Naminara Republic

This is my first time going to the island. Somewhat gimmicky that they have the place set out to be like its own autonomous republic despite not remotely close to being independent. According to the description there, it's cultural independence, whatever it may represent.

But it's a nice place to be. On foot, it takes about 20 mins to walk the island end-to-end. But since it's a touristy spot, everything sold there was tourist-price. The island is famous for being the shooting site of the famous K-drama -- Winter Sonata -- which happened to be the drama that got the world hooked on K-dramas and K-Pop. I forgot when I watched it but I knew all along this was the site. I just didn't come the first two times visiting South Korea.

As I came here in Autumn, the trees were all in their peak-Autumn colours. Which was why it was nice. I like Autumn, partly because I was born in this season (although my birth place doesn't experience 4 seasons at all). The ginkgo tree lane was a must-go in terms of playing with the fallen leaves and taking nice photos. Of course, there are multiple spots for Insta-worthy shots.

Slight tangent, the ginkgo leaves were "imported" from Seoul. Collected and dropped at the ginkgo tree lane on Naminara.

Highlight of the place for me was witness the first snow of South Korea (첫눈) which came two weeks earlier than the previous year. It was also my first time seeing snow. Although it was just very light snow.

I wouldn't say this is the best place to be but it is a very close second to Jeonju Hanok Village. I wouldn't stay overnight here though, doesn't make any logistics sense to take the ferry with luggage back and forth and travel 2 hours on train and subway.

I give Naminara Republic 4/5 stars.

Busan

Busan is the 2nd largest city of South Korea and also the most famous for being a summer beach vacation destination.

But during summer, the beaches are usually over crowded and I don't go travelling in the summer as well. I came in autumn and the beaches were still filled with people. Despite being at the southern tip of the peninsular, it was still quite cold when I was there. Around 11 degC in midday. The windchill was the killer but it was compensated by the bright sun during the days I was there.

Also, this is my second time here and I mostly revisited many of the places I'd previously went. Including Gamcheon Culture Village, a.k.a. Korea's Santorini.

One new place I went was the Diamond Tower, it didn't hit my radar the first time I came. But this time round I went. It wasn't as nice a tower as Daegu's or Seoul's. But the cafe was nice.

Something new that didn't existed was the Haeeundae Blueline train. It started operating just before the pandemic and it's a short train ride between Songjeong beach and Mipo (near Haeeundae beach). Really meant for tourist as the route is also walkable. The first full day I was there, I walked the entire route. The last full day I was there, I took the train just for fun.

Walking on the beach in the cold weather was quite an experience. But it's a pity that the famous bridge -- Gwangan bridge -- lost most of its lights, making it not as good a photog subject.

There isn't much else I would do here with just 3 full days. I didn't eat their seafood as they were super expensive. I didn't go anywhere further than the main city centre because there isn't much interesting things to see.

I give Busan 4/5 stars.

Daegu

This is also my second time here. I always think of this place as a 'transit city' between Jeonju and Busan. As spending any more time at either cities would be too much.

But Daegu is full of intersting places as well. They have very scenic mountain ranges. One which I wanted to climb but was never well-equipped to actually do it. So I went up by cable car instead.

When I came here, it was colder. Not more than 12°C throughout the day. But a coat and T-shirt was enough.

There's also the Seomun traditional market where you really see Korean modern tradition in full view. I ate Galguksu for lunch at the market, just to really experience Korean living.

And finally, there's a tower than I went up to watch the city all around. It is after all one of South Korea's largest cities.

One thing I dislike about this place is its free-entry zoo. The animals doesn't seem to be well-taken care for. It's not even the main attraction, it is located as part of a very large park. The park is nice but not the zoo part of it, sadly.

I give Daegu 3.5/5 stars.

Jeonju Hanok Village

I went Jeonju for one reason and one reason only -- the largest Hanok Village of South Korea. Also my second time here and I chose a different Hanok (Deomumum) as my homestay place.

First of, the Deomumum's hosts are so nice and adorable. When the lady host knew I know a little bit of Korean, she was elated. And partly due to the fact that I was staying for 3 nights, they treated me really well. Chit-chatted with me before I left for my day's trip. And before I left for the next city, the lady host also blessed me with tangerines.

