FINLAND - Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi & The Artikum

Lora is wearing ZARA fur coat and a fur hat bought from Russia's Red Square

FINLAND - Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi - A unique destination to visit at the ARCTIC CIRCLE is the famous Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Lapland where they celebrate Christmas everyday! It is a fairytale come true where thousands of visitors from all around the World come here annually. They even have their own Santa Claus Airport where I took a Finnair flight from Helsinki Airport to arrive in Rovaniemi. The Santa Claus Village is located 2km away from the Official Santa Claus Airport. I also checked into the Santa Claus Hotel to put down my luggage before heading out.

SANTA CLAUS VILLAGE

Website: http://www.santaclausvillage.info/

Santa Claus Village & Santa Park - A place filled with magical moments and interesting activities to create a joyous festive mood for visitors. The main entrance was neon-lited like entering a dark, cold and mysterious cave with a big surprise waiting for you at the end. There are many different buildings and cottages to explore, each containing an element of surprise as well as creative activities to get you into the Christmas festive spirits. A magical place filled with loads of joy, happiness and laughter!

I was in awe of the beautiful Christmas decor and I love meeting the "Christmas Elves" who taught me how to make Santa Claus Finger Puppets. I'm not quite a handicrafts person but with patience, I made a lovely puppet and nailed it to the wooden walls. I even wrote a postcard to Santa Claus himself and even met him in person! He told me to be good if I wanted any presents during Christmas Day. Of course, you guys know I've always been and will continue to be good! I also attended the "Elves Etiquette Workshop" to learn proper polite manners and Elves' language! I can speak ELVISH now!

Crossing the ARCTIC CIRCLE - One proud achievement of visiting this Santa Claus Village is that I have crossed the Arctic Circle successfully! Isn't it amazing? It's a lifetime achievement. I also read the Arctic Circle map together with the Santa Claus helpers.

Winter Ice Palace - I love the Winter Ice Palace filled with many beautiful ice sculptures the most! Due to the place being extremely cold, I was given a thick warm jacket to put on despite already wearing a really thick Zara fur coat. Inside, I was mesmerized by the enchanting music and beautifully crafted ice sculptures. My fingers were numbed and I had a hard time taking photos with my camera inside. I also sat on a Princess Throne made entirely out of ice and my butt was freezing!

You will never feel lost! There are signs to point me in the right direction to get back to SINGAPORE!

HUSKY SAFARI - Enjoy Husky sled rides in Winter and Park visits in Summer :)

Website - http://www.huskypark.fi/

I made so many new friends with different Santa Claus helpers - the elves, pixies and goblins etc. Now you know how Santa Claus is able to deliver Christmas presents all around the World with all his special helpers busy working all throughout the year. 

ARTIKUM - A huge Science museum situated in Rovaniemi and a must visit. At this museum, I was taught about the Northern Lights and what creates them. The exhibitions also display the culture and way of life living at the Arctic Circle. There is also a unique exhibition which features Blue Ice where visitors can touch and even lick the ice. Their main attraction is the "Northern Lights Theatre" where visitors can enjoy a 3D animation of the Aurora Borealis projected onto the high ceilings. It was such a beautiful sight and I fell in love with it.

ARTIKUM Museum & Arctic Science Centre

Website: http://www.arktikum.fi/EN/

I love traveling around the World to discover exotic and unique destinations. Join me at my next travel adventure! After all, traveling helps to reignite our sense of discovery and increases our knowledge. I enjoy discovering new places and meeting new people along my journey. 

The World is not such a Dull Place after all... Life is full of Amazing Discoveries and Beautiful Things!

Click here to read about my RUSSIA Trip 

 http://www.sgsisters.com/search/label/Russia

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - The St. Basil's Cathedral

♥ Lora Christelle Lim ♥
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SEOUL, KOREA - Sara Shantelle and DJ Nicole Chen Visit to Seoul, Korea, Part 2

Visiting Seoul, Korea with DJ Nicole Chen

1 Week Trip

Leisure & Business 

Visiting Seoul, KOREA with DJ Nicole Chen - Korea is freezing cold. I was shivering most of the time despite wearing a thick Zara coat. In such cold weather, nothing is better than a Korean Spicy Hot Pot. Nicole and I had some delicious spicy hot pot the moment we woke up. The cold was making us super hungry all the time. We ate like gluttons in Korea. Guess I have to go on diet after this trip!

