SUPER MOON

Super MOON! That's what the buzz word for the moon that we saw on May 5, 2012. Well, we were having somewhat a picnic at the lawn by Han river that day. It was dusk already. The sky turned into orange and dark blue above it...

Dusk really set in and made the whole scenery bleak, yet eerily awesome and breathtaking. This was exactly what I wanted to see; especially when you are mostly crammed up in classes the whole week long. So, a refreshingly cool picnic like this...was like a treat so rare.

 

We were waiting for the moon to show up. Laying down or sitting down on a green lawn stretched as far as our eyes can see...along the Han river, especially in this particular Ttukseom area.

See the picnic blanket? it looked so small here, though it did not when we were sort of using it back home. I guess...the vast area and the number of people trying to sit on it ...were some of  the simple explanation as to why this mat-like clothes went crazily off the season.

That's just what I was talking about. Super Moon? Where? How? how does it differ, then?

Another angle from where we were sitting...

The New Yorker s..no...Seoulites sometimes consider things are just going to the way it was. But, wait 

till it goes like that...!!!

the night's light parks were lit on. Time to go home..

Anything will do for everyone. The most remarkable thing was that...it looked so bright for such a huge and humongous health.

Hangang again

 Sunset over us. Sunset overshadowed the bridges across Hangang River. The silhouette of evening darkness set in.
...it was like ....a call for all of us to churn in the moment....
(gosh..what am I rambling about here?:)

First thing first...

we were all gleefully excited of being there.

The whole family wrapped up the trip with the last few pictures with the bikes we rented. ^^

our friend, Wawan and Ulfa (his wife), Wulan (my student) and of course my family were all taking time to share the moment of happiness right at the River bank.

Now, I got to ask someone passing by .....to take the picture of us (including me) for sure. 

What would an evening be without each moment passing by being counted. It all came down to this: the simple happiness gleaming upon my daughters' faces was more than enough to tell that the whole afternoon was well spent.^^

More than that, it was all the shared moment that counts. (that's what some would say)

But, for me, apart from that, fulfilling the promise I made myself .....(like putting my own personal things aside and let others know that I cared about them) was more than what this trip was all about.

Yippeee We Loved It!!!

BIKE aNE? gO TO hANGANG !

Bike Bike bike.... ! Let's ride on a bike! The first thing that came to Eyra and Freya's mind when they saw other children riding bikes at the park was.....that they wanted to have their own bikes, too. Here it came! 

Then we ended up renting two bikes: one for their Mom, & one for them. As for me: I was running catching my breath following them around and taking pictures, of course. We stopped a playground where the children got off their bike and took a chance to try the playground out.

The next thing we knew...we were already at the river bank. The view was so great that we just wished we lived near the Hangang area. What for? surely for a mere notion of taking a walk or riding a bike at the riverbank every day.

 The only thing we could do for the moment was .....enjoying the scenery and our time while we could. Well, for about 35-minute ride from home, we could just easily c come to this place, actually. But, the thought of living BY it alone is enticing, enough.

 The river seemed to be so blue. The skyscrapers across the river looked majestically guarding the tiny people around it.

 The sun was about to set. The brisk sunlight we saw that day was so warm. But, wait..the wind was blowing a bit hard that day that we could not help from having to defend ourselves against it. The kids--however--managed to get by it, though.

 ...Both Eyra and Freya were overjoyed. Their first time riding a bike in Seoul was a remarkable experience for them. It's simple, cheap, healthy, and rewarding at the same time.

 "Sis, please wait for me!" "I can't fit myself on to it, so could you just...move a bit !" 'Ok, OK...but please keep it still, OK?" or else I won't be able to pedal it." the grinning face!^^"

"That's good" 

Let's go on it again and again...so we could have more fun. While the sky's blue!

"Shall we go there, Sis?"

With a little perseverance and persistence, we could pedal ourselves circling the area for about 2 hours or so.

