Meet me in KL! Falcon Education Fair 2013

I will be at PWTC in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 14 to 15 December 2013 as my university's representative during the Falcon Education Fair. If you are planning to continue your studies in Korea (or get my autograph. hehe...) and need more information about it, do visit this education fair. See you then.

   

A Moment to Remember : Japan (DAY I)

Travelling really opens up your perspective on Life and People. Sometimes, I felt blessed to have some money and travel to places without even start working. Some people who have leftover money uses it as future investment, saving every penny so that one day, they are able to fund their dream home or car. On the other hand, there are also people who spend whatever earnings they have without sparing a thought on their future.

I see you

I believe both ways are unreasonable. Of course saving money when you are young sounds great but this means you will not have spare money to travel. (It's just I felt that the feel of travelling when young is somehow different from travelling when you're old...) Meanwhile, spending all your money provides instant gratification but in the long run, you will run into debt.

Life is like reviewing journals, you'll never know when you'll finish reviewing...

It has now been exactly four years four months since I arrived in Korea, I felt great and everything is going on well. That feelings when I first arrived to Korea (nervousness and loneliness) were a stark contrast as of what I am feeling right now. It is good to make lots of friends when you are young. 

Personally, I felt university life is generally a time when you really grow up, not void of the responsibility as a young adult and more emotionally stable. Am I right? Of course there is always the outlier! That is another story. In university, we have more freedom and in my case, the decision to score well or not is totally in my hands. During high school, I was pressured to achieve successes sometimes... Sigh... 

(Get a 5 minutes break)

Osaka

Last month, just directly after my finals, I went to Japan. I figured out that since one of my university friends will be meeting my Japanese friends, I thought to myself, why not pay them a visit as well. We booked the flight three days before our departure and the return ticket was 440,700 Won (around 400 US dollar for a two hour trip)! This is almost similar to the plane ticket price for both Shanghai and Taipei (will write that soon). 

Bye Korea, Hello Japan :)

Like everyone, I am always excited to go to new places. After countless trips back to my hometown in Penang, Malaysia, this has became a ritual I am so accustomed to. Thus, I do not have any feeling of an adventure awaiting. However... This is my first trip to Japan... Before going to Japan, I did my visa (30,000 Won) at the Japanese consulate in Busan. (Malaysians do not need a travel visa to Japan from July 1st onward)

We departed from Busan to Kansai Airport in Osaka on 14th of June 2013. When we reached the airport, our adventure had begun. Not trying to be stereotypical or not, I felt Japanese are more orderly and less "noisy" than Korean and Chinese in that order. Sigh... Our plane arrived to Kansai with a majority of the lady passengers clutching Louise Vuitton handbags. I felt Koreans appreciate luxury goods much more than any other Asians I met which is sadly not a pleasant thing to see. Expensive handbags are great but if the purpose of having one is just to flaunt your wealth, then, it's a shame.   

Kansai is a modern, spacious and clean airport. The wide alleys and bright atmosphere invoked a sense of security that I had finally landed into a nice not-located-in-the-capital airport. Penang International Airport and Busan Airport are small in comparison with Kansai. After arriving at the airport, we hurriedly bought bus tickets to Umeda Station (automatic ticket vending machine located outside the airport). Osaka here we come!

"Watashi wa Jin Soon dez, Nihhon-goh Tanaka dez, Malaysia jin dez"

OSAKA!!!

Osaka is the third largest cities in Japan and is ranked as the world's second most expensive cities to live. Osaka is one of the key economic centers in Japan where it's GDP alone surpasses many countries. On the contrary, I felt Osaka is not that expensive when it comes to purchasing basic goods and foodstuffs. Transportation and housing rentals in Osaka are very expensive and that were the reasons why I felt it can sometimes be costly here.    

My 5000 yen per night room...

