JR Beetle Ferry from Busan to Fukuoka

Personally, I can never get sick of Japan. I’ve been to Tokyo, Osaka, Okinawa, Kyoto, Fuji but not Fukuoka. Not many people really think of Fukuoka when you speak of Japan however they’re quite known for their ramen noodles.  Sometimes flight tickets can be expensive and ferry tickets can be reasonable. Since I took the JR Beetle ferry to Fukuoka from Busan, that’s what I’ll focus on.

I bought my ticket online through their website, unfortunately, the site is only available in Japanese and Korean. I had my Korean friend help me but it’s not that hard to buy if you’re using a card that’s not korean. If you are, I highly recommend getting a korean friend to help because sometimes when purchasing things online there’s a lot of process due to security and might have to download the card app on your phone. Now because I purchased my ticket during golden week the prices were still high (240,000won total) but on a normal day they can go as low as 50,000won I think. There are 3 time tables for going and coming back,

8:30 – 11:35
12:10 – 15:15
15:50 – 18:55

When you get to Busan Port International Passenger Terminal go up to the 3rd floor to check in, you’ll have to pay the fuel surcharge, I think I paid 6,000won. You also get to pick your own seats, I recommend the first floor near the locker storage so you can quickly get in and out. Always try to arrive an hour before checking in at both places. When you go through check-in, the security is quite laid back. I think there is a certain size you have to bring as a carry on but they don’t check the weight or care if you have a water bottle or liquid. I think the weight limit is 20kg but not 100% sure, I can’t read korean well but on my e-ticket it said 20kg so I’m going to assume that’s the weight limit even though they didn’t check.

Just like going on a plane you can bring your own food, however, you can even buy your food before security and eat it on the ferry. If you didn’t bring your kimbap no worries, it’s a 3-hour ride and you can buy food on there. I forgot what they had but just small snacks like a donut, candy, chips, sandwiches, maybe ramen? and coffee or tea.

When you arrive in Japan you don’t need to do another security check but just immigration, very quick. And after that, you take a bus to Hakata station (I think I went on a free shuttle bus, sorry can’t remember).

Coming back from Fukuoka was also quite swift and easy. I took the bus across the street from Hakata Station at bus stop F and you can take either the 88 or 99 bus (maybe there are other buses but those are the only two that I know) and the fare is 230 yen. You have to pay the EXACT change and if you can’t, you could also get change for 1000yen on the bus and pay the exact amount. When you arrive at the terminal you first check in and again, pick your own seats. Afterward you go upstairs and near the entrance to the boarding gate, there’s a machine to buy the fuel surcharge ticket which is 500yen. There was no security check as you leave Fukuoka, I left with two bottles of calpis in my luggage and again, nothing happened. After you show them your boarding pass with the fuel surcharge ticket and passport you go to the boarding gate and that’s where you do your duty-free shopping which is quite small but they did have Royce chocolate!

Arriving in Busan is when they do the security check which is very quick. I arrived back to Busan around 6:55ish and made it to my KTX train to Seoul at 7:45, you can take a taxi or the shuttle bus, I took a shuttle bus and paid maybe 1,100 won and only had about 10 minutes to spare so the quicker the better.

There are other websites where you can purchase ferry tickets from Busan to Fukuoka, however, I’m not familiar with them or their regulations and supposedly JR Beetle is popular for their quality.

Dinosaur Egg Bingsoo 공룡알빙수 Dala 100% Chocolate in Busan

Okay, honestly, I’m not the best at blogging so I’ll just try to keep it short and simple. While I was down in Busan (second biggest city in South Korea) I went to visit Dala 100% Chocolate cafe in Seomyeon (서면). Supposedly the chocolate here is really popular although I came here for the Dinosaur Egg Bingsoo which is also called 공룡알빙수, 공룡 means Dinosaur and 공룡알 together means Dinosaur Egg, 빙수 is shaved ice, a popular dessert in South Korea. Since I went to Busan alone I ordered the Dinosaur Egg Bingsoo just for myself. I think it was 11,000won which is maybe around $10usd? The Dinosaur Egg Bingsoo came with a small cup of chocolate syrup, a hammer to crack the egg, and the

