The next night I showed up to work, I prayed that nothing similar will happen. Alhamdulillah, nothing happened. In fact, it was one of the calmest and quietest nights that I have ever had this year. What made that night better was this envelope that I found in my mailbox. It was a nice surprise because, i) I haven't received anything in my mailbox since few months ago, and ii) it came from the one of the sweetest guests that we received this year :)

This envelope was my silver lining after a cloudy day because I received it on the next night right after the challenging night. It reminded me of my happy encounter and conversations with Anita few hours before those things that dragged my energy down happened. It also acted as another reminder that while yes, I might have to deal with some difficult guests, however, I will also meet some kind and lovely guests like Anita :)

SBGB (새벽공방) - After the Rain (비가 그치고 나면)

MOVNING (모브닝) - Everything I Love Will Make Me Cry (내가 사랑한 모든 것들은 나를 눈물짓게 할 테니까)

SEVENTEEN (세븐틴) - Our Dawn Is Hotter Than Day (우리의 새벽은 낮보다 뜨겁다)

There's a wall with flowers motive and a history plate opposite of this wall, if I'm not mistaken.

Road to Edae from the nearest subway exit is quite hilly, so prepare yourself, okay? :)

Road leading to Edae is full with the skincare and cosmetics shops like Tony Moly, Holika Holika, The Face Shop, Nature Republic, etc. My favourite shop here was Artbox. I don't have pictures of Artbox but, OMG all those cute stuff and stationery ㅠㅠ. Anyway, you can also find street food stalls as you can see from the picture above. Mind you, the street food prices here were quite high compared to other places. 

The ever famous Ewha Campus Complex (ECC)

Most people who go to Edae come for the Ewha Campus Complex (ECC), me included. By the way, good luck trying to take decent pictures here without being photobombed by other people :p

During this particular visit, I didn't go into the ECC building because I thought outsiders are not allowed. Who am I kidding eh? You can go into the ECC building but be mindful as some students study at the ECC as it has study spaces. If I remembered it correctly, they also have GS25, a coffee shop, an auditorium, and few more things in the ECC.

Also, when I was there, the ECC walls were plastered with a lot of posters protesting the bribery, special treatment and few other issues. You can actually feel the tension when you walk along the ECC building. 

Welch-Ryang Auditorium

After climbing up and down the ECC building, I went to the Welch-Ryang Auditorium. Mainly because, it was near to the ECC. Also, because it was featured in 2 Days 1 Night (again!). He who should be named had a mission to take pictures with the students at this stairs with the Welch-Ryang Auditorium in the background.

When I was there, there was a group of graduating students shooting their pre or post convocation photos. I giggled watching them because they reminded me of my times. However, I got turned off by their attitude soon after that because they were just so rude and so perasan? They yelled at few people telling them, "No picture! No picture!" while making disgusting faces. Mind you, those people were not even trying to take their pictures. Girls, why you have to be so perasan?

So yeah, my time at Edae did not end on a high note! I mean, I loved the building and stuff but I couldn't stomach the rudeness of those girls. I just can't ㅠㅠ

Cascade Mountain from Cascades of Time Garden

March 20, 2019

10:15 AM

Decided to go for a walk yesterday morning to celebrate the first day of spring. The weather was so beautiful that I almost cried. Couldn't wait for my days off next week because I want to go for a longer walk and enjoy my last spring here  :)

If you can read Hangeul, you probably will know the event's name. I can't read Hangeul, hence I had no idea about the event's name.

I was expecting that Namsangol Hanok Village would be similar to the Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을) but I was wrong. Namsangol Hanok Village is not a residential area. It was more like open museum? Also, there was only about five hanok houses at the Namsangol Hanok Village. These houses were remodeled after the traditional houses of Joseon Dynasty.

Few performances were performed at the stage; taekwando and other martial arts.

Tip: They offer interpretation tour services, however advance booking is required. Go to the website for more details. I would suggest you to go with the interpretation tour so that you can learn more about the history and stuff.

