Escape With Me

[110228] Lunch with Minah & Lil Jay, Gwanghwamoon Square, Bumbi desperately finding me, Farewell...

2011-03-05T22:32:00.000+08:00

Let's start the day with a video that has my favorites: Bruce Lee was battling, Bboy Spring, Jay Park & his manager were watching the battles...I caught their reactions on camera <3

I was woken up around 8:30am by a phone call that came from the hostel. I literally popped up from my bed because I thought my alarm didn't work & I was late for lunch with Minah and Lil Jay! Bumbi had told me to DM Minah last night to let her know my hostel number so I could be contacted & she could tell me which Exit we were meeting up at. I decided to check out earlier than 10am and find the limousine bus stop to the airport. I was supposed to cab with the people I came with to Seoul but you know...shit happens so I had to find my own way. It wasn't a big deal since the bus was cheaper and it was surprisingly really close to the hostel. I was just peeved because I didn't like how they left it till the very last minute to inform me of the changes.

I had asked the staff at the hostel how long it would take for me to reach Samseong station and he told me 1hr, so I wanted to be early...but I didn't know I would be 1hr earlier than schedule! Grr...I figured I could go walk around CoEx to see how great it was, but was kind of disappointed that it was the same brands you could find in every other mall. I went straight to the CD store because I was on a mission to hunt for GDragon's Shine A Light Concert DVD, but the guy said it was sold out! Noooo! Well the guy at Kosneys did say they would be restocking sometime in March...><

I was so excited to meet Minah and Lil Jay and he was sooo cute in person!! Omg. While we were on our way to the restaurant, he stopped to look at a tank of fish but we were walking away. He ran to catch up with us and had tears in his eyes because he thought his mom had left him. Awww >< We had awesome Mexican food and I ordered a Strawberry Fruit drink that Lil Jay took over. Hahaha.

While I was talking to Minah, Lil Jay said in Korean that he had never heard his mom talk so much in English before and that he liked it! Minah said that he memorized 'Nothing on You' but he wouldn't sing in front of strangers since he was shy. Aww. We talked a lot about Jay & his future and before we knew it, it was already time leave. By then, Lil Jay had gotten more comfortable around me so we played a bit of 'Catch me if you can' while walking to the subway station..and before we left, he kissed me on the cheek!! He's so adorable!!! <3

I made my way to Gwanghwamoon station because Minah had told me that Kyoubo (huge bookstore) might sell the DVD I wanted..but once again, to no avail. I did notice the huge autographed posters hanging on the ceiling so I grabbed my chance to take some pictures.

I left the store with Taeyang's Solar Concert DVD because I needed to get something to make my trip worthwhile! (I haven't had the urge to open it yet though...it's still just sitting on my shelf lol)

I still had time to kill before going back to hostel to pick up my luggage and head to the airport so I decided to walk to Gwanghwamoon Palace by myself. It was just 10 mins away from the bookstore so why not? I took a few pictures then left.

The green field in the middle is where Jay and the other bboys did their fever seoul performance at night.

I was fiddling around with my phone when I saw that Jess had left me a bbm message telling me that Bumbi was urgently trying to find me. The guy at the hostel said my friend had called earlier looking for me and that I should call back using the public phone..I put in 150won and had less than a minute to talk -_- I couldn't even recognize Bumbi's voice because she could barely talk. Actually I thought she was in lecture so that's why her voice sounded weird, haha. I told her to tweet me because I was running out of money and she told me to stay put and not go anywhere.

I didn't know what she had planned but I told her I had to leave for the airport by 4:30pm (in case there were traffic jams). She called the hostel because the guy told me that she would arrive in 30mins or so. Wait....why is Bumbi coming??! She should be in lecture!! She arrived in 3" heels...and I asked her if she went to school like that everyday...! Turns out she had brought Jay's Levis posters for me...Ah!! I felt bad because I didn't want her to miss class! She said she would take me to the airport..and I thought she meant the airport bus stop, but no! THE ACTUAL INCHEON AIRPORT! Bumbiiii......><

She said the airport express was faster and we wouldn't have to deal with crazy traffic. Most importantly, it only cost 3,900won AND I had a chance to go through the Big Bang gates in Hongdae that I had found out the day before! Yay!! Unfortunately the gate I wanted to go through.....wasn't working -_____-

She had bought energizing drinks for the long ride to the airport and also told me where the 3 musketeers lived in Seoul...keke. By the way, did I tell you Bumbi is multilingual?? She knows Japanese & Mandarin too! She helped a Japanese lady while we were waiting for the train. Bumbi daebak!!

After I checked in, I finally got the chance to treat her to dinner! It was soooo sad to say goodbye to her this time because the trip really was coming to an end but I now have so many funny and amazing memories with me for life that I can look back on and smile from time to time :)

Reflections:

This was my first visit to Korea and although I was only there for 4 days (& the first day being for the Big Bang Concert), I had one of the best times of my life! Before I went, I got into some problems with the people I was travelling with, but I guess I'm thankful for that because I never imagined how exciting my trip would turn out to be! I didn't do any typical tourist things like visiting monuments or even shopping in Dongdaemun, but every single one of my wishes came true while I was there:

- Get an up close view of Big Bang members (I got more than that...I touched GD & TOP!!)
- Bump into Jay (Saw him...twice!)
- Watch a bboy battle (26th & 27th)

- Take a picture with Bruce Lee (Accomplished on 27th!)
- Bump into Hyun Bin (...if you count the billboard cutouts haha. I also saw a lookalike whilst lining up to buy official goods on 26th LOL)

- Perhaps see some kJwalkerz I met in the Thailand fan meet (I saw @Carolfaom, even if it was brief!!!)

- See some hot guys on the streets (Saw quite a few in Hongdae!)

Words can't express how incredibly grateful and happy I am, and have the opportunity to meet the most amazing people. If I could do it again, I would! In a heartbeat! Thank YOU for making my trip incredible, you all know who you are <3 <3

I will definitely visit Korea again, and do all the things I missed out on this trip...like going to Kraze Burger hahaha *ahem*.

Finally, a little treat for my Jwalkerz friends:

[110227] Sadang station, Meeting my kJwalkerz 언니s, Intense bboy battles, Seeing Jay...again!

2011-03-03T22:30:00.001+08:00

Bumbi & I woke up extra early this morning so we could grab breakfast at the hotel. She forgot to bring a change of clothes so she woke up and looked like she was ready to leave haha. We were both unimpressed with the food but Bumbi was happy as long as she had rice while I had choco chex! I forgot to pack my umbrella for the trip and of course it rained so much that day -_- I spent 6,000won on an umbrella that almost broke later in the night...

We bid farewell to Jung onnie since the train station to Busan was in the area and Bumbi & I made our way back into the city centre - Myeongdong, so I could stock up on Big Bang CDs. We made a pit stop at Sadang station first because.....of this:

I took pictures and videos of this and we even met 2 Japanese fans doing the same! Big Bang fever!! Along the way to Kosneys, we saw so many Hyun Bin ads. He's so popular!! Once we got into Kosneys, I went straight to the Big Bang aisle! I grabbed every Big Bang CD there was while Bumbi talked to the guy at the cashier.

I was excited to get the free poster that came with the newest Big Bang mini album but I wasn't expecting to get 5 of them! Haha. Turns out Bumbi had told the guy that I traveled from Hong Kong to see them and that he should give me posters equal to the amount of my flight ticket! LOL. Bumbi is seriously so awesome :D

We went back down to the station so I could meet up with Soonjoo onnie & Hong onnie for lunch! Bumbi said today would be the last day to see her so we hugged and she left :( I had requested to eat dak galbi since I couldn't find it in Hong Kong. I used to eat it at least once a month in Toronto! After that, we went for coffee nearby.

Free wifi was available in the coffee shop so I checked to see if I received any new messages. I knew there was another bboy battle that night and I wanted to check it out since I had no plans for the evening and really wanted to watch the bboys I saw yesterday night. Since I saw Jay the night before already, the only wish left was to take a picture with Bruce Lee from Gamblerz Crew! I called Uthe's friend and we agreed to meet at 4:40pm at Exit 6 outside Hongdae station but first I had to rush back to TravelersA to check in again. Hong onnie took me back to the hostel in case I got lost again :P I tweeted Bumbi and told her I was going and perhaps we could bump into each other!

I got to Hongdae station aroun 4:50pm, followed the subway directions and walked all the way to the airport express only to find out that there was no exit 6! I didn't have a phone so I couldn't contact Minjung onnie so once again, I asked a girl to borrow her phone. Minjung onnie said she made a mistake and told me to go to Exit 9 instead so I walked all the way back. She told me she was wearing a khaki green coat, but every other girl was wearing that color. Oh boy..I went up to a girl and asked her if she was Minjung but nope -_- I walked away, stood for a few minutes in the rain and walked back to the girl to borrow her phone..and finally I met up with the right person! Hooray! Korean people are all so nice!!

