fishie day out

after 2 days of hard work, i am so glad that i can finally take an early break off work ... hurray \(^_^)/ ....  this morning i did a quick online search of places to visit near my hotel and found the coex aquarium.  the review on the internet looks pretty positive and i am fixed on visiting it before it closes at 8pm later.  so at about 6pm, i started to pack up and invited another fellow business traveller along (from india).  谁知半路杀出个程咬金 , my plans were halted by a sales engineer enquiring further information on android development.  after much attempt to understand and answer his query, we quickly set off to the aquarium, the time is 645pm and the last admission is at 7pm :-(

yey, we made it there at 655pm, the last 2 visitors of the day.  it is good to find lockers just outside the aquarium where we can leave our heavy belongings (laptops) … and to save 500 won, my indian colleague insisted that we share a locker, hmmm i cant say no can i?  anyway after stuffing the locker, our amazing journey starts ...


the coex aquarium is the only theme-oriented aquarium in korea with 90 exhibition water tanks and 140 tanks for breeding.  it carries a wide species of fishes (approx 600) and 40,000 oceanic fish (*o*).  the aquarium offers a wide variety of exhibits:

1. korea's land, korea's fishes - as the name suggests, native fishes, plants and even animals. (left: look out for the cute native rabbit)

 



2. fish's wonderland - fishes are infiltrated into a variety of device from water tank to washing machine.  they even have a fish spa exhibits where we can put in our hands ha !


3. amazonia world - with rare creatures like piranhas, electric eels (they are really big *scary*)

4. mangrove and beach - where my favourite fish (or dish) pomfret stays (right: looking at them somehow made me hungry *guilty*)


5. the seven seas - brillant coloured fishes (many many dory) and sea dragon, they are beautiful


6. ocean kingdom - main water tank, extremely big holding 2,000 tonnes of sea water with very gigantic fishes ... you have to see it ... somehow make you feel like you are in the ocean


7. marine mammal zone - leopard seal !!!


8. underwater tunnel - somehow reminds me very much of our underwater world, with more sharks and stingrays, and awesome music too

9. deep blue square - spectacular !!! (left: have never seen so much sardines in my life)



10. deep blue sea - beautiful jelly fishies


11. penguins playround


aside from fishes, they also have bats, pirarie dogs, porcupines, beard dragon, squirrel monkeys, starting to sound like a zoo doesn't it.  all in all, it is an awesome aquarium, one of the best I have been, worthy investment of 17500 won + 500 won on locker.  the only pity this trip is just too SHORT, 1 hour is simply not enough.  we have to rush through the last few exhibits as the aquarium is closing.  a worrisome female attendant is tailing us closely  reminding us they are closing or so i assume (wat do you think, of course she is speaking in korean).   

conclusion: I WILL BE BACK !!!  i have enjoyed myself today, looking at the fishes swimming leisurely across the tank.  for those moments, all the jitters on my codes integration are erased from my mind *grin* 

"first" business trip

today 4th sep 2011 is an important day, it marks the start of my business travelling ... hmm so why "first" trip? afterall this is not the first time i was posted abroad.  BUT never before have I been ever posted to complete and deliver work in a week time!  in fact this is the first time, i feel like a business traveller leaving on sunday and coming back home on sat morning … the only part missing, i dun get to fly on business class haha erh that might be a bit too much to ask for isnt it? (at least for now ha!)

prior the trip - anxiety (-.-!)

being new to android development, i can't help feeling very anxious abt this upcoming project and how it will turn out.  days prior leaving singapore, i was feeling kinda stressed and was thus not even in a mood to checkout places I can visit ... i knew i will be swamped by work.  the only good thing is this is a development piece of work and not infrastructure design (that will have killed me)

flight experience

morning flights don't suit me, blurness consumed my brain:

1. almost decided to leave the house at 430am ... my flight is scheduled at 925am but somehow my brain keep registering 725am, dun ask me why ... i guess it's the results of blurness + stress 

2. queue at krisflyer elite gold (@_@) luckily i realised it long before i reach the counter, so maaaaluuuuuuuu 

putting the morning blurness aside, i am happy to be up early and enjoying breakfast.  i can barely recall the last time i was up for breakfast on a sunday.

boarding this flight was one of the most cumbersome experience i had to-date ... security are super tight, airport staff are examining every item luggage, opening every pouch and pocket regardless of how private they may seem.  i was so relieved that i have packed my stuff neatly ... then again to have the luggage opened in public and "ransacked" is definitely not a pleasant experience.  worst still, i even got touched from head to toe by an indian female airport staff (X_X) !!!  such an experience can only be associated with flights heading to united states in september and isn't my flight to seoul !!!  alamak it's a combined flight, the carrier also carries passengers heading to san francisco with stopover at seoul ... duhhhh

so when i finally get to board the flight, i was eager to get to my window seat, to get my tiny tweeny private space.  however as i approached my seat, i felt a couple "separated" by the aisle "eyeing" at me ... hmm i think  they are gonna ask for a swap and indeed they did .... hmmmm can i say no, better no i do not want to sit nex to a grouchy woman for a six hours flight, do i?

well in life, it always pays to be kind ... or at least i hope.  and for my small act, i got my first SQ goodie pack hehehe. i was shocked when the steward handed the goodie pack to me and for once i felt the quality of SQ service (^_^)

touched down seoul (last since nov 2010)

touching down bought memories of last korea trip, back then i was feeling so happy and free on a holiday ... sigh if only i can relive the same feelings.  back then i only need to locate the tour guide and the rest of my trip are planned and well taken care of, today i have to find my way to my hotel ... each offers different experience (^_^)

got my bus ticket and blurness continued, i got onto the wrong queue TWICE !!!  i m very lucky to meet kind souls who highlighted to me my mistake.  heng ah ... after 6 hours flight and 1.5 hour bus, i checked in my hotel ... hotel sweet hotel.  please let this be a good week !