Cruising under the Incheon Bridge (part 1)

Just as the show on board the ship ended, we managed to get back to the upper deck and found out that we were about to reach the Incheon Bridge: one of the longest on-the-sea bridge in the world. So..why not try see it... 

Once again..it kind of reminded me of my Busan trip in 2012. The Silver Gate in Busan. But..this is Incheon Bridge that connects mainland and Incheon Airport.  

We were approaching.... 

getting closer.... 

Getting closer....and we barely saw buses and other cars passing on 

this two-level bridge. 

'Tis  a good thing that the sky was clear that afternoon. We could see Incheon's landmark, only this time..we saw it right under it.

The 'Show' on Venus Cruise

 

An attempt to entertain its guest passengers on board the Venus Cruise, the crews had their share of showing off what they had to offer. First, there were these dancers who staged a cabaret-style number. 

Eyra got a little scared of what she saw....no..not scared..she's just having 'oh-no-oh-no'that kind of feeling...since... 

this one-man show from China performed on stage. Basically what he did was making fun of ceramics by tossing them around and spinning them around in every move imaginable or at times unimaginable.  

It may look so trivial for adults..but for kids..this stole their moment, especially they were sitting in the first row. 

Then..a Chinese Mask Dance with its how-she-did-that amazement on display. She changed the masks in different colors countless of times that we were simply dazzled by its sheer simplicity.

Then there was this belly dance(?) in peacock-feather outfit that ...well..considering the size of the stage and the scale of the show...was enough to give a highlight of what a cruise with a show was all about. It's not a cruise-stopper or anything, but if you thought that paying 15,000 Won you got nothing but the sea view, you'd better get down to the first floor of the cruise and take a peep of what the show offers: that's my tip. Or..if you are an outdoor person and does not need this kind-of-show, just stay on the top of the deck and enjoy the scenery.

As for us, we got to make sure that we could enjoy the whole experience of this Venus Cruise. Now let's go back to the 2nd floor of the cruise ship and continue our experience of seeing the view....

"Wait..are you dancing, girls?":=)

Exploring China Town: (Part 10)

 

This is the last entry (for the mean time:-) of our trip to China Town. This stairs led us to the Freedom Park (see my other entries about it). 

Blue Sky combined with a bright day in the midst of stifling hot summer afternoon seemed to be a perfect formula to enjoy China Town. 

The contrasting color and the different facades of buildings we rarely see back in Seoul are some of the reasons as to why we loved taking a stroll along this town. 

The house number @ one of the streets in China Town.

I like the efforts put into this plate. Yes..each house/building has one of these posted on their gate or walls. 

We would not be lost so long as we got the map with us. Or..just remember where to begin with as we ventured into the China Town. Or just remember the shape and color of the building since most of the characters are written in Chinese.^^ Sure..the names of the streets are in Hangeul, though. But, still... 

Eyra was buying ice cream.... 

This is a name plate posted on the street waste/garbage pot.^^ 

Not sure what that was but...it just looked cool that I simply clicked my camera. 

Bye-Bye China Town. Now we were going to Wolmido and we would take a 90-minute cruise ship which many cited as one of the must-do lists in Incheon.

Exploring China Town: (part 9)

What would be going to a place without sampling one of the delicacies? So..as soon as we stepped into the main street, we could not but listen the shouting and chanting of street vendors of these delicacies.  

They repeatedly shouted the names of delicacies and asking the passers by to try tasting them. Well...how could we resist it? 

The 공갈빵 (gonggalppang) or hole bread ..yes that's what it literally means...is a specialty that people could try to taste. It's a bread so famous that even Ahn Cheol Soo's (the former candidate of Korean President in the previous election) picture was posted to lure customers....^^ 

And we did sample it.^^

Okay..it tasted "Oh..this is gonggalppang". 