The Dinosaur Egg Bingsoo came with a small cup of chocolate syrup, a hammer to crack the egg, and the bingsoo itself, shaved ice on the bottom topped with chocolate shavings, other sorts of chocolate crunches and the egg. In the egg, there were some more chocolate with a scoop of chocolate ice cream and a chocolate dinosaur. In my personal opinion, I have a huge sweet tooth but this was overly sweet. I didn’t think the chocolate was that great, to me, some

In my personal opinion, I have a huge sweet tooth but this was overly sweet. I didn’t think the chocolate was that great, to me, some korean chocolates aren’t very rich, it’s a little tiny bit bland and tastes more of the oil rather than the cacao. So if you want to come to this cafe and looking for some real good chocolate, I wouldn’t recommend in ordering the dinosaur egg bingsoo, but if you want a good picture for the instagram or social media, then come with a friend and snap away.

I put the address that was provided on their facebook page into my navigator (naver) and turned out that it was wrong so I tried to follow directions that was from another blog but was still sort of lost. It’s right next to ESPACE cafe. From Seomyeon Station, I would get out from exit 6 and walk straight until you see NC Mall then turn right and walk two blocks the turn left on Jeonpo Cafe street and walk straight for a little more than two blocks then it should be on your left side. The cafe is quite small but has some nice interior.

Bamboo Forest in 담양 (Damyang)

Another under-construction post. Sorry guys!

Over the Mountains and Through Boseong Green Tea Field (보성녹차발 대한다원)

Post is under construction and will be soon updated!

Micro LASIK in Daejeon, South Korea

Today I had my first surgery in Korea and it was LASIK. Honestly it wasn’t painful during the surgery but afterwards my eyes were in pain!! It was a struggle to keep my eyes open. I’ll edit the post soon with some more details and pictures. If you want a full detail of the procedure for the surgery, here’s an article I found that will be really helpful so you can get an idea of what’s it like under the laser. http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/lasik.htm

If you are interested in getting LASIK then let me tell you my experience. Before you go to any eye doctor, definitely do some research and ask previous patients with their experience. I used Facebook as my source to find an eye doctor in Daejeon, I looked up LASIK/LASEK in the “Daejeon Peeps” group to see if anyone had experience and just went from there. For those who live around Daejeon (Sejong), I went to 밝은빛 안과 in Dunsan Dong. It’s literally right across from The Galleria Mall (TimeWorld) and it’s on the same side as Shoopen. But I would recommend going to at least two eye doctors to compare prices. There’s another eye doctor that’s across from Shoopen called 눈사랑 (Eye Love). For those who aren’t sure if you are qualified for LASIK/LASEK, I wasn’t sure either but if it helps, I have astigmatism in my right eye and my prescription (for contacts) on my left eye is -4.25, CYL/AXIS -0.75/170 and my right eye is -4.50.

Before you book an appointment for the consultation, ask if the doctor speaks english and for the price range. You cannot wear soft contact lenses at least 5 days before the consultation and same goes for the surgery. At the consultation, I did some eye test. After the doctor checks the eye test, he or she will explain to you the difference between LASIK and LASEK. My doctor explained to me with a slideshow on the computer because his pronunciation wasn’t perfect. Then the doctor will tell you which surgery is suitable for you. Luckily I had to get Micro LASIK which is less painful and only takes about a day for my eyes to heal. LASIK was 1.2 mil won and LASEK is 1.1 mil won. If you choose or have to do LASEK, I was told it would take 2-4 weeks for your eyes to heal.

Honestly, for the surgery, I wasn’t too scared. I actually wasn’t thinking too much about it until I was in the operation room. I was given tylenol before the surgery and they did some more eye testing. During the surgery, I didn’t feel any pain because my eyes were anesthetized. They had classical music on to calm me down but I still wasn’t really relaxed. Inside I was really nervous. Although I did feel calm when the doctor was telling me what he was doing like “I’m gonna be putting water in your eye.” and stuff like that and he told me that the surgery was going to be successful and said I was doing a good job. The procedure only took about 5 minutes for each eye!

