their parents. (Of course, there were times when they were soooo excited of finding a new playground where they could spend some time there in da midst of our shopping spree).

But, the feeling of being here in the first days and having to do some out-shopping must have been so exhausting for them. Wefelt sorry for them, for sure, but  they had to be with us.
So sleepy were they....that they just fell asleep inside the cart, especially Eyra. As for Freya, she just fell asleep so soundly on the bench while we were waiting for the line at the cashier.
I think this Dept. Store is the easiest to get with and the nearest to our home.

Cheongnyangni at Daylight

 

It was the maiden trip to Lotte Mart and Lotte Dept. Store and its Toys R Us Store at Cheongnyangni station—which was just about 15 minute ride by Metro from our home. The first day out for the family afterwards was.....taking them to the nearest Mall—apart from sightseeing, it was also meant to do shopping on the house utensils: especially those we need to fill up the house...^^. We did buy some stuffs there. It was good that we found what we needed there.

The kids loved the first trip in Seoul despite the fact that it was freezingly cold for tropical people like us. ^^. But hey...it was fun to have this one Day out.  The big Pine xmas tree stood up right in front of the dept. store highlighted the spirit of being there. Well, the nuance itself was enough to make us feel that Winter season did set in in the neighborhood.  With the bright yellow and orange winter jackets that our daughters were wearing, we were like smoothering the spots on the vast lane of the yard where the tree stood. The huge black hole or ( I’m sure what that was) whatever-it-might-be was another center point that attracted our attention.  Till now..I do not know what that was.
Lots of pics were taken. Most ( all ) of them were taken by our dearest friend, Wawan who accompanied us along the way.

Moisture to nourish.....what is it...do I need this?

It's Autumn. So cold. terribly cold especially for a tropical guy like me. Being 'flown away' to the land of the morning calm (I hear say)....is like experiencing the cycle of life (read: four seasons). Well, it is not 'LIKE' then..I AM experiencing.
Back to Autumn...
my friends (who happen to be Koreans) told me that the first few days of October is too cold for them, too. ...My oh My....what about me? yes, as I jotted down earlier...I am fffhhhheeeeeelliiinnngg zzzzooo ccoocoodlddldldldldddd......
and...what irritates me is:
first thing first....my head is the first one to suffer....since I have no hair. :) it is like the icy (no ice, actually) prickles of the cold autumn wind (especially at night) sticks and penetrates deep into my scalp or beneath it.......gasp!
second....my skin starts to cracking up. It becomes so dry easily...that I feel the pain and irritatingly.... prickly.... dry....skin on most of my body. It's been like a few days since I first noticed the symptom:) (I think it is too weird to use the word 'symptom' to describe it). Anyway...still...it kinda make me want to scratch my skin every time I feel the prickles in my skin.
so....I learned that I got no other choice but to buy moisturizer for my skin.
so....I ended up buying this Vaseline . I might as well learn and practice my Korean, then.
1870년부터 세계인의 피부를 지켜온 피부 전분가, 바세린.
'Vaseline, the expert on skin care for the world's* skin since 1870' (*actually it should be literally translated into 'for the skin of the people of the world:)

I bought it at Lotte 999 Store. Well, it cost me 10,999 Won!!!
Two for the price of one. 

바세린 토탈 모이스처 나리싱 로션 or it reads like this...(baselin total moiseucho narasing losyeon)^^. hmmm interesting, isn't it? It is actually English, only it is written in 한글 'Hangeul'
so..it translates into...Vaseline total moisture nourishing lotion
This thing would give me this:
피부를 촉촉하게 해 줄 뿐 아니라 보호
Not only moisturize, but also protect the skin
빠른 흡수와 끈적임 없는 사용감으로 사계절 내내 이용 적합
literally translates into' fast absorption and non sticky in usage four seasons inside usage suitability'
well...what it means is that it is fast absorbed and non sticky (lotion) suitable throughout the year
24시간 지속되는 보습효과
literally means '24 hours of continuous additional efficacy'
I think it means it works for 24-hour
.................
I just put some on my skin....and it smells (well) like any other moisturizer....and more importantly...I do not feel the prickly heats on my moisturized skin....:)

서울역 Seoul Station, Korea

Taking Pak Mochtar Masoed to the train station to catch up his Incheon Airport express train from Seoul Station. Carrying two big luggage of approximately 40 kilograms.

Anyway, that's a different thing.
The thing was...we took a look at how the station has changed for the past few years. A Galleria department store is an integral part of the station; so is Lotte Mart. I guess it eases people to travel or shop or experience both. The vending machines that sell the tickets automatically are spread everywhere. Still, those who are lining up to take their turn to buy the tickets are still a common sight there.
The 6 floor below the ground is enough to picture the depth of the station that links itself with the airport.
Before departing, we had a chance to take pictures in front of the station.

Lotte Mart

I just found this new mart near my campus. It is just about 5 minute walk from the main gate. I found it quite interesting since the price of most of the stuffs are only 999 Won or at least it has 999 tag that entails its price; e.g. the price would be about 1,999 Won, or 1499 Won, or 2999 Won.




Well, it is just psychologically cheap for most people who may find it harder to convert their currency into Won. But, as for me...it is considerably cheap and convenient...for me...as I am a vegetarian and I can find lots of stuffs that I can eat there:)
horrrayy

Salad of the Day :)