Who wud've thought that riding a bicycle -- spending an afternoon -- would be this much fun. So, the next time any of you living in Seoul want to have some other kinda different stuffs to hold.....just grab your light package and start yourselves immersed in the beauty of Hangang riverbank with all of its amenities. Simple yet fun. 

Bike Bike Biking @ Youido Park & Hangang

What could be more tempting than......enjoying the coming of Spring with friends ...OUTDOOR! yes!. for someone who comes from a tropical country like me,....the idea of going outdoor in the Spring was like an idea too good to waive. I won't let that chance slip away. That was exactly what I did, or we did to be precise.

Having a slice or two: donuts! that our teacher bought for us.

The whole class came out to the park just to enjoy the beautiful Spring and sun light-studded (?) ^^ --I know there is no such thing as a sun-studded (imagine: star-studded) term..^^ 

But, the mere idea of being exposed to the sunlight alone...was more than enough to make me gleefully smiling and cheerful.

So were my friends.

(intermezzo: I snapped a cool sight of this child-cart. Well, that's how I describe it. As many as 6 children clad or somewhat thrown into a small cart--that was physically pushed by a woman. What a ride, indeed. 

The time came for us to just relax, have some donuts, and do nothing but play.  The office or business complex at the back was the most likely sight that we would encounter in Youido (the so-called Manhattan of Seoul). Well, it is actually a small island in the middle of Han River. How cool is that. 

Then, off we went to take a stroll along the park and off we went to a bike rental where we decided to spend the rest of the day ...biking. It cost us only 3000 Won for one-hour ride along the whole area of Youido and Hangang Area. 

So...here are my classmates with their own bikes. Some are tandem bikes that we can share with others.  Since I was the one taking the pic.......automatically I am only immortally captured as the man behind the camera. ^^ (figuratively speaking: the memory creator!!)

We were at the Riverside. Han Riverside bike lanes that dotted the river. Seoul government has been successful in maintaining the preservation of the Han river as one of the main attractions for its local community and foreigners alike. I was easily absorbed into the modesty, yet the functionality of the bike lanes as well as other facilities provided along the riverbank. 

Igyeol, Martha, Jennely, and me....!

Igyeol, Marta, Jennely, Chanmi, & Jon-gi ssi.^^ some of my 6B classmates

I think it was one of the floating theater and public spaces that were scattered along the riverbanks. Never been there, though. But, nice to try, though. 

Since it was not a holiday, in fact...it was Friday morning. So, most people were working and ...us? we were enjoying the early Spring in Han river. What could be more exciting than that? Han river was persistently and somewhat calmly flowing dashingly along the course of Seoul. Beyond ( if you could see it) is....a Seoul Tower, barely visible at the back.

me & Chanmi. Just realized that we were riding the same color bikes. 

Then, this was the opposite scenery of the river. See the Sakura flowers at the back. That was the very place where I went to the other day. 

Another spectacle along the river. The lonely barren tree (well, wait till it is fully grown with leaves on it). I guess it would look just fine. But, as for now, the tree had to be quite contented with what it got: budding leaves.

Another sight from the Han River. Office buildings built in the midst of open space and parks were the typical sight in Youido business district. Well, no wonder lots of companies set up their branches or headquarters right in the heart of this complex.

This is the bike lane that I was writing about. See the course? We can follow this seemingly never-ending courses along the river and end up ourselves outside Seoul. True. So, we can just bike ourselves and enjoy the endless possibilities that the Han river has to offer.

 

Oh, I should have put this picture in the middle of this entry:) ^^ well, simple really. I got to put this picture right here because there is our Lee Young-Ju sonsaengnim, who also took a bike with her.  Can you spot & guess which one?

This is awesome. We were making a circle with our bikes. we were like...going round and round so as to make us dizzy. No, just to make the fun of biking.--that's all. 

On our way back home to the Park where we rented the bike. I think it was 10 minutes or so before we got to have the bikes returned...or else...we would need to pay additional 500 won per additional 10 minutes or so. ^^ what a system. :)

But...we still managed to take a picture, anyway. Aha!

That's why we were rushing^^