Nordic travel fair weekend

So yesterday I went to Matka 2016 - Nordic travel fair in Helsinki. Two of my friends, Annina and Linda accompanied me as well as my mom.

We were there about 12pm and started our tour. Firstly we were greeted by Spain booth with flowers, so nice! But I ruined my flower like in 12 minutes :( well, at least I have pretty photo about it xD

We started just looking around and found Estonia's booth after Spain. I went to talk about Tallinn because I plan to do 2-day trip sometime this year. So I got couple brochures (they had alot about Tallinn so it was extra nice!) and then after small talk session we went forward.

We ended up to Iceland's booth and I got some more brochures. I'm interested about Iceland and I defiently want to visit there in near future. It was pleasant surprise that Iceland had big booth with Icelandair.

Then we just walked and looked around while my mom visited couple booths to ask about living abroads (mom was interested in spain and portugal which were easy to find and the assistants have lots of advices).

After walking around near Argentina's booth we spotted Korea~ Had to go there and just grab every brochure available xD They had this yellow Subway partner brochure which I browsed through and I found it really useful! I don't have better singe photo about it now in here but it was yellow and kinda small. Everyone, I advise you to grab it with you because inside was like with which line you will get to most famous places in Seoul and which exit out you have to take. It's size is very practical, you can basically have it with you while you're travelling in Seoul without having to carry large travel guide just to know which line and exit you have to take to go for example gwanghwamun square.

After visiting Korea's booth we looked around long-haul destinations part. We visited Panama/Costa Rica's, Thailand's, Malaysia's, Japan's and Indonesia's booth. Thailand showcased their handicraft again and I can't help but silently admire that kind of amazing work. Japan had a small robot show going on and it was so cute! Japan had big booth and lots of info, Linda was excited because she's propably going to Tokyo this year and she got many brochures about Japan and Tokyo.
Then got some brochures from Indonesia and also got memory stick, which was interesting wooden model. My mom visited Bali's booth in the meantime.

After hanging out in long-haul destinations area and getting tea from Sri Lanka's booth, we walked towards Finnair's booth. They had this fun competition, you can win flights to Asia if you post photo of yourself in plane seats (they had couple seats from their newest Airbus in there). So we took couple photos and took part to competition. I really wanna get one more trip to Asia this year! :P

Then we just walked aimlessly through some european countries booth's and decided to stop by and eat beside Greece's booth. We ate one greek dish I already forgot xD Sorry~
 After being full from eating good meal, we walked a little in Finland's section and talked how we could promote us much more to foreigners than what we promote now. Also, we talked how finnish people often say to foreigners in abroad "Finland is boring, don't go there." It's really bad advertisement for us so next time you go abroads, try think something positive about Finland when somebody asks "what's Finland alike?"

We were getting pretty tired already, Annina finally found Czech which she had been looking for all the time and I found Croatia which also interests me from europe. Then we pretty much stopped to listen Forex bank's program for a few moments and then decided that our concentration is starting to falter so it would be best to go home. 

I'd say this year Matka was more bigger than last year. But long-haul destination part was more smaller while europe section was more bigger. For me, I would have wished the other way ^^;;;
Because I'm mainly interested in Asian countries I found it a little disappointing for not finding for example Singapore. My mom wanted info from Phillipines but they weren't in Matka 2016 either.

But all in all, we enjoyed more than last year, for me Korea's booth was a definite plus and I liked how almost every worker in every booth were ready to give you information. From europe's section I think Iceland and Estonia had the most interesting booths!

I got excited with brochures xD

That's all today~ I'm going again tomorrow with different friend :P So let's see what is left because some booths run out material yesterday already. I guess Matka 2016 is more popular this year? ;)

Nordic travel fair

Hi everyone, this will be just a quick post as I am writing about Matka - nordic travel fair on saturday after visiting there tomorrow~
Everyone who recognizes me, come and say hi! Maybe we can share some travel tips ;)
I'll be going with one friend and my mom for sure (other friend is still deciding if she's coming or not). Even if I have company I always have time to talk with new people about travelling :)

Can't wait for tomorrow! Mainly excited about long-haul destinations part but also Tallinn (really have to do that two-day trip sometime) and then lotteries of course :D I never win anything but hey, you can't know until you try ;) I checked a list from Rantapallo and gonna go through those all (well, at least trying xD ) Thanks to Rantapallo anyway, now I know at least couple lotteries I'm dying to participate for. I am going to be poor after South-Korea's trip and going to be suffering from travel fever case xD so fingers crossed that I win something :P

I'm more excited about South-Korea's booth now that I have confirmed my whole trip. Gonna stay at Bong Hostel in Hyehwa, near Sungkyunkwan university. Why is it that I always find university areas to stay at xD Anyway, my travel guides about what to do needs a little update so maybe I'm going to ask some advices since I only know that I'm going to visit N Seoul tower again and then Bukchon hanok village for the first time.
Oh, and I heard South-Korea's booth will have some korean food tastings so beware, going to steal it all (just kidding) no but seriously... xD I miss korean food soooooo much!