See the whole view of gonggalppang there? But..instead of buying this hole bread, we bought 화덕만두 or hwadeok mandu.. 'dumpling' filled with peanuts, read bean, ground sesame, and other ingredients....which turned out to be okay-I-should-have-bought-more kind of dumplings. ^^

Exploring China Town: (part 8)

China Town Road Sign. This China Town is not that big but..surely it may take several hours if we want to explore every bit of it. If you happen to love photography...make sure that you'll take time to explore more of it. 

hmm..I was just directing my camera to the street when this car passed my by..and it became one of the cool touch to the picture, I hope. I just hope that the owner of the car did not mind me putting his/her car into this blog. I just loved the contrasting palette shown in this picture. 

It never occurred to me that green architecture could be found in Chinese area. I thought that red was supposed to be the culmination of all things for the Chinese..so much so that red must be incorporated into all aspects of life. But..the building on the right...painted itself....green. a light green... 

That's why..it captured my imagination of having myself on the veranda and sipping a coffee on one evening while overlooking down the streets full of people passing by.

Ok..despite its main green color, this building's columns are red!!! 

See? I was not incorrect after all..that red was/is/has been/will be(?) the indispensable color to any Chinese architecture. 

We've walked like...10 kilometers circling the town.^^

 boy oh boy..we did have fun, though.  

Take a last one glance at the green house.  

Back into the street...and we encountered the street where we stepped into the town in the first place. After long hours of spending the time in China Town, we finally got the hang of it or realized our whereabouts. 

The dragon ornaments perched on the lamp pole 

are other characteristics of China Town.

Exploring China Town (part 7)

After being zapped into the Japanese architecture inside China Town, we continued our journey to another section of the town only to find out that there was a parade marching along far ahead. We rushed to see what it was all about.

It turned that the commotion was in part a festival held that seemed to celebrate something I was not quite sure of. But, it was our lucky day though we caught a glimpse of it. 

But one more float was coming along the way. Not quite sure of what that was until I noticed that some people were actually standing by the street to greet them. I guess some people did know about it all along. Is it carried out on a daily basis? 

A dragon float typical of any Chinese-related festivities was seen passing us by. It looked ordinary, but that's not the point. The fact that we barely missed the parade and accidentally encountered it along the way...was a bliss in itself. 

Then..off we went to another section of China Town. It looked cool, eh? The houses and the neighborhood seemed pretty much neatly arranged. 

Restaurant after restaurant seemed to dot the landscape of this whole area.

See the lamp pole? A decorated red pole with lamps on it is also a typically common sight there. 

Then..we bumped into a small Chinese park situated in one corner of the street. We did not have much time, but managed to take a peep into it.

Loved the little bridge. 

This is the lamp pole I was referring to. See the intricate details on the lamps? 

Silhouette of the lamps made it even strikingly & visibly distinctive.  

Then...another unique building in contrast to the white car parked right in front of it...imbued with the red lamp poles next to it. 

At least..to me..they posed a nice touch 

to our experience of exploring the China Town.

Exploring China Town: Historical Mural on Display (part 2)

Continuing our midday stroll along the China Town, we were gearing into the town's section famous for its murals. Where is it? wait..we're still at one the lane towards it.  

Before entering the mural section, I let the three girls take a pose. I deliberately blur the background so as to make it easy for me to focus on them. I love the idea that no cars are allowed to pass on the lanes. That gave us easy access to explore the whole idea. 

This is the mural section/lane I was referring to. I've seen these before but revisiting this place is always a good start especially on a bright day like this.  

Most of the murals tell stories about the China in the past. Too bad I did not dig into much of it. But, for photo lovers...this lane is so impressively alluring that one should not miss it. 

We bumped into some foreign athletes (probably from Iran?)who happened to be in Incheon. From June 29 - July 6, Incheon is hosting the 4th Asian Indoor & Martial Art Games.  

Another gaze into another section of the murals. Oh, right..cars are allowed to pass and go through this lane. So, it's better to make sure that we're extra cautious while taking the time 'taking pictures'. 

What would be a stroll-along-the-mural without a proof of being there? 

Me, too. Some murals are too descriptive of deceit, murders, or any historical accounts that may not suit for some viewers. But, others were truly a show of extravagance of the China in the past.  

Taking a post in front of 'the past' glorified in the depth of murals. 

Let's keep on walking. We still got a lot more to see...