We have some cardboard boxes collected from neighbours for craft work, and since it’s the festive season, I decided to do up a Christmas tree, inspired from this website.
I didn’t do any measurement or use any template. Simply sketched directly on the board and cut it.
Cut-out of carboard Christmas tree
I cut another template and cut it vertically half. Then, we painted the pieces!
The last part, is to put them together and decorate it. In the spirit of upcycling, we used bottle caps and breadbag tags for decoration.
Such a easy-peasy DIY project to do with kids this holiday!
Insadong is a cultural district that gives off a very rustic and old-school vibe. Located within the Jogno-gu district, it is popular among tourists as it is a walking distance to other tourist attractions such as Cheonggyecheon Stream and Gyeongbokgung Palace. In fact, you can head over to Insadong first to rent a set of hanbok so that you can role-play as court lady back in Joseon Dynasty as you tour around the compound of the palace. You also earn a free entry to any of the palaces if you wear hanbok. After you’re done visiting the palace and head back to return the hanbok, you can continue to explore Insadong.
The traditional ambience makes it good for an afternoon stroll. On weekend, the main street is closed from traffic (2pm to 10pm on Saturday and 10am to 10pm on Sunday). The main street is Insadong-gil, which is connected to twisting alleys on both side, so don’t forget to explore those alleys too! Within these narrow alleys are hanbok galleries, traditional restaurants, tea houses, and cafes. Insadong is also a great place to do all your traditional souvenir shopping – metal chopsticks, magnets, hanbok, colourful table cloth and brightly coloured korean gift bag!
To take a break and rest from all the walking, I recommend 47 Avenue Tea House.
It is located at the alley on the right, a few minutes walk away from Exit 6 of Anguk Station. Look out for its stand at one of the junction- you won’t miss it!
walking into the tea house, you will feel like you have been transported back to the past as the tea house is located in a hanok (korean traditional house). It has traditional, rustic background and lush greenery, which let you up your Instagram game 😉
47 Avenue Tea House in Insadong
47 Avenue Tea House in Insadong
47 Avenue Tea House in Insadong
The serenity of the place definitely makes it a good place to sit back, relax and enjoy an afternoon snack.
Sneak peek of tea and snacks available
Customers have the choice to for modern setting of chairs and table or traditional setting of sitting on the floor. As the floor was heated and it was a cold winter, we opted to sit on the floor. It was soooooo warm. And also because it seems apt to enjoy traditional tea in a hanok whilst seating on the floor.
The interior is really pretty, isn’t it?
Even the toilet is pretty with dressing table!
I was taken aback not just by the interior design and deco of the tea house, but by this row of huge glass jars too! The tea served here are homemade and prepared in-house at the tea house itself.
Once we got our table, we were ready to order. Lets take a look at the menu!
We had 1 of set meal 1 as we wanted to try yakgwa, Korean traditional honey cookie. We also ordered 2 additional glasses of tea and the rice cake.
The drinks for the set meal were served in a really huge cup! And the 2 additional teas were served in a bowl.
The cup is almost as big as my face!
We also heard the traditional tea served have health benefit. The warm tea also feels so good on a cold, winter.
My family took our time with the snack, laze around looking out of the window and just taking in the tranquility and enjoying the moment 🙂
The 47 Avenue traditional tea house is definitely a cosy place for a short respite and I recommend to anyone visiting Insadong to try this experience.
There are plenty of Halal restaurants at Itaewon, but the one went to are Eid and Makan restaurant both are the more popular ones and run by locals that we had to give it a try!
1. Eid Restaurant
Address: 67, Usadan-ro 10-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul Contact: +82 070 8899 8210 Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 11.30 am – 9.00 pm (Close on Moday) Directions
How to get to Eid Restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul:
Direction to Eid Restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul (Korea)
Exit 3 of Itaewon station. Continue to walk straight as you step out of the exit and turn right at the first junction. Then, turn left at the third alley/ road.
