Year 2016 in Review

Bye Bye 2016

It's this time of the year again, the Internet is full of those "Year in Review" articles, so I thought why not be a bit mainstream and do one too!

As mentioned on a previous post, I'm on the cruise so my WiFi (even though it is thankfully there) is painfully slow.... And as there can be no good "Year in Review" article without pictures, I will forward the text to Geo and he will add the pictures :3 so this one will be written in collaboration!

Okay so let's think back to the beginning of the year 2016 (병신년)

We began the year in different parts of the planet, Geo in Vietnam and me in New Zealand with my family. We constantly kept up to date though so that was nice ^~^

Bad picture, but this was our New Year's gift to each other.
A LEGO Mini - it was super fun to build together,
and something we probably wont be able to afford again in a while..

Our first big event was our 1 year Anniversary~~

We went to a Brazilian all-you-can-eat restaurant, which was really good and then a late night movie (Backtrack), that scared us early to death because we didn't expect it to be a horror movie....

A photo box with memories ofthe year from me to him...  

... and a whole army of 365 origami cranes from Geo <3 

Then comes Valentine's Day, my birthday and Geo's birthday. They were all amazing and I will spare you the cheesy details ;) I guess the only thin to add is that this was all during the last months of our senior year in high school, so unfortunately Geo's birthday was a bit chaotic because of Mock exams (and maybe my melted jello cake, curse you Vietnamese heat), but we still enjoyed it at the end.

Then follows our graduation in May, that was an important step in our lives and a cool experience. 

And mostly probably just happy school was over...

However, then came probably one of the best time of the year, our trip to Korea. It was such a cool experience to travel together and for me to explore the Korean culture and try so many new dishes (I love food remember? Plus this is when my slight addiction to Korean food started....XD)

Then summer came  and Geo went to Korea again while I stayed in Vietnam doing an internship. This was quite a scary time because we didn't know if Geo would to a Korean university or join me in the Uk and that is quite the difference in distance. 

However, after loads and loads of stress, October came and Geo came to the UK. He landed in Manchester Airport so I picked him up there. It was so soothing to be reunited again and to know that we are just one hour away.

With that uni life started, our weekends together and soon after our blog and well, you know the story after that. 

It was a great year event packed year, so much that it seems like it was last 2 instead of one. But in the end everything has found its way and it's all good now. (except for maybe 2017 commencing with our semester exams...but shhh that's next year us's problem)

-KK

And back in Vietnam we are

Finally after an agonisingly long trip we have made it back to our families!

First thing you notice when being back: THE HEAT. God, did I not miss the heat...

Heat and humidity is really not enjoyable, but thankfully air conditioning exists and i have once again  successfully turned my room in to a fridge (sorry for the electricity bill mum and dad!) so that makes the time more enjoyable.

It is great to see the family again and catch up on how life has been in the last two months. Of course there is always Skype, but it's hard to find time and conversation tends to flow easier in person.

Geo is invited for dinner today, and it'll be the last time I see him in a few weeks as my family and I are going on a holiday. It's a cruise so no internet, that'll be hard, but that just gives more things to talk about on the flight back ^~^

-KK

Travels back for Christmas

*Disclaimer- This post was written during the plane ride*

Part 1

Finally heading back to Vietnam for winter break…yay?

Left the Ksen’s accommodation like 3 hours before our flight.

You could say that we are quite organized in that sense....genetics we shall call it.
Took a bus all the way to the airport, the only problem being other passengers..cries.
Some lady with an unspecified number of kids decides to casually take out a bag and throw-up in it.
Mind you, not a long bus ride, just a town bus..... but proceeds to barfing...sad face.

The lady may or may not be in this picture

After all that struggle, we got to the airport about 2 hours before the flight.
Getting our boarding passes didn't take too long since we checked-in online. So that was nice-ish. 
Security checks are always such an obnoxious experience. Workers think they have power over people there and kinda treat them like...how should i say this whilst staying PG.....feces.

Well got through that relatively easily, proceeded to the boarding gate. 

Oh the sad thing was because Ksen and I got our tickets separately, at least for the first flight, we couldn’t have seats next to each others...(sarcastic yay)

We asked the people next to each of us and well since I’m writing next to one of them……one was nice, and one was just a nasty human being. hahahah humanity, you can almost taste the love around

Let with an hour of delay
For now, just hoping we can make it to our connecting flight...

Part 2

So the good news is that we made it to our next flight right when they were doing final calls. 

The longer version of this story is that we got off on terminal 3 in Dubai, we ran to gate zone C.

This makes it sound so simple, but we had go through security (with way too many people), then go up an elevator, go down an elevator, take a train that leads to an area called "baggage claim", have faith in the fact that we read that this is zone C, get off on the "baggage claim" station, go up an elevator, run to the end of these gates and board the plane. 

It was quite nerve wrecking to say the least.....

The flight itself isn't too bad. A significant down grade from the A380 we were on from Manchester to Dubai, but we have seats next to each other so that was nice. Food was better than the first flight so let us economy peasants rejoice at that. 

*Disclaimer- Written after arrival*

After all that we arrived at Ho Chi Minh City, went through health check-points for MERS (we technically was in the Middle East...so yeah..). Saw our parents and parted. Ksen says she'll write the arrival so yeah XD. Hi Vietnam...again.