The whole village is a glorified food street, in a good way. Many street food, snacks, and cafes to go. There are also a lot of Hanbok places where people change to traditional Korean clothing to fully immerse in the atmosphere of the place.

Beyond the village, there's a nice riverside park to scroll a long, there's also the Catholic's Martyrs Mountain and also many traditional pavilions. Nearby was the Jaman Mural Village as well but I don't have the right lens to capture the uniqueness of the place.

You don't need 2 full days to explore the place but I really wanted to stay there to relax and chill. Trying out different cafes and eating their specialty Bibimbap (especially one with beef tartare). It was really meant to be slow and easy but everything I wanted to see could be seen in one full day if I wish to.

With the experience I got, with the kindness of the Hanok hosts, I definitely look forward to go there again, maybe with someone special next time.

I give Jeonju Hanok Village 4.5/5 stars.

Seoul

Seoul is the ubiquitous metropolitan city to go if you visit Korea. Though it is my 3rd time visiting Korea, this is only my 2nd time in Seoul.

The standard places are Hongdae, Myeondong, N Seoul Tower, and the palaces. I had planned only one full day in Seoul this time so I only managed to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace and missed the others.

On the 1st leg, it was not cold, just mild. Around 15 degC and I only needed my suit jacket and a T-shirt. But on the 2nd leg (before returning to SG), it was no more than 10 degC in midday and I needed an extra layer to barely keep warm.

I didn't do much here, mainly just refamiliarising the places I last been 8 years ago. But this time round I have better camera gear and improved techniques to capture better photos of the beautiful pavilion in Gyeongbokgung. I wanted cleaner photos of the palace but it was impossibly crowded.

To be honest, on my 2nd visit, it was really not so special a city. Apart from the cultural heritage and the places of interest, I really don't find Seoul that interesting anymore.

I give Seoul 3.5/5 stars.

The year 2022

The year started off not with a bang but with a whistle, probably. Singapore is slowly moving towards living with the pandemic and I started doing streetog without my mask on.

I did very little birding this year as well. All in all, at least for the first 9 months of the year, it was pretty uneventful. I spent a lot of time working my ass off in preparation of office relocation.

This year also is me taking up an unofficial project lead role at work and an official admin lead role, I hope my performance bear fruits at the end of the fiscal year.

It's been tiring, missed a few lunches and worked a number of overtime till exhaustion. But I survived them all. The worst of it all was doubts and self-doubts when working -- ran into unforeseen problems that even I, someone with 7+ years of experience, don't know. But it's been a good year in establishing rapport with customers.

Cycling wise, there's nothing much. Had a few upgrades. Most significant of them all was my new wheels. Good news is they are very aerodynamic. Better news is I don't lose any extra time up climbs. I solidified my best and favourite route for exercise and test of strength -- southern ridges of Singapore, climbing SBV, Vigilante Drive, Pepsy Rd, and Mount Faber on both sides, all in one sitting. I can't get tired of doing this route though I wish I was stronger than I am. In 2023, I hope I can do more on this route than 2022. Maybe break some PBs as well.

I didn't do anything new and I didn't make any new friends, kinda. Someone from work came close to being a new friend but I'm still questioning myself if that is really the case. I don't know if I like her because of who she is or because of who she reminds me of (that's because she reminds me of my ex).

Mainly, in terms of friendship, I've been connecting to only two. I've either burnt the bridges with the rest or am about to do so. Don't get me wrong, I like having friends. But not many are worth maintaining.

I gotten Covid-19 in July this year. Passed on by a colleague and then I passed it on to my mom and sis. The experience is mild but not asymptomatic. It certainly felt like I was swimming and water got into my nose.

Funnily, I got it at the worst time possible, when the schedule was packed and my responsibility to the tasks was the highest. We were nearing a hard-stop deadline for a project and many problems remained unresolved. Thank God all ended properly without loose ends, sorta. The final delivery wasn't perfect and there were a lot of unanswered questions from the outcome we observed.

Nonetheless, we managed to finish the project before decommissioning the machine in preparation to relocate our offices. Which happened in late-August to mid-September. A lot of hectic schedule and crazy engineering feats. All our machines moved into the new place safely, which is all God's blessing, no less. Overseeing the whole process blew my mind. Once I stayed till 10pm (without dinner) to oversee an equipment being moved to place by the movers. God bless them for their strength and energy, couldn't have completed the move without their expertise.