Yankee Candle

www.yankeecandle.co.kr

Yankee Candle - After we were done with our hearty meal, we went for a little shopping. We stunbled acrossed this Yankee Candle shop. Everything smells so good that you would just want to lick it like a sweet lollipop. The entire shop was so colorful and pretty. I think I smell delicious and fragrant too!

Cafe Wall a Dog Cafe

CAFE WALL Dog Cafe - Seoul is a huge city but many locals live in tiny apartments and do not have the luxury to own a pet. There is growing popularity of Pet Cafes as they allow animal lovers to play with animals. A lot of pet owners would choose to hang out in this place, to let their dogs play and mingle with other dogs too.

All you need to do is to buy 1 drink from their cafe to enter the dog cafe area to play with pets. 

It was so fun meeting and playing with all the different dogs. I miss my Prince Royale already!

I really like it that they had all kinds of dogs, of many different breed and sizes. 

They even serve food in this cafe, don't be alarm if the big black dogs, jump onto your seat beside you, to try to steal your sandwiches. They do!

Korean BBQ

Pork & Beef

Korean BBQ - This is my ultimate favorite! Their marinated Chicken, Beef and Pork were all so delicious. We had dinner together with Nicole Chen's cousin - Kyan who works at Cartier. After dinner, we went KTV and enjoyed singing the night away.

Korean Steam Boat

The next day, I spent my day with my new Korean friend, Jessie. She brought me for a fantastic buffet style steamboat. I was spoilt for choice and I ordered almost everything on the menu to try.

Shopping at Dongdaemum - Jessie brought me to Dongdaemum to shop. An area filled with reasonably priced factory designs and outlets. We enjoyed a huge shopping spree.

Korean Chicken Baldi

Before, we ended our night, we had dinner at Dongdae mum. I like this particular food. Its a little like BBQ, but at the end of the meal, you get to add white rice into your BBQ pot, to cook some fried rice with the last bits of your BBQ food.

The Vault

Underground Whiskey Bar

THE VAULT - Nicole Chen, Amy Hayashi and I went to check out The Vault. It was really old school. The menu was huge and the people were mostly business executives who were dressed stylisly in their business suit and ties. We had the honor of having our own private room, where the owner served us some food and a bottle of red wine personally. We enjoyed a private dinner in the comfort of a private room and later went outside to soak in the crowd.

Read about Korea Part 1 - CLICK HERE.

This Korea trip was fun-filled and I had fruitful success for all my business meetings too!

Sara Shantelle Lim

www.SaraShantelle.com.sg

New on Instagram: @sarashantellelim 

SEOUL, KOREA - Sara Shantelle and DJ Nicole Chen Visit to Seoul, Korea, Part 1

Visiting Seoul, Korea with DJ Nicole Chen

1 Week Trip

Leisure & Business 

Visiting Seoul, KOREA with DJ Nicole Chen - Just a few weeks ago, DJ Nicole Chen, came to my office for a business meeting. Before she left, she mentioned that she was going to Korea for filming in 2 days time. She randomly asked me to join her and I spontaneously agreed. Immediately, I booked my plane tickets and hotel. I just love it, when things are done so randomly. 

2 days later, Nicole and I met in the airport, all geared up for winter season!

Seoul, Korea - Seoul is the Capital of South Korea and it has more than 10 million citizens. The word "Seoul" is derived from the Korean language meaning "Capital city". The last time I visited Seoul was with my family for a Ski Trip. The temperature was really cold at 0 degrees celsius. I took out all my winter clothings that has been kept in my closet for a long time. Finally, I'm able to put them into good use. Nicole and I were really excited to go to Seoul as we were having some authentic Korean food cravings and can't wait to visit the famous Gangnam area popularized by PSY's "Gangnum Style".