It is about 15 min walk and uphill for most parts. It might not be convenient to have it every day, especially with luggage or with elderly.
Menu:
When we arrived for dinner, there were limited items on the menu. Only 4 dishes displayed on the ipad, but nonetheless, the meals were delicous!
Tips: Make reservation, especially if you will be arriving at lunch or dinner time as the space is quite small.
and especially during winter as you would want to wait outside in the cold night, like we did.
2. Makan Restaurant Korean Halal Food
Address: 52, Usadan-ro 10 gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea 140-911 Contact: +82 2-6012-2231 Opening Hours: Mon, Wednesday to Sunday: 10.30 am to 10 pm (Close on Tuesday) Directions Similar to Eid Restaurant, it is about 10 to 15 min walk from Exit 3 of Itaewon station.
Direction to Makan Restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul (Korea)
Menu
Menu for Makan Restaurant Korean Halal Food
They also have a new outlet around the area too.
Details below:
Makan 2: 1Floor C-Dong 39,Usadan-ro 10 gil, Youngsan-gu ,Seoul,Korea
Tel: +82 2 6406 2231
Tips: Make reservation, especially if you will be arriving at lunch or dinner time as the space is quite small.
3. Yang Good Halal BBQ
The only halal Korean bbq in Seoul
Address: Seoul, Gangnam-gu, Nonhyeon-ro, 95 gil, 15 Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday: 4.00 pm to 12.00 am (Closed on Sunday) Directions:
Address: 11-4, 8 Myeongdong-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea Contact: +82 2-777-8660 Opening Hours: 10.00 am to 10.30 pm daily Directions
Exit 6 or 7 of Myeongdong Station. With Uniqlo on your right and Nature Republic on your left, walk straight ahead. It is about 3 to 5 min walk. Walk closer to the buildings on the right. You will walk past F21 and Zara. Keep walking straight until you see Apple Frisbee Shop. Turn right into the alley just before the Apple Frisbee shop. The alley is also opposite ABC mart.
Direction to Busan Jib from Myeongdong Station
Menu
5. Grilled Fish Alley
This grilled fish alley is at Dongdaemun Market area.
Directions: Walk straight from exit 8 of Dongdaemun Station. Walk straight ahead with JW Marriot Hotel on your right and the stream on your left. Keep walking straight and then turn right into the market area. Turn left at the first alley.
Data SIM card is a must for most travellers because one get to update your travel stories on social media.
Before leaving the airport, make sure you get your prepaid SIM card. At Hong Kong International Airport, there’s a retail shop conveniently at the arrival hall, after exiting from luggage collection.
There are few plans for the prepaid SIM card.
Hmm, which card should I get?
It can be quite tricky deciding which plan to go for, especially if you’re heading to Shenzhen or Macau too.
But, don’t worry! This chart will help you to decide on which plan is best for you.
Which Prepaid SIM card to buy in HK for tourists?
The best part of doing it here is that the staff will help you to fix the SIM card and ensure it’s functioning. So if there’s anything that need to be troubleshoot, the staff will be able to do so.
Islamic Centre Canteen is located at Level 5 of Masjid Ammar and Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre.
Once you enter the building, turn right for the lift lobby.
And you can just walk right into the canteen.
The only place for halal dimsum in Hong Kong
Once in the canteen, get a menu from the waiter/ waiteress.
You will also be given a piece of paper. Make sure you have it all the time when making order.
You don’t have to write anything on it to order. It’s meant for the staff. You can order the main dish from them. To order the dimsum simply walk over to the dimsum counter, and ask for the dish. You can also bring over the menu and point to which one you would like.
Once you get your dimsums, head over back to your table. Cutleries are also there and it’s self-service.
The main dish is quite a good portion for 1 serving. The regular plate is at least for 2-3 pax!
It’s on 2 plates but it’s actually 1 serving of its regulate plate. I portion it for my lunch and had to pack the remaining, which will be my dinner.