Our hostel (or the "luxurious inn") is called Chisun Inn located near Esaka Station (after transfering to Senri-chuo station). The room was clean and comfortable but was quite expensive (5000 Yen per night for single room) and rather small. Nevertheless, it was okay. The problem was the "hotel" management was very stringent with the check-in time, around after 2 pm if not mistaken. Most hotels/guesthouses I've been to do not have late check-in time. With no time to spare waiting for our rooms, we hand-in our bags for safekeeping. 

The receptionist was sooooo strong because she can carry both my travel backpack and my friend's hand luggage all by herself. I offered my help instead of her to carry our bags to the safe-keeping room but to no avail. Arming with passport, money, and camera, we began our travel to Osaka. The first thing we did was to find a place to eat! Walking around Osaka in June was surprisingly hot and humid. I observed that the people here dressed conservatively and unlike Korea, there were not many people wearing miniskirts or short pants. Ahem. Or maybe I'll have to wait until night time...

First meal in Japan

The first place we entered was an Udon restaurant. Generally, eating out at such restaurant cost around 450-500 Yen (5 US dollar). Unlike Korea, shops catering for people eating alone are everywhere. I mean everywhere!!! I have to admit that sometimes, I felt a little uncomfortable eating alone especially in McDonald's whenever I travel to Seoul by myself. Strangely, I do not have that feeling when I am in Daegu.

My Muslim friend had prepared a note on what to ask the waiter. It was whether the food contains pork or not in Japanese. Well, with no preparation in Japanese language prior to the trip, I tried to imagine what I will do if I were to ask the waiter. "Oink Oink No No (With a little pork-ish facial expression), Mooo Mooo Yes Yes!". It was funny to think about that sometimes.

Getting to Osaka Castle

Osaka Castle

Entrance ticket, a very expensive "bookmark"...

Hi cannon!

After lunch, we went to Osaka Castle (Entry 600 Yen). In my opinion, unless you have a liking for Japanese castles, calligraphy and fluent in Japanese, you will not really enjoy it. Osaka castle was so-so. It was not as big as I had expected. The only highlight was us wearing Japanese Samurai costume (300 Yen). It was fun and hilarious. I saw many Indonesian Chinese, Taiwanese and Koreans. Spoke to the Taiwanese and Indonesian Chinese in the Hokkien dialect and was quite surprise to know that they can understand it. Hokkien dialect is indeed very similar to Taiwanese.

I smell blood...

As expected, I felt that Korean tourists (not those people under school trips) are generally fashionable even under hot weather... :P

Viewed from Umeda Sky Building

Nice!

From Osaka Castle, we continued our journey to the Umeda Sky Building (called "umeda sukai biru" in Japanese). This building to us was extremely difficult to get to from the subway station. After walking around the area located in the crowded city center and asking countless people, we finally made it. 

Because of the heat, I bought various unique ice cream sold at Family Mart (a convenience store). Initially, I had already decided to try out the so-called "Condom ice cream" (I was just curious!) after watching it on YouTube about the strange things you can find in Japan, but I couldn't find one either in Osaka. Sigh.  

Umeda Sky Building was located some distance away from the main city center. Admission is 700 Yen but you can get a discount if you show your international student ID card. Umeda Sky Building is Highly recommended to see the vast expanses of Osaka's concrete jungle. If only we had more time, we would sit, observe and wait for the sun to set, from the top of the building.

Dotonbori

After Umeda, we went to Dotonbori. Dotonbori is a must-visit for everyone coming to Osaka. One sentence to describe it - Crowded, colorful and memorable. To get to Dotonbori, we got off from the Namba station. While walking towards Dotonbori, we stopped by at a curry restaurant where I ordered curry rice. I wanted the beef curry rice but somehow, I accidentally chose pork curry rice (580 Yen). The curry was very delicious!!! I felt like I was back home in Malaysia eating Indian curry!

Love you curry

580 Yen Yummy Curry

I love you curry...