We found our way to the place where the bboy battle was taking place, paid 10,000won to get in and got really good spots...We had first row balcony seats so no one blocked our view! I didn't know half of the bboys there but I was completely amazed at their talents. I almost recorded all 2hrs of the battle! I looked on the stage to see which bboys I recognized and then saw a figure that resembled Jay standing next to the DJ. Once again I wasn't sure if it was him or not because lots of bboys that day wore similar nerd glasses, and he had put his hoodie over his cap. I zoomed in to take a picture and realized it was Jay!! OMG! Is this really happening? I nudged Minjung onnie to tell her and she started freaking out too LOL. She was a bboy fan way before she knew of Jay so I didn't think her reaction would be that big haha.

This, my friends is Bruce Lee from Gamblerz Crew. He's got some amazing skills!

The bboy battles were so intense that sometimes I forgot Jay was watching too. I could tell he was really into it because he was smiling, clapping his hands, moving to the beat of the music & cheering. Halfway into the battle, he jumped off stage and sat down. There were also performances from other dancers. When the battle finally ended, we made our way down to the floor so Minjung onnie could give her present to Bruce Lee. She had told me earlier that she was the only fan he followed on Twitter, and that she knew Vero from Jinjo crew personally. Wow, so jealous!! Lots of people were crowding around near the stage because they saw Jay sitting near it and in the midst of everything, Minjung onnie helped me take pictures with Bboy Bruce Lee + Bboy Spring....OH MY GOD!!

Bboy Spring!! Lol...how can this preppy kid be a bboy?? And same age as Jay!!! His team was up against Gamblerz Crew but they lost ><

(I was going through my videos and found one that I recorded of Jay watching Gamblerz vs another crew. My camera was on Jay and you can see how excited he was...but my eyes were on Bruce Lee only. At one point I zoomed back out to the battle because it was TOO GOOD not to be caught on camera! Anyway, if anyone wants that clip, just tweet me.)

Amidst the excitement, someone suddenly grabbed me. It was Bumbi!! Her voice was gone but she still managed to introduce me to her JPBand friends that I talk & follow on Twitter! The craziest thing was @CarolfAOM was there too!! What are the chances....!! I thought I wouldn't see her this time round (I met her in the Thailand fanmeeting before) since she lives in Busan!! Also turns out that Bumbi knew of Minjung onnie since last summer and this was the first time they met! Yay for new friendships! We hugged again because Bumbi said she was leaving and I knew she had class tomorrow so it would be the last time we would meet..><

Everyone left through the back and we saw Jay & David walking side by side along the dark alley. Someone said that he didn't look like a superstar because he looked so lonely. Some Jwalkerz ran after them. Minjung onnie saw Jinjo crew across the road, and wanted to eavesdrop on what they were talking about. The leader of the group was having a serious talk with the members & she told me it was probably because they lost today's battle ><

We stayed in Hongdae for dinner eating some good ol' Korean food and then I went back to the hostel to pack. After I dumped everything on my bed, I just stared at it....there was tooo much stuff! I was tweeting people and then Soonjoo onnie told me to check out SBS because...the Big Bang Show was on! Can my night get any better?!!? How can a guy look so cute as a girl?!!? I screamed out loud when I watched TOP kissing Seungri on TV...hahaha.

My reaction of TOP & Seungri Kissing Hahaha ><

[110226] Big Bang official goods, Hongdae, Bboy Battle, Meeting Jay!

2011-03-02T19:42:00.008+08:00

I had to check out this morning since there were no rooms available at the hostel for the night, so before my trip to Korea, Jung onnie decided to travel from Busan to Seoul to stay overnight with Bumbi & I. After I checked out, I rushed to Olympic Park so I could line up to buy official Big Bang concert goods. The line was already super long by the time I got there and I had only about 2hrs before my date with Bumbi & Jung.

Anyhow, I still lined up because I HAD to get my hands on some goodies! It was a gorgeous day so lots of people were running around. I saw lots of fans in animal costumes and some wore masks of the Big Bang members and saying hi to everyone around. Fake GD was going around asking people to hug him....awww. YG staff told us to line up in groups of 4 and the line moved slowly. At the halfway mark, a couple of staff came by and told us that some goods were already sold out, like the Big Show hoodie, towel, picture sets...Noooo!! I wanted the towel so bad! I had to readjust my shopping list and ended up getting a GD fan (that I will never use anyway...), Big Bang pen set, 2 different sets of BB files, the BB paper bag, BB photo book. After I paid I realized that they sold GDTOP album too with 2 autographed pictures since I saw the woman next to me buy it...but I was already too late. Sad. I wanted to see if I could get more posters but when I saw the huge line up, I turned around and walked back to the station. Not to mention I was already 30mins behind schedule...eeks!

By the time I got back to my hostel, it was almost 3:30pm and I saw Bumbi & Jung sitting in the lobby waiting for me. Bumbi even brought lunch for me! Ahh I felt so grateful to them. While I was repacking my stuff in my luggage, they told me that there was a bboy battle on tonight and that Jay might go. They asked me to choose what I wanted to do: 1. see traditional Korean houses 2. shopping 3. Namsan tower or 4. watch bboy battle. I chose #4 not because there was a chance that Jay would be there but I always wanted to check out a battle!

We took the subway to Sinchon first to check out the biggest denizen store inside the Hyundai department store. I thought denizen was an actual store like Levis but they only took up a corner. I tried on several items but couldn't really find anything that caught my eye. If It wasn't for Jay promoting it, I probably wouldn't even buy anything from here. I did walk out with the black & white hoodie that Jay wore. I grabbed the last XS because the salesgirl said it was all sold out!

Funny story: Bumbi was telling me about the bboy battle, but I couldn't understand her properly. She said battle but I had to guess what she was talking about..."You're talking about your bed? bad? better? bet? better battle?.....뭐야?" LOL!!

We took a cab to Hongdae & went to Taco Bell for some food. It was completely packed and Bumbi said most people there were Jwalkerz since someone had tweeted that Jay would be there. Apparently Malewalkers was sitting at the back of the restaurant but we couldn't find him after we left. At around 6:30pm, we made our way to the Rivers Crew practice room for the battle. I met @jaytoonyi & @jeeyoonjay at the door. They are so cute in real life!! Hehe. Bumbi said they usually didn't let random people in but since it was a battle this time, the entrance fee was 10,000 won. The place filled up really quickly and the bboys started practicing.

I didn't know how to determine who was good or not but whenever someone did lots of flips, I cheered for encouragement, lol. A tiny bboy (Bboy Goblin) caught my attention because he looked like Jay and he was really flexible. After their practice session was over, the team battle started. There were so many crews but I only knew Jinjo, Rivers, Gamblerz and Maximum crew. I was completely amazed at how good a lot of them are!

While I was looking around the room to find the washroom, I saw a guy wearing glasses that looked like Jay. I wasn't sure if it was him or not so I turned around and asked Bumbi, "Doesn't that guy on your right look a bit like Jay??" Bumbi looked over but frowned and said, "No. Not Jay. Sad."

I couldn't confirm if it was Jay or not since I couldn't see any of his tattoos, so I looked again & chuckled to myself. He looked so cute. His mouth was hanging wide open because he was in awe with their moves. He looked like a little boy rather than an idol! When I told Bumbi to look again too, her eyes got bigger as she realized who it was. The bboy next to me had to leave and while I was fixing my camera, David Yoo stood next to me with his backpack. That was when we confirmed the guy really was Jay.

Lights went up when it was break time so I walked near the entrance since I wanted to take a picture of the Rivers Crew poster on the wall. Some kJwalkerz told me that Jay was in the waiting room so many of them crowded around to try and see him. As I was about to take a picture of the poster, a guy walked right across me and ruined the shot. I was about to bitch at him but noticed the stars on his neck. Ah, Jay... -_- I didn't really want him to know I was a Jwalker because I was there for the battle, not him...

**THIS SITUATION CANNOT HAPPEN IN KOREA...PLEASE RESPECT & DON'T POST THIS ELSEWHERE!! KFANS RULES ARE STRICT SO I DON'T WANT MY FRIENDS TO GET BASHED FOR THIS. THEY ONLY DID IT BECAUSE I WAS THERE ><**
...but suddenly out of nowhere, Bumbi grabbed my hand, walked to Jay and told him in Korean that I was her friend visitng from Hong Kong and asked him if we could shake hands. OH MY GOD!! He put his hand out, we shook hands, I smiled, he nodded and we went our separate ways. It was kind of awkward because I was still in shock! After that, the battles began again. This time, Jay walked over to where I was standing. When the guy next to me moved away, we stood next to each other!! I couldn't help but look at him because his skin was so nice..and smooth. I had the urge to touch his face HAHA.

I had always wanted to know whether his glasses was real or not Something was in his glasses so he used his finger to scratch it off, but it was still there so he kept rubbing it with his fingers. In my mind, I was thinking doesn't it get dirtier?? Lol. I took some secret pictures of him (it was really hard to do without him noticing lol) and then I heard the bboy in front of me turn around & asked quietly "Jaebeom-ah?" Jay subtly nodded & continued watching the battle. Few minutes later, he excused himself and walked to the door where David was in the shadows. I guess he didn't like it that people recognized him. I saw David stand up on a chair and underneath him was Jay with his cap. It looked really funny in the shadows. When Bboy Jotee announced the winner of tonight's battle was Trickx, everyone cheered in response. When it was time to go, I saw Jay sitting on the chair and a Jwalker said he looked like an old grandpa. Lol.

