[Lifestyle - Travelling With Triba-East] Day 2 - Christmas Village, Snow Sled, & Strawberry Farm, Korea

If you haven't read already, here's the rest of my trip that was planned in conjunction with Triba-East Travels.:

How To Plan a 6-Day Personalized, Budget-Friendly Tour To Seoul, Korea

Day 1: From Kuching, Malaysia To Myeong-Dong, Korea With Public Transportations

Everything hurt on day 2. I was cursing whichever idiot who decided it was a good idea to hike up Namsan on the first day of our holiday (it was me). Day 2 started really early, even before the sun had risen, we were at the designated waiting area, which was next to a shopping mall and near a giant signboard that was alight with neon bulbs the night before. There were a couple of people there already, doing the same thing we were: waiting.

We wandered off in search of coffee and managed to find a convenience store with a coffe machine for 1000won per cup. I also bought a bun for 1300won to gnaw on during the but trip. ^^

The agenda for the day was to let the tour bus take us wherever they wanted. ^^ We make the perfect kidnap victims. Xin Yii, from Triba-East, had already purchased the deal for us and sent us the email for the confirmation. The tour group that she had signed us up for was Mandarin-speaking, which I assured her was fine since both of us spoke perfect mandarin. ^^

Once our attendance was taken and everyone was on the bus, we were told where we were going, which is to Christmas Village first, then Snow Sledding, and finally, Strawberry Farm! It sounded like a fun-filled day all around!

The first place we went to was Christmas village, where the main attraction was most definitely the fact that we could feed the sheep there! I love animals. And I love feeding animals, so this was so, so much fun. Everyone spent the better part of ten minutes overfeeding this overzealous sheep, and then we fed them somemore.

If you have a little extra to spare, you can also get into the cage with all the bunnies! All the bunnies!!

The only way you're allowed inside the cage with the bunnies is if you pay them. A family with two kids ended up shelling the money for that and I happily took pictures from outside. ^^ I just realized there's a fake sheep on a tree behind us. Lol.

There's also a couple of other attractions at Christmas Village. There's a couple of really friendly fluffy dogs who just want all the love. This fluffy pupper barks really desperately to get attention, and then you realize she (he?) just wants to play fetch and destroy your gloves. Honestly, keep your gloves away from this little devil.

The Christmas Village is has a number of little huts with Christmas decorations that are... er... to put nicely, a little on the eccentric side? Let's just say I wouldn't have gone into any of the huts if my better half wasn't there first.

If you're really enjoying your time, there're rentable houses as well!

We only spent a little over an hour here, since the tour guide also knew there wasn't much to do here to keep us occupied for too long, which was completely true. We weren't the first to return to the bus after exploring a little around the place.

Once everyon has gathered, our tour guide told us that we would be heading for lunch, since it would take a while to get there. Lunch was something to look forward to in itself. The tour bus brought us to a place where we will be served ginseng chicken soup, with chicken that had been fed ginseng!

It looks delicious because it is super delicious~ The chicken has been cooked to perfection, and the broth had a refreshing, ginseng taste that is as revitalizing as it is delicious. We finished half a chicken on our own. XD This delectable meal was my second favorite activity of the day, my favorite being strawberry picking!

After we've filled our tummies, we were brought to the next agenda of the day, which is snow sledding! It wasn't something I would've tried normally, but I was glad to have it in the agenda! Our tour leader said we would only be spending a little about forty minutes there, since that's usually how long it takes for her tour group to get tired of the game. Lol.

I didn't believe her at first! It's so much fun, why would anyone get sick of it! After sledding down the slope for the 4th time down the slope, we were both official sick of it. It was fun, but man, were we glad we followed the tour bus that designated just enough time for us to get our money's worth.

Afterwards, we moved to Strawberry farm for strawberry picking! I'm a big fan of strawberries. The ones we have in Malaysia are either too sour, or too expensive... or both if I'm unlucky. 

Strawberries were in season when we went, so we were lucky to be able to pick to our heart's content. Well, a box anyways. You gotta pay if you want more! We also got to make our own strawberry james to bring back! :D

Everything about this makes me happy. We each had a bottle to bring back from the strawberry farm in addition to a box of strawberries (each!). The best thing about this entire tour is that we only paid RM300 per person for it, purchase through Triba-East. Definitely worth every penny!

