Category: Travel
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SEOUL DIARIES 034: BEANS & WAFFLE
“Waffles are just awesome bread.” — John Green Loading up on carbs before a full day of Seoul-tripping. Breakfast was palm-sized Sweet Maple Waffles 스위트 메이플 와플 at Beans and Waffle, downtown Gangnam. Surrounded by imposing office towers, a food alley plus a couple of pubs, the cafe has fed plenty of OLs, pub-crawlers and…
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SEOUL DIARIES 033: BASILUR TEA
“What do you want?” “Just coffee. Black – like my soul.” — Cassandra Clare Enjoying my afternoon cuppa at Basilur Tea on Sinsa-Dong’s Garosugil. On display within the 3-storeyed building are tins and tins of tea leaves and related tea spices that tickled my olfactory senses. Basilur does premium tea exports from Sri Lanka to the rest of the world.…
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SEOUL DIARIES 032: AZUKI MATCHA
“Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the ‘Titanic’ who waved off the dessert cart.” — Erma Bombeck Mister Donut‘s intensely satisfying Azuki Red Bean Matcha Bing Soo. Summer now doesn’t feel complete without having an ice-cold bowl of sugar-laden goodness! Especially when they come with chewy Japanese mochis. Erma Bombeck said it right…
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SEOUL DIARIES 031: CARRIED AWAY
Oh you know how it is. Once started, shopping can get absolutely frenzied. Just a day in Apgujeong and my summer luggage threatened to explode at its seams. Fall is my favourite season for shopping anywhere in the world. It’s neither too hot for brisk-walking in the streets nor too cold for chilling with a…
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SEOUL DIARIEs 030: BINGSOO-MANIA
Happiness is fishbowl-sized in summer. This, my dear friends, is the injeolmi bingsoo [인절미 빙수] from one of my favourite hideouts in Seoul! Come summertime, bingsoos and anything that comes with ice are all the rage. You can easily get bingsoos from any major or indie cafes in Korea. This is a unashamedly backdated post…
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SEOUL DIARIES 029: NAENG MYEON 냉면
Rules for eating NAENG MYEON (lit. Cold noodles) in Korea: 1. Do not order Naeng Myeon in winter. I tried that once and got told off with dismissive hand gestures. Thereafter I did not exist in the eyes of the elderly Korean Ahjumma chef. Naeng Myeon in winter, seriously? 2. Never tell a Korean that…
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SEOUL DIARIES 028: FEED ME PLEASE
Diet does not exist when everything tastes so awesome! Behold, (somewhat) massive Seoul foodporn. Hot English muffins for Western breakfast, Dunkin Donuts Kimchi Kimbab rolls from a place near my guesthouse. These are soooo goood Cafe Latte, Paris Croissant Cafe Late night ddeokbokki, Chamisul (Korean vodka) and blueberries! A Japanese and Korean fusion of fried…
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SEOUL DIARIES 027: WELCOME TO MY PIGEONHOLE
Located at a secluded corner in Gangnam district, Morning Guesthouse is virtually invisible to the foreign tourist. It took me a good hour and a half to track down Jaeyeong Building on foot from Gangnam Station in the sweltering summer heat. They have got quite a number of rooms in pigeon-hole sizes, each equipped with…
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SEOUL DIARIES 026: CAMPING OUT
Guess who maximized her stupidity quota for 2014 by voluntarily spending the night alone, resting on the hard wooden benches at Incheon International Airport, instead of getting a comfortable hotel room for a good night’s rest? I believe I’d only slept a total of 6 hours over the past 4 days. No kidding. Thanks to…
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[ITALY] When in Rome…
![[ITALY] When in Rome…](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20140701-051514-18914728.jpg?w=768)
Do as the Romans do! Arrivederci We found our way to the Vatican City and it was amazing. It’s like living the Dan Brown/Robert Langdon dream! Every minute spent walking along the ancient grounds was a sacred moment for devout Catholics, and a fangirl moment for anybody who loves Dan Brown’s works. I love Rome,…