According to the kfans, David loves watching bboy battles too! Whenever you see him glancing around the room, it's because he is spotting the Jwalkerz & he's got a good eye for it!

The battle ended around 11pm & we went to grab some Sam Gap Sul (Jay's favorite!) in Hongdae. We saw the line outside Cocoon (didn't know that people can wear sneakers for clubbing!). It started to get really crowded and cold so we took the last train to Kangnam (where we were going to stay for the night!) The hotel was really nice and I finally knew what heated floors were! Hahaha what an awesome invention! None of us were getting ready to sleep even though it was already very late, but we were still excited about seeing Jay :D

They jokingly asked me to choose between being a Jwalkerz or VIP and today I automatically said Jwalkerz! It is the Jay Effect after all! But as soon as Seungri & GD with pink pants popped on the TV, I switched over to VIP keke..then Bumbi got mad...ahahaha.

P.S. Oh yeah! I successfully punched Bumbi!!! I win. LOL

[110225] Meeting Bumbi + Big Bang Show 2011!

2011-03-02T00:35:00.002+08:00

I arrived in Seoul in the early hours of February 25th, excited as ever! After a 2hr traffic jammed taxi ride, I finally arrived at TravelersA (the hostel I stayed in Seoul). The hostel owner told me that Bumbi had called in earlier to ask her to send a text message to her when I arrived. Aww. :P I checked into my double room (single rooms were no longer available since everyone had booked the place out for Big Bang Concert!) & I was surprised at how clean and spacious it was. For 60,000won per night, I was sold!

I took a quick nap before Bumbi arrived at 14:00 and my first reaction of her was "WOW! She dresses so nice, so tall, so pretty!!" It was far from what I believed she looked like in my mind. I was expecting to see a short, chubby cute girl haha! That's why people always say never judge a book by its cover, lol! We said our greetings & exchanged presents...and she gave me the most important thing...my Big Bang Show ticket! After that, it was time for the adventure to begin!

We had Korean food near the hostel for lunch (by this time it was already after 3pm so the place was empty), then made our way to MyeongDong to find the black market currency exchange since the owner of the hostel said the rates were better. We finally settled on getting it exchanged at the bank because we couldn't find the place. Bumbi then took me to Star Avenue & Big Bang was everywhere! I was so happy!

After taking lots of pictures in the area, we finally made our way to Olympic Park, where Big Bang Show 2011 was being held. It was so cold that night! Bumbi took me around so we could pick up the free posters, cards, and took pictures of the Big Bang cardboard cutouts...it was a perfect time to go since there were no line ups!

I wanted to get official goods too so we stood in line for a bit, but they stopped selling at 7pm! Some Korean VIPs got into a dispute with the security & managers because the official site said that they would sell from 3pm-11pm! This was also when my finger started to bleed uncontrollably...-_- (too cold & too dry..) Bumbi was kind enough to stay with me until I got into the venue, including lining up for it...she is super sweet!! We had dinner and met some Japanese fans!

I had to line up outside the 2-2 gate and security was checking everyone's bags for cameras. All the girls in front of me were told to take their cameras out so I got smart and put mine in my coat pocket. I found my seat and was so surprised that the stage venue was smaller than I expected! My seat was almost near the middle so I had a great view! I sat alone but turns out the 2 girls sitting next to me also came alone. To my right was a Korean VIP who loved Seungri & to my left was a girl from the U.S. who flew in specifically to watch all 3 Big Bang shows. So crazy yet so dedicated!

The screens played GDTOP, Taeyang & Seungri's MVs to hype us for the concert and we all started singing along. At around 8:15pm, the concert kicked off! It was my first time watching Big Bang live and I was amazed at how good they were! Even us VIP sitters on level 2 stood up for the duration of the concert because everyone was so hyped up!! We were all jumping around and waving our lightsticks. Even the guy who was sitting down stood up and danced! I really wanted to see Park Bom and she came out performing Oh Yeah with GD & TOP! OMG! I was sooo happy! GD & TOP performed their songs, then Seungri, Taeyang...even Daesang did his solo! Then they all got together and sang some older songs + Japanese ones! We all danced with them and I wished time stopped! The Secret Garden parody was so funny. The part on SBS where TOP kissing Seungri was blocked right? Well we saw it all unfold...haha. Lots of VIPs started screaming at that part :D Finally, they did their comeback stage near the end...I think GD cried when he was strumming his guitar during 'Tonight'...and even I had tears swelling up. It was just so good.

February 25th was also the night they debuted their Tonight MV so it made the night even more special. During one of the songs, they all came near us so I grabbed the chance to run to the barrier to see them close up!! I held out my hand and I touched their hands!!!!! TOP was being a real sweetheart since he took his own camera to record the fan's reactions!!The Korean VIP told me that for the encore, everyone had to shout 'Saranghae' and that's what we did. They sang another song and I saw GD flying across the audience...It was freaking awesome! After they bowed, and the NG cuts of the parody started playing, Big Bang all came back out for a surprise goodbye!! Omg. Best. Concert. Ever!! The VIPs said that the first concert is usually the best because they are more hyper & it's the longest! I'm so glad I went to watch it on the first night! YG did a really good job with the concert..from the seating to the lights to the dancers to the choice of songs to the screen at the back showing animations and lyrics!! I secretly took 1 fancam when they were running around but the majority of the time, I didn't even bother because I was having so much fun!

When the concert ended, I spazzed with my new friends and took the subway back to Euljiro-4 ga (where my hostel was). This was when my night got extra interesting because I realized that I didn't have my hostel map anymore & I was still unfamiliar with my way around. I walked at least 3x round the alleys but couldn't find the hostel and started to freak out. I saw a man standing around so I went up to ask him to borrow his phone so I could call Jung onnie. He didn't understand me but around 5 mins later, he told me he left his phone in his office and asked me to go back to his office with him. I said no thank you and bolted away. I went back down to the subway station to search for a public phone only to find out that they didn't accept coins, only cards! It was getting really late and the station was empty besides the homeless people. After waiting around 10mins or so, I saw a girl walking by and immediately asked to borrow her phone so I could call my friends. She was very kind and even helped me talk with Jung onnie, and went with me to the exit. Unfortunately, we didn't have a map so she couldn't help me much but she called her friends to ask too. They didn't know where the hostel was...and just as we were about to walk away, we saw a girl walking with a Big Show bag in our direction. Turns out she just came back from the concert too and stayed in the same hostel as me!

I was so lucky....<3

February Blues

2011-01-24T21:56:00.000+08:00

January is almost coming to an end...but I've barely had time to travel anywhere because of endless work! I had planned to go to Taiwan mid Jan but things came up and everything just fell apart, haha.

But February should be good...it's Chinese New Year next week and I'll be heading to Seoul, Korea (my first time!) to visit some friends and to watch Big Bang Concert 2011!

Can't wait!! ^^

[101128] Jay Park First Step in Thailand Fanmeet + Handshake Event + Funny story

2010-12-27T11:33:00.001+08:00

I made a sign to rep my own country the day of the fanmeet because I thought it'll be cool if I waved the sign and Jay recognized us, lol and also because there were so few that flew in from Hong Kong (only 3!). Fast forward to around 4pm and we arrived at Siam Paragon, got our lightsticks, and waited around the area. This was when we saw Khun's brother. He went into the hall where Jay was rehearsing and we all assumed he was there to see him. We also saw Tinzar waiting for her friend so Minah introduced us to her. I'm glad I got to meet her. She's so nice in person and I'm so glad to see that her & Ned are taking good care of Jay!

Fans started to line up for something and we found out we had to get tickets for the hand shake event (which I thought to be stupid since they could just check if you were holding the 4500baht ticket..) A couple of us started to line up at the very last minute but the staff was telling us that the show was about to start in 10mins and they would give us the tickets later. The hall was quite big and our seats were fantastic! First row! We were near the center of the stage so we could see everything clearly. The security was so tight and they only let us take videos & pictures of the first 2 songs. I managed to sneak in some videos here and there throughout the fanmeet, but it was hard!

It was my 2nd time seeing Jay perform and I have to say, this fanmeet was so much better than the one in Singapore! 10x better! The atmosphere was amazing and best of all, it really seemed like Jay loved it too. Since we couldn't take a lot of vids, we all concentrated on the show instead. The stage and our seats were close so we could see their faces clearly! The MCs did a really good job during the interview part, and at one point they pointed us out to Jay since I was holding the HK sign & my friend was holding her Indonesia sign up. Jay saw us & did a little gesture for us to know he saw it too. OMG, I was so happy! The MCs didn't regurgitate the same interview questions from the Seoul FM either so it was refreshing to hear their answers! Jay sang Count on Me, Speechless, Doin' Good, Demon, and Bestie. When Jay chose Uthe to play a game with him, everyone was ecstatic! I was SO happy for her! She is seriously the luckiest fan this time round!!
[101128 Jay Park 1st Step Thailand] Jay Park performing 'Count on Me'
[101128 Jay Park 1st Step Thailand] "I'll be right back" (Infamous fanmeet line) <--Jay said this after every song It was really funny lol
[101128 Jay Park 1st Step Thailand] Short clip of 'Speechless'
[101128 Jay Park 1st Step Thailand] Jay Park performing 'Bestie'
After the fanmeet, everyone rushed out so the 4500 ticket holders could go in and line up for the handshake event. Our korean friends were talking to the promoter so they could go shake his hand first since their flights were all leaving at night and they were in a hurry.