Thanks to 2 Days 1 Night that I learned quite a lot of Korean games. This one is jegichagi (제기차기).

I didn't spend too much time here because it was so hot and I was quite overwhelmed with the number of people. I only took brief peek here and there before I decided to leave. My favorite area at the Namsangol Hanok Village was the area where visitors can experience traditional games. So many families. So much happiness that my heart felt so full <3

I don't really remember the name of the game. I think it's Yut (윷). I could be wrong though.

On a totally irrelevant note, I had a good chat with this one ahjussi (아저 시) when I was at the Namsangol Hanok Village. I was sitting under the shade near to the entrance, sipping my banana uyu when this one ahjussi suddenly approached me. I was surprised because most of the times, people in South Korea treated me as either an alien or invisible.

Good luck trying to squeeze for a spot at the pavilion :p 

Apparently this ahjussi used to live in Malaysia and he really loved his time in Malaysia. He also proceeded saying that he missed interacting with other Malaysians which is why he approached me. We talked for about 20 minutes, if I remembered it correctly. Our topics were basically everything under the sun. Hahaha. Had to excuse myself first for I planned to go to another place. Otherwise, we might talk for another hour or so :)

Hello everyone! 

I just wanted to share 3 products that help me to go through the harsh winter that we have here in Banff. The winter that I experience here in Banff is way different from the winter that I experienced back in Guelph. As such, I had to change some of my personal care, skincare, and lip care products because the ones that I used to use back in Guelph did not work for me anymore.

This lotion is a heaven-sent! I grabbed this lotion from the aisle of Shopper's Drug Mart for the first time two years ago and have been using the same lotion ever since. I was attracted to try this lotion because it says, "Transforms skin from very dry to healed in 5 days" on it's packaging. I was instantly sold because I was struggling with dry and cracked skin at that time. It was my first winter where the average temperature is about -20℃ ish and my skin was not ready and suffering.

Alhamdulillah, after trying the lotion for about a week, my skin was no longer dry and almost back to normal. I also did not feel the itchiness that's been bugging me on the previous week. Alhamdulillah. Another plus point is, this lotion is not greasy which makes me super happy because other Vaseline lotions that I have tried usually are quite greasy.




Bought this sleeping mask at the Sephora after contemplating to buy it for a year. lol! I love the mask as a sleeping mask so much because my skin feels so supple and hydrated every time I wake up from my sleep after putting it on my face overnight. It really helps to save my skin especially when my housemates set the heater way too high. I usually woke up to super dry and peeled off skin before this.

I decided to try and use it as my day moisturizer after my usual day moisturizer failed to do its job when the temperature was lower than -20℃. Surprisingly, it works excellently as a day moisturizer as well. Alhamdulillah. My skin stays moisturized even when I'm outside for few hours and the temperature is around -30℃.



Like the LANEIGE Water Sleeping Mask, I bought the lip mask after contemplating to buy it after a year. lol! I love that feeling when I wake up to the moisturized and plump lips. Rasa macam Angelina Jolie sekejap. Hahaha :p Again, this lip sleeping mask saves my lips especially when my housemates set the heater way too high. I usually woke up to the cracked and bleeding lips before due to dry air.

I decided to try and use it as my daily lip balm because I thought it would excellently work as a daily lip balm as well. Alhamdulillah, thankfully, I was right. I only need to apply it once before I go outside and my lips will stay moisturized for the whole time, insya Allah. Tried and tested, I was outside for about 6 hours when the temperature was around -13℃ and my lips was still moisturized with only one application.