The tour group was so kind as to give us little snacks, heating pads, and a face mask to make sure we enjoyed everything about the trip, which is really going above and beyond. I'd pay for this all over again.

Afterwards, we were dropped off at Myeong-Dong, where we ate a ridiculous amount of food. I managed to get my hands on a few dozen sheet masks as well!

Myeong-dong is skincare and food heaven for sure! I managed to find Aland, where they stock Cosrx products on their shelves! I found that the prices were cheaper on bbcosmetic though, so I didn't end up buying anything.

Sheet masks, however, were really cheap since they have lots of buy 10 get 10 free masks deals available! I managed to get 10 It's Skin Tea Tree masks and 10 It's Skin Bamboo masks for 10,000won. I also got 20 assorted Nature Republic masks for 9,500won.

He's been looking at this since the first day, so we splurged a little and got the flower ice cream for 3,800won. It was yogurt flavored. XD He wasn't a big fan, sadly. We also had meatballs for 5000won, and egg cabbage sandwich for 5000 won, egg bun for 2000 won, chicken and dumplings for 8000 won, pancake honey for 3000won, and a few noodle cups for emergencies. ^^

Total Money spent: 55,700won / RM216.23 + Additional RM300 per person for tour.  = RM816.23

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[Lifestyle - Travelling With Triba-East] Day 1 - From Kuching, MalaysiaTo Myeong-Dong, Korea With Public Transportations

Funnily enough excitement was the last thing on my mind as the days to my Korea trip grew near enough that I could almost taste the kimchi. And there was only one reason why. My period, which is usually punctual to the point of arriving early, decided, "Oy, I hear Amy has a trip coming. I'm going to be SUPER LATE." So, my period decided to do something unprecedented and be an entire week late.

Isn't that just perfect?

Luckily for me, I had Xin Yii from Triba-East covering my back. She had arranged for a local, James, and a Malaysian currently in Korea, Jonathan, to pick me up for dinner, so I could spend the first day being lazy. Or at least that was the plan. The moment I landed, I wanted to be on my feet 24/7. Who needs rest?!

For those of you who're unaware, I had contacted Triba-East a while before my trip to help me plan almost everything about it. ^^ Previous post here:

How to Plan A 6-Day Tour To Seoul With Less Fuss

The flight from Kuching to Korea was an absolute nightmare. Some people are blessed with painless periods that comes and goes without making a fuss. I'm lucky that only the first two days of my period is painful, but since my period came on exactly the day I was due to fly, it created a bit of a problem. 

Nevertheless, I took a shot of liquor and then pretended everything was fine. ^^ The foodcourt in KLIA2 had a stall at the very end that sold surprisingly good pan mee! Here's my better half enjoying almost the entire plate by himself, because it was a bit too spicy for me. The air conditioning was off, on account of us being there almost midnight (KL - Seoul flight was a little past midnight), so we enjoyed this outside. 

The flight from Kuching to KL took an hour and forty five minutes while the flight from KL to Seoul took another six hours and twenty minutes. I took the midnight flight since it allowed me an additional day there. There's only two additional flights there, with one arriving around 8 and another arriving later in the evening.

Remember To Get Internet!

There are multiple internet options available in Korea. The one that I ended up getting is one recommended to me by Triba-East, which they managed to source for me so that I could pick it up at KLIA2, and then upon returning to KL, just drop it back at the counter at KLIA2.

Getting the pocket wifi was remarkably easy. It came with a universal plug that was super useful in Korea. I brought my own universal plug, but the one they provided was a nice spare! ^^

Transportation From Incheon Airport to AREX Seoul Station, then Myeong-Dong

I narrowed down two of the cheapest ways to get Incheon Airport to Myeong-Dong, which is actually by bus, but in the end decided to use the train. While Bus 6015 with a fare of KRW10,000 (it's probably increased by now?) would take me directly to Myeongdong, it would also take a little longer.