Osaka. It quickly became evident to me that I am now in the food capital of Japan (Tears of joy). If my hometown, Penang is the food capital of Malaysia, I am happy to be in Osaka. The food from both cities are equally great. After taking pictures at the Glico Man signboard landmark, we wandered around. A-must to buy in Osaka is the various Kit Kat chocolates. I regretted not buying most of the Kit Kat here because compared to Kyoto, it was cheaper here. I purchased packs of Green Tea Kit Kat and a pack of Dark chocolate Kit Kat.   

The famous crab...

Okonomiyaki - Osaka Pancake

Spreading the special sauce....

Okonomiyaki, the hardest Japanese food name to remember...

Then, we walked further up to a place where you can see the Kani Doraku Crab. Since we were able to eat some more, I ordered Okonomiyaki (500 Yen) but due to Okonomiyaki containing slices of pork, my friend had to settle for Takoyaki. Okonomiyaki is a pancake containing mainly shredded cabbage and topped with various sauces. It was so-so.

Don't be deceived... it's worth more than you think...

That's all for our first day in Osaka. I realized that because most of the meals in Japan are around 500 Yen and 500 Yen (around 5 US dollar) is in the form of a small coin. I had the tendency to overspend here... In Korea, the 500 Won coin, similar in size with the 500 Yen coin, can only buy you a small can drink. Here you can get reasonable meal!  

To be continued...

The Great Gatsby and my Malaysia's Election.

The Great Gatsby: An Unfair End

The Great Gatsby character of Jay Gatsby epitomizes the ideal goals (although partially) of what most guys dream living- successful, wealthy, famous, and so forth. With determination to prove his self worth and hard work, Gatsby focused relentlessly on his goal to achieve his dreams.

"No amount of fire can challenge the fairytale he had stored up in his heart..."

After having read the novel by Scott Fitzgerald many years ago, I am really looking forward for the upcoming movie starred by Leonardo DiCaprio (my favorite actor). Jay Gatsby, although very successful, like some people, he is still obsessed with his lover, Daisy, and this led to his downfall. He cannot let go of loving people, people of his past and get over with it.

My favorite song in this movie (below)... "Will you still love me when I got nothing but my aching soul..."

I hate the ending. I always wonder why an innocent person like Jay will be killed at the end of the story but not the guilty ones - Daisy for killing Tom's mistress, and Tom for accusing Jay as the killer of his mistress to the real husband, Wilson. 

**

My mid term exams ended yesterday. I never really had the chance to enjoy what a normal university student back home would be doing: Hanging out with a group of Malaysians (There's only 2 Malaysians in my university), going home or vote for the first time in my country's general election.  

My exam preparation "sidekick": Prawn Roll!

All gone in less than two days...

Blueberries with yogurt, can add as much as I want. Heavenly...

Gooooodddddd.....

These days, we heard so much about "Changes" in the country. To change our government with big expectation for a better governance under the current opposition or to continue retaining a government who had done so much in terms of development after being in power for more than 50 years, it is a difficult decision.

Penang has developed so much. These days, traffic jams here are a menace and housing prices are skyrocketing without any means of halting them. During my parents time, if we can save enough, we can already afford a decent home. Nowadays, buying a landed property in Penang with earnings as a fresh graduate would be like a far-fetched dream.    

It is simply impossible for young people like us to afford a home. 

As an observer in this upcoming election, it's hard for me to judge both the opposition and the governing party. I am against the free education system proposed by the opposition. Education, I believe should not be free but it should be affordable for all people. If education is free, will we value what we learn? If university education is free, who's going to foot the bill? Borrowing money from the bank and letting our children pay for it one day? 

Next is the abolishment of government loans. Loans are agreement signed and agreed upon by both the borrower and the lender. Of course it is a very noble intention to scrap off the loans still owed by the borrower but what about the ones who had paid off the loans faithfully and on time. The defaulters and borrowers will get reprieve but the ones who had paid off their debt get nothing. Is it fair? The system will encourage more people to default their loans. Moreover, the government loans can be converted into scholarships if we meet a certain academic criteria. 