But there isn't a worldly event without hiccups. After we moved in, we were told to further relocate within the building. Something no one wanted except the top management. It's frustrating especially when there's only me who tried to push back. Middle management could only, to quote them directly, suck thumb.

After that, I got to see my old office building being revert to a bare-bone, never-seen-before state. That's because we were returning the building back to the landlord, aka NTU. This is an incomplete process, many unresolved issues still outstanding. So, 2023 will take us to another height of both old and new problems.

On a personal note, intimidation is still my best weapon, with my reputation solidified with strong assertive tone and attitude.

This year is the first time I travelled overseas since the pandemic began. I wanted to go New Zealand at first but with their on-arrival testing in place, I decided to skip the hassle for now. Maybe next year, I'm still thinking to go Korea or NZL. But I do want to go get my skydiving license. Wanted to get it in 2020 but you know...

Anyway, I went Malaysia, England and Scotland. UK trip was more of a free-and-easy trip. Didn't do any adventurous activities because it's not as fun alone. Yes, it's yet another solo trip going UK. Drove the entire trip, over 1000 miles on the road. Thank God there's no major accidents. There was a scare on the first transit, a truck's wheel cover dropped on the freeway and because I followed the car ahead too closely, I didn't have time to dodge (and it was unsafe to dodge as well) so I ran over it. Thankfully it was only cosmetic damages, nothing permanent.

Did a short staycay with a friend in JB and that was such a mix bag of good and bad. The massage was good, the ambience at the rooftop bar was awesome, but the hotel check in and the human traffic jam at the customs were nightmares.

Oh yea, I moved office. Now my commute is way shorter. Especially on bike, I now reach my workplace early enough to relax a little before crunching. But the consequence of it is I now can't enjoy my almond croissants on a regular basis. Good thing is I now have cheaper coffee. It's still a mess at the new place but hopefully things pan out well in 2023.

World Cup happened and my prediction sorta came true. I thought Argentina would win and they did. And then there's Twitter. All the official accounts I follow are still there but by end of 2022, I've decided to "tweet" mostly on Mastodon. All because of the idiot named Elon Musk.

Social unrests are still a norm around the world, which is saddening. Cold comfort is that I know these are temporary and God's glory is permanent.

And with the end of the year, I give 2022 3 stars. #0305

The Batman (Spoiler Alert!!)

TL;DR: Finally a Batman movie that showcases him as a detective. Nolan's version was close but not good enough. Loved it. (Also, Robert Pattison once again proves he is a good actor)

The movie is not perfect, for sure. I’d still rank The Dark Knight over this movie because it drew many cinematic references and parallel to TDK. Though a plus is that Batman is more a detective than a fighter-vigilante in this movie, so it's refreshing to see.

I liked the fact that they cast Black actors for James Gordon and Selina Kyle. There is nothing wrong with them being White or Black actors but it is another testament that there are important and instrumental roles in such an iconic franchise that is not restricted to any ethnicity. It is unlikely to see Alfred Pennyworth and Bruce Wayne portrayed by Black actors for several reasons, though. A Black Alfred would bring connotations of slavery. A Black Bruce would be unrealistic because the Waynes are a multi-generationally rich family and USA is not known to have such families to be of Black ethnicity (because, you know).

Plot-wise, I think it is cool to see the Riddler to be serious and dark. Different with other depiction in animated series or previous movies. It is plenty obvious that the character was inspired by the Zodiac Killer. And in this movie, they did away with the spandex version of his costume. But you can also see elements of influence from Heath Ledger's Joker. The whole theme of corruption in Gotham is also a standard from the comics origins and the earlier TDK franchise.

Though I think the Batman lacked a lot of the gadget-y display. He had the grappling gun, he had a giant Batarang on his chest, he had adrenaline shots, but nothing fancy. I guess it makes him more of a private detective/investigator but I expected more high-tech gadgets at his disposal. Detective skills wise, sure it's his second year of being Batman but he was supposed to be one of the smartest person in the world in the DC universe so it's a tad disappointing that he couldn't quickly decipher Riddler's ciphers.

And this movie lacked Lucius Fox -- though I think it'll be hard to cast one ever since we saw Morgan Freeman's portrayal.