[101128 Jay Park 1st Step Thailand] Jay Park Arriving at Hand Shake Event
[101128 Jay Park 1st Step Thailand] Jay Park during Hand Shake Event
[101128 Jay Park 1st Step Thailand] Jay Park's Message to His Thai Fans

Jay was really friendly and when it was my turn, I gave him a little spiderman keychain that I bought at Chatukchak Market. I also told him I was from Hong Kong, and he said "Ah yeah. Oh..ni hao?" OMGGGG *died* Oh yes, the little baby was sitting in the row behind ours! He shook Jay's hand then just grabbed to give him a hug. It was soo cute...!! After everyone had their turn, Jay told the fans that he would definitely be back in Thailand next year & then he left to get ready for the 3500baht ticket holders who would get the chance to take a group pic with him.

After everything was over, the promoter tweeted a picture of Jay & AOM eating at some restaurant but since no one knew where it was, we all decided to go back to Pullman Hotel. We did catch Jay and AOM arriving back to the hotel.

[101128 Jay Park 1st Step Thailand] Jay Park Arriving Back to Hotel after Fanmeet

We were waiting around hoping to see them again since we remembered that Cha Cha wanted to go clubbing but all they did was stay in their hotel room. Oh yes, the funny story! Around 12:30am or so, we decided to leave their hotel so we got a cab and while my friend was showing our hotel address to the driver,Dok2 & The Quiett walked right past us and got in! They took our cab!! LOL. The porter told us they were going out to get water but no one believed him. I'm pretty sure they went out for drinks or something, because they both dressed up decked out in black attire. I couldn't stop staring at the Quiett. He's just so hot!!

Oh yeah, so the next morning Jay's segments were aired...and we saw ourselves on Thai TV!! LOL!
[101129 Jay Park 1st Step Thailand] Jay Park & Us on Thai TV

Well, that's all! Thailand was hands down for me, the BEST Jay related trip ever! My biggest wish was to see Jay inside the airport and take a picture with him plus see Dok2 & The Quiett up close. It all came true! I was really lucky and having the chance to meet up with so many awesome Jwalkerz made my trip that much better. Who would've thought that 2 months ago I was still talking to them on twitter and now I got to meet them all in person!! So, thank you JAY PARK! Without you, I would never have met so many amazing people!! <3 <3

[101127] Meeting Dok2 + The Quiett, & AOM + AndrewB!

2010-12-27T11:27:00.000+08:00

Jay's radio interview was at 2pm but after chatting with @JPleuM, we decided it would be a waste of time because the show would only last go 30mins and we didn't even know if we could get inside. The press conference was at 5pm but our friend told us there was a huge group of fans waiting in the open area 3hrs before the event was supposed to start. @_beomnoona and I had a hard time deciding what to do...should we go and get squashed with the fans to see Jay (even though we would be in the first row for his fanmeet) or go to the aiport to greet Dok2 & The Quiett?? I remember telling @JPleuM the day I went to Thailand that I really wanted to get a picture with them and this would be my chance! I was hoping luck would be on my side again, so we met up with @JPluem & the lovely @MilkyJayShake at the airport. The 5 of us were the only fans around so when we spotted Dok2 & The Quiett walking out, we immediately went up to them and asked for a picture. Dok2 was very friendly and told his hyung to stop walking and take a picture with each of us lol.

The promoter who picked them up at the airport was really surpised to see us and asked how we knew their flight details since no one mentioned it before. After the short encounter, we decided to go back to the press conference hoping to perhaps get a glimspe of Jay. Unfortunately the press conference was over within 15mins. Super fast! @Careesar told us she was eating at the same restaurant as Jay, but they said they couldn't see him since there was a curtain pulled around their table. We tried to rush back but with the infamous traffic jams in Bangkok, it was next to impossible. We did however manage to get into the parking lot and saw Jay's van leave Siam Paragon.

We didn't make it back to Jay's hotel in time to see him but everyone sat around the lobby to wait for AOM & AndrewB to arrive. Lots of fans were in the lobby and this was where me & @_beomnoona met members from Underground, Jay Park Band & many others from Twitter! It was a Jwalkerz meet up in Jay's hotel lobby! Lol, so fun and epic. Dok2 & The Quiett came down for a bit to chill (they sat directly in front of us!), but they wouldn't look at the fans. They were nice enough to sign some CDs until people started to crowd around them and they were moved to the bar area.

Since there was still so much time before AOM was set to arrive, @_beomnoona & I chilled with @superstarjaebum & @IchiJay in their rooms before they invited us to go to another room that were all Underground members. They showed us their HQ video clips of Jay's performances from the Manila fanmeet, SSF, Big 4 that were all unseen footages. SO AWESOME!! They were all very well prepared...I was in awe looking at how much equipment they brought with them for the fanmeet!

It was a long long night and everyone was getting really tired. At around 1am, we saw a van pull up and saw AOM + AndrewB getting out. The hotel turned off their lights in the lobby so it was hard to get a nice picture of the boys...

[101126] Meeting Jay inside the airport in Bangkok

2010-12-27T11:20:00.001+08:00

You can catch my fancams over at my Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/panapinky

I booked my ticket to Bangkok a month in advance so I could get the cheapest deal on Air Asia, so the thought of seeing or even getting a picture with Jay was pure luck. I was getting really excited the day I was flying out to Bangkok knowing that I had a chance to meet Jay inside the airport when I found out his flight details from the Korean fans. When he was in transit in Seoul, I was still sitting in the office lol. It was good to leave at night so I could do a bit of research and figure out roughly what time Jay would land. I was off to a rocky start when my flight was delayed by about 10mins. I don't think I've looked at my watch so many times on a 3hr flight before but I was getting anxious! Fortunately, the plane arrived about 15mins ahead of schedule, but the wifi was so weak at the airport that it was impossible to get it to work. I wanted to check twitter to see whether Jay had already arrived or not but since I couldn't, all I did was scan around the immigration queues to see if he was amongst me. I was supposed to tweet @_beomnoona to let her know I arrived but I had no way to do that. After I finally got through immigration, the first thing I did was check out the Korean Airlines flight from Incheon and where their baggage claim was. I was relieved to know that their flight landed after mine and their baggage carousel was empty. After I picked up my luggage, I walked through the other side to Exit C (where Jay's flight's baggage claim was) several times hoping to spot @beomnoona and her friend. At 1 point, I wanted to go out of customs since I couldn't see any fans around. When I walked back for the 3rd time I finally spotted @beomnoona's bright colored viel and ran up to greet her. In total, there were only about 12 fans inside the airport: 3 Thai fans, 3 from Underground, 2 Korean fans and me, @_beomnoona & @niamun.

The Thai fans told us that the crew on his flight said Jay had already left the plane and should be arriving at immigration soon so we all rushed to that area. Within 15 mins or so, we saw Jay! & David (his Korean manager) standing very far away from immigration. I actually mistakenly thought Jay was the one in the white hoodie while David was the one in black when in reality it was the other way around, lol. After a few minutes, Jay finally started to walk towards immigration and this was when everyone's cameras started flashing.

He took his time to come out & 1 of the Thai fans was the first one to ask him for a picture. I went up to him and asked for one too because seriously, what are the chances! His peace sign was so last minute because he switched hands to hold his passport

When it was Uthe's turn, she stood next to Jay, grinning & ready for the picture to be taken. I thought she was going to hand her camera to me so I was waiting for it. It was so funny because us 3 were just standing there. Jay started chuckling and said "So..what should I do?" & that's when I realized she wanted me to take a pic of them together! We were 1 of the lucky 3 that got to take a picture with him before he started walking away. More and more people started to show up because they saw us crowding Jay so his bodyguards whisked him away inside the Immigration Bureau so the space could be cleared. A couple of tourists were waiting outside and they asked us who was inside. For some reason, they thought it was P.Diddy and then they got excited. It was so random but I bursted their bubble & told one of the guys that it was Jay Park.

Jay was only inside for a few minutes before he came out and everyone started following him again. People who worked in the airport were running after him too and they didn't even know who he was haha. I didn't even realize that Tinzar was next to him (I thought she was just another fan ><) but she was really sweet. She told Jay that someone was going to pick up his luggage & that they should start to walk out.

We followed them all the way until he left customs and that's when we saw him almost being trampled by the fans that rushed around him. They kept pushing his bodyguards so he was running into them >< It was getting chaotic so me and @_beomnoona decided to stop chasing after him since we already saw him inside. We both saw the huge crowd outside of the airport too and there was so much screaming! It was pretty crazy. We met up with @JPleuM and saw @superstarjaebum too! We didn't get back to Jay's hotel (Pullman) in time since we kinda got lost in the airport but our friends called to let us know he was already back so we called it a night!

Thailand Bound!

2010-11-23T15:27:00.000+08:00

I wasn't going to post my Singapore trip on this blog since it wasn't your typical sightseeing trip, but I figured what the hell. I still did travel out of the country. I'm jet setting to Bangkok on Friday night & will be staying there for 5 days so I can go to another fan meet, see my lovely Jwalkers that are flying in from Korea, Singapore, Indonesia & Malaysia, shop all day & night and EAT CHEAP FOOD!