Next is the lowering of petrol price. It is a good news to some but again, who will be benefiting from it? Will they be the poor uncles and aunties riding motorbikes who use little fuel to make a living, or will it be the ones driving petrol guzzling expensive cars? If the fuel is overly subsidized, rampant smuggling of our resources (and it is still happening now) to other countries will definitely happen. 

Will the bakeries or all businesses reduce their price due to savings derived from fuel cost? It's just that I felt nobody will ever want to reduce their profits. Prices of goods rarely decrease. I felt it would be better if the money can be instead channeled towards improving public transportation like those in Korea or funneled directly to the people.  

The government is no less better. For over 50 years, we have allowed corruption and racial intolerance to be deeply entrenched in our society. Then, our ethnicity is a factor in university admissions, to certain schools (like MARA, Matriculation Colleges, etc) and that some ethnic group not benefiting from the special privileges given to them. I have to admit that I am sometimes envious of friends who scored lesser than me, from wealthy families and were given scholarships or admission to courses selected not based on capabilities but based on the color of the skin. I am just a mere human, not perfect at all. I do envy people, sometimes.

Government is selected by the people and they ought to be making fair and wise decisions: ones that will influence our long term interests. A government change will encourage better transparency because every party will soon realize that bad governance cannot be swept under the carpet anymore. 

At the same time, government change may lead to deadlocks and instability if not handled correctly. In the states, legislation cannot be passed because of disagreement between both the Republican and Democrats. In Egypt, we have the Muslim Brotherhood's government facing constant administrative problems, advisers resigning, and arrest.      

What have our government of the day been doing after over 50 years? We see more racial polarization day after day. Most people see each other based on ethnicity first than as a Malaysian first. What and how can the oppositions guarantee that they can be better than the present government? I do not know. What I knew was that being given the power to lead is sweet but sometimes, it can lead us astray. Even if the opposition is in power, can the coalitions with so much differences in ideology work together. Or can the present government with a track record of stability but with a tinge of corruption retains its seat at Putrajaya. This election coming Sunday (tomorrow) shall be a close and exciting one. 

God bless Malaysia.

Journey to the "East" (Penang) and Life...?

After a short trip back to my home state, Penang, for Chinese New Year- finally, my real holiday began for 2 weeks. It's easy to imagine the life of a foreign student in Korea, life practically revolves around academics, work, going home for holidays or outing with friends.

Pic from the Kek Lok Si Temple in Penang

Fast forward, my winter vacation is now over and life as a student officially begins...

**

Last December up to the last week year 2012, I was quite busy. 12/12/12 (12th December 2012) was a memorable one for me because I remembered not sleeping revising for my end term exam. While others were celebrating the once-in-a lifetime occasion, I was preparing for an exam. It was not because I hadn't done any revision beforehand. (Nevertheless, some of my Koreans friends I knew rarely sleep during the exam weeks.)

I dislike obtaining average results in the subjects I love very much. I remembered very well that day because I drank 4 mugs of tea and 2 cups of coffee that night for the first time, and I had a huge headache afterwards.

Translation: "If living is just for the sake of living, the pigs in the forest are also living. If working for the sake of working, even the monkeys work". A very inspiring quote by an Indonesian writer and let's all live a meaningful life.

University life is about learning to set your goals (achieve good results, etc), time management, and most importantly, learn as many as you can. I set my short term goals to obtain good results in these papers.

In the end, I came out top of my class (I was quite surprised too!) for the subjects of immunology and molecular biology. Hehe. Ambition can make the impossible possible. In other words, my late-night "sacrifice" works.

My third year in university was more about choosing courses I like or something which I am able to learn. I also took golf lessons last semester and it was really fun. (In this final year, I will most likely be taking tests required for either graduate school admission or employment and travel.)    