The Arex train tickets to Seoul cost 9000kwn per person whiel the myeongdong tickets was 1350kwn per person. Getting to the station was a breeze, with signs pointing us to the right direciton the entire way. Just follow the signs to AREX Seoul Station. Oh! Try and get the tickets from the vending machines instead of buying from the ladies! There's a 500kwn discount, so it's 8,500kwn per person instead. Ahh, I wish I had known. The vending machines speak perfect english.

Be sure to get the AREX tickets, since that's the one that's express non-stop from airport to Seoul Station. The commuter stops in a couple of stations that will just take longer. If you find yourself ever lost, most people in the station are friendly and a couple speak English, so you could just ask anyone behind the counter. ^^ 

Look at me and my stupid face. See why I call him my better half now? ^^ You could also get the T-money cards if you're planning to travel using the Seoul Subway station 

Since we weren't planning to use the train to travel around all that much. Most of the days were tours that Triba-East had planned for me beforehand. The tours were arranged such that we just needed to wait at the designated area in Myeong-Dong.

Day 1 - Myeong-Dong

Reaching Myeong-Dong revitalized me! The weather was nice and cold there. We left our luggages in the place where we're meant to stay, which is a decent Airbnb place that I'm... not a big fan of. While I was showering and washing my hair on day 4, the hot water suddenly stopped working, which aided to my getting sick on Day 5 and the entire week after I returned to Malaysia. Since I planned the trip to reach earlier, we had plenty of time to enjoy ourselves! Which basically meant lots of eating! 

There were quite a few places selling these really spicy rice cakes along with an assortment of local streetfood.

We made our way to have coffee in one of the fancy coffee places to get our bearings (and for my better have to get his daily dose of caffeine. It ended up being 6000won for a forgettable cup of takeaway coffee. Hardly worth the money.

This, however is very much worth the money! 

We had a good lunch at Myeong-dong Kyoja, which is a highly recommended noodles & dumplings restaurant that has franchises around Korea. The restaurant is known for their knife-cut handmade noodle soup, and dumplings. These two dishes cost 18,000won in total, which was super filling because they're as big as they look.

The place is filled, with a little queueing involved to get in, but the dishes were all prepared beforehand, since they serve only a few items on their menu, with these two being the main attraction. Money exchanges hand early in the process, so once we finished our meal, we only had to leave. 

The noodles were 8,000 won and the dumplings 10,000won. The noodle is simple, but delicious and very filling! The noodles themselve were very well done, with a slippery smooth consistency that reminded me of udon, but better. The chicken broth had a nourishing taste to it that wasn't too heavy. ^^ There was a bit of kimchi given as well, which went well with the soup. I really liked the dumplings. The transluscent skin hid a wonderful concoction of pork and vegetables that was still slightly wet and tasted frankly amazing.

On the way, we saw this lady selling deep fried small crabs, so naturally we bought some as snacks for the way up! It was 5,000 won for a pack. I also stopped into a convenience store to get a small bottle of chocolate milk for 1,300won. 

After the super filling meal, we decided to literally walk up to Seoul Tower, because we weren't sure if the 200,000won that we brought would be enough to cover excessive spending and we decided we liked walking. Halfway to the destination, I was blaming him for getting us to walk up instead of using the cable car. Everything hurt. 

The way to Namsan, where Seoul Tower was located, was basically up, up and more up! I followed the instructions here and even drew a map, but basically what you can do is look up and check out where the tower is, and then move towards that direction. XD

There's a quaint restaurant halfway up Seoul Tower though, which was a nice view. We also walked past the Namsan Cable Station to continue climbing ever upwards. If you're not up for the walk, the fare was 8500won for a round trip, or 5500 one way.

Unfortunately, we went during the winter, where most of the trees have dried, else the view would've been breathtaking the whole way. There were steps all the way up, and we ran into a few locals exercising up and down the hill, which made me feel weak af because I was panting by the time I got to this sign. 

There was a gym in the middle of the route that some locals were using! Koreans are so healthy! After a year of moving upwards, well, it was actually more of an hour instead of a year, but it certainly felt like a year, we were finally there! 

The view was spectacular! I wish there was more greens, but the view from Namsan allowed us to see exactly how high we managed to climb up. Lol. The buildings were alright too, I guess. Hahaha. We could go further up if we wanted to, by buying tickets for N Seoul Tower, but I wasn't interested enough to shell out money for that. 