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[TAIPEI] oo3. Foodporn Ahead
![[TAIPEI] oo3. Foodporn Ahead](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/20140612-202257-73377700.jpg?w=768)
When in Taipei, eat your way through Shih-Lin Night Market! We started off with these super yummy beef brisket noodles Then tracked down the legendary Ah Zong Mian Xian Had a handful of super good Sheng Jian Bao (pan-fried pork buns) And of course, BUBBLE TEA!! This ginormous wild (farmhouse) mountain chicken totally caught our…
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[TAIPEI] oo2. Le Morning Cuppa
![[TAIPEI] oo2. Le Morning Cuppa](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/20140612-200746-72466906.jpg?w=768)
Good morning Taipei! Lovin my shot of caffeine in a pretty white bottle. xoxo, Viktoria Jean
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Adventures in Auckland
To sum up my third Auckland experience: 1. Mediocre room service from Crowne Plaza at 2am local time. Great chips, over-fried snapper fish. But still yum-in-my-tum after 10-hours in the skies. 2. 15°C in the day, with the sun out. What more can you ask for? 3. My favourite cereals and the works – late-night snacking essentials. 4. Thumping the…
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SEOUL DIARIES 025: HOTEL MOTEL
I’m never again staying (alone) in a motel, regardless of how good the deal. Checked out from BLU:Guesthouse Hongdae, dragged my bags through interweaving subway lines, and finally arrived at Gayang Station. First, let me take a selfie – to commemorate the end of (the first part of) my solo-venture. A long bumpy walk later, I found Baekje…
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TOKYO DIARIES 東京旅日記 IV
Friends, you know who you are and this is for you. I’ve always read about Chiba Prefecture in Murakami’s works and although Narita isn’t my favourite Japanese tourist spot, there is so much to see and shopping to do! Whuddup – look at these fluffy kitties I found: Lunch was mediocre chashuu ramen and some…
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SEOUL DIARIES 024: Seoul Fashion Week
Sometime ago, I was in Seoul. And I got to experience the rush of Seoul Fashion Week. Of course Milan was way better, because the glamour and excitement was literally in the air whereas the activities were concentrated and somewhat limited to the big fashion hubs at Myeongdong. Most local designers were alongside big names on…
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[AMSTERDAM] Keukenhof Gardens Part Eight
![[AMSTERDAM] Keukenhof Gardens Part Eight](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/20140503-150959.jpg?w=1024)
| Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | From Amsterdam, with love. Keukenhof Gardens Stationsweg 166A, 2161 AM Lisse, Netherlands xoxo, Viktoria Jean
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[AMSTERDAM] Keukenhof Gardens Part Seven
![[AMSTERDAM] Keukenhof Gardens Part Seven](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/20140428-001557.jpg?w=1024)
| Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Outside of Keukenhof Gardens, there was this beautiful, seemingly endless plot of tulips in neat rows – a farm to which we had to mount a fence to gain access due to its privacy, emulating a…
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[AMSTERDAM] Keukenhof Gardens Part Six
![[AMSTERDAM] Keukenhof Gardens Part Six](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/p1040330.jpg?w=1024)
| Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Looking at’cha~ Keukenhof Gardens Stationsweg 166A, 2161 AM Lisse, Netherlands xoxo, Viktoria Jean
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[AMSTERDAM] Keukenhof Gardens Part Five
![[AMSTERDAM] Keukenhof Gardens Part Five](https://viktoriajean.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/p1040260.jpg?w=1024)
| Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Flowers and fields of tulips aside, Keukenhof has this little niche shops where they sell bulbs, seeds, seedlings and pots of yet-to-blossom flowers. I brought home a tiny pot of water hyacinth and some mauve tulips to grow on my own, but…
Viktoria Jean 