The following week, winter lectures began. I took 2 lectures (the max ㅠㅠ) from noon till evening everyday. Here, our university offered classes conducted by foreign professors and I took a lecture (Organizational Behavior) conducted by a professor from Luxembourg.

The other was chemistry. I always have problems in chemistry since coming to Korea... Chemistry I, II, Biochemistry and Analytical Chemistry. 화학이 있으면 내 세상에 참 어둡다... ㅋㅋ

Like most first year science lectures in Korea, the classes, exams, books and lecture materials were all in Korean. It was my battlefield again and I felt I have only myself to blame. 

Winter classes were extremely exhausting, it sucked the life out of me. With little time I had after squeezing in assignments, home works, KNU Times, gym and other commitments, what's left was for sleeping.

Even though, I had struggled a lot, life as a student is very rewarding. As students, we can afford to make mistakes and failure is not something to be frowned upon. Failing when we start working seems to be another story. MORAL: ENJOY YOUR LIFE IN UNIVERSITY!!!

**

After my winter lectures and never ending KNU Times meetings (my uni's English magazine and I work there), it was my trip back home for Chinese New Year. For convenience sake, I chose MAS (Malaysia Airlines System) over the legendary Air Asia because it delivers my luggage directly to Penang without having to claim the luggage at KL.

Suggestions on things to bring back: Seaweeds, Korean rice wine (more variety here), ginseng (only if you like it), Korean cosmetics (imported ones are EXPENSIVE!), face masks (CHEAP!), and all the girly stuffs.

WTH!  How can my luggage be misplaced? 

The trip back home was not without any drama. My luggage was misplaced on the flight back home. With nothing but only the clothing on my back, I had to shop around for some clothing. Most of my clothing in Penang were either given away or thrown. They were either too worn out or too big for me now. Cannot be naked lah... have pride... have pride... ㅋㅋㅋ

**

I'm home. At last... I'm home...

Penang is one of the most live-able cities in Asia and coupled with its best food, friendly people and nice weather, this little state is one of the best places to live and work.

Starved from the delicious Malay sambal and Indian curry in Korea, without fail I would eat them almost everyday when I was back in Penang. Maybe, just maybe... I may have Indian or Malay blood. Malay and Indian food are really sedapppp! (delicious)...

Malaysia....

(Halfway eating the) Black Pepper Venison. Yummy!

I can never not enjoy eating Malay or Indian food from morning till night. The smell of the spices and curry powder, in a cacophony of sound as customers shouted for their orders, such experience was indeed a memorable one. Penang food or Malaysian food generally, is world class, far more varied and delicious than Korea.         

Nevertheless, to be fair, Malaysia is a multicultural society so comparing to an almost mono-ethnic Korea is like comparing apples and oranges. I like Korean food too :)

Piping hot Indian Samosas...

If you happen to visit Penang, one of the tastiest Indian Samosa can be found at a small stall located in Little India. Located on the block right opposite of the Kuan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) Temple along the Masjid Kapitan Keling Road. During my numerous visit there, the vendor was constantly frying pieces after pieces of samosas.

To my surprise, the piping hot samosas were almost never left to cool down. Customers were already lining up the moment the samosas touched the tray to purchase a bag of delicious Indian snack.

RM 75 to spend, paltry sum but it's free! :)

Another highlight of my winter vacation in my home was my first casino visit on a cruise ship! I was quite excited when I was given some free chips (RM 75 for first time player to the casino) to "gamble". Maybe I might even ended up with enough money for a brand new Tissot watch. :P

I had unrealistic goal but gambling at a casino changes your perception about money and the game of chance. Money does indeed doubled at the baccarat table but frankly, beginner's luck won't last long.

Breakfast on a ship.

