Last night in Seoul (for now)

Ah well... saying my goodbyes while driving through the ultra trendy Gangnam, Apgujeong and Myeongdong on a Saturday night seems to be the way I capped off my trip here (we also dropped by a friend's house)...

Looks like I have work on Monday to look forward to (and another definite future trip).

Goodnight Seoul... Jal ja!

Summary of my stay in Seoul

Well it's been a whirlwind of a week. I had a handful of friends I wanted to meet and never did I know that my schedule would be pretty packed initially.

Let's see... among the highlights...

1) buddaejigge! (I love spam)
2) the royal tombs at Gyeonggi
3) partying with friends at Yongsinnae
4) partying with James and gang at Dae Hak Ro twice
5) doing the gauntlet on Club Day at Hongdae
6) the race track and the art gallery at Kwachon
7) shopping at Insadong and Dongdaemun
8) Nanta!
9) 2046

But my top highlight would be meeting Jin Sook (especially), Jung Sook, Mi Sun, Young Kyung, Hyo Soon, James and Bunny for the first time.

Oh yes... I left my heart in Seoul yet again...

Photos will come when I get home to my PC and upload them. One more night to go before I get on the airplane tomorrow morning. If tradition holds, it will be a quiet night (just the way I like it). I'll definitely be saying my goodbyes *sob*

By the way, if anyone plans to come here, renting a handphone is relatively cheap and a great idea (Thanks for the suggestion James!).

My Hotel

It's a lovely place to stay and relatively cheap. Since this is my 3rd stay in this hotel this year alone...

http://www.hotelnoblesse.co.kr

It's a little out of town but you can get around well enough on the extensive subway system.

Shopping In Seoul

You know you can really spend a lot of money here... so far, I bought
- some cuddly toy thingies you hang on your handset (to give as gifts to my female friends here)
- some korean movie DVDs - both original and copies
- a nice Burberry shirt (dunno about the authenticity but it sure looks good) from Dongdaemun market
- a couple of books from the large Kyobo Book Centre
- the OST to 2046 (since it was very atmospheric)

And I think I'm not really done yet...

Photos from Dae Hak Ro (Nanta's aftermath Part II)

Those who would like to view the FR on the night out last night (including photos of the gang indulging in sollangtang) can view them at James' exquisitely written website :)

http://hometownyeouido.blogspot.com/2004/10/busy-busy-day.html

Nanta's aftermath

Nanta is still one cool show. I remember it vividly from when I first watch it at some hall in Cheras but I guess the experience I had with the show in Seoul is a little more intimate especially with a smaller, cosier and definitely more conducive hall.

http://www.nanta.co.kr

Definitely a must see for anyone visiting Seoul (and Seoullites too)!

That said, we capped off the night with a couple more shots at Kkoon at Dae Hak Ro courtesy of Mr James B and we finished with some sollangtang across the road with James, Yusheng and Bunny.

Nanta!

Possibly off to watch this off-beat but really cool percussion stage show tonight. I heard they're normally fully booked but a friend's gonna try and obtain some tickets. I've actually seen the show when it was on tour to Malaysia but I heard they change the show often enough to warrant repeated viewings.

Cold dry air giving me sore throat and a bad cold though...

Wong Kar Wai's 2046

Watched it at Daehan Cinema 1 in Chungmuro in Seoul. It was subtitled in Korean so I only understood most of the Cantonese, some of the Mandarin and a little of the Japanese used.

Some quick points about the movie...

- cinematography is exquisite. WKW did some interesting shots especially with obscuring most of the screen with curtains or walls.
- this is Zhang Ziyi's movie. she is so sexy here and I definitely enjoyed the movie because of her.
- I found both Lau Kar Ling and Wong Fei (Faye Wong) to be underused. LKL looks old amongst FW and ZZY. As for Gong Li... well, I didn't like her character at all. She felt out of place.
- I did not like the 'future' scenes... I thought they were too inane and slow.

That said, my fellow audience members almost fell asleep.

Cold cold cold

Gosh it's cold. I'm sure it has dipped below 10 degrees celcius. My nose is running! Even after several shots of bekseju, I'm freezing... but I'm loving it.

I'm also getting used to the subway system. It's fast and cheap but make sure you're fit because you're in for a lot of walking on long walkways, tunnels and staircases in between lines (transferring).

Tiring holiday so far...

Our schedule has been packed since day 1 in Seoul... and initially I was worried that I would have nothing to do since it was my 3rd time here in a year!

Here's an example...

http://hometownyeouido.blogspot.com/2004/10/weekend-in-seoul-aka-yushengs-big.html

That's the report on the VT meet we had at Dae Hak Ro on Saturday.

I've also eaten a ton of food from buddaejigge to samgyopsal and we caught 2046 last night. Fellow audience members said it was boring but I loved it!

More reports (and pics) to come when I have the time. I'm off for another appointment already :)

Land Of The Morning Calm

Am typing this while at my hotel in Seoul, Korea. Updates won't be so frequent but I'll always be reachable via email!

