BBQ~ing at Home

While the kids were having fun playing along together at the parking lot...

The Daddies were also having fun on their own. With Malaysian friends who paid a visit to mas Ahmad's house, we're having a BBQ atb the backyard of our apartment.

I overheard the kids were talking in English, Malay, Bahasa Indonesia, and Korean, for sure.

Right. Kids are sponges. They're just naturally talking in different languages at the same time....with no constraints whatsoever^^😄 simply amazing.

A Trip w/ hyeong

ke KL back then...di Merdeka Square and Petronas Tower.

....to Gyeongju....

Tumuli Park..

hmm...I wonder where the photos when we went to Shukumvit Bangkok or in Singapore are...

Darda...si Mungil Putra mb..Ummu

Tetangga kami dari Malaysia, mb. Ummu pamitan mau liburan lebaran di Malaysia. So mrk bertandang ke rumah.

Eyra Freya senang nak jumpa Darda. Anyway....dia sangatlah comel. 

Buktinya....ini dia video dia yg sedang suka berjabat tangan.

Insadong: Tea & Dinner

Been here for a couple of times before. But, never been to any olden-day-dabang where Korean traditional tea is served in its original form. (well, sort of). OK, I wouldn't have been here as well, had I not been one of the liaison officer or 'a sort of volunteer' in Korea-ASEAN culture forum held last month in February, 2012. I got to take the delegates from Malaysia and Indonesia and accompany them to have or chip into the Korean dishes. 

That's why: dinner and tea at Insadong seemed an appropriate  option at that time: considering the distance from where the delegates were staying. 

Ok. first stop: dinner at a Korean restaurant where all Korean dishes imaginable or at least edible by the Muslim delegates of both countries were on display for them to enjoy. 

*****

Then off we went to a nearby tea-shop, a very rustically designed one. The nuance of old time Korea was somewhat splendidly preserved as perched on the ornaments and interior of the the tea-shop(?).

We did have a great time there.

Oh, did I mention the snack or gwaja, too? They were (too) also of traditional in style. 

2012 Korea-ASEAN Culture and Arts Forum (part 2)

It was the 2nd day of the Forum or the main event of the program.
The Forum was held at Korea National Museum at Yongsan.
The place--I think--was a perfect venue for the occasion since it had what this Forum needed. all of the gadgets available...even the interpreting booth and its devices for all of the participants were available. Not to mention, the stage. It was relatively small, but big enough for a forum like this.
That day I managed to see the Thailand, Brunei, and Indonesian delegates' presentations.
Too bad..I came after noon so I did not have a chance to see the Korea's parts--which I heard was a marvelous one.











So, Thailand delegates portrayed the intricate movement, gestures, mimics of dancers in portraying the dynamics, the feeling, the attitudes of people of different classes, the monkey, and even the demons!!!

Indeed, judging from the fact or the sheer seriousness of the delegates, I could learn that Thailand's version of Ramayana stories performed by those dancers t have been the best ones ever.
They have evolved and developed such an intricate details in capturing human's as well as non-human's expression through arts and dances.










As for Brunei's delegates, I learned some things about Pencak Silat, an Indonesian by origin, a Malay martial art form. Well,,,,not much to say about this...apart from the fact that...one participant's remark did strike me most since he asked or wondered as to whether Pencak Silat would be able to kick opponent's butt as he saw or thought of it as being too subtle and tender and soft and looked to him as having no....power whatsoever....as opposed to Taekwondo^^
Well,....what I could say was.....well...you should see what the real Pencak Silat is, then.^^

then, Mr. Eddy's turn came.
I was helping him preparing the show...well..not much...or sort of accompanying him in preparation.
Pak Eddy was performing the modern traditional shadow puppet called "wayang kancil"

It was like being zapped into the whole world of Javanese culture when I listened to pak Eddy's voice imbued within the echoing surround gamelan orchestra....that was being played on a CD^^
at least...I thought it was a remarkable show....and forum...highlighting the best that ASEAN and Korea have to offer to each other.

The mere fact that culture and arts do exist...simply show that people do evolve in conveying their humanity...and that was something in common that we should cherish as a human.
--
at the end of the Forum, we took pictures with Dr. Lono Simatupang, Mr. Eddy, Prof. Yang Seung Yoon and my friend Seon hee.
A nice afteroon well spent!!!

Two Families on the Go

We were taking the Metro from Namdaemun on our way back home to Imundong when we bumped into a family of six from Malaysia who turned out to be having their Winter vacation in Korea. Wow what a coincidence. We felt like brothers already since we came from Southeast Asia. What struck me most when we met them was the fact that the family of six came to Korea for their Winter vacation to see the snow...but unfortunately..they did not see any, yet.

We chatted along the way on the Seoul Metro and got a chance to exchange address and promised to keep in touch.

I was touched by the fact that they did enjoy having their one-week trip in Korea.

and...what's more interesting than that....was the fact that they brought up 70%  of the family members. (I mean: two stayed home due to their jobs back home). But.....the idea of having a trip for the whole family to Korea was more than intriguing for me.

Before saying goodbye..we managed to take a picture as a token of memory at the Dongdaemun Station.

Dinner @ Doota, Dongdaemun's Fashion Shopping District

Doota.
I think most of youngsters in Korea or those Seoulites must know this so-called Doota.
or..Doota Tower.
Ok. first thing first..this is the pic of Doota Tower that boasts itself to be one of the must-see fashion haven for anyone interested in Korean-style accessories and latest & hip-to-date styles.

X-mast already!

But, I am not gonna tell stories about this mall.
I just had dinner at the 7th floor of the building where a food court is widely laid out there. With a night view overlooking the crowded mass of people with the intersecting cars passing by the over crowded street in the midst of cool temperature in Autumn night, the diner could not have been better.
What's more...I was having the dinner with my new Korean friend from Korea University, my new Malaysian friends who are studying and traveling to Korea, and my student who is on a 2-week trip for both academic and leisure activities. ^^
Ok.
The fun part was that...the price is relatively + reasonably cheap for a place like this. I mean....it's not so much different from the prices at my campus. Ok, then.
The interesting part was that...I could choose a lot of non-meat dishes. A big surprise for me.
The cool par was that...the ambiance of the place itself was OK-lah. ^^

Oh about my friends:
There is Minju, a Korean who is fairly fluent in Bahasa Indonesia since she learned it in Bali and Jogja. She visited Jogja twice and I got an impression that she loves it. I was surprised to know that she speaks Indonesian, especially she is not majoring in the language....for she is attending the Geography department.^^ Hmmm...
Then, there is Yahwe, a Malaysian who is currently studying Korean language at Korea University.
Then, there is a traveler, a Malaysian who on purpose came to Korea for a week or so to explore the city. His name is Ryan. He's now studying in Singapore--that's what I learned--and had this off-season period to travel to Korea. With the sophisticated camera on his shoulder all the time, he looks just like a pro photographer. It was a great advantage to have him around..coz he took indeed splendid pictures. (too bad that I haven't yet got any from him since he must not have uploaded them into the net).
Then, Dita...my student who's visiting Korea for a cultural and social visit thanks to the PAS invitation.
She seemed to be enjoying her time here.
Well....with the full stomach, we were then ready ....and heading ourselves toward Cheonggyecheon...^^
(see my entry about this...)