If you're into looking at places from tall buildings, Triba-East sells tickets for a discounted price, so you should definitely let them know that you're interested, or just purchase the tickets directly from their site.

There was a few very nice views up Namsan, but my favorite is the steel trees that's been decorated with so many locks from tourists that they look like blooming trees! Each lock is a promise and a token of yourself that you can leave in Seoul forevermore. :) I didn't bother getting one cause I'm not that sentimental. 

The journey back was full of pain and aching muscles, but given the chance, I would climb up Namsan all over again. The walk was nice and calming and gave us a nice view of all that Myeong-dong has to offer. 

By the time we reached our airbnb place, it was time for dinner already! I forgot to bring painkillers for the headache that came with my period, so I walked down the road to a pharmacy and spent 2,600won for Tylenols. 

Afterwards, we made our way back to the airbnb, where James and Jonathan were waiting to bring us to dinner! ^^ 

We walked a little down the road to have dinner at a local eating place that didn't have an English name. XD James and Jonathan were our local hosts for parts of the trip and they did a great job of working together with Triba-East to get us an authentic experience of Seoul. ^^

Majority of the dish arrived raw, with some cooking on the flat pan necessary. Jonathan was so kind as to handle the cooking for us, since neither me nor my bf knew what to do. XD The meat goes to the pan to cook, duh. It took a little while, but also allowed us to know how hosts a little better. Jonathan is a Malaysian who had been working with James to handle tour groups here during his studies, while James have been in the business for more years than we could count. Both were seasoned travellers and we were grateful to have them lead the way. 

There were like, a billion condiments to complement the dish as well. And soju, which I quickly discovered I wasn't a fan of since it was bitter. ><  James and Jonathan works as travel agents in Korea, both for groups and individual travellers in order to curate travelling experiences for them. Triba-East has been working together with them in order to ensure that the customers they send from Malaysia have an authentic Korean experience. 

Before we parted ways, James was so kind as to walk us to the meeting point for Day 2 of our trip which was next to a fountain. 😕 We explored a little, but eventually managed to find our way!

After we went about our seperate ways, my bf and I decide we could still eat a little more, so we got our hands on the french fries and hotdog bun as well a bowl of spicy rice cake. We paid 6,000 won for them. The spicy rice cakes were a bit too spicy for me, but was perfect for my better half, who enjoys spicy food a lot more than I do.

By the time we got back to our room, we were completely and utterly exhausted, so we called it a day and set our alarms for the next morning, which started too early! We had to meet up with the tour group at 7:15am!

Total money spent on day 1: 69,600won, or RM271.

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[Mini Haul] Purchases from B.liv Malaysia & NattaCosme on 11street.my

I had 11streetmy credit expiring the other day so I snagged one of the masks that Bliv's official reseller on 11street had for RM10.23. Look at me, making legit excuses to buy masks.

B.Liv Malaysia at 11Street.my

Prices: 10/10 

Packaging: 10/10 

Shipping: 2-3 days

Samples: 10/10

Repurchase: No

B.liv is a brand that was established in 2009 and carters to the demand of affordable personal skin care regimens that's leading in pore management solution. They launched originally in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macau. They have an interesting 14 days money-back guarantee that I'm curious if anyone's used before. XD Skin is very much different for everone and the same product may not work effectively for everyone. All products are salon-formulated and tested.

The mask arrived a few days after ordering it and it expires in September this year. =.= Lame. I have enough masks expiring this year as it is and would've appreciated a heads up. They put the expiry date on the sample in the description, but not the mask. Maybe they meant to put the expiry date on the mask but accidentally got it on the sample instead.

As you can see in the picture, the mask came with 3 b.liv dench me cleanser + 3 b.liv glow and shine exfoliating mask, which is 1 more than the description promised, so yay! Absolute Matte mask uses active charcoal mask sheet that helps draw out pore-cloggers and combact excess sebum. It also helps as an exfoliant to lift away impurities.

