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The need to study Korean

It's already mid of Ramadhan and what have I done lately?



Other than improving myself and doing the best in this holy month; I could not forget learning Korean. Every week, together with my Conversation Exchange partner we scored each other language weaknesses. I promise to meet up with Yong Soo 선생님 once a week to discuss what we have studied and what area we need to improve. It turned out to be fruitful! Just because I have a person to talk to so it made a whole lot of difference. Sometimes what I said will be quite weird to his ears cause I did direct translation from English..haha.



Of course I itched to join Korean classes!!  I have to calm myself down though for about 2 months or so before I can sweat out totally in Sogang University. Teehee..



When I told him that I applied for Sogang University, he was baffled. Why Sogang? He hailed from Korea University which is among the top three best universities in Korea. SKY - Seoul University, Korea University and Yonsei University. Here I am, all the while thinking that Seoul and Korea are the same university!! ^^; Apparently, they are not.



Korean parents feel proud if their children successfully enter those SKY universities regardless of major. My teacher studied French but after graduating he became a network engineer. How odd, right? He said, as long as you enter the best universities you could find great jobs from great companies, namely the giants alike - Samsung, Hyundai, LG.







This was his first time trying Malaysian food after three months staying here!




We discussed a lot about the academic expectation from Korean society's view which I am deeply curious since I set my foot in Seoul. I have met a lot of students in their winter school uniform coming home quite late almost every night, about 10 or 11pm while I was taking a night stroll. I wonder why Korean students are still in school at this hour? If I remember it right, I would have been on my bed already back in my school days.



By the way, I checked with Sogang University which level will I be placed when the semester starts in December. They gonna make an oral test to check my conversation level in mid November once the schedule is out. I told them that I have taken TOPIK exam but they told me that my Korean fluency will determine my level instead of the TOPIK score which has no oral test at all. Yikes!! I have to practise speaking a lot now.

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Best time to visit Thailand

Thailand's monsoons arrive around July and last into November (the 'rainy season'). They can be uncomfortably, unpredictably sticky. This is followed by a dry, cool period from November to mid-February, followed by much higher relative temperatures from March to June.

By far the best time to visit is from February to March when the weather is kind and the beaches are at their finest.

The peak seasons are August, November, December, February and March, with secondary peak months in January and July.

If your main objective is to avoid crowds and to take advantage of discounted rooms and low-season rates, you should consider traveling during the least crowded months (April, May, June, September and October).

On the other hand it's not difficult to leave the crowds behind, even during peak months, if you simply avoid some of the most popular destinations (e.g., Chiang Mai, islands and beaches). This is also the prime time for diving in terms of visibility and accessibility.


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8 interesting places in Bali, Indonesia

Denpasar
The capital city of Bali, Denpasar has many community temples called "Pura". One is the Museum called Pura jagatnatha which is dedicated to the Supreme God, Sang Hyang Widi Wasa. The statue of a turtle and two dragons (prevalent in all temples) signify the foundation of the world.

The Museum offers a fine variety of prehistoric and modern art, whereas its architectural design resembles that of a palace. The government supervised "Sanggraha Kriya Asta" has a wide variety of handicraft and works of art. The "Werdi Budaya" presents a yearly art festival between June and July, with performances, exhibitions, art contest and so on.

Sanur
Sanur beach has long been a popular recreation site for people from Denpasar. The palm-lined beach curves from the Bali Beach Hotel toward the south, facing the Indian Ocean towards the east. Sanur offers many good hotels, restaurants, shops and other tourist facilities. It is only a short distance from Denpasar. Public transportation to and from the city are easily available until well into the night. Offshore reefs protect the beach against the waves to make it popular for wind surfing, boating and other water sports.

Kuta
Once a lonely village on the road from Denpasar toward the Bukit Peninsula, Kuta is now a thriving tourist resort, popular mainly among the young. It is a beach for surfing although currents make it less suitable for swimming. Coast guards, however, are on constant duty during the day. Kuta faces toward the west offering beautiful sunsets.Accommodation ranges from international hotels to home stays.

