This is part of an ongoing series. To start at the beginning, click here. So off we go on our itinerary! We landed in Macau International Airport just before 7pm. Checking out of immigration was pretty quick, probably one of the fastest i have gone through in my years of travel. It was drizzling lightly outside, but we soon realized over the next few days that spring rain in Macau falls really, really light – tiny tiny droplets that seem to float light snowflakes. So even if its drizzling, its still comfortable to walk outdoors. Its nothing compared to the torrential rains here in Malaysia. Anyway, once out of the…

Back in 2007, my kids were just out of the toddler ages, and we were beginning to plan for overseas family holidays. We started in 2006 (when my younger kid was just 3) to Singapore, it was manageable. So in 2007 we decided to go for Hong Kong, with the then newly opened Disneyland one of attractions to visit. But more than that, Hong Kong was a culmination of years and years of watching TVB serials on TV and video. Well, far more for my wife than for me, but when I was small my mom used to watch on the telly, and also borrow the videos every week religiously…

This comes a bit late, seeing that its almost the end of Q1 in 2016. But for the sake of posterity and keeping with tradition, I’m putting this out before I start with my Macau travelogue. I’ve been doing this annually for 8 years now, so that counts for something. You can view the previous years’ editions here: 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 Anyway, without further ado, here we go! 1. New House! Perhaps the biggest event this year was our move the new house. This was a huge event, with more than a year of planning and shopping. The approvals, renovations, decorating and furnishing took about 5…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. So its been over two months since we came back from Korea, and the memories are still fresh in our minds. As far as family holidays, ever since we started going back in 2006 (wow, its been 10 years…!) this is no doubt the best and most ambitious one. It helped that we had a year to do planning and research, and good friends who had just gone before us to give us tips and itineraries to follow. Would we return to Korea? Of course, and very soon. Next time, maybe we’ll visit Busan. But we’ll…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. After walking around COEX Mall a bit, we decided to go to have dinner at another mall, Galleria Department Store. At the basement of this department store is a famous upmarket food court called Gourmet 494. This place was recommended by a friend, where its website describes itself as “high end, gourmet product hall that features carefully selected, eco-friendly products and healthy trends in dietary culture”. Whoa, who wouldn’t be impressed with buzzwords like ‘dietary culture‘??! So off to the subway we went. As mentioned before, COEX Mall spans 2 subway stations. Galleria was 2 stations…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. After a rather heavy lunch, we walked further up the street to the main road to catch a bus to COEX Mall. Unfortunately, this was the only time my research on Google Maps failed me. The bus that we were supposed to catch was not listed at the bus stop. Korea has a very sophisticated bus system – most bus stops have a list of all the buses that stop there, and a diagram showing their route. Some bus stops even have a scrolling LED sign showing you when the next bus will arrive. So anyway,…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. Day 8 in Korea! And this is our last full day! It also happens to be Sunday. The plan today is to go to Gangnam to see Apgujeong Rodeo Street, visit Cofioca, SMTown and Coex Mall. Basically, all the attractions south of the river. Towards the end of our week here in Seoul, weather has been getting progressively colder every day. Today was no different, cold. This is the view outside our hotel. We took a subway all the to Apgujeong station. This whole area – Apgujeong, Sinsadong, Garousil – is well known as the richest…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. Lunch at Toshokchon samgyetang took a little longer than expected, as the haemul paejon took a long time to arrive (but was the best we had during our entire trip). Which meant we missed the guard changing ceremony at the entrance of the palace. Ah well, maybe next trip. We did manage to get some pics with the guards. (I find it funny the guards have to wear fake goatees) Also, lesson #1 about these guards – don’t touch them in any way. The main entrance to Gyeongbokgung is at the south, via Gwanghwamun Square, walking…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. Saturday, Day 7 in Korea, its a full week already! Today, we are doing the palace circuit. The plan was to wake up early, start with Gyeongbokgung, the biggest and most famous palace. 10.00 am is the changing of the guards. The we planned to visit Bukchon Hanok Village, eat the famous Toshokchon samgyetang (chicken ginseng soup), continue on to Changdeokgung, and if time permitting, visit samcheongdong. Usually, tourist visit the palaces on their first day in Seoul, especially if the weather is good, and this requires a lot of walking outdoors, so best to do…

This is part of an ongoing travelogue, to start at the beginning click here. Friday Day 6 was our last day in Jeju, we flew back to Seoul in mid morning. Our very nice houseowner’s brother booked a taxi to the airport for KRW 35,000. The taxi driver was a chatty guy who kept trying to introduce us to jazz music. The journey from Seogwipo to the hotel took about 40 minutes and outside the cities, the roads are quite deserted. For once we got to the airport early. We bought some nice souvenirs here including the yummy hallabong chocolates. And then we sat and waited. (a yet to be…