Even though, the money I bet was not my money, having grandmother at my side was equally annoying (and entertaining at some point). She will say... "Come on, stop being a gambler like.... Let's go home... (Home to where? Am I have to jump over the ship and swim back? Ah...)"... So I stopped. No more free tissot watch for me... Huhuhu...

I will never be a gambler (touch wood). I don't believe in the game of luck like lottery but I believe there's no harm playing (with the free chips given) after paying so much money to be on the cruise ship. That's what most people on a cruise ship do anyway. Mathematically speaking, baccarat is the only game where the player and banker have equal chance of winning.

The probability of winning at other tables in a casino is low because there are too many choices when placing a bet. In baccarat, you bet either for the banker or the player (betting for draw is another option though). If you place the winning bet, your bet will be doubled. Simple as that.

Un-break my heart...?

My grandma likes song especially the oldies. Instead of playing at the casino, she would be strolling around the hall listening to musicians and bands playing their songs. I am not a fan of oldies so... casino seemed to be more fun. Sigh... This was how I spent my first night of CNY in the ship.

Liqueur chocolate - I prefer Anthon Berg's but couldn't find it at the airport.

Anyway, I was in Penang for only around two weeks. On the fifth day of CNY, I was already on the plane flying back to Korea. On a side note, I was so fortunate because MAS allows the passengers to carry additional 10 kilos of luggage starting from the day of my departure.

Due to it, my luggage was filled to the brim weighing around 28.5 kilos. Most of it was filled with food. Typical Malaysian mah... :)

**

Before and after

Clockwise from top left: Tuna and eggs, Broccoli, Almond pudding with lychees, Curry chicken

Last week in Korea, I happened to be motivated to cook some dishes. For the first time in my adult life, I managed to churn up stir-fry broccoli with mock duck, tuna and eggs, curry chicken (it was too complex so had to rely on curry in can ^^) and almond pudding with lychees for desert. This was how I spent my free time during the vacation.

**

Polvoron!

My favorite snack from the Philippines- Goldilocks Polvoron. I received it from my Filipino friend every time he is back from his hometown. It is one of the best snack I've ever eaten from the Philippines. (If you happen to find it here in Korea, I would really appreciate if you can tell me where it is.)      

**

An intrusion by more than two hundred of people on the East Coast of Sabah recently sparked a debate on whether the state Sabah belongs to the Sultanate of Sulu or the Federation of Malaysia. Resource-rich Sabah has for long been a land of envy among many Malaysians living in the peninsula. However, because it is located away from the capital, many West Malaysians tend not to care much about it.

Generally speaking, states in the Borneo island like Sabah and Serawak have one of the lowest population density in Malaysia. Due to the vastness of the land unlike in the peninsula, development cannot be spread out benefiting all people. Hence, discontentment can arise.

Before sounding like an arm-chair general or strategist, like most peace-loving Malaysians, the "invasion" by the so-called followers of the Sulu "Sultan" is unjustified. Any sane Malaysians will always agree if the use of arms against her citizens by any groups, it must be responded back severely. Even if the land is your property, how can you barge into someone's house with a gun and evicting/threatening them?

"Interesting" comments in CNN

Relying on history was not always the means of the creation of a country. The decision lies with the citizens living in the area, in this case, the Sabahans. In compliance with the principle of self determination, Cobbold Commission was created to hear the views of the people of Sabah and Serawak on whether they wish to join the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. An overwhelming majority wanted to be part of the federation.

Nevertheless, regardless whether there was a referendum or not (like reported on most Philippines medias), if a referendum was to be held now, I am pretty sure they would most likely be part of Malaysia than to be under the Sulu "Sultanate". A country is viable only if the citizens agree to be under your administration. By mere claims and sending of an armed group, it was an intrusion to the national sovereignty.

Life of Pi

And what is the best way to deal if negotiation with the armed men to leave peacefully failed (even after three weeks)? You guess. 새학기 새시작~! Have a great weekend aight!