A few weeks ago, I went down to Kranji Marshes to recce for the next #sglitteXplorers by #familytrippersXfest
Kranji Marshes
Kranji Marshes is one of nature parks opened to public in the recent years. It was officially launched on 1 Oct 2016, as part of the World Wetlands Day. With its official launch for public, it is Singapore’s largest freshwater marshland, occupying over 56 ha. Other than freshwater marshland, look out also for woodland and grass habitats.
Opening hours
Kranji Marshes is open daily, 7am to 7pm.
Getting there
Located along the northwestern shore, it is out of the way and inconvenient to get there by pubic transport. However, there’s shuttle service to Kranji Marshes for those who don’t drive. Visitors can board Kranji Express from Kranji MRT Station.
Kranji Express Schedule
This operates daily from 8.30 am to 5.45 pm and you can check out the schedule here. You’ll need to bring exact change for the fees ($3 for adults and $1 for children and senior citizens). Alight at D’Kranji Farm Resort. From the main exit of D’Kranji, head to the right and walk down the road.
Route Map of Kranji Marshes
Route map of Kranji Marshes
Take note that the whole area of Kranji Marshes is not open to public. The Core Conservation Area is closed to the public to minimise disturbances to wildlife. The West Marsh, within the Core Conservation Area, is open to public on certain days and times. You can enter and exit the West Marsh from the gate near Moorhen Blind. No registration is required and if you’re keen, check out NParks page here for the schedule. Monthly free guided walk led by NParks volunteers are also open to public on Saturday evenings. Each guided walk is limited to 20 participants and registration is compulsory. Details of the guided walk can be found here.
So, are we ready to explore Kranji Marshes?
I love the outdoor classrooms area at Kranji Marshes. It also makes a good spot for assembly area or briefing zone. One of it is at the main entrance, a perfect place for meeting point.
Sheltered outdoor space at Kranji Marshes
Since Kranji Marshes is a great place for bird observatory, especially migratory birds, so why not learn a thing or two about birds?
Turn left after this structure to start your Kranji Marshes nature walk
Right after this is a looooooong walk.
Long, straight path of Kranji Marshes
About 20 min walk
But it’s not all that boring cuz of the lush, greenery around. Don’t forget look up for birds and they might also even be around the grass land, cuz we even spotted a Moor Hen crossing the path. But unfortunately no photo of it as it moved too fast for us. Here are some of what we saw…
We think that is an eagle
Millipede
Does it remind you of scenes from Hobbits?
This is where the moor hen quickly hide itself
Look carefully and you’ll see that there are actually more than 10 birds on this free!
There are also a few information board, like this one about leaf litter community.
Do look out for snakes as we spot the skin of a snake that had been shed.
It looks like a rope on the ground…
But hey, there’s pattern on it.
Oh wait, it’s not rope.
It is snake skin!! *gasp*
After about 20 min leisure walk, we finally got to the more exciting spot, aka instgrammable spots at the Marsh Station area.
Told ya, it’s a loooooong walk!
Now… to the more exciting part.. the Marsh Station!
1. Lookout point form observation tower
Observation tower at Kranji Marshes
Observation tower at Kranji Marshes
Observation tower at Kranji Marshes
2. Hide to observe bird
The view from the hide
The view from the hide
The view from the hide
3. Bridge
My favourite is the classroom area under the bridge!
Another outdoor classroom area at Kranji Marshes
View from the bridge at Kranji Marshes
View from the bridge at Kranji Marshes
View from the bridge at Kranji Marshes
4. Resting spot
With quirky design 😉
Once you’re done at Marsh Station, head back to the carpark area through the same route.
Do visit Kranji Marshes and I hope you guys will have a great adventure there!
Busan is known as a coastal city, which means you definitely have to try the seafood here. And of course, the best and freshest ones are from the market.
Make a trip to Jagalchi Market and you get to have a scrumptious piping hot meal prepared with fresh catch of the day!
