Talkcock. vol 1 by Faiz Rashid

talk cock.

Vol 1: 030915-160915

muse thoughts recollections

Not all who wander are lost 2048H 0309 I rushed to the boarding gate, as soon as I cleared the immigration officers who checked my passport and boarding pass, I reached my boarding gate with 2 mins to spare before the gate closes that was a first for me. With my finals results out the next phase of life begins and this trip is an opportunity for me to ponder about what’s next and also to rest my weary soul. I love sitting by the window albeit the difficulties getting about to the washroom especially on a long flight. Luckily it won’t be a long one as I’ll be transiting in HCM for about 3 hours or so, woes of getting a cheap tickets. In flight meal was quite horrible on hindsight I was wise to get dinner back at Changi Airport Transit was pretty boring, I didn’t expect wifi to be that slow as I’ve initially planned to stream videos to keep myself entertained. However it was good enough for me to facetime and catch up and talk about my dinner and short flight experience. I’ve a thing for the skies. Watching the sky transit from darkness to dawn and finally to a azure blue with clouds of varying shapes and sizes fluffy ones to carpet ones covering the sky. Inflight food for this leg of the journey was better probably because it was a korean menu or maybe I was too famished. Finally I will be getting some legitamate korean food soon. Disembarked and whilst waiting I tried to set up my korean sim card the woes of feeling the need to be connected to the world through social media and what not. So far, Seoul good baggage intact, sim card working, connected to the world wide web and I’m off to get my metro card and make my way to the guesthouse.

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So Jetlag 0409 1538H Woke up from my slumber just in time for dinner. Foreign land and foreign tongue; perplex at what I should have to fill stomach while keeping in mind to adhere to my budget. The cons of travelling alone would be having your meals by yourself, just me, myself and I. The only chatter would come from my whatsapp messages. After walking around I decided not to stray too far off from the guesthouse and have dinner nearby. “Annyeonghaseyo, menu?” I greeted and gesticulated if I could sit there and asked for the menu. Flipped through the menu although I had already made up my choice. After a few minutes I beckoned to the ahjumma and prodded to the picture of the kimchi fried rice costing 6,000 KRW. You can never go wrong with fried rice anywhere on earth. I was quite famished after my slumber and couldn’t wait to tuck into a plate of hot steamy kimchi fried rice topped with a sunny side up, the banchan (side dishes) would have to suffice for now. While eating I googled “what to do in Myeondong at night?” Alright Namsan Tower it shall be. I could use a slow walk to familiarize myself with the area and digest dinner, at the same time the hike could be my mini exercise. I was intending to wake up early each morning and have a short dose of exercise before I head to Busan or so it seems in my head. Expectation vs Reality

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Disoriented weekends 0509 1303H Weekends are here, had my brunch and voila I ended up at the Myeondong Cathedral. I landed myself at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza after realizing that I did not have much cash budgeted for shopping, they say Dongdaemun is a shoppers’ heaven. To make up for my non korean breakfast I indulged on ddeokbokki as I explored around. At this point of time the night scene did not cross my mind. Let’s have dessert and then let’s people watch. I ended up in Sinchon. Maybe I ended up at the wrong side of Sinchon. I lost myself there. Lost to the demon within. I came back hungry. I devoured a share of fried chicken meant for two souls. I was hungry. 0609 1548H Woke up pretty late for a tourist. Pretty laid back if I don’t have to match up to anybody’s itinerary. Coffee fix at Ikovox Coffee in Itaewon. How do you say no to ice-cream? Found out too late that it was closed. I forgot tomorrow’s Monday. Settled for an overpriced beer. I wonder who is going to take me home? Cold noodles on a chilly night; bad decision.

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Fall is here 0709 1257H Last day of fisrt leg in Seoul thus I decided to meet up with the babes before I depart for Busan the next day. Pros of travelling with the babes is that I get to leach on their food. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Meet at namdaemun market.â&#x20AC;? I still have not figured out how to connect to ollehWifi, went to search for them dependent on any free wifi hotspots available to communicate. The last message I got was that they are heading to Lotte Mart at Seoul Station. I hope our paths cross else I will just venture on my own. Amazing loft apartment. Well I should have opted to stay with the babes. Walked over to Myeondong, probably the upteempth I have ventured there I reckoned. Sewol ferry disaster protest site. I admire the tenacious spirit of these citizens to get hold of those accountable and to make sure the truth sees the light of day. It has been a year since the tragedy and they have yet to give up pressing for the truth behind the tragedy.

