How to Reach Naksan .. (a)

walking up the hill...after 15~minute walk from.Changsin station...

I ended up at....another hill from where...

it led me to stairs....

...more stairs...

...more stairs...well they're the same ones^^

...♡and reached halfway...

..

encountering this uniquely carved wall....^^

...an additional advantage to get if we walk up the stairs  (as compared to...takinga bus, for instance)

...then...we reached another level...

to see this jumbled electrical wires

...with more stairs...60° ....gee.

...but once I got there...a combination of old houses and apartments started to emerge

along the stairways..more and more houses. ..were visible.

...like this one...

oh....kufoto ini karena ada bpk bpk.sdh tua yg turun tangga dg bawa kardus~kardus bekas.

....hidup penuh tanjakan.

But....once you're on top...you're rewarded.

Dongmyo 동묘앞 Station: What's in there? (part 2)

 Before taking a close-up look into what Dongmyo is selling to its visitors, I'd like to post the cloudy and chilly morning when I got there.

This is a bridge over Cheonggyecheon river that leads to the one of the so many entrances to Dongmyo flea market.

Today, the sky was a bit dull and gosh...it didn't quite what I expected... 

But it didn't dampen my spirit of exploring the market.

A huge load of I-did-not-know-what ...just passed me by.

I guess it's one of the typical activities there.

hmm a nice view to see some activities like this while people were just opening up their stores. 

A just-opened store..I mean they just finished putting the racks of used-clothes onto the front part of the store. Even the stores next to it were still closed.

They cost roughly from 5,000 to 10,000 Won.

Dongmyo has a market for themselves. 

Lamp streets on the bridge leading to Dongmyo. 

Then..I started to see some people bargaining or just looking at the items or collectibles tossed on the street. well, not tossed off, of course.

With the colorful leaves in front of the stores, I think it kinda gave me a different feeling of being in a flea market with style.

Cloud Cafe Above Han River (part 1)

Cloud Cafe. Yes..I saw the sign every time I pass this bridge over Han River. Yet, I did not have any chance to go visit this cafe until I went there with my family. It was not a planned trip or anything. It was nothing more than just an afternoon hangout. 

Freya was on the lead. 

She was practically alone on the highway.^^ Isn't that cool? Yes, we walked from the subway station and made up our mind to go to one of the Han River landmarks: Cloud Cafe. 

In order to reach the cafe, we got to walk through the bridge that connects the river bank and the cafe itself. We were right at the side of high ways.!! 

The clear blue sky!! What a great day it was! was it hot? You bet. Summer is Seoul has always been hot and humid. But, it never dampens our spirit to enjoy exploring the city. With the kids who always ask me to go out...I could not resist it either.

Let's go!!

We could see the whole view of Seoul from above the bridge... 

See the 'black' structure at the back? That's the Cloud Cafe. The bridge, the jetty, the river, the sky, the clouds..the passing cars below...were all intertwined to make it more worthwhile to enjoy. 

Especially as soon as we reached inside the Cafe. The view was breathtaking. Well..who would not want to spend an afternoon in the summer heat here? It's air-conditioned. The huge glass almost 360 degrees...is what made it even more tempting. We sat facing the river and the view far beyond. 

The kids loved it..and me, too. It's our first time and what could be more tasty than checking out how the patpingsu (summer ice-specialty in Korea) tastes like in here. 

While waiting for the patpingsu ready to be served, I took some snaps of the view. The river and the bridge with its cars passing by were more than enough for me. It looked just splendid. I love the water and everything around it. 

See how green it was. Of course it must also be due to the camera I was using. But, at least..the lanes, the trees, the river, the river cruise, and the apartment beyond were enough to ease and soothe our eyes.... 

Yeaahhh...patpingsu's ready. Let's dig in...

Summer+Patpingsu = bliss.

