Masjid di Seoul

About 30 minutes after the Friday prayer finished, less and less people were seen around the Masjid....and that gave me enough freedom to take some pics.

It's scorching hot....but it's such a bright day that it helped me focus my cam.

The first thing that caught my attention was the wall-mounted display-amp

Also the exterior of the walls.

As well as the door knob...

Or the rather dilapidated upper wall.

2015.08.14

At the Han River Bank

Sunset in Han River. Well..it was not yet...sunset..not even close..but it's about 6 pm I guess. 63 Building and Youido area were visible from here. 

Freya and Eyra were excited of going there. Even the idea of going into the river was enough to make them glee.  

Yep, we went here. We went to this bridge. We loved the idea of going somewhere where most people would not go. Yes..doing a picnic under the bridge like this. Above are roads and railways...which answered our curiosity as to why it sounded to loud.  

Another look at the sunset. 

A small panoramic view of Freya and Eyra at the riverbank doing I did not know what... 

Finally I got a chance to take a picture with the kids, this one, too. 

That's the Cloud Cafe. But we went to the other cafe..across the bridge. There are two cafe I guess. 

Freya was taking an afternoon delight and immersed in her own world. I mean..just look at her..she never complained of getting tired or anything..she just kept on walking and playing around. (great!!) 

Freya walking alone towards the station. I am shocked to find out that she came along very well...and she never complained as I reckoned.

Love this picture: she looks like getting lost under the zigzagged flyovers.

Got some Heated Air, Dear?

Yes, we did. 

Eyra's classmates were having an outdoor activity. I didn't know as to why they had to do it in the blistering heat like today (June 24). But, I guess it was because they had planned it long before. Of course, they knew it all along that it would be summer by the time they had this outdoor activity...but....hey..this is summer and we are supposed to go outside and enjoy the sun after a 6-month long winter-like climate.

Right, guys? 

Looks like they agree to this term. Kids never mind when or where they play. As long as they have a great time hanging out with other peers, they would nod along and go for a heck-o-the-time in summer.

Look, they seemed to have a great day.

Eyra, too, was having a blast today. Wearing her classroom t-shirt with 'Happy Cheongryang Elementary School' inscription on it, she rode a see-saw with her friend.

Thanks for (again and again) Eyra's sonsaengnim for having sent us the pictures.

The boys played different kind of stuffs.

Boys did.

Rainy Day Over Hangang As Seen From Within Subway...

It was raining a bit and cloud...not...mist....yes..misty morning winked at every little corner of the space that I was passing through in the morning on my way to work...

it was approaching Noryangjin station over Han River when I spotted a not-to-be-missed spectacle over the river...

Misty Cloud Hanging Over 63 Building...

This building is one of the so-called 'witnesses' that I have to pass on my way to work twice a week to Youido.

A Deserted Railway @ our Backyard

Yep..right @ our backyard...just a two-minute walk from our apartment, we could end up finding this deserted railway. I remembered vividly the sound of train passing by this track when I first came to Korea back in 2002. At that time I was also living at the same apartment so...when I found out that this track is deserted..I was like..Whoa..what happened to the tracks?

So...we went there and found ourselves playing along the track...without any fear of any incoming trains...^^

Summer is hot, indeed. But...once we could make the best of it...

we could end up having the best of summer, yet.

Look how green the surrounding....:^^

A Family Portrait @ Sundam Valley

A memorable moment we spent at Sundam Valley must be preserved*-* and captured in the lenses. The tranquil water...the green trees above...

Eyra..let me get you up here.... 

Another pose to capture the moment.  

No other families were visible...it's just us. (no, of course, there were..but really a few) and this made us feel so special...and we did have a privilege to feel that way...

Remembering how amazingly dazzling the scenery in Sundam Valley, we were like being transported into a new atmosphere different from what we have back home in Seoul. (C'mon Suray...of course it is). 

..and that's why we loved the fact that we managed to be there (the valley)

순담계곡 Sundam Valley

One of the must-visit places in Cheorwon, Gangwon-do/province: Sundam Valley. 

Forgive my camera..for not being able to catch the picturesque details of the valley... 

