Jongno 3-Ga Exit 3 @ Night

Well.well...well..who would've thought that this street turned into a pojangmaja 포장마자 or street food stall haven as the night fall. Yep, this is the very street that I encountered the other day when I was looking for Youth Hostel where my friend, Adi, were staying. I got to reach exit 3 to reach the hotel..and while at night..the street was relatively calm ...I mean..no 'happening' that could be eye-catching to look at...

but..when the night falls, it all turns into this festivity.

Both on the right and left side of the sidewalks....all kinds of street-food-stalls are set up..and the crowds start to pour in. 

That's exactly where it all began. When you just get out of this exit...you'll find yourself immerse into the commotion.

*worth to try for anyone who's looking for something different in Seoul @ night.

Piccadily Lotte Cinema

Never been here before, so the thought of going there would a journey in itself. One thing first is that...this is far from our house.

So why did we go to Piccadily theater Lotte Cinema at Jongno 3-ga? 

First, because we wanted to see Despicable Me 2 which is not dubbed. So, there are some movies with Korean subtitle which means that we're uncomfortable with Korean language, especially my wife.

Actually I already did watch the movie with my kids the other day...of course the dubbed version. 

My kids understand Korean enough to make them associate and mingle themselves with other.  

But my wife hasn't") so, we packed ourselves to see Despicable Me 2 in English.

For me..it's my 2nd time. 

on our way to the underground floor where movies were created....once again we followed the escalator that would lead us to the theater. 

Piccadily Circus? no, of course. THis is just a name of Lotte CInema chains in the country.

Since this was the only cinema that plays Despicable Me 2 in English during morning screening, we didn't wait for long until we ended up being here.

The interior is of course different from that of CGV.  

But I guess since this particular cinema is in downtown...I am sure that many people find it attractive to go to.

Seoul Lantern Parade 2012

 An annual event to celebrate the birthday of Buddha. Something not to be missed if you happen to be in Seoul. Well, for us who live right here...it is also something not to be missed. Of course, we could easily sit on the couch and turn on TV since it was also aired live.

But I'm sure it would feel the same like being right in and seeing the parade with our own eyes while at the same time being exposed to the sights and sounds and even the smell (in a good sense, though) of the parade. 

Lots of colorful costumes, dances, music, floats, and people (both Korean and of foreign nationalities) were all crammed into the 5-km long parade. What a night, eh?

 

 
Of course, it would not have been complete without the dragon floats or lantern. See that? it was so long that I got to take the picture twice.
Just find the tail of the dragon right on the picture below^^
 

I could not help but keep on taking picture after picture until my hands got numb. The only thing that kept us glued to stand and look out our heads just to sneak and peek into somebody else's elbows, heads, and shoulders was...the fact that the lights emitted from the floats were just beautiful.

See what I meant? 

Free lanterns for us

The night was still young--so some said.
What could be more fun than just staying out late ..a bit late ..
enjoying the night splattered with glittering lights coming out of the lanterns that kept on passing us by...
 

So we did. We were glued to the extravaganza of the lantern parade in downtown Seoul 

right until it is over.

My daughters were so happy to receive a lantern from some participant who turned out to be doing what he wanted to do. I noticed that some participants were giving away the lanterns they were holding to the bystanders or spectators on the streets. 

This was it, then. We took some pictures with our lanterns on our hands as if we were, too, participating in the street parade.

Lantern Festival & Parade @ downtown Seoul

I think elephant-shaped lanterns had become a trademark for the night. Some of them were there to show off their huge+humongous postures! 'Tis a good thing that they were good to look at.

If I'm not mistaken, these were the Shio lantern. I was about to take the whole pictures of each Shio as one passed me by.....alas...the battery of my phone ran out just in time when these lanterns were passing me by.

And..what's that supposed to be? A clock or somethin'? Not quite sure what that was.

This one, however, I did know. A blossoming lotus-lantern with a baby Buddha inside it, to symbolically represent the Buddha's Birthday. (correct me, should I be wrong about it).

the lantern was carried by some people so as to make it move around easily. 

The one I thought to be a clock or something..turned out to be.....*sigh* 

I still could not figure out what that was...

..but that did not dampen our spirit to keep on looking and watching the spectacle.

a rooster? an eagle? Still could not make this out, either. At least, the dazzling lights on the float made it worth-while to be in the very place like this.

Still @ the Lantern Parade 2012

Never will I be bored of posting the pictures and at times taking time to slot some stories within the pictures that I upload through these entries^^ See the reason why? Just look at how cute the white elephant-shaped lanterns that just passed me by^^

Or the intricately decorated float full of people on board complete with their costumes...accompanied by the singing and chanting children bringing their own lit lanterns...

or...this fire-breathing dragon. Yup, it did breathe or to be exact...kinda exhausted some kind of smokey gas from its teething mouth. (but, too bad...could not capture it on picture)

The passing parade just kept on moving fast that my smartphone camera could not capture it well. (Read: Suray, it's time to buy a digital camera, instead of using your smartphone which turned out to be not-that-smart after all)^^ Or, is it the man behind the smartphone being the problem? ^^ haha...^^

Another float was about to pass me by. I could not make out of what that was for sure. But, one thing for sure..it sure was pretty.

another way to emphasize the dance movement pictured here...was just to let the phone did the work of capturing it....with no avail. But, at least...as I watched this picture..I could vividly remember how they moved and danced while walking along the street. They must've been so exhausted afterwards.

Instead of just kept on going and walking, they stopped to dance right on the SPOT! Whoah. I guessed it was time to take a good look at them. 

Eyra and Melizza + Wulan on their first row seat. Enjoying every float within close range.

Another blurry captured image of the parade. Gosh....!^^

At least, this one did some flattering result. They did move and dance about..and yet..I could barely catch the whole glimpse of them dancing.  

This pic would surely remind me of how crowded the streets were. People were so enthusiastic of waiting and waiting until the next floats were closing in...

A policeman was busy keeping the order for sometimes....some people were just too excited that they were too close to the street. Well, it was for the sake and safety of both the participants and the spectators.

Right, Sir?

Lantern Parade...^^

Lots of participants clad in colorful dresses like this one.

See what's coming up at the back of these people? 

Turned out to be another facade of figure-figurines that I do not know of. But, hey..they're still eye-catching

As it was passing us by, for sure I would let the chance slip away..

.by capturing them on camera.

Blurry. Made deliberately so ...as to portray the movement.

Out-focused trick. I did not expect to have an officer caught as the central focus of the camera...

which turned out to be just cool.

another out-focused trick to capture the Buddha-shaped lantern 

which was about to pass right in front of us.

A passing advertisement:^^ I mean, Kacang Garuda or roasted nuts we bought had somewhat accompanied us while watching the whole process of the parade. Match made in the street.

 

The elephant-shaped lanterns clad in white tusk color indeed made me quiver and 

yearned for more of this stuff. Indeed, it was one of the best lantern ever put on the show.

Oh, did I mention that it even moved about?

For more than 2 hours...a series of flowing people in arrayed showcases of dresses 

had been taking over the whole street.

Indeed, such a spectacle.!!!