I would like to see his bipolar personas though. That Bruce Wayne is a womanising socialite and Batman a mysterious vigilante. It's easier to deduce Batman is Bruce Wayne in this movie's depiction, actually. If I was Riddler/Falcone/Gordon/Real/Selina, I would find out who Batman was pretty quickly.

Also, Pattison's portrayal is great, he looked more like a vampire here than his portrayal of Edward in Twilight (yes, I know the director wanted him to look like a drug addict). He pulled off the reclusive character with a vengeance very well. I think, together with his Tenet performance, this makes him a great actor.

I give The Batman 4 stars.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

Have you ever watched a Youtube video or read an article online and suddenly thought you know a lot about the subject? And then proceed to try and "wow" your friends with your new-found expertise? Truth is that most of the time, you know very little about the said subject matter but you got over-confident. Which puts you right at the peak of Mount Stupid.

Though this may sound like humble-bragging, I do know quite a lot of various things. So much so that some people called me the walking encyclopaedia. I wish I could call myself a polymath but I don't think I actually qualify. All I know are but tips of the icebergs of various subject matters. Knowing that I don't know much about things made me realise that I'm closer to knowing nothing than to knowing everything. And this should put me in the valley of despair.

I know a little of philosophy, I know a little of Christian theology, I know a little of politics, I know a little of world history, I know a little of quantum mechanics, I know a little of psychology, etc. The list goes on and on about what I know a little of. This is because I'm curious about many things but I ain't got time to master everything. I guess the 'Jack' in my name does mean 'Jack of all trades but master of none'.

That noted, I constantly remind myself that what I know is not enough for me to claim that I am an expert. However, as I interact with many people over the years, I realise that they actually do the opposite, thinking that they know a lot when in fact they know very little. And they continued to think so because they managed to "wow" others with their knowledge and were lucky no one called them out. They have not met true experts in the field yet.

Dunning-Kruger Effect is a constant reminder for me to stay humble and hungry for more knowledge. I give the Dunning-Kruger Effect 4 stars.

#LateNightReview #0200

36th Singapore Bird Race 2020

I have done a review on birding before and that was mainly because I was quite pissed off with someone's obnoxious remarks on birding. But I'm not talking about birding in general today but the specific event of the Bird Race held two Sundays ago.

This was my second bird race but instead of going for the photography category, I went for the birding category (spot and record) this time. And I was the designated driver for the rental car we had. I thought with driving and virtual flag-off, we ought to cover enough grounds to have plenty of spottings done. But we didn't have such luck, perhaps due to timing and choice of locations. We only got 40 species accounted for (first place got 71 species) and we didn't spot any of the three globally threatened birds as per the pins they gave out in their goody bags (Blue-rumped Parrot, White-rumped Shama, Greater Green Leafbird).

Albeit the slight disappointment, it was an enjoyable day out looking for various species of birds across Singapore. I managed to photograph three lifers in the process, nonetheless.

You would've thought five hours is a long duration to spot more species but alas, my team only got 40. I give the 36th Singapore Bird Race 4.5 stars. #SBR2020 #BirdDiscovery #0156

Bristol

I initially wanted to cross visit Bristol and Bath during this leg of my trip but the parking situation discouraged me from making that happening.

It turned out okay that I didn't do both cities in one leg. There were plenty to see and plenty to cover. For instance, walking to the Clifton Bridge took me around 20 minutes.

It is a slow-down version of London. Compact but everyone moved slower and there are fewer people as well. Plenty of street art can be found if you are looking closely.

While most of their tourist attractions are also paid-entry, the Clifton Observatory is free and it's a hike to the top. So, it was a win-win for me. Though the annoying rain prevented me from visiting a second time in the evening to catch the lights.

I don't have anything negative to say about this city. Chill, relax, no-fuss. I just walked and walked around the small city. Circling it multiple times in the same day.

I didn't get to visit any museum here because I couldn't find one. But it was a nice experience all the same.

It's almost like London-lite but that is giving London too much credit and too little for Bristol themselves. I give Bristol 3.5 stars. #0331

Oxford

Oxford, the rival of Cambridge. The two are some of the most prestigious universities in the world, if not the best pair.

While I am oblivious to their rivalry, they are visibly similar. The city centre is again mostly the university as per their rival. Again, most are paid-entry. But unlike Cambridge, Oxford has more free-entry locations. Mainly the churches and college museums.