I really like the name for the mask. Don't get mad, get matte! Absolute matte helps combat excess sebum and control surface shine while purifying and refreshing your complexion. Ingredients include retinyl palmitate (for regulating sebum secretion and skin regeneration), zinc sulfate (combact excess sebum and clarifying complexion), and willow back extract (exfoliant for lifting impurities). Overall though, I'm happy with my purchase despite the expiry date being so soon. There are three different masks available for free shipping on b.liv's store in 11street with different samples: The Sheer Off Crease and Rejuvenating Mask. ^^ Worth checking out for sure. :)

The b.liv exfoliating mask helps remove blackheads and whiteheads and ligthening scar, so I'm really excited to be trying that out! It's meant to be used after cleansing by applying on dry face for 5-10 minutes, then massaged with water and washed off gently.

Purchase: RM10.23

NattaCosme at 11Street.my

Prices: 10/10 

Packaging: 10/10 

Shipping: 2-3 days

Samples: 0/10

Repurchase: Yes

Evidently I fogrgot to take a picture, but I purchased the OST C20 from NattaCosme since I'm halfway through my bottle. 

Purchase: RM57.66

I also do quick, short reviews on my instagram so if you're up for it, do follow me here too! :D https://www.instagram.com/peachy_amy/ 
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[2017 Haul] March Purchases From Althea.kr - Free International Shipping

Althea.kr

Prices: 10/10 

Althea RM35 Referral Link

Shopback RM5 Referral Link + Cashback! 

Packaging: 10/10 

Shipping: 2-3 weeks

Samples: 0/10

Repurchase: Yes

This involves lots of Innisfree mostly because there was a 10% off sale on the brand and also because they were giving away a trial kit along with Innisfree purchases... which as you can see, wasn't included in this box. :( It was only while stocks last though, so they probably ran out. T.T Still, I couldn't help but be disappointed by the lack of it.

RiRe Premium White Pure Goat Milk Cream	RIRGM001	RM27.00	Ordered: 1 Shipped: 1	RM27.00
[Innisfree Brand Day] Green Tea Balancing Lotion	INFGB010	RM54.00	Ordered: 1 Shipped: 1	RM54.00
[Innisfree Brand Day] Green Tea Mint Fresh Shampoo	INFGM001	RM25.00	Ordered: 1 Shipped: 1	RM25.00
[Innisfree Brand Day] Green Tea Cleansing Foam	INFGP004	RM24.00	Ordered: 1 Shipped: 1	RM24.00
[Innisfree Brand Day] Broccoli Clearing Skincare	INFSF002	RM35.00	Ordered: 1 Shipped: 1	RM35.00

The majority of the items in this haul are for my sisters, who don't use any skincare items. They basically just use whatever is given to them or whichever item is most recently recommended to them when they run out of stuff.

They sometimes just don't use any skincare at all. No sunscreen, no cleansers, no moisturizers. *shudders* Thankfully, they haven't gotten hold of bioaqua. I'm making a trip to visit them in June so I'm getting them a lot of stuff that'll hopefully get them started on building a routine. 

I've used none of the products other than the shampoo but the ingredients look good and if you notice a theme of green tea in the products, it's because my sisters love green tea. XD

Althea recently launched their international site, so it's not just available for those of us in SEA anymore.

Total Purchase: RM145.00

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[2017 Hauls] February & March Purchases From BBCosmetic.com - Free International Shipping

I've made several purchases from BBcosmetic.com over the past few months. I shop when I'm sad, okay? So, I figured it would be healthy to jolt down the mini reviews of all the purchases that I had done over the past few months instead of sulk and do more online shopping.

BBCosmetic

Prices: 10/10 

(Use affiliated coupon: C10T190S3 for 8% off) 

Packaging: 10/10 

Shipping: 2-3 weeks

Samples: 10/10

Repurchase: Yes

Feb 14th, 2017

• 1 x [The Face Shop] White Seed Pure Vitamin Concentrate Ampule 12ml SALE!

The things I buy generally fall into two categories:

1. I've been wanting this for a while and need this in my life. Or 
2. It was on sale. This mini purchase definitely fell into the second category

This The Face Shop White Seed Vitamin Concentrate Ampule 12ml is $4.79 during their 50% off sale. There's 11 left in stock, but these expire in April 12, an important point I completely missed. Cue me frantically trying to finish this before the expiry date. XD I really like that even the tiny purchase came with two samples!

