Seoul Fireworks Festival 2013: Part 4 - A Sequence of Delights

A delight of wonder...from afar.

but..wait until.... 

this one got my eyes popped up:) I mean...this was really a feast to the eyes.

and..yes..the 3-D effect of watching it live......!~ 

Another nucleus-spark-like burst.... 

An ice cream with two cones on top one after another...and melting:-) 

another typical shape of fireworks sparks...hmm well,.. 

another typical spark we can skip...

...

can we skip this one....it looks like we could. 

But I couldn't. The crisp sound of the red tiny dots of sparks...perturbed me...so as to keep me glued on them. 

Another typical one, but this one's so bright in color and height that I couldn't put it down. A bright night view over Han River.

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.

Banpo Bridge's View

Some of the views that we took while visiting the Banpo bridge--famous for its nightly view of Seoul with its colorful water-show.

Who would not want to spend an hour or two right on the river bank like this?

A ferry was visible beyond. It was about to go underneath the bridge. I think going underneath the bridge while the water-show is on kind of enhances the experience of Seoul night-viewing experience.


Strikingly different colors of water spurted from the bridge was the result of -- I think-- a computerized arrangement of water-show. The reflection of colorful 'water-fall' on the surface of the river at night gave a somewhat a 

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!!!

PIcnic under the Highway^^

That's what I sort of figured out as soon as I got off the subway and embarked on an 'afternoon journey' at Ttukseom. It really was, indeed. How could I ignore the fact that the mere Ttukseom existence was indeed right under the intersecting bridges and highways crisscrossing over us. ^^ But, that's the reason why this is so popular.

Just think! When the beautiful park that city dwellers badly need is available within reach! When the soothing river bank atmosphere is right within your palm! This is exactly what this Ttukseom resort offers to Seoulites and -- of course-- its visitors.

We got a glimpse of what it looks like. See the apartment as well as the roads/highways at the back? they pretty much summed up what this place looked like. But, don't underestimate the fact that this place offers lots of activities!

Parks full of flowers? check! Riding on bikes? check! Jogging on never-ending tracks? check! 

the tube gallery right above us symbolizes the modern touch that Ttukseom resort has to offer. The natural beauty mixed with the splendor of modernity is exposed right here. It sure was a nice spot to hang out and spend an afternoon. 

Ttukseom Resort

In the last few days of Spring or in the early days of Summer, we went out to Ttukseom resort or 뚝섬원산지 or that's how it is called, if I'm not mistaken. The thing was that..I wanted to take my kids to Hangang river bank while taking a walk or riding a bike along the riverbank. That's the idea.

Then, we took the subway line 7 to get there. It took about 35 minutes or so from our home to reach the destination....plus..additional 3 more stations of subways to change lines ( : dubbed as being the hardest part of getting there). 

It was a good thing that the day was nice. warm despite its being windy. The first notion that struck me was that...this resort was actually a place under the highway or toll roads intermingled or crisscrossing over it. What a way to spend the day, then. But, was it worth-it? You bet, it was.

While walking through the so-called tube where lots of exhibits were on display. The cultural and historical facades of Seoul and its vicinity were on display for visitors to enjoy and learn. 

The Hangang and its Gangnam area visible from where I was standing at Ttukseom resort that day. The afternoon sunlight was briskly shimmering over the river. The reflection on its surface was somewhat cooling off my feeling, though. 

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^^