Be on the lookout for my review!

[100925] Jay Park Singapore Fan Meet

2010-11-23T15:03:00.000+08:00

Overnight line-up
Beckii said 4 of her 2OD friends had rented a room in Costa Sands Resort directly opposite of Wavehouse, so @vkkkim & I decided to stay over so that we didn't have to wake up so early to go to Sentosa the next day. We all went to check out Wavehouse and saw how it felt more like a place for an outdoor party rather than a place to have a concert, because there was a pool facing the stage and the standing area in front was uber small. There was also a back entrance but we weren't sure if that would be closed off to the public tomorrow. We wanted to make sure we had all the details covered so we asked the girls working at the cashier where the lineup would start, if there was any other way around to get into Wavehouse bypassing other people and how past events worked. We heard somewhere that Jay, AOM, Dok2 & The Quiett would be having a rehearsal at 11am the next day and we had to find out if we could go in and risk the line up. The girls explained to us that we could go inside if we bought drinks at the bar or go for a wave session, but that everyone would be kicked out by 4pm so the organizers could set up the concert. We took this news and noticed there were still no sign of any crazy fans lining up (it was already 12am) so we went back to the resort.

Not even 30mins in, @ShUderbang started freaking out because she had a feeling there were people there already, so she went with @Jaygoestogym to check. Lo and behold, there were around 10 people in line. We knew that once word got out, people would start arriving in Sentosa and we didn't want to risk losing a good spot. Before I went to Singapore, I swore I would never line up overnight...but it happened! All for you, Jay. All for you. My shift with @Shuderbang & @Jaygoestogym started at 1:30am and we decided that the 7 of us would take turns lining up. One of the girls in front started pinkberrying at us when we were talking because she said she wanted to sleep. Uh...if it wasn't for you, we'd be sleeping soundly on our beds too! Anyway, a few more girls showed up after us because apparently people twittered there was a line forming.

Rehearsal
By the time it was 5am, all 3 of us were feeling groggy and needed to pass out. Fast forward to 9:30am-ish and we rejoined the rest of the group downstairs. By then, ours had grown to over 15 people & there were more or less 100 people in line. Our butts were getting sore from the hard pavement so me, @beckiiness & @vkkkim went for a walk but first checked out the back entrance & found out that it was locked! We heard some screaming and saw some girls from our group saying they saw AOM pass by in a white van. We still had a lot of time to kill so we continued along and saw the A/X manager! He was stocking up on chips and water for the boys!

Whilst we were walking back, we heard Nothing On You being played then Demon! OMG. Up until that moment, I had never clicked on any fancams of it since I wanted to hear Jay sing it live. I quickly started talking to people around me so it wouldn't ruin it for me. As soon as we heard Jay's voice blaring out from the mic, a bunch of us went in front of Wavehouse and walked in through the shop. As we were approaching the stage, the security guys stopped us. We went to the bar to order drinks and they started talking to the staff (probably about us hanging out there). We could see Jay and the boys practicing their moves so I started to record it. Security guy knew and started to inch closer to my camera view but it didn't really work lol.

After their short rehearsal was over, the 2OD girls ordered smoothies for Jay & his crew. We asked the Wavehouse staff to bring it over for them and the AOM guys waved at us! We were ecstatic. Oh yeah, The Quiett got lost and wandered off for a bit on his own lol.

The weather was really crappy since it kept raining on and off & people were getting moody. As night was creeping closer, we noticed a group of fans behind us left the queue! We later found out they had gotten a hold of the HMV tickets so they were now in the VIP line in front of us! We were peeved so we asked the staff what the heck was going on. We weren't going to let them be in front of us after our 18.5hr line up. We were pleased to find out that the VIPs would meet and greet with Jay then stand in another area. Doors were supposed to open at 7pm but since Jay was running late (again!), it opened at 8pm and I told the guy at bag check to hurry up so I could run at the speed of lightening to grab a good spot. SECOND ROW IN FRONT OF STAGE BABY!

Fanmeet
A mini Michael Jackson opened the stage for Jay and everyone was amazed. Andrew and Steproc came out and videotaped her (yes, it's a 13yr old girl!). After that, a dance crew danced to Jay's version of 'Nothing on You' and the excitement grew. When Jay went on stage, he blew my mind. He is so normal off stage but on stage he shines like a star. He performed Nothing On You, Doin Good, Demon, You Got It Bad and Bestie. I can't choose which one I liked best because I liked them all!! The crowd went wild when he showed off his Taylor body during 'Nothing on You', and when he ripped his white tank off during 'You Got it Bad'. That was probably the highlight of the night! I've heard that Demon was good but wow, seeing it in real life was 10x better! The choreo is amazing!! Props to Andrew for creating it!! There was also a fan dance battle, Q&A with AOM (same questions asked in the Seoul FM ><), AOM & Jay's dance performance, and the bboy battle with the Singapore crew which was awesome!

Afterparty at Attica
@Careeesar had a friend working inside the club so she was able to get us in without lining up. Jay & AOM arrived a bit later and then things started to get chaotic. Lights were turned on when fans started pouring in by the dozens and it was getting extremely crowded, not to mention lots of girls pushing to try and get a glimpse of Jay. Girls were trying to crawl underneath the curtain to get inside the booth...which was ridiculous. We stood near their booth so was able to see them when they walked in and out. I saw Dok2, The Quiett, Tony & shook hands with Hep, Jr, Cha Cha and told them they put on a great show that night

I guess things were getting too out of hand, so they moved Jay & the boys upstairs to the House room behind the DJ booth. Hep was doing lots of fanservice and we could see that he was having the most fun. At least he was dancing, lol! At one point they all wanted to leave, but with the massive crowd outside blocking the stairs, they were forced to stay in the booth until the area cleared. They were extremely fast in getting the boys out of the club though

Okay, I guess my 4 day whirlwind trip stops here & this wraps up my fan accounts. Phew, it was long! This trip has been AMAZING. Thanks to Jay, AOM, Dok2 & The Quiett for putting on such a great show and all the Jwalkers I met! You all made this happen!! Till next time...

[100924] A/X Meet & Greet (Singapore)

2010-11-23T14:56:00.000+08:00

[Repost]

Ivy (vkkkim), Beckii (beckiiness) and I arrived at A/X around 12:30pm so I could hand Alex (Cybercify) my FM tickets. We were trying to figure out who Alex was but before we could gather our thoughts, she popped up and asked if 1 of us was Ivy! That got the ball rolling and then more people showed up. We were probably the 8th group in line. A KJwalker (@realGODIVA) behind us recognized Beckii & her friend showed us her super HD clip of Jay at Incheon airport (they were on the same plane as him!) and she started to spazz out when Jay looked at her camera keke. Whilst we were waiting in line, our HK friends told us Jay was doing a press conference at the hotel so they were staking outside. As time started to creep closer and he was still nowhere in sight, I called them and they said he was now having dim sum with Daniel, Andrew & the A/X management team! They talked to 1 of his bodyguards and were told Jay would go to A/X once he finished eating (he was already running 1.5hrs late).

While we were all waiting, we noticed the A/X photographer starting to walk to the back so that was a hint that Jay would be coming in from the back of the mall (which was exactly where we were lining up at!). Within a few minutes, Jay was on the escalator in his suave clothes! He looked so fresh with his hair & face all made up. He looked completely different from when I saw him the day before!

Fangirls started screaming when he walked into A/X, & he started taking pictures with the staff and volunteers. The Meet & Greet officially started!

I wasn’t impressed with the way things were handled. We got ushered in like sheep and we had 10secs to be with Jay. I asked the security guy if I could have my album signed but he said no so I didn’t press further. When it was my turn, I got so star struck I forgot half the things I was supposed to tell him, including where I was from! I did tell him I was a rep for Jaypark.net though and asked if he knew about the site. He said he’d checked it out before so that made me really happy. I also told him where my present was and then the security guy kept telling us to take the pic..so he leaned in (aww!!) and he gave me the poster and said “Thanks for coming out today!” with a really big smile. I shook his hands but didn’t ask for a hug. He is so flawless!! I really wanna know what his secret is (probably genes ><)

[100923] Meeting Jay Park inside Marina Bay Sands (Singapore)

2010-11-23T14:53:00.000+08:00

[Repost]

I'm still recovering from Singapore. It's super long so I split it day by day.

This was a first for a lot of things. First time to Singapore, first time meeting so many awesome Jwalkers, first time meeting Jay, first fan meet, first time seeing hardcore sasaengs, first time staying in a hotel room the size of my bathroom -_-, first time lining up overnight for anything...

I met up with @vkkkim (Ivy) & 2 other HKJwalkers at the airport early Thursday morning to depart for our 4 day whirlwind trip to Singapore. After our "long" flight that took forever (seriously it was the longest 3hr flight EVER.), we finally landed in Changi International Airport inside the budget terminal which was nowhere near Terminal 2 where Jay was supposed to be. We figured they had left already anyway so we didn't even bother checking, but our other friends who had arrived earlier than us told us they saw Jay inside the terminal and managed to take individual pictures! We were bummed out because we wouldn't be able to see him until the Meet & Greet (or so we thought..). We took the MRT, got off at Bugis Junction (we got lost...) but I knew I could pick up my FM tickets at the SISTIC agent inside the mall. I got to the counter and they told me the machine was out of order and I had to go somewhere else for it. Wasn't expecting so much bummers for the day but okay. We finally got back to our hotel, dropped our bags off & headed out to Marina Bay Sands to redeem our vouchers at A/X.
As I was about to step on the escalator going down to the shop, my friend quickly shouted for us to stop. We turned around and guess who we saw? JAY! He was walking with his bodyguards to A/X and only 4 girls were behind him.