So yeah, alhamdulillah, these 3 products have helped me to go through the harsh winter here in Banff.  These products may help you as well whenever you go travelling in winter. Anyway, I probably will need to change the products again when the seasons change but that's another story :)

It's currently a tax season in Canada which unfortunately, one of the most stressful seasons in my life. It's all because I want to file my tax return perfectly so that CRA will not chase me in the future but I usually have too many questions to be answered. Also, because the number of spam/scam calls that I receive around this time of the year is insane! #excusemeiwanttosleep

Thankfully, I managed to attend a tax information session organized by the Town of Banff last Tuesday and got my all questions answered. A big shout out to Nicole from CRA for entertaining my endless questions! :)

So, for the 2019 tax return (I have been thinking about this one the most as I want to properly conclude my life in Canada), here are the things that I should do;

As for the 2018 tax return, I just filed it recently. Like previous years, I'm entitled for a refund, alhamdulillah. If I filed my 2018 tax return correctly, the refund will be about 2.75 times more than the usual amount that I got in previous years. If this stays true, I guess I don't have to spend my savings to go travelling in Canada as I plan to go to few places starting from the end of May, insya Allah :)

This post was first published on August 1, 2015 on one of my older blogs. Decided to repost it here at Her Little Guilty Pleasures due to reasons that I mentioned in this post.

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"Sedih juga sebab kita tunggu 7 tahun baru dapat jawapan. Dah tu, bukan jawapan yang kita nak. Tapi, alhamdulillah, nasib baik Allah jawab doa tu sekarang. At least, kita dah kuat sikit. At least, kita dah matang sikit. Takdelah nak frust menonggeng sangat ke apa ke. Kita pun busy sekarang. Takde masa nak bersedih sangat. Kalaulah Allah jawab doa kita awal sangat, mungkin takdelah kita yang sekarang ni kot. Tak sampai Canada agaknya kita kalau Allah jawab doa kita awal sikit."

Why is it okay if you haven't travelled as much as you imagined OR if you have never travelled before?

This post is meant for myself and maybe for those who's been affected by continuous exposure through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and blogs which urge you to travel! travel! and travel!

One cardinal fact that you need to ingrain in your mind is travelling is a luxury for one needs to have time and money to do so. You need to have these two otherwise travelling would never or rarely happen. I learned about this fact when I was in my first year but sometimes it slipped my mind as I'm constantly being exposed to the content that urge me to travel!


When I was a student, I didn't get to travel as much as I would love to as I didn't have time though I had extra money lying around to be spent. Back then, I was busy juggling with my assignments. I also spent most of my summer breaks working, trying to fulfill my hours for Hospitality and Tourism Work Experience Graduation Requirement, and my winter breaks going back to Malaysia. When I was unemployed, I had all the time in the world but unfortunately, I didn't have money to go travelling. Now that I'm working, I actually don't have time and money, hence no travelling (again!) for me.

Some people will argue that you can easily plan your time around the days off and holidays, and put aside X amount of money every month to go travelling, which is true, actually. However, life happens. You can't predict what's going to happen in your life. Maybe that extra money that you have (or you think you have) goes to an unexpected incident. Or, maybe you don't have extra money after all the life commitments. Or, maybe all you want to do on your free days is to stay at home. And, that's perfectly okay. Also, everyone has different priorities. If your main priority is travelling, then it's good for you. If your main priority is saving or paying your debt, then save your money all you want or pay that debt. There's nothing wrong about it.

You just have to do you! Go travel if that's what you want and you can afford to do so, but don't despair if you haven't travelled as much as you imagined or if you have never travelled before, for travelling is a luxury :)

This post was first published on August 16, 2014 on one of my older blogs. Decided to repost it here at Her Little Guilty Pleasures due to reasons that I mentioned in this post.

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Clipper Boat

Credit: Here

This was my second time eating the pecan pie actually. The first time I bought the pecan pie, it was for to go. I loved it so much that I decided to try again only this time I wanted to eat it at the shop. I ordered Iced Orange Pekoe Tea as a accompaniment for my Pecan Pie because they don't offer free water.

Unfortunately, I didn't like both my Iced Orange Pekoe Tea and Pecan Pie this time. The tea was too bitter for my liking though I have asked the employee to make it sweet. However, I was grateful to the employee for allowing me to make the Orange Pekoe Tea iced though they don't usually sell it iced.