Here’s our dinner that we had there. It feels soooooo good on that cold night!
It was a large serving for 3 of us and with plenty of the side dishes too. We loved it so much that we made another trip again the next day for our lunch.
If you want a yummylicious seafood meal in Busan, head over to Jagalchi Market. Simple take the subway and alight at Jagalchi Station, and exit by exit 10. There are plenty of shops to explore but definitely don’t miss out on having a meal here!
This will be my fourth trip to South Korea, but this will be the first with my family. So, while preparing to plan for our trip (ahem, I’ll be their tour guide for this trip), I’ve decided to draw up the places all onto a list for a reference as I plan our day-to-day itinerary.
I’m sure many others will find it useful, so I’m putting it up here 🙂 You can download the list of places of attraction in Seoul here.
I’m also putting up maps for some of the places listed in the table.
First up, we have walking trail/ course suitable for half-day trip or a day trip.
Walking trail
1. Bukchon village
Don’t forget to snap photos of Bukchon 8 view while on its walking course.
2. Cheonggyecheon stream
It stretches from Cheonggye Plaza, near City Hall Station, to even beyond Dongdaemun area. Good for a stroll in the day, but there’s also beautiful laser show at night that you should catch!
3. Iwha Mural Village
Relatively unknown and not quite convenient to get to here, but worth going for instragram-worthy shorts with the murals as an arty-farty backdrop. Just take note that mural 6 and 9 are no longer in existence as both have been vandalised. These murals were painted over by local residents as they have been upset over disturbances by tourists. So, if you do visit this, remember to keep your voice down as this is a residential area.
Hangang Park
Next will be Hangang Park, which has quite a few stretch.
The best place to check out the different places of attraction and facilities at Hangang Park is here.
Looking through Lonely Planet guidebook, I came across about the villages the Delta Region, Dalah and Twante. This is the area affected by Cyclone Nargis in 2008.
I tried to find more info on travelling there, but seems like there are only 3 travel blogs write up on it. The info is the same as in LP. Ferry ride to Dalah and then you can pay for local to give you ride on a bike to Twante. But not much other info like name of villages there, how to navigate there, how long will it take to travel around both areas etc. But I’m still keen for an adventure there.
The market area near the ferry terminal
Dalah is just 10min ferry ride away from Yangon but it’s a world apart.
Right after breakfast, I headed over to the ferry terminal, which is near Strandt Hotel in the morning.
The ticket can be bought at the terminal and departs every 20min. It is $4 USD, including return trip.
Walking around the area first before boarding the ferry.
As I was walking around waiting for departure, a local approached me. Usually I avoid small talk, especially those who seem to only approach tourists. But I kinda let my guard down this time cuz she asked if I was Muslim and gave salaam to me. She said that she could bring me around and since I was not too sure how I’ll explore Dalah and Twante later on. As I was still not sure what it will be like after I arrive on Dalah later on, I eventually I agreed for her bring me around.
About to board the ferry
Just as we were about to board the ferry, Sharifah bumped into her friend, Rahman. So called a coincident, but later in the day I suspected that it was all part of the scam plan.
Looking sweet and innocent, but little did I know they had already targeted me as their scam victim (more on that later).
Departing from Yangon
On board the ferry, it is a very unique local experience with hawkers calling out selling their products. But still a comfortable ride.
Arrived at Dalah.
Upon arriving in Dalah, Sharifah and Rahman made arrangement for motorbikes to bring us around. Plan of the day was fishing village, rice plantation, lunch at Rahman’s place, ride to Twante, pagoda and pottery village. I can’t recall how much was the agree price though, but we definitely agreed for certain hourly rate for day trip to Dalah and Twante.
Sharifah and Rahman were pillion riders of another motorbikes cuz they said they wanted to follow me around (or so I thought… because later on I realised, this is all part of the scam (again)).
I’m also putting up maps for some of the places listed in the table.
Hello! 