Will be away till 31/10/04. Ooh the weather's lovely here... constantly between 10 and 15 degrees Celcius... I hear it will hit 5 degrees tomorrow... yay! You can tell I love the cold eh?

Zenith Class Sport El Primero Chronograph

My latest acquisition, the Zenith Class Sport, with the legendary internals of the El Primero (Calibre 400). I'm so infatuated!


This post would not be complete without a shot of its movement, right?

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

TagBoard removed

I just removed the TagBoard after finding the pop-up originating from it to be annoying.

Hamilton Multitouch

Never knew that Hamilton has their own version of the classic Tissot T-Touch. It's called the Multitouch. Makes sense though since both companies belong to the all encompassing Swatch Group.

Hamilton Multitouch
http://watch-tanaka3.sub.jp/HAMILTON/H91554133/

Tissot T-Touch
http://watch-tanaka2.sub.jp/page092.htm

Beautiful Rolex Specimens

A picture says 1000 words...

Daytona White Gold
http://www.ukwatches.com/BaselGVA2004/WGDaytona.jpg

Green Sub
http://www.ukwatches.com/Basel03/16610-LV_93250.jpg

The Zenith Collection III is Zenith's latest 'brochure'. I used the quotes simply because the book is so much more than a mere brochure... it's beautiful! I'm lucky to have one!

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

PeteW of the Seiko vs Citizen forum bought the 40th Anniversary Seiko Kinetic Chrono!!! I'm so envious. Read his wonderful tribute here...

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Part 3 of the Japan Quartz vs Swiss Mechanical article in Goods Press translated!!!

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Thai Food At De Chiengmai and wine!

For those of you who are unaware, this thai restaurant is an oasis in the secluded Sungai Buloh. It is owned by some thai proprietors so you can expect the food to be authentic.

We had dinner last night at the new palatial premises (the old one was recently demolished for unknown reasons). Ordered some som tam, kai lan ikan masin, tomyam goong and the star of the night, siakap steamed in ginger and plum sauce (I can still remember the piquant taste on the tip of my tongue.

Need directions? Just ask...

That said, subsequent to dinner, we arrived at Wine Cottage at Changkat Raja Chulan for some lovely Chardonnay (coupled with cheese and crackers)... yum... went home inundiated for some deserved slumber...

Beautiful beautiful Credor Node. Another example of the pinnacle of Seiko. Pity they aren't available locally.

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

The Credor Spring Drive... a beautiful Seiko that has a handwind mechanism. It's actually a new development from them and really REALLY exquisite.

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

A high grade 9T82 kinetic chronograph LE from Seiko. Only 300 in existence to commemorate their 40th anniversary of the Seiko Chronograph.

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

"The Citizen"... the pinnacle of Citizen's watches. You can call it their counterpart to the Grand Seiko.

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Ooh... really affordable and funky - The Seiko Wired is Japan's answer to Swatch. Have a look! They are not only exclusive but also affordable!

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Citizen Campanola... among the most complex quartz watches in the world. Though I prefer mechanical watches, I cannot help but appreciate the Japanese beauty in this specimen.

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Found it! My next acquisition (unless something else comes up) will be the Zenith Class Sport. It's decently affordable and has the legendary El Primero Movement. I just cannot stop thinking about it since it smiled at me the moment I put it on my wrist.

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Melaka Darul Datuk

Bwahahahah... TV Smith is always so scathing yet so funny...

Have a look...

http://www.mycen.com.my/duasen/141004_queue.html

This is of course in relation to the furore over Melaka's massive datukship campaign...

Here
http://www.jeffooi.com/archives/2004/10/caught_in_the_j.php

and here...
http://www.jeffooi.com/archives/2004/10/datukship_not_a.php

Light fruity snacks that are truly Malaysian

Want a refreshing yet sinfully tasty/spicy dish to cleanse your palate?

1) Cut up some water apples (jambu air), pineapples, green mangoes or green guava (jambu batu)
2) Get a dipping bowl and throw in some smashed and slices bird's eye chillies (cili padi)
3) Add a few dollops black tauyu (black soy sauce) into the mix
4) Throw in a few spoonfuls of sugar
5) Add a couple spoonfuls of he-koh (otak udang/prawn paste)
6) Mix it all up into a thick disgusting looking paste (adjust accordingly)
7) Use the paste as a dipping sauce for the cubed/sliced fruits

Yum! But rest assured, weak tummies will not thank you for this!

It's either the Sinn 756 UTC


Or the Sinn 356 Flieger II.


Sinns are famous for being the German army's tool watches and both specimens are beautiful among the Sinn lineup... but I'm leaning towards the 756 UTC. What do you think? I must say that the copper dial on the Flieger II is very enticing!
Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

The Hamilton Khaki Navy GMT is a thing of beauty. It's also the most affordable Swiss GMT and is made by the Swatch Group.

