Travel Talk and Gifts from Abroad

A few days ago, B and I had supper with my BFF Emila, who recently got back from her escapades to Seoul, Korea and Cape Town, South Africa! Can you imagine travelling to two different countries within the space of 2 months? WOW!

Well, Emila was fortunate enough to win a contest which happily sent her off to the countries mentioned. She won second place which included FREE accommodation in both cities. I really think the free hotel stay was one of the best parts of her win. There was no need to worry her pretty little head over finding the right accommodation or apartments in Seoul, hotels in Cape Town, apartments in Berlin or anywhere else for that matter. It was all take care of, which is so great because we all know how accommodation can take up a huge part of any traveller’s expenses!

Me for instance, if I were to travel to a strange foreign city like beautiful Berlin one fine day, I would need to search high and low for the best Berlin apartments. Fussy me likes to ensure the apartment or hotel we end up in meets at least a few of my basic requirements like safety, cleanliness and comfort in a strategic location. Definitely have to do my homework first when it comes to choosing the perfect accommodation unless I am lucky enough to WIN a superb big-time contest like Emila with the luxury of free hotel stay!

Speaking of Emila and her lucky streak in winning huge superb contests, we caught up on a lot of things during our supper that night. We exchanged travel stories of our recent escapades and of course there was exchanging of goodies. I had asked Emila to get me several souvenir items from Seoul and Cape Town. Some were for my own collection, others I want to give away to my mom who also collects travel toys like me, specifically dolls.

Goodies Galore

Traditional Korean dolls for my mom!

Traditional South African dolls for my mom!

I adore my snow globe from Cape Town and I think this is my favourite item out of all the things I received from Emila. I really have to start counting the number of snow globes already in my collection especially since I bought quite a few last year during our European Escapade.

Beautiful snow-globe

Thank you for adding to my fridge magnet collection too, Emila ...

... and for this lovely pair of chopsticks! I remember giving chopsticks as souvenirs to some of my friends too when I travelled to Japan a few years back. They do make excellent souvenirs!

Pretty Pencil Pouch from Cape Town

My supper and catch up time with Emila would not have been perfect if she didn't add a few of her own creations to my goodie bag. Check out the stack of postcards I got from my artist friend, aren't they pretty?

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