Since the first time I heard about the rumors that it will be held in Malaysia, I refuse to believe it. Well guess what, it just happened this week lol. Despite me being in disbelief and not planning to go to the event, I did bought tickets a few days before day 1 show lol. I realized that this could be a once in a lifetime thing and not going to let it pass me by.
So I took a day off and go to the event. Haha.
Day 1 was more exciting for me, because all of my favourite groups are there (except SNSD). KARA, FT Island, Beast and CNBLUE were all there on day 1. We managed to catch the red carpet appearance up close. They all are so good looking lol. The show was great, they had great sound system and the stage was pretty amazing too. Though there was a bit problem with the fan zones because it’s not like how it was described in the plan before. Kara had to perform Pandora twice due to technical error. Poor them, lucky us lol. But over all it was a great show.
Day 2 was also great. I reached there late since I went to work. We bought tickets in front of the entrance after haggling with an illegal seller lol. But it was cheap. We missed 4 acts which 2 are my faves, T-Ara and Miss A. But it was okay since Sistar and f(x) were still wasn’t performed. I can’t forget that beautiful duet between Hyorin and K.Will.
These are the photos during red carpet on day 1. lol the barricades. Can’t do anything about it.
From day 1.
Nicole was so exited while announcing Beast. lol in-laws.
Day 2. I take more fancams than photos since I was further behind this time.
I’m happy so many people turned up despite the venue being far from the city. Sepang International Circuit is an F1 racing track and I think it’s cool for us to held concerts at racing tracks haha.
I saw many casual kpop fans came, mostly working adults and family filling up the zones. Fans who were there was so supportive of all artistes. I’m proud. lol.
I hope SNSD will held a solo con in Malaysia this year. This year Bukit Jalil Indoor Stadium can now be used again ~
Heard rumors here and there about the 9 to visit Malaysia again like they promised in March last year. Hopefully it’s true ~
When I wake up that morning of day 4, it was drizzling outside. Rain during winter made it a lot worse, it became even more colder than usual. But despite the weather, we determined to continue our itinerary for day 4, which is a visit to the multicultural Itaewon.
We took subway to get there and it was still raining. We each brought an umbrella which was provided by our guesthouse. Itaewon is really multicultural. There were shops in various languages along the street also a lot of restaurants selling foreign food. We even found a restaurant selling Malay food but it was overpriced. Like 10,000krw for Asam Pedas? Better eat them back at home. Lol.
Our quest was to look for a Halal Korean restaurant that I found while making research on internet, Muree Restaurant. After asking a helpful guide who was on duty, we found the Islamic Street that leading to the Seoul Central Mosque. There were so many halal restaurants along the street, mostly selling Indian or Arab dishes. There were also a lot of Malay words on the banners in front of their premises, lol telling me just how many Malay tourists had come here that they have to compete for customers. It’s true though. We bumped into so many Malaysians there it almost feels like home. After climbing the steep road, we finally found the restaurant.
We had bulgogi, kimchi fried rice and kimchi egg roll with side dishes. It was delicious.
After filling our appetite, we head over to Seoul Central Mosque just a few meters away for Solat Zohor. It was Friday, and the mosque was full with people. A few local Muslims tried to converse with us, in Korean, of course lol but I only understand less than half percent of what they’re saying. They thought me and my sister were foreign students lol.
After leaving the mosque in the shivering cold we felt hungry again lol. We tried Bunggeoppang (Fish Carp Cake with red bean fillings) from a nice ahjusshi vendor and then rested for a while for authentic Turkish kebab at Pasha Deli Café. The kebab was nice but the Bunggeoppang was nicer! The hot red bean filling just melt in your mouth and I still remember the taste!
Soshi faces were everywhere in Seoul, and Itaewon is no exception. Aside from Yoona face covering the Innisfree shops, I also saw Soshi Baby-G ads at bus stands and also at the G-Factory there. So we went there just to take closer look. Soshi is everywhere in the shop.
After Itaewon, we wanted to shop at Ewha Woman University so we hop on the train to get to Sinchon. But when we get there, it was still raining, maybe even more than before so there weren’t a lot of shop opened. Disappointed, tired and cold, I decided that we should go to Olympic Park instead.
Going to Melon Music Awards was not in our itinerary. But we went to the venue just to pass the time. I was hoping to see the idols on red carpet but due to the weather, there wasn’t one outside. Disappointed once again, we were ready to go back to Chungmuro but then; suddenly an ahjusshi gave us two tickets. We couldn’t say no, since we were already there. So we took the tickets and went in.
We sat next to two Singaporean friends who were Sones. The stadium wasn’t full even when it was almost broadcast time. The staffs had to re-arrange the audience to make it look full. Lol.