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

It is my lifelong dream to own the Lange 1 from A Lange & Sohne. This manual wind can be said to be the pinnacle of watches. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Ooo... part 2 of the debate between Japanese quartz and Swiss mechanicals...
Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Beautiful Seiko Kinetics

Gosh... these are really beautiful specimens from Seikos. Unfortunately, they are JDM. If you want them, ask me and I'll tell you how you can buy them.

http://www.higuchi-inc.com/sbdv003-1.jpg
http://www.higuchi-inc.com/sage001b.jpg

They both house 7L22 Kinetic movements but both are titanium and definitely higher quality than an Arctura
http://www.seikowatches.com/arctura/chronograph.asp

or this Sportura
http://www.roachman.com/seiko/kinetic/SNL017P.html

which also house the same movement.

Taegukgi

What else can be said of this monumental production? Taegukgi is said to be the biggest production from Asia ever... and who am I to argue? It is indeed astounding yet violent and tragic. A must watch!



Here's a trailer courtesy of YesAsia...

http://image.yesasia.com/assets/videos/11/1003831511_clip.wmv

Ghost In The Shell - Innocence

Finally watched it today... wow what a mindblowing anime. The animation and detail is astounding yet the story seems subdued due to Motoko's small role (she does appear in ghost form towards the end). Yes the durian subtitles sucked but the movie made more sense to me than most viewers as I have not only watched the first movie but am also familiar with Shirow's manga as well as having watched GITS - Stand Alone Complex (which is a superb series). Now waiting for GITS - SAC 2nd Gig complete set.

Just bought this Zippo for my friend in Korea... it's a Black Ice Zippo... lovely eh? I'm contemplating collecting Zippos even though I don't smoke!

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Japan Quartz vs Swiss Mechanical

An interesting read...
http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=78440&messageid=1097492558

Whoa... the 'new' Rolex Turnograph... pretty thing eh?

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

New Contax compacts

Oh... how sleek of Contax to bring out some nice looking models into their lineup. I wonder if their image quality will hold up.

Have a look!

Contax i4R
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0409/04092809contax_i4r.asp

Contax U4R
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0409/04092808contax_u4r.asp

Citizen Promasters

I've always been excited with this range of watches from Citizen. They are eco-drive powered and durable. Have a look at the catalog courtesy of one of the watch enthusiasts from the Seiko vs Citizen forum...

http://home.planet.nl/~kamp2527/promaster/promaster.html

Just had dinner at Italianni's at 1 Utama. They just opened yesterday and their claim to fame is being associated with TGIF. My verdict? The pros - enthusiastic young staff, HUGE portions and reasonable prices. The cons - food was a little bland and the meatballs were too tough and dry. The pizzas should have been thin crusted too.
Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Bloody hell... didn't know that buying a Rolex can make you money. A friend bought a Rolex for SGD5000+ and then sold it several months later for SGD6000+!!!

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

If you're looking for Dumplings heheheh...

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

The 2nd set of Three is now out...

This time, Three consists of 3 movies from Fruit Chan (HK) - Dumplings, Takashi Miike (Japan) -Box and Park Chan Wook (Korea) - Cut.

I'm a great fan of Miike (who did Ichi the Killer) and Park (who did the Grand Prix winning OldBoy).

I managed to get the Fruit Chan portion, Dumplings on durian last week... it's very entertaining. Christopher Doyle provides his normal photography skills which is lovely.

Fyi, Dumplings is about eating dumplings made from baby foetuses...

Can't wait for Miike's and Park's portions...
Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Retro shoes are cool aren't they? I just got myself a pair of these Adidas Rio Grandes... damn comfortable. Hope they last... they cost a pretty penny I must say!

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Another absolutely brilliant game for the PS2 is Aruze's Shadow Hearts II : Covenant. If you're a fan of RPGs, this is another must-not-miss... gay references aside of course heheh... Here's another biting comic from Penny Arcade on the issue. Take it as you will :)

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

You know, only in recent times have I started to truly play my PS2 games... there's a ton of good stuff out there lately... Burnout 3 is one of those you MUST NOT miss! Anyway, Namco released this extremely creative gem, Katamari Damacy. The game designer must have been smoking something hefty when creating this game. Have a peek at the parody made by Penny Arcade, one of my daily favourite webcomics...

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Google goo!?!?! Wtf?!?!? Found it after digging into the Google stores...

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Testing the update function of my Blog

Testing the update function of my Blog via email. This means that I can also do it via MMS! Pity it won't take photos via MMS yet :(

And finally, my 'other' hangout on watches... expansive forums to rival timezone.com

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

More about watches! This time, it's probably the ultimate site on horological devices!

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Always had a question on Omega watches? Then drop by http://www.chronocentric.com

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

After long deliberation, I bought this watch in August... the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra. She's a beaut, ain't she?

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Time for me to plug my own website... here are my galleries of photos. You all know me to be someone who loves photography... now you can see it for yourself :)

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Got a question about auto-detailing? Feel free to visit my forum on it...

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

One of my favourite sites... the Seiko vs Citizen forum. If you were always curious about Japanese watches (they also discuss about Orient and occasionally Casio watches here), then this is the place to be!

Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan

Time for me to restart my blog... apologies to whatever 'audience' I ever had hahahaha...
Copyright (c) Kelvin Tan