PSBMB 2014

Sharing some moments when me and my colleagues attended the 41st Convention of the Philippine Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (PSBMB) held in Cebu City last December 4 and 5.

Since it's just a few weeks before Christmas, Marco Polo Hotel was full of decorations and we just couldn't let it all pass. We had to take pictures with them! Haha!

N Seoul Tower

After a day of non-stop walking, my friend, Shayne, treated me to N Seoul Tower (also known as Namsan Tower and Seoul Tower). Hihi, the best things in life are free! We're lucky that our guest house is just a few blocks away from the cable car station. When we reached the top, we were greeted by the breathtaking view of Seoul and its city lights. There's no better way to spend our last night in Korea than relaxing and just enjoying the view of the city. It felt like I'm on top the world!

There's also the famous love locks, where couples put a padlock (w/ their names, messages, etc.) on the fences. It looks cute but it's really not my thing. (Possibly because I still have no one to share a lock with. Haha!) Nevertheless, I still took some photos of it.

It was such a lovely night. Perfect way to end a very tiring day. Perfect way to say Thank you, Seoul and to bid Goodbye and to hope that I'll see you again someday.

Trick Eye Museum

Spiderman saves the day

Finding the Trick Eye Museum is a little bit tricky. It was located near Hongik University. When we arrived there we followed the map but we couldn't find it so we just asked other people if they know where the Trick Eye is exactly. But to our surprise, out of the several people we asked, only one knows where it's at. And he is even a foreigner. He even came with us because he said it will be difficult to find it by just giving directions. And yup, he's right. It's located in the middle of the small shops surrounding the university. It's sign is not that big and it's even found in the basement. So yeah, we're lucky someone helped us.

This is how you do it yo!

Trick Eye Museum is like a studio with several areas where you can take a picture. It's so much fun, though a a bit exhausting because we literally took a picture/set of pictures in every station. Haha! 

Sitting on the moon

Spread your wings...and pedal your bike

Into the wild

Under the sea

Yellow boots and a cutie patootie kitty

If only these are true

Escaping the flood

Escaping the shark

Escaping criticism

Come ride with me

Feelin' like a model

Get me out of here!

Deoksugung Palace

The fourth day was spent exploring Deoksugung Palace. It is smaller compared to Gyeongbokgung but it is lovely nonetheless. Outside, the city is bustling with cars and people on the go but once you get in the palace grounds, you are surrounded by calmness and rich heritage of the Korean society.



The colorful and intricate design of the ceilings never fail to captivate me. Look at how beautiful they are!

It's a bit odd but aside from the palace quarters, Deoksugung also has modern and westernized architecture within its grounds. It houses the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. A well-trimmed garden and fountain can also be found in front of the museum. Actually, for a moment, it made me question if I was really in Korea. Hehe.

Then, we get to witness the palace guards. It's like out of nowhere, the guards suddenly came marching. We're fortunate we get to see them real close.

A must-see in every palace visit is the change of royal guards. It's like you're watching a play and the palace grounds is their stage!

*All photos taken by me except for the two (where I am included) which were taken by my friend

Insadong and Bukchon Hanok Village

After touring Gyeongbokgung Palace, me and my friend headed to Insadong. It is an area brimming with Korean arts and culture. There you can find several shops selling antiques and other traditional arts and crafts. However, amidst all the shops, there's one spot that really caught my attention. It looks like a Buddhist shrine wherein several flowers with labels (I assume the labels are names of people) were placed on the ground.

Next stop was Bukchon Hanok Village. We just walked from the temple to Gyeongbokgung Palace to Bukhchon. It's a bit far but I have to say I really enjoyed the murals and small shops and, of course, the blooms.

Bukchon Hanok Village consists of narrow streets and traditional Korean houses. I was kind of exhausted already when we arrived there but it's still nice to see the old houses. Old architectures somewhat have a magical charm in them.

On our way back, I saw another mural (pictured below). Well, there's definitely a lot of arts and culture going on in this part of Seoul!