Korean "Camp Soup" 

송탄부대찌개 본점

When we landed at 5am in the morning, Nicole's DJ agents, came to the airport to pick us up. The moment we stepped out of the airport, we could feel the cold breeze on our faces. It was freezing! There was mist coming out of our mouths as we speak. Before we went back to the hotel, we had some Korean noodles. Apparently, this noodles is usually eaten as an after-clubbing meal to warm the tummy. It was absolutely delicious especially in this cold weather.

Hotel THE DESIGNERS

114-7, Samsung-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 135-090.

www.thedesignershotel.com

HOTEL THE DESIGNERS - We checked into Hotel The Designers located in Gangnum City where a standard twin room starts from 170,000WON (SGD$200), and their Royal Suite cost around 250,000WON (SGD$295). I really love the design of their rooms, each suite is designed differently. The pictures below are some of their hotel suites. Love the art decor and funky modern design that is unique to each room. The hotel's customer service is really good. Hotel staff were patient and they understand English pretty well. Communication did not pose as a problem there as most could understand the English language.

DJ Nicole Chen's Filming - We went to get her hair and make up done. It was pretty fun to play with all their make up in the studio. There were countless of different make up colours and brands. It was a make up heaven. We had fun putting on make up and dolling up. Looking gorgeous after all was a woman's pride and we definitely wanted to look out best to impress!

LOTTE HOTEL - RED CONCERT - After Nicole's make up and hair was done, we went to LOTTE Hotel, for RED Concert. Nicole's agency had a few VIP tickets for us. It was a stand up, Rap concert. This is my first time attending a Korean Rap concert. Everyone in the ballroom were standing up and cheering to the rappers. It was quite an experience for me. I was jumping and dancing!

SAM-GYE-TANG - KOREAN GINSENG CHICKEN SOUP - A delicious and nutritious soup which uses a whole young chicken stuffed with ginseng, garlic, chestnuts, red dates, jujubes and sticky rice. It is a traditional soup served in summer to replace nutrients lost during excessive sweating and physical exhaustion during hot summers in Korea. 

After the concert, we were really hungry, so we went to have some Ginseng Chicken Soup. I love this dish and it is my number 1 favorite Korean meal. Everytime, I visit Korea, I must have this dish. I love how they have some rice, stuffed into the chicken's belly. With the Korean Ginseng, it was just perfect for the cold temperature and taste heavenly good! I felt re-energized after drinking up the bowl of soup.

VANGUARD - After our warm and nice meal. Nicole and I decided to check out the Korean club scene. We went to Club Vanguard which is the newest club which only opened recently! Popular among the Korean top elites and clubbing VIPs, the massive club consisting of 3 different spaces is the talk about town with its unique design, hottest lighting and high tech equipment. 

Club Vanguard

Newest Club in Korea Seoul

https://www.facebook.com/clubvanguard.co.kr

We had a VIP table at Vanguard and we were honored to have Korean Actress, Nam Gyu Ri, to join us for the night. She looks so beautiful in person, just like a natural beauty!

The next day, we decided to go shopping! But before that, we filled our empty stomach with tasty Korean beef steam boat first. We had our meal at Insadong, 2112. 

Shopping in Korea is always crazy fun. They have really cute stuff. Their fashion is always one of the best. Korean fashion is in trend now due to the strong K POP culture and growing popularity.

Shopping at Insadong Street

Korea Seoul

I was really happy to stumble across Godiva Chocolates. I simply love Godiva ice cream. It tasted amazing! It was awfully rich and tasty. 

Shopping at Myeon Dong Street

Korea Seoul

Myeong Dong Street -  Famously known for its Hyper Shopping - The next day, I met up with Ng Weiliang, a young professional F3 racer. He was in Korea during the same time as me and he found time to show me around Korea. He brought me to Myeong Dong Street is one of Seoul's most famous shopping district featuring mid to high end retail shopping and international stores that is popular with tourists and locals. Shopping and sight-seeing is recommended as this area includes iconic landmarks such as the Chinese Embassy, Myeongdong Cathedral which is the oldest Catholic cathedral in Korea and Lotte Department store, Migliore, M Plaza, Noon Square, Shinsegae Department store etc. There are also many cosmetic stores which includes The Skin Food, MISSHA and Etude House etc.