Seoul Lantern Festival 2012 : Pororo & Friends Came Along

First thing first, they put Pororo Lanterns almost at the end of the exhibition. That means: we got to walk for about 2 km before reaching the Pororo lanterns that my kids were crazy about. First, we saw lots of -- of course-- more than what we bargained for in the first place. What are those? 

Instead of just wondering what they were, we were just lucky enough to enjoy the extravaganza that both the displays and the onlookers were showing..

The fact that the festival was held over the Cheonggyecheon stream was more than captivating in itself. 

Who would wanna miss --well, I wouldn't--the shimmering reflection of the lanterns on the surface of the stream? Besides, if we took a time to read what the lantern was all about, we ended up learning a history or two. Or, ended up....taking more time to walk.^^ 

But, I guess, only 2 out of 10 people would just stop and stare and read the display's lengthy explanation. For some, the inscriptions may be important. Wished it hadn't be that cold.... 

The historical figures from the past dynasties were --of course--an annual guests to this Lantern Festival. That's at least what I recounted. They seemed to get stranded on the stream in the midst of the now sprawling city of night-lights-illuminated Seoul. 

They may get lost in the present-day Seoul.

Let's see. If I am not mistaken, it was a dragon made out of wish-list-yellow paper glued to the strings attached to the dragon skeleton. 

People did get in line to buy some notes to put on them. Well, I guess...

I did not believe it myself until I took a closer look into it. 

OH my Oh My...some people did write some wishes on these notes. What a festivity it was. 

I could not make out what those words were. Time was tight. Did not have time to do so. So, instead, just take a quick click and camera away.... 

 

Back to the stream. Those little colorful lanterns were the ones being tugged away or washed away. They resembled another activity believed to send messages full of wishes onto the stream. well, since they would otherwise flock and block the streams, they ended up a few meters away after being tossed off. 

NOw..ThiS is what I call one of the highlights of the festival.  Pineapple lantern. 

A huge one. See the intricate details they poured into the pineapple? 

As I took a look closer, not only pineapple, but most tropical fruits were accompanying the big pineapple in the middle.  

It turned out that this tropical fruits lanterns were made by Singapore Tourism Board. What a fantastic way to advertise...it was a marvelous idea. Simply different. 

Then..off we went further down the stream to find a long array of dolls lanterns symbolizing the countries around the world. They were so adorably decorated. They looked so alive. well, use a little bit wee of imaginative power in our mind...and zaaappp they came to be alive right in front of our eyes.

Otherwise, they were nothing fall short of mere doll lanterns. 

Name a country and try find one. 

Good luck finding one. Well, I tried to find one that representing Indonesia... 

Until we ended up ....sitting down to take a rest. They were so many and people were just kept on flocking into the exhibitions. Not to mention..the precautions we must heed so as not to fall into the stream.^^ 

One of these? Nope.

It must be among these lanterns..... 

One of these? Neither... 

Oh, finally found it. Well, Indonesia has more than 300 tribes be it small or big. So, I guess it would be a challenging task to represent what could be a representative doll symbolizing Indonesia. What I found in this festival was...a lantern doll representing a Balinese man. 

clad in a sarung, not in Batik as it was written on the inscription / explanation. 

Well, at least..I finally found one doll from Indonesia in this 2012 Seoul Lantern Festival. 

Fish..Fish..Fish....Yippey Freya..you rocked! Peace^^ 

So many fishes dangling over us. They were all lit up to give a festivity-touch above the air, too. 

Not to mention these fishes....too. 

Eyra, Freya..surely did not want to miss the chance to see those fish fly...by.

I think..the picture speaks for itself what they were. 

Happy, Eyra? Sure sure sure.  

Ohhh...뽀로로다!!!  

well, not these ones. It was another folktale being told through lanterns. 

Freya was gleaming with cheerfulness as she met her adorable characters right in front of her eyes... 

Eyra, too. But, not because of those bears... 

nor because of those little fishes. 

But because of those Pororo and Friends characters .. 

which came to life....in wonderfully colorful lanterns.