This arrived exactly 21 days (including weekends) after making the order, so 3 weeks for free shipping, which is decent.

The ampule is a powerful spot corrector with pure vitamin C. The highly concentrated brightening ampule with 10% pure vitamin C helps reduce unwanted pigmentation and other flaws, leaving skin looking bright and pure. It also includes GMO-free white seed. I haven't used this before but it's description got me keen. I've been looking for something to help me fade my acne scars for a while and this is just the newest addition to that cause. First impression is... decent.

The texture of the product is really thick and it is deep orange in color, which surprised me a little. Directions say to apply on dark spots... which is basically most of my face at this point. The texture is fairly oily and doesn't really sink in that well. I'm still trying to figure out where best to put this, but before my lotion (final step) seems like a good place. The product applies warm, which is forwarned, and that sensation goes away quickly. The scent of orange/citrus yogurt is fairly thick though, and I could still pick up the fragrance awhile after application. I haven't used this long enough to see effects, but I'll keep everyone updated!

Purchase: $4.79 /RM20

Feb 16th 2017

• 1 x [COSRX] Acne Pimple Master Patch 24patches X 1
• 1 x [Nature Republic] Super Aqua Max Fresh Watery Cream 80ml SALE!

This Nature Republic Super Aqua Max Fresh Waterfy Cream is meant for oily skin, which I'm all for. I'm currently using Benton's Snail Bee Lotion, which has been doing a pretty good job of keeping my skin moisturized without being too oily, but it does take a bit of time to sink in and leaves something of a white cast if I don't apply the lotion well. I've been using that for a few months and I'm almost halfway done! Two pumps for my whole face, twice a day.

 This fancy cream is made with Kona Deep Sea Water Sourced at 3,000 Feet Below the Ocean Surface and contains Sea Plant Nutrients, Ocean Extracts, Trace Minerals, Calcium and Magnesium . It is free of heavy metals or pollutants and includes kona minerals ionized by nature for fast absorption into the skin. The light formulation promises to keep skin hydrated without leaving an oily residue.

I quite like the packaging for this product! The glass finish makes it look super luxurious. It comes with a spatula to prevent product contamination. However, I think I actually prefer #benton's pump bottles that keeps products from being contaminated without having me use a spatula (so troublesome). I'm really looking forward to getting started on this and hope it'll work wonders on my skin. Cosdna didn't come up with anything too worrying except for the preservative used, which is methylioshiazolinone (7). There's a lot of plant and sea-based extracts that 's supposed to be good for the skin.

Purchase: $9.20 /RM40

March 15th 2017

• 1 x [Benton] Aloe BHA Skin Toner 200ml
• 1 x [Koelf] Callus Care Elbow Patch (1 pair * 3ea) + Callus Care Heel Patch (1 pair * 3ea) SET SALE!

The Koelf Callus Care Elbow & Heel patches were 50% off for $6.68 so I snatched them almost instantly. I also purchased the Benton Aloe BHA Skin Toner for $14+ with my affiliated code: C10T190S3 to get an additional 8% off. The rest are samples that they've kindly included. The box was slightly squished, but they packed the benton toner with an additional layer of protection to keep it safe. ^^

The patches were fine since they were packed in plastic anyhows. I've been eyeing the Benton Aloe BHA Skin Toner ever since I've tried the samples. They were very gentle and are good for my skin. The toner seems to help calm down pimples and just give my skin that healthy glow nothing else is able to give me. The toner is incredibly watery and has a mild aloe scent that I really enjoy. The 0.5% concentration of salicylic acid doesn't do much to exfoliate, but is enough to have a soothing effect. It also helps manage blackheads and dead skin cells. Here's hoping the whole bottle is as good (or even better) than the samples!

When BBcosmetic came up with another 50% off sale that I was interested in, which is the patches, I snatched that as well as the #benton toner. I have terribly dry elbows and heels, so hopefully these patches will help! The patches are like... plasters for injuries really, which is pretty fun! I'm really looking forward to trying them out. They're supposed to be used for a minimum of an hour, but since I'm on my feet a lot during the day, I'm thinking of using these while I sleep to get the most out of them! Fingers crossed!