I particularly liked my time at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. I spent a huge amount of time and brainpower to absorb the information there, processing and pondering about my place in history and in the universe.

Got to mention, they have Park&Ride as well that I patronised but here I didn't get to have free parking.

Nothing much else I can say about Oxford apart from the historic and exquisite buildings being eye-candy to me. No fake vintage, no fake visuals. All authentic.

The historic and the brainy. I give Oxford 4 stars. #0321

Liverpool

I went Liverpool for one purpose and one purpose only -- Liverpool F.C. I know it is an industrial city and I know there is much more to the city than the football club I support but I didn't want to rush my trip.

I didn't cover much of the city because I spent half a day at LFC and the remaining half was spent at their city centre.

Walking around you can tell they are proud of their heritage. Beatles, LFC, Everton F.C., etc. are everywhere to promote themselves. They are also famous of their contributions to industrial revolution and trade. Some of their famous attractions are located near their ports. I almost got to watch the game between LFC and Man City but the Premier League threw me a curve ball by shifting the game to the following day which I was leaving for Oxford. But instead I spent some time at an empty stadium just to admire the size and the history of the most successful English club when it comes to European competitions.

The only museum I visited here is also the LFC museum. So you can say my time here is kinda wasted. But I don't care. I made the decision to visit and that was it. I wish I didn't spend so much time at their shopping centre though. I didn't get to go further away from the city centre because I was lazy to get moving after drinking my coffee.

Liverpool. 6 times UCL champions. I give it 4.5 stars. #0310

Castleton

Castleton is in and within Peak District National Park. A small town with nothing much going on.

This is a short one because I didn't do much here. I bought a map (which I had a frustrating encounter with the cashier but it's a story for another time) that allowed me to take 7 routes of self-guided trail walks of up to 7 hours each.

I wanted to do at least 2 but I either can't find the way points because it was hidden by housing or because it was heavily flooded by the ever-going rain. So I gave up on the walks and instead I went to visit their caverns.

This was one rare occasion that I paid to enter any place mainly because I didn't have anything else to do otherwise. I bought ticket to 2 caverns (the Speedwell and the Peak) but I only went for Peak Cavern because Speedwell was dangerously flooded.

They were guided tours so it was worth the money. Peak Cavern was one of the largest caverns with the largest opening in Britain. Even Queen Victoria went there before for a visit.

Apart from that, it is just a quiet town with nothing much going on. I give Castleton 3.5 stars. #0258

Cambridge

So I drove from London to Cambridge next and it is a pretty small and quiet city. So unlike London. It was hard to imagine they were in the same country.

I stay in the attic of a vintage bungalow that was converted into a small hotel that was about 20km away from the city centre. But there is Park&Ride available so I drove to the nearest P&C carpark, bought a ticket that lasts all day, and rode to city centre.

Upon reaching the city centre, it dawned to me that it is mostly the university. Colleges just lined up along the streets, literally. However, probably due to over-visiting by tourists, you got to pay to enter any part of a college if you aren't a student or staff.

So it was quite a bummer and I didn't do much except looking from outside the old and exquisite buildings. I don't get to see the bridge of sighs because, as suspected, it requires paid entry.

I did visit Fitzwilliam Museum to admire the archaeological exhibits though. Well worth a visit if you like such things.

Paid entry, everywhere. I give Cambridge 4 stars. #0247

London

How do I start? It is not exactly dreamy. London is probably one of the busiest cities I've been and I live in Singapore. I thought I am a fast walker, turns out, Londoners walk even faster.

It is pretty compact a city, I covered most tourist-ey spots within a day including a museum visit to the boot.

The places I went aren't all to it because I refused to pay a single pound to go to famous locations in any city I went.

The London underground makes travelling around easy although peak hours are best avoided because the crowd is horrendous. Absolute nightmare to squeeze into an already tight train.

There's plenty of shopping that can be done here but a poor plebian like me will not do much.

The must-visit places are Buckingham Palace, London Eye, Tower Bridge, Big Ben (though it was undergoing revamp works during my visit). Many of which are along River Thames so it's easy to reach on foot.

Interest fact that I knew before even going: there is a city within this city -- the City of London. Which itself is older than London City and you can still find entry points with city markers and dragon statues. It used to be an autonomous city separate from London but now the walls are reduced to rubble.

Busy, noisy, crowded. I give London 3.5 stars. #0229