We followed them because that’s where we were supposed to go anyway! They didn’t let us into the store though so we stood there taking pictures of Jay outside. He was inside picking clothes with his Korean manager. He kept drinking out of his water bottle, noticed us and threw us a peace sign and a smile. My camera failed on me at that point. The pic I got was so
blurry ><

I also saw @JPlueM outside the store! By the time I met up with Beckii, more and more fans were crowding outside A/X and that was our cue to leave. It was already an hour or so and I didn't want to waste my entire night looking at Jay picking out clothes LOL. Besides, I really needed to find a SISTIC outlet!

Beckii and I got lost finding our way but that was a blessing in disguise because as we were walking I saw a mob of people on the escalator. I couldn't really see what was going on but as we got closer, we saw Jay! Again! Coming in the opposite direction as us! We almost walked past him because he looked so normal but I quickly nudged Beckii and told her that Jay was in front of us. I think he heard me because he quickly looked up at us. I didn't stop him to get a picture, ask for his handshake nor a picture though because I didn't want to intrude on his space and he probably had places to go.

After realizing the SISTIC outlet in MBS was just for the certain event that night, we went back down to A/X to pick up our Meet & Greet passes and vouchers. Our s-friends rejoined us and told us they followed Jay back to the hotel, stuck their hand inside the lift so he couldn’t leave yet just to get a handshake. Sigh. After picking our goodies, we asked the cashier the details of the M&G and how it was going to be run. He said each person was allowed 2 mins 1 on 1 time with Jay, he would give us a pre-signed autographed poster & there would be someone to help us take a picture with him. We asked if he could sign other stuff and take a picture with our camera as well and he said he wasn’t sure but maybe if we were determined, we could. He also mentioned there would be a press party at 9pm tomorrow night inside the store that Jay would also attend, but everyone was in their own little world. The question on everyone's minds was...2 mins ALONE with Jay?? Really? Hm...

By the time we left MBS it was already 10pm ish so we grabbed a quick bite in Orchard and went back to our hotel for the night.

[100923] Meeting Jay Park inside Marina Bay Sands (Singapore)

2010-11-23T14:45:00.000+08:00

[Repost]
I’m still recovering from Singapore, but I thought I’d just post my fan account for those who are interested. It’s super long so I split it day by day. I took more pictures than videos but will upload those as soon as I can. In the meantime, you can check out my youtube channel @panapinky for some fancams.
This was a first for a lot of things. First time to Singapore, first time meeting so many awesome Jaywalkers, first time meeting Jay, first fan meet, first time seeing hardcore sasaengs, first time staying in a hotel room the size of my bathroom -_-, first time lining up overnight for anything…

I met up with @vkkkim (Ivy) & 2 other HKJwalkers at the airport early Thursday morning to depart for our 4 day whirlwind trip to Singapore. After our “long” flight that took forever (seriously it was the longest 3hr flight EVER.), we finally landed in Changi International Airport inside the budget terminal which was nowhere near Terminal 2 where Jay was supposed to be. We figured they had left already anyway so we didn’t even bother checking, but our other friends who had arrived earlier than us told us they saw Jay inside the terminal and managed to take individual pictures! We were bummed out because we wouldn’t be able to see him until the Meet & Greet (or so we thought..). We took the MRT, got off at Bugis Junction (we got lost…) but I knew I could pick up my FM tickets at the SISTIC agent inside the mall. I got to the counter and they told me the machine was out of order and I had to go somewhere else for it. Wasn’t expecting so much bummers for the day but okay. We finally got back to our hotel, dropped our bags off & headed out to Marina Bay Sands to redeem our vouchers at A/X.
As I was about to step on the escalator going down to the shop, my friend quickly shouted for us to stop. We turned around and guess who we saw? JAY!He was walking with his bodyguards to A/X and only 4 girls were behind him.
We followed them because that’s where we were supposed to go anyway! They didn’t let us into the store though so we stood there taking pictures of Jay outside. He was inside picking clothes with his Korean manager. He kept drinking out of his water bottle, noticed us and threw us a peace sign and a smile. My camera failed on me at that point. The pic I got was so blurry ><
I also saw @JPlueM outside the store! By the time I met up with Beckii, more and more fans were crowding outside A/X and that was our cue to leave. It was already an hour or so and I didn’t want to waste my entire night looking at Jay picking out clothes LOL. Besides, I really needed to find a SISTIC outlet!
Beckii and I got lost finding our way but that was a blessing in disguise because as we were walking I saw a mob of people on the escalator. I couldn’t really see what was going on but as we got closer, we saw Jay! Again! Coming in the opposite direction as us! We almost walked past him because he looked so normal but I quickly nudged Beckii and told her that Jay was in front of us. I think he heard me because he quickly looked up at us. I didn’t stop him to get a picture, ask for his handshake nor a picture though because I didn’t want to intrude on his space and he probably had places to go.
After realizing the SISTIC outlet in MBS was just for the certain event that night, we went back down to A/X to pick up our Meet & Greet passes and vouchers. Our s-friends rejoined us and told us they followed Jay back to the hotel, stuck their hand inside the lift so he couldn’t leave yet just to get a handshake. Sigh. After picking our goodies, we asked the cashier the details of the M&G and how it was going to be run. He said each person was allowed 2 mins 1 on 1 time with Jay, he would give us a pre-signed autographed poster & there would be someone to help us take a picture with him. We asked if he could sign other stuff and take a picture with our camera as well and he said he wasn’t sure but maybe if we were determined, we could. He also mentioned there would be a press party at 9pm tomorrow night inside the store that Jay would also attend, but everyone was in their own little world. The question on everyone’s minds was…2 mins ALONE with Jay?? Really? Hm…
By the time we left MBS it was already 10pm ish so we grabbed a quick bite in Orchard and went back to our hotel for the night.

Indian Wedding: Ring Ceremony (Day 1)

2010-09-01T09:29:00.000+08:00

I, along with 2 close friends from high school had the honor to be invited and be part of Noorie's Indian wedding in Malaysia from August 21-24. It was an experience on its own because it was all our first time attending one and we were in for a crazy 3 day wedding!

We arrived in Malaysia in the afternoon and there were already plans for all the guests once we reached the Marriott Hotel & Resort in Putrajaya. We had the chance to meet with Kunal (the groom)'s parents, friends & relatives while we were waiting to be checked in. It was our first time seeing the groom since he was located in India but heard lots of good things about him.The official wedding festivities kicked off during the lunch buffet at the Terrace Cafe where all of us were handed a flower necklace and Malaysian girls performed traditional dances for us.

Since we had some time before the Ring Ceremony (or Engagement), we decided to walk around the hotel The lobby was grand and we could see why the couple wanted to have their wedding here. With the gorgeous weather upon us, we went to the outdoor pool to soak up some rays. There was a kid's area with a water slide, a waterfall, and a jacuzzi at the top which we all managed to try out. By 7pm we headed back down to the lobby meet with everyone for the Ring Ceremony. Little did we know that Indians run on I.S.T. (Indian Stretchable Time), which meant that if it was scheduled to start at 7pm, you had to add an extra 2hrs on top of that. Noorie's dad informed us when he saw us waiting around with no one else in sight. By 9pm-ish, the ceremony began with the couple sitting next to each other on the stage. The groom's side received gifts from the bride's family and both sides of the family and relatives came forward to congratulate them. A ritual followed with Noorie's brother feeding the groom sweets and ended when Noorie & Kunal exchanged wedding rings.

Dinner buffet soon followed where a live trio was present to sing on request. We were too busy eating however to ask them to sing for us. As dinner wrapped up, older people started to move back into the ceremony room for traditional ghazals. These are poetic forms of singing about the beauty of love. An Indian duo was hired from Hong Kong for the duration of the wedding to provide this side entertainment for the guests. We sat for awhile until a woman came and told us if we understood what they were singing about, we would be asleep by now! Once we got up to leave, everyone was laughing at us because we stood out from the crowd. Outside, the music was booming with club music and Bollywood hits. We put on our dancing shoes, drank till we got tipsy (unlimited alcohol!), and partied away for the rest of the night!

Have you been to the Asian Vegas?

2010-08-19T13:07:00.002+08:00

People always compare Las Vegas and Macau together, but for someone who's been to both cities countless times I can say that they're both entirely different. When you think of Las Vegas, casinos and lights automatically pop in your head. Why wouldn't it? It's known as the "City of Lights" & The City that Never Sleeps. Driving into Vegas from LA, you can see the endless casino & hotels in the far distance. Macau however, is much smaller and the casinos are very spread out. For me, I would rather check out what it offers locally.