Purchase: $21.35 /RM92

March 22nd, 2017

• 1 x [Skinfood] Yuja Water C Toner 180ml SALE!

I swear this is my last purchase for a little while. Ahem. The Skinfood Yuja Water C Toner 180ml was 50% off for $7.96 and I've been eyeing it since it was available here in Malaysia so I grabbed one. The rest are samples that they've kindly included.

The Yuja Water C Line contains Goheung Yuja extract and essential oil, which according to their description, contain more vitamin C than lemon. They also have serum, emulsion, ampoule, and cream in the same line, though those are $20 or $21 bucks respectively. The entire line moisturizes and brightens the skin from the inside out. If the toner ends up working well, I'll look into buying the rest of the line. ^^

I'm currently using The Face Shop.Official White Seed Vitamin Concentrate Ampule 12ml as well as OST C20 Vitamin C serum. I don't really have much expectations for this toner, since toners in general don't seem to do much, but it being in the Water C Line kinda gives me hope that it'll work well in terms of hydration and brightening. Yuja extract and essential oil coats the surface of the skin, locking in moisture and brightening skin tones for a soft, glowing appearance. This toner is meant to be used after cleansing.

The bottle is packed in an additional layer of plastic and the bottle itself is made of plastic. I like the packaging of the product, since it reminds me of a soda drink. XD Ingredients to look out for includes alcohol, citrus extract, and ethylhexy palmitate, since some people are sensitive to those. It uses BHA as a preservative, which ranks a high 6 on cosdna. I've been experimenting with toners, since Hada Labo broke me out and I'm peeved about that since it's HG for a lot of people. Looking forward to starting with this, but not so soon since I'm working with the 500ml Haru Hada HA Lotion now.

Purchase: $7.96 /RM34

Total Purchase: $43.4 /RM188

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[Lifestyle - Travelling With Triba-East] How To Plan A 6 Day Personalized, Budget-Friendly Tour To Seoul

Earlier last year year, I purchased a trip to Seoul, Korea and then forgot about it altogether. I hated planning. Between work, family, and a soul-sucking hobby, there was little time for me to do anything else, let alone plan a 6 day trip to Seoul. Thankfully, Triba-East Travel is there to do exactly what I don't want to do, which is to help me plan for my entire trip, no fuss, no headache, all the fun. XD

So, here's how I planned my 6-day personalized, budget-friendly Seoul, Korea trip, without doing much of the planning!

The Planning: Triba-East Travels

I talked to Triba-East via Facebook about purchasing a travelling packaged from them, a full 6-day package that includes food, accomodation, and all the activities planned out. However, Jane, who is one of the lovely ladies handling their social media handle, asked how old I was and upon realizing I wasn't the target group for the package (which is mainly for older groups), promptly talked me out of it. 

Her words were, "This package deal is more for older people! You'd be bored! We'll plan something else more suitable for you." 

And that's exactly what they did! They planned a 6 day itinerary for me, and helped me purchased all the tickets through them, so all I had to do was throw money at them, and once I was there, show up where they asked me to.

Granted, food and accomodation aren't included, but I could always figure out food once I'm there, and they recommended a few places to stay where it would be easier for their tour busses to pick me up. Win-wins all around!

Purchasing Experience

Purchasing tickets from them was a breeze since there were multiple payment options available. They work with MOLPay, which accepts most bank transfers and visa/mastercard. I went with bank transfer, since that's usually how I kept track of all my online transactions.

Do keep in mind that they need time to process your payment and then more time to provide the E-tickets! The Vouchers can be downloaded 3 days prior to departure, and it's all on you to get that downloaded and brought along with you for the trip!

Budget Plan

Perpetually broke-ass person that I am, I needed to work with a budget that I could handle. Planning with Triba-East makes this perfect, since we were working with a pre-determined budget of under RM2k for 2 person, excluding hotel stay.

I ended up going with Airbnb, staying the 5 nights for a total or RM925 in the heart of a Skincare addict's wet dream, Myeong-Dong. The room ended up being super, super tiny, but it wasn't too bad considering the price of ~RM200 per night. 