Also, my company aka my friend and mom will be searching info about certain things themselves~ I hope travel fair this time is bigger and more diverse than the last one. I was honestly disappointed about last one... But they can only do better so I'm really really waiting for walking around in there and checking what everyone has to offer :)

See you on saturday! Going to review my whole experience and what to look in travel fair and what was the most memorable thing~

Going to South-Korea in April

Hello everyone!
As I mentioned in last blog post, I'm going to South-Korea in April! Going to stay there a little over two weeks and I'm excited even though it's my 4th time in there :P
I have flights booked but I'm still looking for a hostel to stay. Two weekends I'm staying at my boyfriend's place and weekdays I'll be in Seoul (except for the first weekend when I arrive). If anyone have some recommendations for me as to where to stay (hostels), please let me know~ I already got one tip from Anniina and gonna check it out if they have rooms available but I'd like to compare before booking any. I have always stayed in Hongdae area so this time I want hostel from someplace else.

Many of my friends have already asked to meet and I'm happy that at least I'll not be bored~ Even though I'm used to travelling alone, I still miss company and it's more fun to experience things with someone. I still have no idea what I'm going to do though xD But I have at least one sight I want to see finally; Bukchon hanok village in Seoul. Sometimes my friends are like "you still haven't visited there, it's like one of the first things to visit when you're in Seoul" :,D I admit, my loss but I'm finally gonna visit there for sure!

Anyway, because I have visited Korea before, I thought I could do listing for you guys what to remember when you go to Korea. This will be useful for first timers :)

1. Vaccinations. If you go to Seoul it's pretty safe area but if you're travelling anywhere else you should check if your vaccinations are still valid.

2. T-Money. When you get to Korea, search convenience store at airport and ask for T-Money. It's their equivalent to finnish "matkakortti." So it's basically a travel card where you can load money and your travel expenses in public transports will be a bit cheaper than when you're buying a regular ticket. Public transports in Korea are very cheap, I have usually put something like 30,000won (about 23€) and it has been quite enough for travelling two weeks inside Seoul. You can load t-money either in convenience store or if you forget to put money for the card there, they have loading machines for example near subway station.
I use subway alot in Korea(I rarely use bus in Seoul) because it's convenient and takes you basically anywhere. So it's so nice I don't have to spend alot of money for ticket payments!

3. If you want to end up staying center of Seoul from where you can access lots of places, here's couple areas that will fit you perfectly: Dongdaemun (whole), Jongno (whole), Myeongdong, Hongdae, Ewha, Hyehwa, Sinchon.
My favorites are Hongdae and Myeongdong. Hongdae is good especially for younger people.

4. Cash! Korea uses won. In most shops foreign cards will work, even my visa electron has worked in pretty many places. But be aware that especially in smaller, individual shops that don't belong to any chain, your card might not work. So it's good to have cash.

5. Learn at least few words in korean. About in 90% places in Korea, they don't speak english. And especially if you go anywhere outside Seoul. If you at least know few words, you will be treaded more friendly instantly. Koreans will be happy you have spend time to memorize at least few words.

6. If you don't know hangul (korean alphabet) and you have friends who do, have them translate most common foods in restaurants for you. This will help you alot and you don't have to guess everytime what you ordered :P Because in many many restaurants, they have menus only in korean.
But no worries if you don't know hangul or don't have friends who know either, you can just pretty much point pictures (usually many restaurants have pictures of their foods on walls) or then just point some other customers food.

7. When you give your card/cash for payment and when you receive it back with receipt and change, hold your left hand under your right hand (preferably under elbow but under wrist is ok too if you're in hurry). It's respectful gesture when you're receiving something. If you receive only with one hand, it's considered disrespectful. If you're receiving present from elder person, always receive with two hands! They forgive if you don't remember this because you're foreigner but they will be happy and surprised if you remember. And I put this here because sometimes for example when I was standing at bus stops random elder people gave me food like fruits xD they're really kind in korea that way~

8. Take mosquito repellent with you, even in winter. Mosquitos in Korea are like ninjas, you almost never hear them, just get stinged xD They have mosquitos even in winter... I don't know how they survive... And if you're sensitive to mosquito noises, take earplugs especially if you're staying in guest house. In my experience, guest houses have them the most.

9. Pack lightly when you leave your country. In South-Korea it's pretty cheap, especially for those who live in western countries are like in heaven when coming to Korea lol. Clothes, make-up, food... did I mention you can get warm meal with only 2€. Of course Korea has also expensive places but basically most of places are really cheap.