After the surgery you won’t see clearly right away, definitely give it a few hours. I had to stay in the clinic room for about 20 minutes with my eyes closed after the surgery to rest. Luckily I had a friend with me because it was too painful to open my eyes. My eyesight started to get better about 4 hours later. I was supposed to go back to the doctors the day after surgery for check up, unfortunately I couldn’t make it because of my work hours. However if you feel like something goes wrong with the aftermath of the surgery, definitely call the doctor. Luckily me I had no issues and just went back to the doctors 3 days later. During my first checkup the doctor said my eye vision is 1/1 (which I think means 20/20) but I have to come back next week for another check up.

So here are the rules for LASIK after the surgery.
1. You will be able to wash your face, use shampoo, and take a shower after 5 days (I would suggest to shower in the morning before surgery)
2. You will be able to take a bath after a week, & use a sauna or a steam bath after a month.
3. You will be able to do basic makeup after 3 days. Both eye-liner & mascara are okay after 2 weeks.
4. You will be able to get a perm and dye your hair after a month
5. You will be able to do light activity such as jogging after a week.
6. No alcohol for 2 weeks & avoid heavy drinking for a month.

Day after surgery, I was able to wake up and see clearly, not right away though, takes awhile for your eyes to adjust. Please excuse my bare naked face.

Here are the eye drops that I had to purchase at the pharmacy right after the surgery. Total of these four costed me 27,820 won. The doctor will explain and give you instructions on paper of when to take them. I was also give eye goggles so I won’t rub my eyes during the night when I sleep.

So it says that you’re not supposed to shower after 5 days but I actually washed my hair after 3 days cause I just couldn’t stand it being greasy. Just try to avoid having soap and water in your eyes. As for the face, I just used a wet towel to clean my face and again, avoid the eyes.

If you guys have any questions leave me a comment or message me 🙂

Best 25th Birthday Gift from the Best Person…

For my 25th Birthday, I had the best birthday gift given by the best person I have ever known. And that person is myself! The only person who loves me haha. Here’s a sneak peak of what I gave myself, I’ll update later, hopefully soon 😉

Way Of Gray One Week Free E-Book REVIEW

Last night I have completed the 4th and last workout from the Way Of Gray’s Free E-Book of one week workout and I LOVED IT!!! I didn’t get the chance to check my weight this morning but I’ll check it tonight and tomorrow morning. I usually like to weigh myself in early in the morning right after I wake up because it just makes more sense to me. But I THINK, that I’ve lost something because now my clothes are starting to feel more fit again and not too tight.

I enjoyed all 4 workouts and every minute of it! Just looking at the schedule of what I have to do for the workouts and knowing that it can be done just motivated me. And they were all so short. In my personal crazy mind, because I was happy and excited to try out this workout program where you only need to workout 4 times a week and some workouts were under 30 minutes, it just puts me in such a good  mood where I crazily think it helps me lose weight. I don’t have to stress or dread to do a one hour cardio workout. I feel and think that happiness can fill someone up. For example, I remembered that every time I went out to eat with this guy I was madly in like with, I can never finish my whole meal, I would only be able to eat half of it then I feel full. Not full from eating but full from just being happy and excited to be out with this guy who I truly liked (I know it sounds lame but it’s true). So instead of filling your stomach with junk food, fill it with natural food and happiness! Alright, now back to the workouts, HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training, that was included in the workout but they were so quick and you’re done before you know it. The workouts would focus on certain part of your body such as the abs, legs, total body. And I just love how I can play my own music to make it more fun. I am definitely gonna purchase one of her e-books, it’s only $10. I’m just unsure on which one I want to get, cause I want to get all of them. So a month workout for only $10, sounds like a better deal than going through beach body if you ask me. And it’s seriously crazy how I get better results from these underground personal trainer than the trainers on beach body.