The flight tickets, which I bought 3 months in advance from Airasia.com.my, was a total of RM3570.34. 

By paying for the tours beforehand, with a promise of not having to shell out more, I could just bring the money I needed for food. I prepared RM10,000 for food and miscellanous expenses. 

Book Your Tour With Triba-East Travels Here

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[Lifestyle - Travelling With Triba-East] Reasons to Visit Busan, Korea In The Fall

When the wanderlust bug bit me a last Fall, I let impulsiveness take charge and booked a flight ticket directly to Korea. All that's left was the planning, which, admittedly, I'm absolutely rubbish at. Between handling stress, work, family, and even more stress, I couldn't bring myself to do any sort of planning. 

And then there was a matter of where to stay, what to eat, where to go, and what to do, all without knowing a word of Korean. To simplify things, I had a travel agency, Triba-East Travel plan my entire trip, from food to accommodation and modes of transport. The guide was lovely and friendly, helping me plan my trip to my heart's desire while working within my small-ish, last minute budget. The only things I had to prepare pre-trip were clothes, passport, and spending money, which is an absolute dream. You can get in touch with them via their Facebook page or just visit their webpage and see if there's a trip they're offering that strikes your fancy. 

I arrived to a rainy morning in Busan, Korean, where I found all the reasons I needed to fall in love with the autumn in Korea. 

Reasons To Visit Busan In The Fall

Cool, non-freezing temperature 

Visiting Korea in the fall has the added advantage of being cool in the mornings and even cooler during the nights, but not quite overly so. It's a great escape from the sweltering heat in Malaysia (or wherever you're from) with all the advantages of winter without turning into an immovable snowman. Perhaps the only thing you'll be missing is snow, which is accompanied by . It's not as hot as Summer nor as cold as winter, a comfortable temperature that gives you that perfect excuse to wear whatever you want without being too hot or too cold. :) 

Beautiful Sights 

We've all heard of the beautiful Sakura blossoms where trees turn into pink pompoms that litter the street with the bright flowers, but I can't help but fall head over heels for the beautiful shades that Fall has to offer.

In the Fall, the trees turn from green to yellow, then red, then brown, though some changes directly to red and other goes straight to brown. The beautiful colours litter the roads and gives everyone a sight to behold. Long drives and rides means you will be treated to mountains upon mountains of greens, reds, and yellows, trees showing you that change is coming. 

Even theme parks are made even more beautiful during this season of change. Trees are gradually turning colour and losing their leaves and we're treated to the sight of them getting ready for the cold winter ahead. 

Cheaper Flights 

Because there's no or rather, less holidays during the Fall in Malaysia, flight tickets are fairly reasonably-priced, even if bought during the last minute. For example, I bought my tickets for mid-November merely a month in advance and it was less than RM1200 to and from Kuala Lumpur. Of course, if you purchased tickets even earlier, they'll be cheaper still, but when that wanderlust bug strikes, why fight it? Especially when it brings you to places with sights like the one shown above. 

Less Crowded

Apart from cheaper flights, avoiding the peak season for travelling also means less crowd for everything. Theme parks require less queuing, pictures aren't littered with strangers you'll probably never cross paths again, and in some lesser known places, you might even get the chance to have everything to yourself. Like my trip to Shilla Millennium Park in Busan. This is the site where the famous Korean Drama "Queen Seondeok" was filmed and I got to enjoy most of the sites on my own since there were nobody else around. It was absolutely divine. 

Whereas I loved my trip to Busan, Korea in the Fall, I'm having another trip to Korea planned in the Winter together with my better half, mostly because he hasn't seen snow before and I wanted to show him what snow's like. The trip to Soeul, Korea, is planned in January, but I'll be handling over all the pesky planning to Triba-East and am getting one of their Seoul Packages, since 1) I abhor planning, and 2) they did such a wonderful job with this trip.

I got in touch with them via their Facebook page but you can try their webpage and see if there's a trip they're offering that strikes your fancy. 

I managed to get so much sightseeing done within my short trip that it's definitely worth every penny. I'll be posting more reviews up soon! ^^

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