10. Do rough travel plan. Especially if you're only staying in Seoul. Because Seoul is big, it's impossible to see everything if you're planning on staying only one or two weeks. It's also important to do plans for different days because sights are scattered all around and it's more convenient to see sights close to each other in one day. Because for example if you take one sight from left side of Seoul and second sight opposite side, you may end up travelling over 1 hour in subway.

So here was my tips to Korea~ I have learned from some mistakes and I'm glad to help others for their travel plans :) If you have any questions for me, comment below.

And lastly, some useful short info:

• You don't need adapter (if you're from Finland). They use the same as us.
• Road signs are mostly romanized or in english. 
• When you're travelling in a bus, you have to beep your t-money card when you're entering bus and when you're going out. They have machine in city busses near center doors so you have to tap that before going out or next time your ticket payment will be a bit higher (something to do with penalty fee of not tapping out).
• Cosmetics are popular in Korea, they have many of their own brands. They're cheap but good!
• At least in cosmetics shops they give you freebies. It varies how much you'll be getting freebies and samples from where you're buying. (buying from areas with lots of tourists you get less).
• Korea has two airports in Seoul area (Incheon and Gimpo). If you're flying domestic it's propably leaving from Gimpo.
• Only places where customer service speaks good english are in airport and in hotels. And in some stores in myeongdong and insadong (very popular shopping place among tourists).
• If you visit Busan, T-money works there. But note; you can't load it in Busan.

I hope this helps! I can't wait for my trip, a little over 2 months to go >3< I'm excitedly waiting for matka2016 to get some more travelling tips for my trip~

Until next time :) see you!

Matka 2016 - nordic travel fair

Hello guys, this will be a bit different post than I usually write~

I got this playful "challenge" to write something like my dream destination or best countries worth checking for in Matka2016. So *intense drummin*... I'm going to write about countries and tips you should definetly check out! So without further due, let's get onto it :D

If you're interested in Asia and Europe then this will propably be useful to you~

1. South-Korea. As I am fan of South-Korea I know I'm a bit biased. Last year I was so disappointed Korea didn't join the fair but they're back this year! Wohoo! So I'm double as excited. And yesterday, I just booked flights for my 4th trip to Korea! I'll be visiting from 1st april to 18th april! I got them really cheap from Finnair, they have promotion called "matkakuume" going on for Finnair plus club members. Really good discount prices for especially long-haul flights so you should definetly check it out.
But anyway, South-Korea has risen to popularity within couple years because of their "hallyu wave" which means culture, especially kpop music spreading around the world. Besides that, Korea is really beautiful country with mountains and amazing scenery everywhere. For finnish people at least, Korea offers exotic experience that will leave a great memory. For first timer, Seoul is basically enough because it's so big and there's always something for everyone. Even I have still something I haven't seen and I've already visited there three times. My friends (who also visited there) sometimes ask me surprised "you didn't visit that and that place?!" xD
For those who look something away from crowds and busy city life I recommend Gyeongju or Jeju.
You can visit South-Korea's booth at the travel fair to ask more info. I'm definetly going to update my maps etc. They're at 7e50.

2. Japan. Even tripadvisor ranked Japan as one of the best countries to travel this year. Even though I know I'm not going to travel Japan at least this year I've had interest in Kioto for a long time. Hopefully I'll be able to visit Kioto sometime in the future. Or then Okinawa! For me both of them feel exotic~ I have only visited Tokyo once but I can say you're in for some culture shock if you decide to visit Japan xD You can find Japan at 7e61. (by the way, 4.30pm on saturday they have program "greetings from Japan" at Sonera inspiration stage *wink wink*)

3.Spain. Why Spain? Well, they're theme country this year~ Even though I have visited Spain only once (well canary islands) I still recommend to check them out. Many of my friends have visited especially Barcelona and I have heard only positive feedback from the experience. Spain is everywhere this year, you can find booths from many areas and cities. Most of them you can find from 6a.

4. Travel bloggers flee market. I'm also donating to there :) You can find stuff from travel guides to equipments with affordable prices. Profits will be donated to "Autolla Nepaliin" -project which emphasizes that with little things you can do great. Check it out on saturday from 1pm to 4pm and sunday from 12pm to 2pm. You can find it near Meeting point and Rantapallo stage.

5. On friday, program called "Traveltrends of 2016 and how you can afford to travel more often" presented by Mattias Varen, Travel Economist and professional traveler. I think this would be a great to hear if you like to travel alot but feel like everytime you travel you spend too much money. Or it feels like it takes too much time to save for a trip. This would be good even for me lol. I feel like everytime I do a trip my account shows zero after I come back home :,D You can find this on Mondo stage, 3.30pm.