Another way I think I’ve lost weight, I can now fit back into a size 2! Well, still a little tight but I’ll get there. Unless if anyone knows that Ralph Lauren’s dress runs big. Well, anyways, 3 reasons why I bought this dress is 1) It’s a beautiful purple color 2) I got it on sale, about 75% off original price and 3) It’s a size 2 kekeke 😀

So Halloween is less than a month away, gotta get started on the workouts so I can look good in my costume. Well, I’ve yet to buy one, but hopefully I will this weekend.

Again if anyone is interested in trying out Way of Gray’s workout, go on her site http://www.wayofgray.com and there’s a link near the bottom where you can download her free e-book of one week workout. If you guys have any questions, drop me a comment 🙂

Way of Gray My New Way of Life

If you have read my previous post, I talked about how I have completed Insanity. The day right after my last workout (which was yesterday) I wanted to take a rest day. During my rest day I was still contemplating on what workout program I should do next. I was in between Cha Lean Extreme, or Blogilates, or Way of Gray. Again from my previous post I mentioned how I have already done Blogilates which has given me great results! But I wanted to try something new and different. Since the home workout programs from Beach Body didn’t give me the best results that I would have like, I decided to go with the Way of Gray. HOWEVER, I wasn’t entirely sure how her workout program was set up. You don’t buy a CD and pop it in a DVD player, you purchase an E-Book and download a PDF file. But I thought to myself, okay, well, what if you don’t know how to do the moves correctly? Thankfully, Sophie, the owner of Way of Gray, lets you download a free e-book to test out the workouts to see if you would like it or not. And in the PDF file there is a link you can click on under the moves where it’ll direct you to her youtube video demonstrating the workout moves. Now I usually like to take a peek of the workouts before I do them so I can get an idea of how it works or what to expect. So last night after I downloaded the free Way of Gray ebook on her website http://www.wayofgray.com, I was just looking over the first workout and would try to do them to see if I find them doable. In my head I know I can do these 3 workouts for the Warm Up however when I was actually trying to do them, PHEW! Action really speaks louder than words. After trying to do just one round, I was tired! So I took a break and decided to open/unwrap my makeup that I have bought from South Korea 3 months ago (I’ll write a post about that later) and test them out. Then I kept thinking about the workout and just had an urge to give it another try. But what really happen was I actually did the whole workout haha. First I was telling myself to just do the warm up, then afterwards I decided to test out the workout but I didn’t plan to complete the whole thing, I guess plans never fall through because when I was half way done I said to myself “Just continue and see how much you can get done.” Then when I was 3/4 done I said “Might as well complete it since you’re near the finish line.” Next thing I know I was dripping sweat and doing the cool down. It felt sooo good to have done the workout and I couldn’t believe how fast it was. So much for taking a rest day. The workout I did was just a one week sample. I am planning to finish it this week.

After I complete the one week workout I’ll definitely blog it on my next post. So far, I would highly recommend everyone who is looking for a quick workout to download the free e-book. If you like Tabata workout or HIIT or less than 30 minute workout then Way of Gray is a must try. Like every work out, there’s a warm up, workout, and cool down. Doing the workouts almost reminded me of Insanity however it was just shorter and more repetitive. Only thing that was difficult is keeping track of time, you’ll need a stop watch or something cause she would tell you to do a move for this amount of time then do the next one.

Anyways. I weighed myself in this morning and unfortunately I’m back to square one. I’m up at 133lbs, this was my weight during my senior year in college. I didn’t get the chance to look at the water weight and muscle mass etc cause it was just too early and I had to quickly get ready for work. But yesterday I do remember my muscle mass was at 39.7%. Anyone know if that’s a good thing? And just to throw it out there, I’m 24 and supposedly 5’3″ (I say supposedly because I haven’t been to the doctors in a while and everyone says I look taller than 5’3″). If anyone has some good tips and advice for weightloss or being fit and healthy let me know. Always open to new ideas and gestures to these kind of things ^_^

Insanity. Check!

I, Jen Phan, have officially completed Insanity! Although, I was two and a half weeks behind hehe, but whatever! I completed the calendar and did all of the workouts. Honestly, when I did the last Fit Test, I felt soooo good! And I was even doing Core Cardio and Balance 10 minutes before it too! But to just think, “Okay, this is my LAST workout of Insanity, I’mma give it my all.” And so I did. I have definitely felt stronger than my first Fit Test.