The village abounds with restaurants, shops, discotheques and other tourist facilities. It is easier to find regular performances of Balinese music and dance in Kuta, staged specially for tourists, than anywhere else in Bali. Some performances are staged nightly. The village is ideal for meeting and mixing with other people, locals as well as visitors from abroad.

Nusa Dua
The Nusa Dua tourist resort is part of the Bukit Peninsula in southern Bali. Some of the most beautiful and luxurious hotels are found here. The resort is known for its clean white beaches and clear waters. The surf is gentle along the northern side of the peninsula, bigger along the south. The most convenient form of transportation to and from Nusa Dua is by taxi.

Batubulan
Driving northeast from Denpasar, stone figures on the roadside mark the village of Batubulan. Divinities and demons are carved from sandstone for ornaments of houses and temples. Workshops can be visited to watch artists at work.

Batuan
An old and famous center of the arts, it is now known for its dancing, wood panel carving and paintings.

Celuk
Northeast of Denpasar, the village of Celuk is noted for its silver and gold works of jewelry in various styles.MasThe village of woodcarvers, many of Bali's old masters still live here. Art galleries exhibit some of their best works. Visitors can wander through the Balinese style houses to view the carved wooden pillars and the artists at work or instructing apprentices who work in groups.

Ubud
The center of Balinese painting, Ubud's Museum "Puri Lukisan" has a permanent collection of modern works of Balinese art dating from the turn of the century. There are also several art galleries and homes of famous artists here, including that of Dutch-born Hans Snel and the American Antonio Blanco. The "young artist" style now popular in Balinese painting was introduced by the Dutch painter Arie Smith.

In the past, other foreign painters inspired Balinese artists to adopt western techniques but traditional Balinese paintings are still made and sold. Another museum called "Neka Museum" has a wide collection of paintings both by Indonesian as well as foreign artists who used to live in Bali.Ubud has several small hotels. Located on a higher altitude with a pleasant climate.


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New Long Term Pass card

The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) is introducing the new Long Term Pass (LTP) card - for all foreigners residing in Singapore on a long term Visit Pass, Student's Pass, Employment Pass and Dependant's Pass.

The card seeks to replace the Visit Pass endorsement in the passports of all long-term stayers.
All card holders will be required to produce their LTP card during immigration clearance when leaving or entering Singapore. If they decide to ever leave the country for good, they will have to surrender their LTP cards.

The cards are similar in look and feel to the NRIC cards held by citizens and permanent residents of Singapore, but are green in colour (see sample below). They are also equipped with similar security features.


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Direct flight from Hanoi to Nagoya

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) launched its direct service from Hanoi to Nagoya, the third biggest economic hub of Japan, on August 12, announced the carrier.
This is the parnering route between the Vietnam Airlines and the Japan Airlines.

The direct flights linking Hanoi and Nagoya will be offered on every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday on A321 Airbus with 183 seats.

After an inaugural ceremony held in Nagoya at 10h30 (local time) in co-operation with the Japanese side, VNA’s plane with nearly 160 passengers on board for Flight No VN967 began its travel from Nagoya to Hanoi .

Vietnam Airlines is now the sole carrier to operate the Hanoi-Nagoya direct service, and Nagoya is its fourth destination in Japan, after Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka.


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Spheredivers Homestay, Mabul Island Sabah, Malaysia

Spheredivers Homestay provides accomodation for Divers and Non Divers. Diving packages varies upon guests request whether to dive in Sipadan Island or hunting for small critters around Mabul and Kapalai dive sites. As for snorkelers, its all free to snorkels around Mabul Island.

They also provide Discovery Scuba and PADI/SSI Open Water courses to guests, not to mention other courses from Advanced to Dive Master courses by our most experienced Instructor(PADI/SSI) Situated in Mabul Island, Spheredivers Homestay and Scuba Diving is among the Bajau people houses who lives on stilts.