It is one of the famous places for rafting or just enjoying the landscape--which characteristically shaped the valley. 

For those who do not want to go into the valley, a viewpoint up above the valley was set up for anyone to enjoy the scenery. 

I just saw a rafting boat which was deliberately overturned so as to make the rafters overboard the raft. I remembered the last time I had a rafting experience, too, back home. We did the same. 

a zoomed-in cave on a cliff...hmm looks like so scary-looking visage was protruding....from inside.. 

*That's the place where I zoomed it out.. 

Rocks..rocks..rocks...big and huge ones dotted...the landscape of...Sundam Valley. 

A feat in itself for the kids to climb and dash through them...

That's the hotel on top of the cliff and iron stairs... 

Mbak Ulfa was like selling an ad on a coke...she's holding. 

Help me out.... 

with ms. Yuliana who took us here. Her relative is the one who supervises and manages the hotel and the rafting package in the region.

Horray...we made it.
Wait...where was I? I need to be 'in' the picture, too.

Eyra's Activities

First: Summer sets in and what is summer without watermelon.^^ 

Well, summer should not always be associated with watermelon. But, as we enter into the market and our eyes and senses are exposed to this particularly 'summer-friendly' watermelon, we could not but to think that "Oh, it'll be so great to have some". This is when compulsive buyers are the 'happiest' persons on earth. They see something, they buy it.

 (But the wallet says the opposite)

Oh my my.... watermelon is soooooooo expensive in Korea. I mean, how could one watermelon cost as much as roughly 20,000 Won!  Of course, it depends on the so-called 'quality' & how much it weighs. 

The heavier the more expensive it gets.

But still, it is roughly 15,000 Won to say the least.^^

So we were so excited when we found out that watermelon in Ansan (a city 30km away from Seoul^^) cost  only 8000 at the most. Most of them. Although I came to wonder whether they were the real ones. hahaha.^^ Of course they are real. It's just the quality is not that good compared with the ones sold at high-end and upscale food markets in Seoul. 

But, hey...it IS yummy and freshly delicious, especially after being refrigerated. 

But, do I have to go as far as Ansan just to buy watermelon when we want some?^^ :)

Second: Eyra got a class-project to bring a sprout^^, a flower, a plant, a bush, or any herbs to the class. The whole class would make a kind of living laboratory where they can watch and learn all kinds of plants right in their very own class. 

The thing was that: they will move the plant into a plastic bottle cut in half so as to make it into a new 'vase' for them. Oh well, I don't know how to explain it, I know that I should've just taken the picture of it when it was done. Eyra got it delivered to school already.

So, these are the pictures that we took when they were still in their original state.

I learned that one small plant or flower in a small vase like this costs around 2,000 to 2,500 Won. 

Now, that's comparatively inexpensive considering how well and neatly nurtured hey are. 

Summer sets in

Summer sets in. What better way to experience the heat in Seoul than....splashing into the water? No..just kidding. We were in the children grand park and kids could just 'waste' ^^ I mean..spend their time with endless activities. Like this one: this small creek is for then children to cross and if they wish to...to plunge themselves into. But for Freya and her Mom...it was something to cross over.

Another waterfall, a man-made one,*sigh*. But, it was still a worth-seeing and worth-visiting one, though.

Should it not blend with nature, people would not bother themselves taking picture right in front of it.

and so were the children of this multicultural family. (well, most of us).

Children Grand Park

When was the last time I saw a duck..the real one in its natural habitat? I could not surely tell. But, one thing for sure, during our visit to Seoul's Children Grand Park or 어린이 대공원 on May 19, 2012...I did see it. Their quacking sound aroused my curiosity to find where they were...and as I peeped into the bush at the park, I saw them....quacking (read: chattering)^^

It is Summer already in Seoul. And OMG it is great. OK, it is hot, but with the new and different thing to see  (after having Spring), it is I think one of the best season yet). THink PoSItive!

Isn't it a wonder and at the same time a blessing ...to find such 

a greeeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnn park right in front of our eyes.

and...what's more? It IS free. No entrance fee is required to enter the park. Well, this is after all a public space for all citizens from all walks of life to enjoy.

Welcome to Seoul in Summer.