T-Ara hardcore fans
The show was great, and there were a lot of young enthusiastic fan girls screaming their hearts out for Infinite. Lol I think Infinite is more popular than other boy groups in Korea right now. Even though Beast was also there, but B2UTY screams are not as high pitched as Inspirit.
We didn’t wait till the award was over because it’ll be chaotic sharing trains with the fangirls. We left right after 2NE1 flawlessly performed I Love You.
We start our morning with hot toasts and instant coffee! We woke up a bit late that morning because of the soreness of our body from day one adventure.
We took subway and we didn’t get lost this time and managed to get to Gyeongbukgung Palace around 10:00am. The palace is AMAZING. It’s like you’re being sucked in time to the Joseon Dynasty like in the saeguk dramas on TV. It’s not just one building, but its acres of land with loads of beautiful buildings in one place. When we got there, there were a lot of teenagers visiting the palace so it got a bit chaotic with naughty boys jumping around and girls chatting loudly. Later we learned that the palace open to students for free for a period of time. There were guided tours in English and the earliest one was on 11:00am so we were right on schedule. We waited for around 15 minutes and join the tour. There were around 20 people in our group. There were Malaysians too. Yay, lol happy to see fellow countrymen.
I learned a lot about the history of the palace, but I can only focus for so long lol. It got boring after a while listening to the guide and my toes were almost frozen. I realized then that my sneakers are not enough to endure the cold.
There are stories for each of the mini statues
Built without a single nail
The tour ended about 1 hour later and we parted from the group. We move to the National Palace Museum to heat up and rest lol. It’s in the same area as the palace. There were 3 halls, each focusing on different era of the history of Korea.
Apparently that was a bed
We lost track of time in the palace and we left at 2:00pm. So we managed to watch the Changing Guard Ceremony at the main entrance.
The Royal Changing Guard Ceremony
Next we walk around the beautiful Gwanghamun Square just outside the palace gate. There were two giant statues at the square, one is King Sejong and another one is Admiral Yi (I think). While we were walking we saw crowds and people giving out speeches enthusiastically. Police were guarding the area and media were also present. Later I learned that they were campaigns for the presidential election.
Not sure what these people were doing
We were looking for the largest bookstore there, Kyobo Bookstore and were walking around aimlessly looking for building that we saw on Running Man episode (LOL). There were so many buildings and we don’t have all day (plus we were starving), so we decided to go to the subway and move to Myeongdong for lunch.
But in the subway, we found the way to Kyobo Bookstore. ^^
But at the bookstore, it wasn’t books that I bought. LOL. I happily shop for I AM DVD, Despicable Me Korean DVD and KARA Solo Collection. The KARA one was on sale. o/
Next we hurriedly went back to Myeongdong for two reasons, first we want to eat at a halal restaurant and secondly we have to buy winter boots for Nami Island trip the next day. We got there around 4pm and I managed to drop by Banilla Co. and Innisfree to shop for more cosmetics. And then we found the restaurant by chance! Haha, we were lucky. ^^
We went to Agra Restaurant, which is a popular chain Indian restaurant in Seoul that serves halal and vegetarian menu. One thing though, we didn’t expect the place to be so… classy. Lol. We had their lunch set, which consists of rice, curry with cheese, salad, roti naan and vegetables all for only 9,900krw. Their naan bread and cheese curry was so delicious I can still remember the taste.
Before moving to the next destination we stop by SPAO to buy boots and Harvard shirts that were on sale. The boots were only 45,000krw per pair and they’re pretty! The price there is very reasonable.
Next stop, COEX!
We arrived there around 7.00am and the place was pretty empty. There were rice wreaths mostly for Jessica lined nicely along the floor. I bought Legally Blonde merchandises for me and my friends because they were pretty cheap. The posters were only 1,000krw each!
From Malaysia!
Merchandise booth
My sister isn’t watching the musical (because she thinks it’s a waste of money) and she decided to wait for me at the bench in front of the hall entrance and read. This later became the best decision she made. I told her to keep an eye for other Soshi members who might turn up. We both guessed that it might be Yoona who come, that is if anyone turn up at all. My sister fave Soshi member is Yoona after all.
I went in myself and sat at my seat, next to a nice ahjusshi who also came alone. When I was settling myself at my seat, suddenly people were cheering. I looked up and saw two people walking to their seats and noticed that it was Yoona. I was sitting at the opposite side of Yoona, sadly. So I only saw her from afar. Then I noticed a hyper girl sitting beside her. The girl was trying to cover her face with her scarf as she laughed, and it was none other than Krystal Jung.
The show starts a few minutes after 8:00pm with a cheerful dance number by Elle Woods’s friends. And then Jessica appeared and the crowd was cheering.