So do the homestay, maintaining the originality of the surroundings creating a similar environment to the guests. Guests form all over the world would definitely experience the culture of this island with its friendly people with a well construct diving facilities to cater for dives.

They mainly serve traditional Malay food but also offer simple western food especially for breakfast. Homestay houses* 6 Twin Sharing Rooms (Single bed)* Dining Area* Dive Centre with all Diving facilities* Sundeck Accomodation Price Divers RM 70/Night for Non Divers RM 170 + RM 70 subsequent night.


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Redang Island, Malaysia

Redang Island, called Pulau Redang in the local language, is located at 45 km offshore of Terengganu, a state at north east of Peninsula Malaysia. At the size of about 7km long and 6km wide, it’s a small island.

Together with some other islands, Pulau Pinang, Pulau Lima, Pulau Ekor Tebu, Pulau Perhentian Besar, Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Pulau Susu Dara, Pulau Lang Tengah and Pulau Kapas, these group of islands forms the Pulau Redang Marine Park which is abound with marvelous marine fishes, turtles and coral reefs, provides a great snorkelling and scuba-diving experience.

There are more than 500 species of live corals, 1000 species of invertebrates and almost 3000 species of fishes which includes manta rays, stingrays, sharks and whale sharks, all living in harmony in the reefs fringing the islands.

Redang Island is famous for it’s white sandy beaches, crystal clear blue sea, brilliant underwater world and has among the best coral reef in the world. With more than 20 different diving spots, it is a heaven for diving enthusiasts and underwater photographers. Some of them are black coral garden, shipwrecks near Pinang Island, a mysterious submerged chamber and Mini Mount.

The dive season at Redang starts around March and lasts until early October. The daily temperature ranges from 22oC in the early morning to 34oC at noon. The visibiity averages 15 metres. On good days, it can improve to 30 metres. Some of the favourite dive locations are:

Big Mount
Located about 50 to 100 meters off the northern tip of Pulau Lima, Big mount is a completely submerged oval seamount. This is arguably the best of all the dive sites around this island with a large coral pillar and highly rated by local divers.. The shallowest portion of this reef at 20 meters and the boulder terrain drops to 30 meters and is filled with many varieties of hard and soft corals, gorgonian fans, sea anemones and whip coral gardens. Divers can expect to encounter huge clownfish, sea cucumbers, starfishes, stonefish, groupers and parrotfish.

Mini Mount.
100 meters east off of Pulau Kerengga Besar, with the deepest portion at about 20 meters. The surface of the boulders are carpeted with a variety of soft corals, tubastrea corals, sea squirts, sponges and stinging hydroids. Also, here divers can see a unique blend of sponges, shrimps, moluscs, echinoderms and soft corals. This is a popular choice for night dive where divers are rewarded with an abundance of night creatures foraging for food around the reef.

Terumbu Kili
Lies at the southern tip of Pulau Pinang, this is one of the top dive sites at Redang. The rocky seascape is encrusted with both hard and soft corals at about 15 meters, and slopes down to 20 meters at the sandy bottom. Fish life includes cardinal fish, damselfish, chromis, snappers, parrotfish and soldierfish. While in the open water you are likely to encounter jacks, fusiliers, yellowtail, batfish and black tip sharks. Due to the strong currents, this site is best left to advanced and more experienced divers as you can get swept out to sea if you’re not careful.

The waters around Pulau Redang also contain two historic shipwrecks: The HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, sunk here at the start of World War II.

Other dive sites includes Tanjung Lang, Tanjung Tokong, Tanjung Gua Kawah, Pasir Panjang, Batu Mak Chantek, Pulau Paku Besar, Pulau Paku Kecil, Pulau Ling, Batu Chipor, Terumbu Putih, Black Coral Garden, “Mysterious Submerged Chamber”, The Southeastern Side, The Northeastern Side, Pulau Kerangga Kecil and Pulau Ekor Tebu.

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