자전거 타고 본 서울 (part 6)

뚝섬 유원지에선 자전거 없이 즐거움을 하려면 자점거를 빌릴 수 있으니까 걱정하지마라.

그냥...서서...그 사람들처럼. ..renting  the bikes.

주말이라 그런지....lots of people really wanted to have their own share of bike!!!

As for me....I grabbed some snickers otherwise I'd be mad of hunger and tiredness^^

Gee...ttukseom resort really got an exposure!

여기까지 자전거를 타보니....신났다.

Winter @ Ttukseom

With an entrance fee as much as 10,000 Won for one child...they could choose any rides they wanted to, apart from snow sled and tube. 

Of course, they wanted to try this one. oh, well... 

 

Or a mini-track hop-ride-and-go bike. 

and...winter did not seem to deter their enthusiasm. 

hmm...what about this? Daddy wanted to do this...but..boy..being a Daddy simply meant that I got to follow where the kids wanted to spend their time... 

so...I got no options but to jump into the boat!!! 

Ttukseom resort is located right next to Han River...and it's almost sunset.... 

We'd better go home....after all, all rides were closed at 5 pm.

Sunset scene at Ttukseom Resort.

Biking @ Han River Bank, Ttukseom Resort

We always had plans prepared to do..especially when our wife's sisters' family were here in Seoul. 

Then..what about taking them to Han River to sample the taste of what it would be like..biking near Han River....just like we did a couple of times before.

Razqa, of course, was excited to know that he could ride a bike along with his sisters. 

The weather's nice...and the sun's about to set...which gave a reflection over Han River a different angle to devour. 

But, of course...we're too busy to notice that, eh? 

With each of them got their own rented bike... 

we're more than ready to explore the river bank... 

or just..chilling out under the bridge over us.. 

I bet..not many people were there considering the time... 

but..with the tandem bike like this, tante and bude could not just resist the temptation of enjoying a new way of seeing Seoul in different perspective.. 

As for Eyra, the idea of biking (again) was intriguing enough... 

that..even a beautiful sunset was almost unnoticeable ...for them. Or, was it just me? 

It passed 6 pm and yet..we're not yet ..done. In fact...we rode along the further down part of the resort. 

As for me..nothing to do but...tagging along behind them..and spotted a flock of birds like this... 

or..following where Eyra went around, like climbing up this ship-shaped playground. 

or this shaky-wiggle-along ride. 

and now..it's really getting dark...the lights on..and not even a clue as when they'd wanted to stop riding the bikes. 

Tante Yuni was like a nanny who had to take care of three children on their first bike night out.

It was fun, eh?

Weekly Route from Seoul-Ansan-Seoul

On Sunday..as usual..I go to Hanyang University, Erica Campus @ Ansan to teach some students at Indonesia Open University. Yes..Sunday is supposed to be a free-day for me..but..not really. I got to spend almost the whole day there..from 8 a.m. till 6 p.m. 

No complaints...since I enjoy the whole process of being with my students.

And...one more thing: the 2-hour journey back-and-forth at times made me feel numb. Sooo? 

I always try to make the best of my time enjoying the scenery whenever the subway ceases to be subway^^ I mean..when the subway emerges out of the underground to give us some relief to feel the grace of nature..like this one. 

The under-construction Lotte Tower beyond.

Also..like the Ttukkseom resort that we pass through every week. See? The train passes the bridge over Han River so as to give me a chance to enjoy what's the rest of the city is doing when I am going to Ansan. 

Then..on my way back home..I took different route. In this case, I take another chance to see Han River from different angle. This one's taken where the Youido with its skyline was visible from above. 

I love taking pictures...and this is when the dusk just set in. 

Lights...cars....river....dark blue skies....sort of greeted me in chords.

Welcome back home to Seoul, Suray.

"See you again next week," they say.

Family Retreat @ Ttukseom Resort (part 2)

There were lots of lanterns hung across the resort ....like these pink and yellow ones. They simply show us the Buddha's birthday was approaching. Yes, May 6th is accordingly designated as a national holiday in Korea. 

Continued on our story about a family retreat, this is what it looked like when we're there. 

Despite strong wind that swept across the area, we managed to enjoy the fun. I asked Freya to take a pose although it was windy ...to my surprise..she just posed like that. good, Freya.  

Group picture time.  

oops..it's too far. 

Moms and their daughters. 

with Seoul & Hangang as its backdrop. 

Now, it's mas Khoirul and the kids. 

Semoga ini jadi kenangan yang indah bagi kita semua. 

Family Retreat @ Ttukseom Resort (part 1)

We're having a family retreat for the following reasons:

(1) it's a loooong weekend in Korea.

(2) our friend (mas Khoirul's family) is about to leave Korea in two-week time, so we thought of having a farewell family retreat for them.

(3) we wanted to enjoy the early summer which looks to be so enticingly perfect for a family vacation. 

After putting a tent and preparing some lunch, we let the kids do what they wanted to do. First, bubble time. Bubbles are indeed a great way to let the kids away from their Mom while their Moms busy preparing lunch. ^^ 

More and more families came and joined the retreat. We began our lunch at about 1 pm when most of our friends already came. 

Blue sky, not-that-far location from home, easy-access, good (halal) food, and...a harmony...what more could we ask for? 

For one thing, I should thank to the kids' Moms who prepared all of these. I mean..in part..this kind of retreat would not have been possible, had they not known one another in the first place, right? That's where it all began. They kind of having a regular meeting on which occasion they invite their husbands all along.^^ 

On this day, we met to celebrate the long weekend as well as for the previously mentioned reasons. Oh, did I mention the wind???? Gosh, it's so strong that we got to move the tent!  

Wait, judging from the outfit we wore...was it really summer? well, sort of. It's early summer but boy..the wind was chillingly strong ..so strong that we had to cover our heads.  

This is funny.  Eyra was draped in plastic like this...since I had to fully cover her up and protect her from the strong wind. 

She's like literally being protected from the wind. ^^ㅋㅋㅋ