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Life is a journey 0809 1345H No shit sherlocks! Woke up feeling like everything is going according to plan. What a good day not having to wake up that early to checkout or so I thought. Sauntered out of the guest house and bought a cup of taro smoothie which I will be having together with the kimbab I bought last night for the train ride. Feeling quite concious with my trolley luggage making a ruckus along the pavement as I make my way to the subway towards Seoul Station. It’s only a few stops away I head towards the information counter with a printout of my train reservation. She gave me a puzzle look and I was wondering what’s the matter. Turns out my train has already departed at 1105H thats like almost half an hour ago apparently I looked at the wrong timing and got confused by my BUSAN to SEOUL train reservation which was at 1410H for the 13th of September. Thank god I still had some money left to purchase another ticket departing at 1305H. Felt abit bitter that I had to part with some money for my carelessness, it cost me 28,600 KRW. Finally got on the Mugungwha figured out that I could do some writing on the train and probably a nap during this 5 hours ride. Occasionally checking my google maps to see how much further I am towards my stop. Finally reached Busan the air there seemed slighly different in a good way. Back to reorientating myself to the subway lines there and figuring out which line I had to take and which stop I had to alight. Haeundae Station Opened google maps to determine which general direction I should be heading towards . Can’t wait to get to the hostel to relieve myself of my luggage and get dinner, feeling famished after that long train ride. I recce my way to Hotel Ciel De Mer which I will be checking in tomorrow with the team. Thank god for the windbreaker, the nights are getting colder.

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EAT

SLEEP

TRAIN REPEAT

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0909 1144H Set off from my 1 night hostel to a hotel. Finally staying somewhere better for this leg of my trip. Toured the Haeundae Beach and had my first bibimbap, didnt want to over eat as water training is at 1400H. Made our way to the competition venue and went through our race sets. I came out of the session sprinkled with white percipitate. It was cold and salty. Had a gym session doing circuits before settling our room. Decided to head to the supermarket to get some stuff before heading for dinner. Never underestimate supermarket for it’s a heaven for food sample, hundreds of unknown items and the trerapeutic walk down the aisle. My kind of retail theraphy. Bought some stuff and went to hunt for dinner. Randomly walked into a small eatery and settled dinner there. When back to hotel and caught up over travel experiences before raiding the babes’ room for more food. Loving this phase of my trip. It depends on the company I guess, just the right mix of time spent doing my own stuff and with others. 1009 0746H I’m suprised that I woke up early for breakfast and made time to head to the beach before lazing back in room before water session later. Had korean bbq for dinner irony that we are enjoying meat instead of seafood in Busan. Ventured out and explored the area, dropping in the local pet shop and traditional market before getting desserts to end the day. Right before we head back to hotel we got more food. I guess it’s ok to carbo load before the race :P We went through a short briefing about the race and conlcuded the night with rounds of visualization. Godspeed to us.

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Sweet victory 1109 0851H

1209 0738H

Sometimes things donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go the way you envision it to be, so press on and have a little faith.

Its now or never.

My lunch was a sushi bento wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t enough to satiate me who ever planned out the lunch menu. The mood was sombre for the mens team. What went wrong? The mixed crew ended day one of the race with a silver, at least we have something to bring home. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s over is over we only have tomorrow left. Make or break.

The odds were not in our favour nevertheless we battle on for the next, we just had to do it, bringing back victory. Today was much more intense then yesterday. Kudos for such fine composure and sticking to the game plan. I am still amazed at how they are able to pull this off; back to back races at such crucial stage. Doing my part to give the best support I could for them. Work hard play hard. Time to feast and

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R&R 1309 1124H Journey back to Seoul, I will be departing for Singapore from Seoul on the 16th. I have no idea why I need a day of not doing much just to recuperate. Time to rest my body and weary soul. I reached my lodging quite late. It was 9pm by the time i settled down. I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t remember what I had for dinner. Probably something cheap and close to the area. Was I that tired? I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t recall what I did after my bathe where I went or what I had for dinner. No recollection, no photo evidence in my phone either. Oh right, probably my liver is still breaking down -OH.

Vol 1: 030915-160915

People watching 1409 1246H I’m staying at Hongdae where Hongik University is at. No plans? Let’s just people watch then. I did visit eatyourkimchi’s cafe which was also in Hongdae before having my dinner in the area too. Stayed around Hongdae streets to soak in the atmosphere and shopped for souvenir. 1509 1620H Meet up with Yan Jie and his plus one at Myeongdong and had the famous Issac Toast. It supposedly originated from Hongdae. Walked around abit before heading back decided to have instant noodles for dinner and catching up on my korean drama. What best to enjoy K-drama other than with ramyeon.

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Home 1609 1821H Dragged out my luggage took a photo with the landlord and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m off lugging my trolley luggage to the airport. I decided that I should be at the airport early as I had to do some tax refund claims, but primarily the reason was that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m afraid of the train to Busan episode. Settled my lunch there at the airport got myself a big bulgogi burger at Lotteria and taro milk from gongcha. Thank god there was no delay. Transit was in Ho Chi Minh city where I thought it would just be a 3hours wait. Turns out I had to wait for about 10 hours for my flight. I went out and decided to sleep on the chairs in the departure area. Totally didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t plan for this. No dongs and fucking hungry.

fall 2015