The musical was so fun to watch, it was funny and entertaining with lovable characters and witty lines all throughout. You will fall for the arrogant Warner who dumped Elle, though he was kind of a douche but he was cute. And then there was the shy Emmet who always dresses plainly but always there for Elle. And who can forget the vibrant hairstylist Paulette who became Elle’s shoulder to cry on during her time at Harvard. And also Kyle, the delivery guy from PedEx who wears tight clothes all the time.
But Elle was the best. I have never seen Jessica being so committed with something. And her performance through this musical proved to me that she’s not a lazy girl people accuse her to be. She’s amazing.
After the musical ended my sister boasted to me that she saw Yoona up close. They passed by her 4 times! She tried to chase her the first time like others lol but she was blocked by the manager. She decided to use another tactic, which was to act like she don’t care but hid the camera with her. It worked and Yoona and Krystal walked past her so leisurely and the managers didn’t see her as a threat lol.
We went back to Chungmuro station, feeling happy and content. But then there was a problem. We forgot which exit to take. And at a station there were around 8-9 exits. If you took the wrong exit you will get lost. We were lost. LOL. It was late, cold and dark and we were wandering with our shopping bags. Luckily we found a taxi driver, though he refused to drive us or even talk to us, I managed to ask him in my broken hangul and luckily he understood. He pointed us a way and we finally found our guesthouse. o/
Next is day three, to Nami Island the fairy tale land!
Finally it’s T-Ara showcase! I was shocked to see so many people turned up despite the controversy. The Malaysian Queens were very enthusiastic and supportive. I’m proud to be one of the people in the crowd of thousands that night.
The show opened by a solo male singer singing a mandarin song, and then sharp at 8.30pm, T-Ara came up on the stage singing Roly-Poly. I was pleasantly surprised by their punchtuality, gotta give props to Jazzy and T-Ara.
Roly-Poly was fun, and everyone was so excited. They were wearing cute retro outfit of red and white with polka dots. Soyeon tried her best to communicate with us in English with her heavy accent which I find appealing in a weird way. lol. The girl who sat beside me was a Soyeon fanatic and me being a Hyomin bias, it was fun screaming out our biases name. Though her voice shouting Soyeon is heard in all of my fancams. haha.
The next song was Lovey Dovey and the crowd went wild again. I felt thankful for my upper level seat because those at the lower level can’t even sit because everyone was standing in excitement. But I’m sure we all had a great night all the same.
After that they disappear to the back and a video from their European trip was played on the screen. We saw staffs arranging the chairs on stage and we knew what song is next. It’s I Go Crazy Because of You. They came out, now changed into their sexy tuxedos and short pants and blew our mind with their performance. The part where Hyomin lay on the chair…. :Q
And then it was the time for a mini game with lucky fans. A huge transparent box was carried on stage and the girls picked a ticket. 2 guys were picked and they came on stage. They were asked to dance to T-Ara songs which they both chose Roly-Poly. But they both failed terribly. LOL. The guys received a signed album each while the winner get to take photo with T-Ara. The rest of the girls then hugged the extremely lucky dude, while Hyomin calms us with a virtual hug. Then Eunjung hugged her from behind! Total fanservice I tell you. lol.
After the game they continued with Why Are You Being Like This, Day by Day and Sexy Love. And then they ended the show and disappeared backstage. But the crowd weren’t ready to let them leave. We chant and we chant and we chant until they came out with an encore of Roly-Poly. They were extremely playful, jumping around the stage, interacting with fans and Eunjung was busy picking up all the Rilakkumas she could found. lol. They ended the show with 3 bows around the stage and it was so sad to see them leave. T_T
But then they came back for the High 5 session for the VVIP ticket holders. And this is one thing I salute Jazzy for. They let us non VVIP tix holders to stay in the hall while it went on. Unlike 2 previous shows I went to, which was JYJ Showcase and Beast Showcase that forced other fans to leave. After the High 5, we surprised Soyeon with a birthday cake. YAY.
And then, they bowed again before finally leaving the stage. And as we were sad to see them go, they were also sad to leave us. T_T
and as I quote Hyomin:
“I love Malaysia, I don’t want to back. I follow here.”
Fact:
They said ‘cinta padamu’ (love you in Malay) many many times until I had lost count. LOL
I got the pass to watch him up close a few days before the event and wouldn’t miss the chance! I liked him since I saw him in 49 Days as the dashing and handsome Scheduler.
He came to promote Holika Holika. A few lucky fans/big spenders got to take photos and his autograph on stage. I’m not in the lucky fan category but his looks itself is enough for me. lol.
A 소원 NAMED AIENBEST 