Goodbyes & Hellos

Farewells are always difficult. This journal has been kind and happy, and so much more than just a journal. And I will miss it but I’m finally ready for something new.

So say hello to my new space: KIMBERLYKRISTENWONG.COM

KIMBERLYKRISTENWONG.COM
See you on the flip side x

SEOUL TOWER

Possibly the most touristy thing we did on our trip to Seoul was take a cable car up to the Seoul (Namsan) Tower. We whiled awhile, watching martial arts performances and listening to drum beats. And then even though we knew exactly how gimmicky it was, we couldn’t resist – and declared our everlasting love, on (ridiculously expensive) little love lockets.

ROADTRIP TO SCOTLAND

It was a seven hour drive from London up to Scotland. We rented a lovely two bedroom serviced apartment by the bay where we spent a week eating microwave-meals and looking out the balcony into beautiful blue seas and perfect sunsets.

On our second day, we drove further up Scotland onto a cruise and then further up the highlands. It was a perfect drive- endless blue skies, streams of sunshine, brilliant 21° weather. We sang along to the Killers and ate a lunch of fresh seafood in a little bed & breakfast that looked like it was nestled in the clouds.

And then we got on some all-terrain-vehicles (ATVs) and sped up into the highlands for a scenic tour. We even got to see some mountain cows & sheep! More gorgeous pictures under the cut!

HDB-GHOST-TOWN

Drove through the Lim Chu Kang cemeteries, which was more dark and peaceful, than spooky, to be honest. We then drove down the longest strength of road ever to Neo Tiew estate, where we found the abandoned HDB estate that now belongs to the army – Daren & his commando friends had trainings there before.

As the story goes, the estate of HDB flats were built back in 1979, but have been abandoned for slightly more than 10 years now. Legend has it that the king of the banana trees were planted behind the estate. A fortune-seeker prayed at the tree, in hopes of winning the lottery. He even went to the extent of threatening the Banana Tree King by pushing seven pins into the tree. After becoming rich, he completely forgot to remove the pins, leaving the king of the banana tree to die. It is believed by many that the spirit has been roaming the estate, seeking his revenge ever since.

MICHELIN STARRED DIM SUM

Everything was amazing (my justification for the hastily, horribly taken pictures in this post) and the prices were very reasonable. Cheap, in fact, for the quality of the food. If I had to choose a “best dish”, for me it had be to the 叉烧包 Char Siew Bao. The filling was hot and gooey and tender and tasty, and instead of the usual bao, this one wrapped with a crispy pastry. It took me completely by surprise and totally blew my mind. And that’s saying something, considering the fact that I’m not even a fan of Char Siew Bao.

The Caucasians at the table next to us were rather entertaining. Perhaps not used to the Asian culture of sharing food, they each ordered a portion of everything for themselves. 6x Char Siew Bao, 6x Har Gao, 6x Carrot Cake, 6x Glutinous Rice etc etc etc….. We did a quick count and I think they had more than 50 trays of Dim Sum between the 6 of them. They ended up offering us some of their food, and were soon shouting in the tiny restaurant “Does anyone want free food?! Anyone? Anyone at all? Free food!”

But as a side note I should warn you that we reached at 930am and the queue was already as pictured above. By the time the restaurant opened at 10, the queue had snaked all the way down the street. Being a small sized restaurant with perhaps a maximum sitting of 30 at most, we were lucky enough to get in within the first sitting. It wasn’t until quarter to eleven (a whole forty five minutes later) when the first table stood up to leave that the party right behind us in the queue managed to get a table- imagine waiting an hour fifteen minutes for dim sum, and in the cold too!

All the same, I’d definitely go back and brave the queue, because quite frankly, it’s the BEST Dim Sum I’ve ever had.

皮蛋 Maki

Who knew that 皮蛋 (Century Eggs) + Salmon Sashimi would make for such a delightful combination?

Jönköping

The highlight of our trip to Sweden was a home-stay in Jönköping. Daren has family there, and they graciously hosted us in their huge and lovely house amidst lush greenery and right by the lake- it was literally like a scene from “The Notebook”.

“THE GRASS IS GREEN & THE GIRLS ARE PRETTY”

Amsterdam: The Red Light District- live sex shows, gay bars, sex shops, girls in the windows- you name it, they got it. Charming streets with canals everywhere you look, bicycles as the main mode of transportation, wooden clogs and the Van Gogh Museum, Soccer fever- free beer in the name of the Dutch team spirit. And the best damn kebab (turkish pizza) I’ve ever tried in my life- I usually ate it twice a day and had at least 2 at a time, I still dream of it sometimes, oh!

FREE BEER FOR EVERY DUTCH GOAL

THE HEINEKEN EXPERIENCE

The Heineken Experience: With simulator rides, actually trying a hand at making beer, recording your own Heineken commercial, beer games, pint-pouring skill tests, creating your own personal bottle and everything from barley to beer on offer to taste; this was definitely one of the most interactive beer/alcohol museum I’ve experienced, and well worth a visit if you’re in Amsterdam. Although I have to say that the Guinness factory in Dublin had a much more awesome gift store, and everyone knows how much fun it is running around a gift store acquiring enough uselessness to last a lifetime!

And of course, an ice cold beer to top it all off!

AMSTERDAM: NC16 CONTENT

Our first day in Amsterdam was spent strolling the Bloemenmarkt (flower market), wandering in and out the ubiquitous “Magic Mushroom” shops, exploring the sex museum, feasting on sushi, but not just sushi……. ;) Okay I’m very lazy to type, so I’m gonna let the pictures do the talking……..

SEX MUSEUM