As for the Pecan Pie, it was quite mushy for my liking. Maybe because the employee warmed the pie before serving it to me. Thank god I didn't see yes when the employee asked me if I want whipped cream on top of my pie. I think I will hate it more if I had whipped cream on top of my pie. I guess I loved the Pecan Pie when I bought it for to go because I ate it as it is, without warming the pie. 

I definitely wouldn't mind to come again for the Pecan Pie because I know it actually tastes good. Though I doubt that I'll come anytime soon because I feel like I had enough of anything pecan and the price is actually quite high? This girl gotta save more money T^T

I went to the Niagara Falls for the umpteenth time three years ago. Back then, I was trying to apply for my work permit at the border (I need to leave and re-enter Canada to do so) but little did I know that I missed one important document. Hence, I couldn't apply for my work permit at the border. 

Anyway, I decided to cross the Canada-United States border using the Rainbow Bridge which connects the Niagara Falls, New York and Niagara Falls, Ontario. I decided to do so because it was the nearest Canada-United States border to where I lived and I wanted to see the Niagara Falls from the USA side.



&

I have to say that it was interesting to see Niagara Falls from the USA side. It gave me a different feeling from when I see Niagara Falls from the Canadian side. You can actually feel that you're in a different county though you're looking at the same thing.

Things to note (based on my experience)
You have to pay a toll if you're walking from Canadian side the USA side. The toll was 50 cents (I read that they have raised the amount!) and you are allowed to pay it using CAD or USD. Based on the currency exchange rates, it was (and still is) cheaper to pay the toll using CAD. Also, you won't get an entry/exit stamp from both Canadian and USA immigrations. 

I have read on the net that the view from Canadian side is more pretty and mesmerizing than the USA side. And I couldn't agree more! The view of Niagara Falls from the USA side was kinda restricted. Well, at least from where I observed the view. I didn't really get to see the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. I didn't even get to see the whole Horseshoe Falls.

Having said that, I believe that I may get the better view of Niagara Falls if I decided to hop on the Maid of the Mist cause they have this high observation platform for their passengers. I also may get to see the better view of Niagara Falls if I decided to walk around the Niagara Falls State Park more.

Nevertheless, I was super stoked cause I got to see Niagara Falls from both Canadian and USA sides. Alhamdulillah for this opportunity :)

Sushi House Banff, Banff

Sushi House Banff or known as the sushi train place by the visitors and locals here is a small sushi restaurant tucked in the middle of the Town of Banff. It is indeed a very small restaurant as it can only fit up to 18 people at one time. This is my go-to sushi restaurant if I'm bored with my favourite sushi restaurant (which rarely happens!). lol!

Sushi House Banff has the same mechanism like Sushi King Malaysia. It has all these sushi plates lined up on the conveyor belt and you can easily pick up the plates. You can also order sushi directly to the sushi chef if you couldn't find the sushi that you fancy. The sushi are priced according to the plate colours. When you're done, the server will count the plates and note the colours and you have to pay at the counter. Yes, they will not bring the POS machine to your seat :p

Shrimp Purse, Snow Crab Leg Sushi, Spicy Scallop Sushi & Tamago Sushi

Sushi House Banff offers a limited number of options, which is why I rarely come here. On this particular visit, I picked Shrimp Purse, Snow Crab Leg Sushi, Spicy Scallop Sushi and Tamago Sushi. All of them were good but didn't make to my favourite list. Having said that, I have to say that Sushi House Banff has the best wasabi among all the sushi restaurants that I have been to in Canada.

Price wise, the sushi here were quite expensive (even for the cheapest plate) but still can be considered as affordable. Service wise, the service by the servers can be a hit-or-miss as they rarely attend to you. However, the service by the sushi chefs were exceptional!

I don't think I'll be coming here again but it has nothing to do with the restaurant itself. It is because my time in Banff is running out. Less than three months before I say good bye to this beautiful place. I know I'm going to miss the wasabi at the Sushi House Banff once I left ㅠㅠ