Of course, Matka2016 offers many many more things that are interesting and worth looking for! But these are my recommendations and tips :)
Oh and if you want to win some great prices, like trips, go to tempaudu.fi. Who knows, maybe luck is on your side ;)

Happy new year 2016!

Long time no see! Happy new year 2016!!

I have been spending the holidays quietly meeting with friends and spending time with family so that's why my blog has been quiet. My christmas was nice~ on 22nd day I went with Annina to Tuomaan markkinat (traditional christmas market) which is held in Helsinki in Senate square. I bought too much food lol. After spending afternoon in Helsinki I went home for few hours before I left to movies with my brother and the movie was none other than Star Wars force awakens :P
Here's some photos:

On 23rd we decorated christmas tree (well it was mostly me lol) and in the evening we visited my great grandparents grave which is in the most biggest cemetery in Helsinki. It's finnish tradition to visit graves and light candle to dead loved ones close to christmas eve (our family does it on 23rd every year because it's too crowded on 24th).

For foreigners reading this blog; christmas eve is the main event in Finland. On 25th we just rest :P
24th started with eating rice porridge what my dad makes every year. Actually my dad prepares like all the food, he likes cooking. My mom hates cooking lol.
My sister and her boyfriend came 1pm and we started our christmas dinner then (I say dinner because on christmas eve we usually eat only one big dinner, no lunch). We had pork (main dish), liver casserole, mashed potato casserole, carrot casserole, rosolli salad, cold smoked salmon, and one type of salmon dish that apparently doesn't even exist in english dictionary :,D and some few other side dishes. The food was good and everyone enjoyed it~

Then we rested a while and proceeded to open presents. I got Moomin bowl and couple movie tickets from my parents, my sister gave me also couple movie tickets and chocolate she made herself and then I got money from my grandparents and from aunt and uncle. My brother had failed to inform he didn't get presents for anyone...

Well anyway, I was happy with my presents <3 even few things give a great happiness.
Then rest of evening I spend with my parents just three of us because my sister and her boyfriend left around 4pm and my brother went to his friends.

Calendar completed

After christmas I went to a shopping spree in christmas sales lol. I first on sunday visited Helsinki with Linda and finally bought hair straightener! I have somehow managed these years without one xD I also bought one Shiseido travel set which was only 24€, so very cheap for being Shiseido.

Then on monday I went to shopping mall near my town with Annina. Bought couple cheap shirts. And I thought people are crazy because it started to be crowded in afternoon and everyone just pushed to make their way at stores. So we left pretty soon it started to be too crowded. Hint; go shopping right when they open stores, you have at least couple hours to shop at peace lol.


My new year's eve went quietly. I just spend it at home with parents because I wasn't invited anywhere. Well, doesn't matter, I had fun with my parents. My brother left to his friends after eating dinner with us. When it was almost 12am we went outside to watch fireworks. We didn't buy any ourselves but watched our neighbors xD

Well I had these little ones at least :P

Now to cosmetics review (it's been a while, sorry)

L'occitane shea butter handcream
Price: 8,50€ / $9.20
Where can I get it: Most european cities have l'occitane shops or stores that sells it. They also have websites.

Oh my god. This is propably the best handcream I have ever tried (and I have tried maaaaany). It has rich texture but it's still spreading well without leaving sticky feeling. And the moisturized feeling after spreading, it feels so gooood :D The handcream has subtle fragrance but at least for me it's pleasant. I seriously recommend this one! I think I found my handcream from now on. I just have to use the other 5 brand's handcream I've bought xD And just to add one more praise; it's travel sized so wherever you go you don't have to carry a huge tube, this fits into smallest of purses.
Would I buy this again? Yes yes yes!! I fell in love *A* I actually got a small tester of this from habitare fair? (I think) and used it all up before christmas. The one you see in the photo, well I bought it from l'occitane store xD Thank you for that sample, l'occitane, you opened my eyes xD

And one other review, from L'occitane also; 
(I normally don't like these type of brands because they use strong fragrances and my nose is sensitive but l'occitane surprised me)

L'occitane Essence sublime
Price: normal price 54€ / $58.90
Where can I get it: same as above

Essence sublime is basically a serum, only lighter. It doesn't have serum's more heavier texture and some features but it's close to being a full serum. Because Essence sublime is light it fits perfectly under makeup without final result feeling sticky. I actually like this alot, it moisturizes really well and has a subtle, nice fragrance. It's also easy to spread. It promises to fade redness, tighten pores and soften and brightening skin. And for me it has done that all. It hasn't caused any extra pimples or uneven skintone for me so I definetly recommend it to those who have sensitive skin! It comes in small 30ml bottle and it's light so it's no problem to take it with you for example when you're travelling. Essence sublime is a bit pricey but it's worth it, trust me! You'll love the light moisturizing texture!
Would I buy this again? Yes, I feel like it's the one thing I've been missing from my morning skincare routine before makeup.