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The first few days in Seoul has been very smooth, and the S$209 winter jacket that I bought has served me well in this cold weather.  Despite the cold weather, the temperature in my service apartment and office is quite comfortable - much like an air-con room in Singapore.

outside my service apartment 

near my work place 

 Cars covered with snow

On the first day of work, there were some locals who commented that I look like a Korean - probably because I have small eyes too! This proves to be true as during the following days, the locals would speak to me like they speak to other locals and expect me to reply in Korean, whenever I buy food, shopping or top up my MRT card. Eventually, I would tell them that I’m Chinese.

It has been confirmed, I’ll be going to work in Seoul for the next 4-6 weeks.

After checking the weather forecast, I found that Seoul is having a temperature between 5 to -5 degrees, which means that I’ll definitely need to get some winter wear. I have under-estimated the cold weather during my last trip to Seoul (about 5-10 degrees) and suffered from the cold weather. So, i’m determined to be well prepared this time round.

Working there for 4-6 weeks give me the opportunity to appreciate the place and culture better. Also, it’s a chance for me to experience the work culture in Korea.

On the down side, I’ll be leaving my wife alone at home, who is currently recovering from flu, to handle all the household matters. Given the hastiness of this trip, I have to rearrange some of my plans made way before Chinese New Year. I’ll also miss the Chern Ye’s wedding and the elections fever in Malaysia, both in March.

I’ll also miss couple of live matches, notably, United vs Lyons (4th March) and United vs Liverpool (23rd March). On the bright side, I should be around to support my team for the crucial match with Arsenal on 12th April. This is potentially the title decider =)

This is my favourite lens. Bought it 2nd hand at a bargain price of $120 (it came with a Hoya HMC 52mm filter and 4 months Canon warranty!). It is a rare copy which was made in Japan, later copies are produced in Malaysia.

This lens has followed me to a number of places including Hong Kong, Seoul, KL, Melaka, Taiping, Ipoh, Genting, etc. Also shot a few weddings with it.

Served me well for about 3 years until it finally broke down after taking pictures for my 10-year secondary school reunion dinner! Basically, the front glass dropped off and it was fully detached from the lens! On close inspection, I found that a small plastic hook holding the front glass was broken. My initial thought was there’s no point sending it for repairs as the repair cost might well be more than the price of a new lens.

Looking on the bright side, I finally get the chance to upgrade to the far superior 50mm F1.4 USM =p