- GK

A Moment of Silence for the Fallen

Bye Bye Relatively New Friend

I only like a handful of sports, one of which is badminton.

Naturally I decided to join a badminton society at my uni. 

Since I didn't have my racket with me, I ordered one off amazon.

But after about 3, 2 hour sessions of civilized badminton playing (no throwing of any sort..)

This happened.....

I admit, didn't expect too much from a 6 pound racket...but sad face.
And now for a moment of silence for the fallen racket.

Product review?
If you can't smash this is the racket for you ^^

-GK

Korean Food Weekend

There are many things that make our weekends together amazing, one of the things being food. ~~~ While being a very fussy eater, I love food and I mean looooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeee!

Having more time on our hands during the weekend, Geo and I tend to treat ourselves with some more elaborate cooking.

This weekend we decided to go with a theme: Korean.

Even though now being able to eat many of the traditional dishes due to them being so spicy, I enjoy many others and would say am addicted to some. To be fair it's all Geo's fault for introducing me to it, bringing me to all those nice food places in Korea and being such a good cook himself. But I don't blame him, I am more than happy I don't miss out on this part of his culture and can enjoy the food he cooks. 

So let me introduce you to the dishes we relished this weekend:

Bulgogi (불고기)

On Friday evening we started off our Foody Weekend with a dish that we hadn't cooked in the UK yet. It is thinly sliced beef which Geo marinated 24 hours before I arrived in a specialised Bulgogi sauce. Added to that are Needle Mushrooms and the juicy delight is consumed with plain rice. I can not describe how amazing it tasted and how happy I was to find out that we didn't use up the whole meat and had another portion left for another day!

The Bulgogi simmering in its sauce.
(It tastes by far better than it looks trust me!)

Kimchi Soup (김치찌개)

Unfortunately no picture for this one as we totally forgot about it and just threw ourselves at the food. In case you don't know Kimchi, it is a Korean in Chilli paste marinated cabbage, which does sound very spicy, and depending on the recipe cooked by can be quite burning, but the one sold here is just the right heat! (probably not right, but I like it) It is cooked by frying Kimchi in sesame oil (which I love) and then boiled with mushrooms and Spam. I did enjoy it a lot, but to Geo's surprise I must admit that I enjoy the Korean fermented bean soup much more.

Korean Pork Belly Barbeque (삼겹살)

Okay, yes we do not have a barbeque and with temperatures around 0 degrees Celsius even if we had we wouldn't go outside to do it. But somehow Geo miraculasly manages to fry the thin cut pieces of meat in a way that it comes very close to the mesmerising taste of grilled pork belly. Especially with the home mixed korean fermented bean bbq sauce, thinly cut garlic slides all wrapped in salad you just find yourself in a heaven of food. We did fear to set off the fire alarm with all the smoke we produced, but -not sure if due to me swirling a wet towel and directing air to open windows or by pure luck - we didn't.

The cooking beginns. Geo takes over the frying station,
while Ksen prepares the lettuce, garlic and sauces and
of course her stomach to eat.
On the right you see some of the ready meal --->

As previously mentioned it was AMAZING and because there can be never enough of this dish, Geo magically produced a portion of fried rice from the last pieces of meat, Kimchi and sea weed. It was great. <3

Finger-lickingly good finish to the dinner. 

And because on the weekends we are unhealthy people who give in to food cravings, when after finishing a movie we stumbled on some food videos showing delicious melting cheese we set off to a late night trip to the supermarket to get some Camembert cheese. Yes you can judge us - or me it's mostly me - but it was very tasty just look at that:

-KK

Christmas Market part 2

How'd we even get here?

So basically, we spent the majority of our afternoon in the Museum of Science and Industry of Manchester, and by 5pm-ish(?) they pretty much closed so we were just like let's just go to the Christmas market now. We had quite the lunch (overpriced hotpot) so we weren't too hungry or so we thought.

~At the Market~

The market was huge, well I mean compared to the one at Leeds anyways...

First we got to the Holland area of the market.....

So we got fried calamari and apple doughnut thingy to eat, but just you know.....desert first.

Then we got some caramel waffles for take out. Twas nice. The remaining should be with Ksen, but I doubt they're still in solid form and not digested. (They are still whole and untouched waiting for Geo to return, thank you very much! -KK)

Next to the main square we walk...through a hoard of human beings.

Basically this was the German part of the market with all the stereotypical sausages, mulled wine etc. 

(Saying etc cause can't think of anything else~~)

Set up in front of the town hall, it was all lit up and stuff and this is pretty much what it looked like.

But the poor uni students writing this blog didn't have any cash on them.

So they set off on a long and saddening quest of locating the ATM. 

Just one of those moments when you need something at it doesn't seem to exist anywhere near you.

After about 5 minutes of walking we found an ATM with quite a line. Twas cold. (sad face)

I present to you Ksen acting happy for the camera while waiting to get cash.....

After this expedition of ours, we made a detour to the international(?) section of the market. Whilst looking for something savory to eat, we got desert.... 

(we aren't very good with the conventional meal order deal with it)

We decide to go back with to the main square, and have one last savory meal before we leave. 

After all that food, we had a full Flammkuchen to share obviously, we aren't savages. 

It's moments like these when you have to specify you shared that you realize you might be eating too much....

Anywho, ended the night by going back to Ksen's accommodation and watching a thriller movie. 

Twas nice.

-GK