My experience with Insanity… Man out of all the home workout programs I’ve done from Beach Body, Insanity probably gave me the best results. But out of all the home workout programs I’ve done from Beach Body, Insanity is probably my least favorite. No, not even part of my favorites, I just hated it. Haha, I’ve never felt so dreadful to workout in my life. Which is weird and funny cause now that I’m done with Insanity, I feel so motivated to workout. I can’t wait to get home from work and put on my workout gear and do some jumping jacks or lift weights and pushups. Is that weird? Well anyways, back to my experience with Insanity. The first month I was doing really well, I still dread to do the workouts because I was so used to my 25-30 minute workouts with T25 and P90x3. But I still did all the workouts and didn’t miss a singe day, I was following the schedule on point. Then… When I got to the second month. First of all, I was NOT aware that the workouts were going to be longer, not 10 minutes longer but they were 57 -59 minutes long! Literally, after Max Recovery, I just had to take a break. Second month was TOUGH, I mean like I said, I fell behind 2 and a half weeks. And unfortunately, I didn’t follow the meal plan. I should have, but I just wasn’t motivated to go grocery shopping and prep the meals. Usually what motivates me to workout is to peek at the workout list. When I read the list of what the workout contains, I know that I am capable of doing them and in my head I just think “Oh, I can do that, and I can do that, alright, I think I got this! Lets do it!”

Overall, even though Insanity gave me semi good results, I would never do it again. I rather do a workout where I feel so motivated and actually enjoy doing. The best workout I’ve ever experience and literally gave me amazing results, would be Blogilates. Maybe I’ll talk about my experience with Blogilates in another post. But long story short, I followed Cassey Ho’s meal plan and did her workout, I lost 4-5 lbs in a week! SHE helped me get close to my weight goal, I was able to get down between 116-117lbs because of her. You guys are probably thinking, “if you got such great results from her why not do her workouts again?” Well, first, I wanted to see what my other options are and try a little bit of everything. I hear so many good reviews on so many different workout programs and I just wanted to give it a try and I’m an sucker when I see the workouts on infomercials. And second, I was just annoyed of going through youtube video to another to do the workouts in one day. You’ll never know when you lose internet connection or if the loading takes too long. I rather just have the videos all together in one and do the workouts. Alright, this post is supposed to be about Insanity so I’ll just stop here.

If anyone else would like to share their experience or thoughts of Insanity, drop me a comment 🙂

Lemonade Cleanse

So almost a year ago I gained a few pounds. Last summer I was about 117lbs. Then few months later I gained about 5lbs. Then I gained another 5lbs, total of 10lbs. Big difference for my body. And of course, Thanksgiving was around the corner, and I definitely wanted to splurge a little and didn’t want to not eat some certain foods cause that’ll just upset my family. When I’m eating with my family and having a family dinner, I want to enjoy my meal and not complain or say “Oh I can’t eat that cause I’m trying to eat clean.” I mean, I’m sure there are food that I could eat clean or can make it more healthy, however my family aren’t into that. When they eat, they want to eat good with the fatty stuff. So I thought maybe I’ll lose some weight and just gain it back for Thanksgiving, make it even. But I wanted to lose weight QUICK. Only method I could think of to lose weight ASAP, is the Lemonade Cleanse. The Lemonade Cleanse is a cleanse where you don’t eat any solid food and only consume this drink containing lemon, cayenne pepper, grade b maple syrup, and water. In the morning right after you wake up and at night right before you head to bed you drink laxative tea. The taste wasn’t actually that bad, to me it was pretty tasty. The sweetness from the maple syrup and citrus from the lemon then the kick from the cayenne pepper really gave me energy. Taking a sip of it you first taste the sweet tart flavor then bam! The cayenne pepper sneaks you up behind the throat and you feel the burn. Now did I lose weight from this cleanse? Of course I did! I was pretty much starving myself for 7 WHOLE DAYS!!! I lose a total of 13.4 lbs in ONE WEEK. Now, before you guys start thinking of going to the super market to buy bags of lemon, cayenne pepper, and think of where to get specifically grade B maple syrup, I warn you this is a very dangerous cleanse. I would only suggest people this cleanse if they need to lose weight for a photoshoot or if you just want to lose weight for an even but don’t mind or expect to gain weight back, because that was what happened to me. The Lemonade Cleanse was a cleanse that I sort of regret doing. I say sort of because now I feel like I learned my lesson. Yes before I used to be “oh lose weight the healthy way, eat clean and workout.” But because of the weight gain I was just desperate and crazy, yes crazy, to lose weight ASAP.