Macau is just a 45mins ferry ride away from Hong Kong so it's easily accessible. Most people don't usually stay overnight unless it's a late concert/festival because you can pretty much do everything in 1 day. You can also travel around the city without paying a cent because of the free hotel shuttle buses! I went again this summer with some friends visiting from Toronto and this is what we experienced:

This is a shot of Grand Lisboa that's owned by Stanley Ho, aka the King of Gambling

The golden carriage outside the Emperor Palace Casino & Hotel.

We took the shuttle from the Ferry terminal to get here so we could walk to...

this famous Portugese tart place! It's fairly small and there's not a lot of place to sit, but definitely pay here a visit if you ever have the chance!

Freshly made and so good!

As it was still early, we headed to one of the many cathedrals in Macau

Away from the glitz and glamour, you'll see these narrow streets of Macau

Along the street leading up to the Ruins of St. Paul (which is a tourist's must-see attraction) are souvenir shops like this famous one here. They have a wide selection of cookies and pastries, and everyone is welcome to try their freshly baked goods!

Infamous shark fin stew

It wasn't expensive but..you get what you pay for

This place is a hidden treasure. It has the smoothest tofu ever...

This is a traditional delicacy and I believe this old man is the only person that still makes these egg cookies like this. Those visiting can start lining up before he sells them at 12pm.

If you're an adventure seeker, definitely go to the Macau Tower to bunjee jump off the highest freestanding structure in the world! This will set you back $2K+ though!

We finally settled in at the Venetian - Macau after a day of non stop walking and eating. It was also the hottest day of the month, so we'd rather be indoors than burning in the heat!

To be cont'd!

Travel destinations

2010-08-18T21:32:00.002+08:00

Places I want to visit in the near future

Visiting friends
- Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth (Australia)
- London, Manchester (U.K.)
- India

Music
- Ibiza (Spain)
- Armin Only (Utrecht, Netherlands)
- Sensation White (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Culture
- Tibet
- Egypt
- Greece
- Tel Aviv (Jordan)
- Beirut (Lebanon)
- Berlin (Germany)
- Sri Lanka
- Jordan
- Morrocco
- Brazil
- Venezuela

Relaxation
- Plantation Bay Resort & Spa (Cebu, Phillipines)
- Bora Bora (French Polynesia)
- Six Senses Destination Spa (Phuket, Thailand)
- One & Only Reethi Rah (Maldives)
- Turtle Island (Fiji)

Let's see how many of these I can actually go to in 2010-11!

Summer in the West Coast: Seattle (Day 3 &4)

2010-08-04T21:57:00.000+08:00

It was a pain to pick out which photos to put here because I took so many (and that's why I held off on updating for awhile lol). Here's just a glimpse at what the last 2 days of Seattle consisted of, combined with a whole lot of walking!

Guess where this monorail takes us?

So futuristic huh? Turns out this was the Science Museum which was also the only stop on the Monorail.

I was so happy that the weather was finally getting nicer.
This reminds me of San Francisco.

The monorail took us to Seattle's infamous Space Needle!

Once you walk out to the 360 degree observation deck, this is one of the views that you might see! How gorgeous!

I could stare at this all day and not get bored of it, but the strong wind from this high up would probably make me hate it lol.

.....another view

Downtown Seattle
I'll give you a prize if you can tell me which one was our hotel! It's one of the tall buildings...

We were going to take the Duck tours (similar to the Hippo tours in Toronto), but we had been to all the places they were scheduled to go...

I remember by the time we got here, we were all frustrated because it was such a long walk from the Space Needle!

This is just one of the many sculptures you can find in this free park. I didn't know this at the time, but according to wiki "it has received numerous awards for its design, engineering and environmental restoration."

We're once again walking towards the Waterfront!

I love this shot!

If you're going to Alaska, your cruise starts here!

A lot of tourists were lining up to get to this cruise.

Free summer concerts every Friday!

Walking by the Seattle Art Museum

I'm not really sure what's inside this building, but it was the slimmest one on the block!

Our last dinner at Seattle, in the Fisherman's Restaurant. This beats Crab Pot any day! We all agreed that it was the BOMB.

Remember on the first part of this Seattle tour, I said we got ripped off taking a $40 taxi from the airport? This is the answer! The light rail only costs a few bucks and even though it may take longer, but at least it's cheap!

Before boarding the plane, we had to have our last seafood lunch at Ivar's. Longest line up in the airport food court too so you know they have to be good!

Goodbye Seattle....Hello snow mountain! :D
(The flight attendant didn't know what it was...errr...)

Final thoughts: I think we'd have had more fun if we had a car and could go to farther places. The few days spent in Seattle downtown was good though because it was close to where we all wanted to check out! If I had the chance to come back in the near future, I'll definitely try and go to the Boeing Factory!

Summer in the West Coast: Seattle (Day 2)

2010-07-21T22:30:00.000+08:00

We woke up earlier than usual so we could go explore more places. Our original plan was to check out the Boeing Factory, but since it was too far & it was too expensive (over $65/person!), we opted to come here instead. Besides, they don't let you take pictures during the tour in case you use it for terrorist activities (just my guess!). Since we were car-less, wetook our first bus in the U.S.! to get to our first stop of the day: The Museum of Flight.

Once you pay admission, you can tour all those planes on the field!

This was the plaque right outside the museum: "Dreams really do come true."

I was amazed at how the big the museum was. Just look at all the planes hanging off the top!

If you're an airplane enthusiast, you'll love this place. They have every plane that you can think of + ones from the war...which is in another part of the museum.

A sketch of one of the Boeing planes. This was so detailed!

The Boeing part of the museum. This has 2 floors and showcases a variety of stuff.

Aircrafts from WWII
I forgot which country this one was from, but look at the mean shark!

This was a booklet for the Americans when they landed in enemy territory.
They were taught to say the different phrases, such as "I am an American airman helping China in its war of resistance & have been forced down here".

We took a look inside the Air Force One!
They were very strict about this & only let a certain amount of people go in every time. This was the exact same plane that Kennedy took.

Now we know the secret...lol.

Inside the pilot area

About to head into the Concorde! They have some of the most powerful commercial jet engines in existence.

We were here for almost 2hrs, but so long Boeing Airplane Co!

By the time we left the museum, it was already lunch time. We obviously had to stop by Chinatown since it was on our way back & because we were craving for some good Chinese food!

We're here!

We picked this because it was packed, which meant it HAD to be good! Apparently so! Picked one of Seattle's Best restaurants! The wait wasn't that long either. Their most famous dim sum is the shrimp dumplings aka 'siu mai'!

We took a stroll along the outskirts of Pioneer Square. It's famous for their 19th century architectural buildings but honestly, I was a bit creeped out at all the crazy people there though. They were coming in every direction and shouting things in the middle of the street.

Besides the creepy people, I thought this part of town was beautiful! Jade would love this too hehe.

Pioneer Square Station

My camera died on me after we went back to our hotel, but we didn't do much afterward! We walked all the way back down to the Waterfront to try out Elliott's Oyster Bar! Their fried and raw oysters were pretty good, and that satisfied our tummy for the night. We also went back to the world's first ever Starbucks (again) because it was so close, and because we felt like drinking Java Chip Frapp again, lol. Our 2nd routine of the night was going to Macy's to SHOP! Everything was on sale when we were there so we all got a big crazy =D

Summer in the West Coast: Seattle (Day 1)

2010-07-09T17:32:00.000+08:00

I only got interested in Seattle because of my infatuation with a certain Mr. Jay Park :D. While I was living in Toronto, I had absolutely no interest in coming here, and everyone that I talked to reminded me of how boring the city was and that staying there for 4 days was too much. I was going to prove them wrong.

We took Virgin America (for the 1st time) from LAX to Sea-Tac, and boy have I got a lot to rave about this airline! Free wifi, leather seats, chat from seat to seat, mood lighting, extra leg room, free snacks and to be able to watch real time TV?! Hell yeah! I was so in awe that I didn't even notice how fast the flight took.

I rarely sit in the window seat but I was happy I did this time because of the cute little U.S. flag. Not all of the airlines have this, do they?

Arrived in gloomy & chilly Seattle.
I was expecting sunshine. C'mon, it's still West Coast!

After grabbing our luggages, we headed out to the parking lot where all the cabs were and got a reality of how chilly it was. It was 52 degrees Fahrenheit. I wasn't expecting that kind of weather in June at ALL! Anyhow, we cabbed to downtown Seattle (we realized we got ripped off on the very last day...I'll get to this in a bit) to Westin, our hotel for the next few days. It was in a great location, right smack in downtown so it was close to everything.

Our view from the room was pretty nice, but we all just wanted a bit of sunshine..

It was just about 5pm so we walked a few blocks to Pike Place Market where we caught the crowd. The stalls were closing up for the day though so people were all in a rush.

This is how busy it gets, and the market is open every day! Most of the people there were tourists like us.

We also checked out the seafood area where we met Harry (the guy with the cool mustache)!

Infamous fish market where sellers do chants whenever they make a sale. It was entertaining for us but embarassing for the people buying stuff lol.

Beckii told me about this Gum Wall and I made sure to visit this! See all the colorful thing stuck on the wall? It's all gum! There was even a vending machine outside selling gum balls for people.

On the way to the Waterfront, I spotted the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Look at all those yummy chocolate apples! YUM!