STREET FOOD - Apart from retail stores, I spotted lots of street vendors selling food stuff and delicious street food. Instead of indulging in the fried street food, I bought a really huge cotton candy. It was even bigger than my head! I took a long time trying to finish up the entire pink fluffy ball of cotton candy. Something memorable indeed!

- Stay Tune for Korea Part 2 -

Sara Shantelle Lim

www.SaraShantelle.com

Secrets of a Stewardess

Snowy - My Mini-Lop Bunny Growing Up Fat & Fluffy :)

Snowy - My Mini-Lop Bunny Growing Up Fat & Fluffy - Snowy has been increasing in size and growing up bigger day by day. I guess I have been feeding it well with sufficient rabbit pellets, oat hay and fresh green vegetables that include mint leaves, bok choy, beans etc. Sometimes I also feed Snowy small portions of carrots, bananas, pears and pineapple as they contain high levels of sugar.

I also realized that Snowy sleeps with his eyes closed and he usually sleeps more in the day. When he sleeps, he curls up like a "Fur Ball" and looks super cute! He is extremely active at night, trying to climb all over the place and following me around the house closely.

When Snowy smells something fishy, he stands up to sniff the air as a sign of inquisitiveness. It's amazing how long he can stand on his feet. Almost like a human!

The first time I saw Snowy lying down flat on the ground, I panicked and started asking everyone what I should do! I thought Snowy was sick or not feeling well, but after searching online for answers, I found out that bunnies only lie down flat on the ground when they feel extremely safe and comfortable. Snowy lies down in absolute bliss and relaxation! Snowy has big ears and he reminds me of Dumbo the Elephant :)

I have also been a really lucky "Bunnymama" as Snowy responds to his name. Whenever I call out "Snowy", he would listen and run towards me. He also enjoys being petted on his head and neck. Sometimes, he also licks me as a sign of love and affection. Snowy is a friendly and lovely bunny and is never aggressive. He does not bite me and loves to sit near me to enjoy my company beside him.

Litter Training - Just yesterday, the most amazing improvement is that Snowy runs to the toilet to poop and pee automatically despite the fact that he is allowed to roam freely around the house. I did not toilet train him and was surprised to see that he is able to make the right decisions himself. I have not even bought a litter tray. It makes cleaning up much easier and I think Snowy is naturally intelligent :) I really love Snowy as he has brought me great joy and happiness in a nondescript way.

If you are considering getting a pet, a bunny is highly recommended as they are timid, docile and loving creatures. They are not noisy and are easy to manage too! I'm one super happy Bunny owner :)

More information about how to keep a bunny can be found at these websites below:

1. House Rabbit Society - http://rabbit.org/
2. RSPCA, New South Wales - http://www.rspcansw.org.au/learn/pocket-pets/rabbits
3. My House Rabbit - http://www.myhouserabbit.com/behavior.php

A bunny does not make much noises and communicates based on their unique behavior. Based on the numerous Bunny Behavior explained, Snowy has showed Binkying and The Bunny 500. Snowy has been sprinting in fast speeds around the house in extreme excitement especially whenever I open his bag of food to feed it. It's such a delight to see Snowy being happy as it makes me happy too! A more detailed explanation can be found here http://www.myhouserabbit.com/tip_noises.php

Binkying

People unfamiliar to pet rabbits may not know that bunnies have a very dramatic way of expressing excitement and joy. They dance! Leaping in the air, contorting and twisting their bodies, and kicking their feet out, binkying rabbits are quite the spectacle. Sometimes rabbits lead up to a binky by taking a running start. Other times, a binky is a sudden burst to the side. What's really fun is when the binkies occur in succession, creating a grand acrobatic display. I'll submit that anyone who thinks rabbits are dull has not seen a bunny in the act of binkying

The Bunny 500

When rabbits zip around the room in a blur, they're performing Bunny 500s. Their bursts of speed are sometimes accompanied by fantastic binkies and demonstrate extreme excitement. Expect a Bunny 500 whenever you're about to give your bunny a treat.

Click here to read more about SNOWY http://www.sgsisters.com/2014/02/sydney-snowy-my-mini-lop-bunny-who-is.html

Recent photos taken with Snowy after a fantastic dinner at BIOTA DINING :)

♥ Lora Christelle Lim ♥

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