Here is what you need. To make one serving:
-1/10tsp of Cayenne Pepper ( I didn’t have a 1/10 tsp so I just put less in 1/18 tsp)
-2 TBS of Grade B Maple Syrup
-2 TBS of fresh lemon juice
-10 oz of water

First, let me tell you my experience with the cleanse. People say that the first three days are hard, but for me, every day was hard. Right after work I would go straight to my bedroom and lock myself in there so I can avoid food and the smell of it. During my lunch break at work, luckily there’s a quiet room where I would just hide and drink my lemonade and take a nap til my 30 minutes were up. And because I was drinking the laxative tea twice a day, whatever came in just went right out (duh it’s a cleanse, it’s cleansing my body). Every day I was losing weight and because of the weightloss, I got wicked excited and it just motivated me to continue the cleanse. It felt so good to have clothes feel a bit lose on me and to just wake up with a flat belly. I was contemplating in doing the cleanse for an extra 3 days because supposedly it’s supposed to be a 10 day cleanse but I just couldn’t, I love food and I was content on where I was at after the 7th day. So after the cleanse you’re supposed to consume only liquid for the next 2 days, either 100% orange juice or 100% grapefruit juice, as in freshly squeezed juice! Not that Sunny D crap. On my second day after the cleanse I actually snuck in a grapefruit, but I don’t think it made much of a difference. Now the aftermath of the cleanse… They say you either gain more than the weight that you lost or you’re able to just gain a couple of pounds back but still less than what you lost. Unfortunately for me, I gained more than what I lost. I gained almost 20lbs! Yea, so much for telling people “Oh I’ve lost 60lbs”, I had to say “Oh I lost 60lbs but gained 20lbs so in total I lost 40lbs”. I guess to some people losing over 30lbs is good enough but I had a goal and my goal was to be 115lbs (I’m 5’3″ for those who are wondering). After the cleanse, when I was welcoming the food back into my body I thought to myself, “Oh, I’m just eating this and that, I’ll probably just gain 2lbs so I’m still good.” But no, I gained 10x as much as I thought I would.

My review and results from the Lemonade Cleanse
BTW I snapped a picture of myself right after I woke up and weighed myself.
So please don’t mind my messy look.

In my opinion, I think the Lemonade Cleanse just messed up my whole body and maybe confused it. Cause after the weight gain, I tried to lose weight the semi right way. I was working out to T25 in the morning before I had to go into work and was eating about 1000-1200 calories a day then I worked out to P90x3 after work with my brother and I was still no where near the weight I wanted to get back to (117lbs). But then I heard and see that I put my body in starvation mode? Maybe that’s why I wasn’t getting back to my weight? I don’t know, I’m not a nutritionist or a personal trainer so all this weight loss and trying to be healthy and fit was something I learned on my own. I had no personal trainer to help me and I did not sign up for those weight loss system like weight watchers or Jenny Craig.

So there you have it guys, my personal experience with the Lemonade Cleanse. Like I said, I highly suggest people to NOT do it unless they need to lose ASAP for an event and are okay with gaining the weight back, unless you have self control. If there are any questions or anything please leave a comment.

BTW the Lemonade Cleanse was not part of my weightloss from my previous post of “Ask My How I lost Over 50lbs”. I did the Lemonade Cleanse AFTER the 50lb weightloss.

And the photoshoots I did after my weightloss.