After walking up & down and braving the chilly weather (my jackets didn't really keep me warm), we finally came to the Waterfront! Since it was still early and there weren't that many people, we decided to try out The Crab Pot.

We ended up trying out the The Alaskan Seafeast since it was their specialty. The experience was fun since they give you a chopping board thing so you can smash the crap out of the crab, but I honestly wasn't that impressed with the food. I didn't like how they put spices in the seafood since that took away the freshness of it, and on top of that, they added in a whole bunch of sausages, corn and potatoes. Wtf? If I'm paying $35.99, I better be eating some real seafood!

Result of our Seafeast

After this heavy dinner, we took a stroll back to Pike Place Market and finally stopped by the first ever Starbucks! This place was crowded all the time, and we ended up coming here for the next 3 days of our trip. I drank more coffee in Seattle than I ever did in Hong Kong. Crazy...

These items are exclusive to this store. You can't get them anywhere else. All I did was stock up on their Pike Place Coffee beans (& I don't even usually drink coffee lol).

When we walked out, the sun was greeting us with open arms.
Ahh it was a lovely treat to our "night"!

Day 2 coming up soon!

Summer in the West Coast: Page, Arizona

2010-06-30T19:36:00.001+08:00

We drove 5 hours from Las Vegas to Arizona, cut through Utah to arrive at a little town called Page. Before that, we drove past here:

Zion National Park, Utah

We weren't supposed to come here. We tried to avoid it actually because we didn't want to pay the $10 toll, but we missed an exit and the GPS told us to drive through here. Turns out we only had to pay once and we'd get to go to all the national parks in the U.S. for free since my uncle qualified! Driving around the sandstone canyon was incredible, and they let you park on the side of the road to take pictures.

Page, Arizona

Once we drove around the canyon, we reached our destination. It's 4,300 ft above sea level and is near the Glen Canyon Dam & Lake Powell. Most people that live here are from the Navajo Indian tribe and we met a few when we walked around town. We stayed overnight at a little motel called Debbie's Hide Away, which was rated the best on Tripadvisor.com. When we arrived, the guy that was in charge seem dazed so whenever we asked questions, he didn't seem to understand what we were saying & he kept saying "Totally rad", "totally awesome". It was...weird (to say the least). He came apologizing to us the next day and said he was drunk. Figures! Lol. He was much more helpful that day!

Horse Shoe Bend, Arizona

We went here before the sun set because according to the locals, that's when the best pictures are taken. When the sun hits the rocks, it gives it a brighter color. We had to hike for 3/4 mile before getting to this astounding view. The trail lead us to the top of the canyon.

This is the view at the start of the hike.

This is what we came to at the top. Gorgeous huh?

...and this is what everyone comes to take a picture of

Since it was still early by the time we left, we went to Glen Canyon as well.

Antelope Canyon, Arizona

The next day, we went to check this out. It was the highlight of the trip and it made the 5hr ride completely worth it! It was amazingly beautiful and pictures don't do it any justice. I definitely recommend everyone to come here if you ever have a chance, and take the Antelope Slot Canyon Tours that are owned and operated by the Navajo tribe. They are the best in town!

Before our tours, they did a hoop dance for us.

After a 10mins bumpy ride, we finally arrived at our destination!

Created over millions of years by wind and water, the forces of time have formed a cathedral of sandstone, where fluid waves, curls and arches join together to create a series of towering, narrow passages in a palette of warm colors.

The light in the middle is actually sand that was thrown up by the tour guides. It is really beautiful in real life the way it falls back to the ground.

More sand falling on the stones

See the wolf??

She was our quirky and funny tour guide, Shirley. If you go, ask for her! She'll make your trip that much better! :D She was sporting an Italia shirt that day & speaking in random jumbles of Italian because Italy was playing a match in the World Cup later in the afternoon :D

Finally, I leave you with this.

It's King Kong's face.

Summer in the West Coast: Las Vegas

2010-06-29T20:44:00.006+08:00

I was in the West Coast a week ago to go to my sis' graduation & to travel around. Vegas never gets boring for me, no matter how many times I've been or taking the same pictures over and over again. I think we all agree that it's the "Entertainment Capital of the World!" It is also one of the best places to people watch since people from around the world come here to experience the city that never sleeps!

When I travel with family, we always have make our routine stops before we head to the Strip. Our 1st stop is always Barstow Outlets. It's right off the I-15 so it's very convenient to stop by for a quick washroom break or to satisfy any shopping needs! They have the best discount prices for Coach out of all the outlets in & around California, so a lot of tours come here to stock up! There's also a variety of other brands such as Calvin Klein, American Eagle, Sunglass Hut, Polo etc.

Our 2nd meal of the day - a nice yummy, juicy burger at In & Out! This place gets really packed during lunch hours but they serve fast so it's totally worth it! Definitely get their Neopolitan milkshake...& of course, ask for their secret menu! You won't be disappointed!

We're almost there! See the hotels/casinos up in front?

You know, after being to Vegas so many times, I still haven't stepped inside the M&M store once! I made a plan to go check it out this time round, but our schedule was SO packed that it was impossible. This is the only picture I could get of the place.

Inside Encore/Wynn, finding our way to The Buffet!

Mm...look at those huge Alaskan Crab legs! After going through 4 or 5 plates of those, I got my money's worth!

The best meal of the day is always dessert, without a doubt. The candy apple was a tough one though. I gave up eating it after I realized I could never get to the core with that thick gunk around it...

As we were making our way back to the parking lot, I saw this Ferrari exhibition. Too bad us normal folks have to pay $10 to get in. It's free for Ferrari/Maserati owners though!

Vegas is so much more beautiful at night when all the lights come up! I really wanted to try the serendipity here since I've missed the frozen hot chocolate drink that I had in NYC eons ago, but alas...by the time we got there, it was already closed. Shame.

Our schedule was packed because we were going to see KA @MGM Grand! My sis booked early so we got great seats at a great price. I love Cirque shows but this is the first time that I've seen one in Vegas so it made it all the more special!

I took this picture when we were leaving Vegas. How ironic. It's not the first time either...

Our final stop before our long drive back to LA: Las Vegas Premium Outlets!

This place has all the brands you want, like FCUK, Diesel, Kate Spade, Polo, Quiksilver, Coach, Crabtree & Evelyn, 7FAM, BCBG, Burberry, D&G etc! The bad thing is it's all outdoors so when it's 38 degrees Celcius (which was what we experienced that day), you'd better get your sunscreen on hand!

I love going to Vegas. It's like another world on its own.
There's so much to do here that you'd not get bored. Well, unless you stay more than 3 days. By the way, there are SO many hot guys here. No joke.

Introduction (Round 3)

2010-06-29T10:12:00.000+08:00

I say "Round 3" because it's the 3rd time I've changed my blog content.
I swear this will be the last time.

Let's do the introduction proper this time!

Hi! I'm Alida, I live in Asia, I'm 20something yrs old and I love to travel!

I travel for leisure at least twice a year (sometimes more) & I try to go to places that I've never been before. I love experiencing new cultures and seeing what the place has to offer. I think it runs in the family because we're all avid travelers! We just came back from our 2 weeks vacation in the U.S. actually! I will definitely blog about that and I already have a few more trips planned until end of September!

Stay tuned for my adventures around the world!

If you wish to follow my everyday life in Hong Kong, you can follow me here!

Things that annoy me (Hk edition)

2010-01-20T13:10:00.000+08:00

You know how sometimes you don't want to cause a scene so you ignore things that happen around you? I've noticed it's happened a lot recently, so here's just a few I picked up on:

1. I generally hate rush hour traffic but the only time that you'll hear me swearing a lot is on the MTR. Firstly, why do people block the door area and refuse to step out of the way? That means no one can get either in or out! Secondly, what the heck are in people's backpacks?! It's huge, weighs like a ton of bricks, and takes up room! Don't think anyone likes it either when they get smacked by it. Lastly, why do people push their way into the crowd then get annoyed when others push them back?

2. Is it me, or does everyone in Hong Kong walk too slow?! I find myself zig-zagging through the hordes of people at any given time here. What about the groups of girls who take up the entire sidewalk to talk? Why can't they huddle into a corner and talk there? It baffles me but the most annoying ones are those who are walking in front of you & suddenly stop for no reason. You don't own the sidewalk!

3. If you've ever been to Ladies Market or Fa Yuen St., you'd know how tight space is. You will find it hard to walk from one end to another without stopping at least once or twice, and it'll probably take around 20mins or so. It's crowded & loud, and definitely not a place for parents to be bringing their babies to!

3. I was lining up at the ATM inside TST station one time, and the guy behind me would not stop muttering under his breath about how slow people were. As if he was the only one in a hurry! You know when people are impatient, they usually make lots of annoying sounds? Yeah, the guy was a master at that. The woman in front of me was depositing cheques & he made such a big fuss about it, telling her to shut the f up (she was talking on the phone) & that ATMs were made for only taking cash out.

4. Talking in English seems to attract all sorts of attention here such as finger pointing and whispering in groups. It's worse when you're Asian because people expect you to automatically speak in Chinese. Don't get me wrong, I can speak fluently but when I'm around friends, I normally switch to English. It's just a habit of mine! What's amusing is that since strangers don't expect you to understand Chinese, they will talk about you right in front of you. Imagine their reaction when we answer back!