사소한 뉴스이지만.....It's Trivial yet Impoorttaaantttt

아마도 다른사람에겐 사소한 일이지만 노량진역에서 1호선 9호선 왕래...갔다 왔다 하는 사라에게는 너무 중요하고 화제가 주목될 만한 일이죠.

이것은 바로 1.9호선의 연결하는 환승지하통로의 개통소식이죠.^^

저같은 사라은 매주 여러번 갔다 왔다 해서 얼마나 고마운지...^^ ㅇㆍ...신난다.

Asyiiiiiiik banget. Nggak perlu keluar stasiun lg utk transfer....I don't need to go out gor transfer anymore.^^

Crazy November - December Trip Highlight!

What a MONTH! Yup, last year's December was a crazy month.

Seoul-Daejon-Seoul: meeting+meeting!!

Seoul-Cheonan-Seoul: a friend's wedding.

Seoul-Busan-Seoul: seminar!!

and..all in the last week of November right until December 2014.

I remembered booking all of those tickets!!!

Even ..some were 입석 or NO SEATS at all...which meant only one thing: I got to stand along the way. 

Was it fun? I always enjoyed the journey to places... 

Like..taking a picture of a BUS on top of a building..on my way to the station! 

or...taking a beautiful view over Han River...recorded it on a video....

and then..started to take pictures frame by frame..

along the time I spent while crossing over the bridge. 

with 63 Building as its background. 

I would not have been able to take a picture from a moving train, had I not been on a train trip, right? 

So, basically..this is a great way to enjoy my travel. 

a bright morning over Han River in Seoul... 

all enjoyed from within a passing train.

Gyeongju Summer Trip (part 2)

After about 3.5 hour-ride from Seoul, we safely arrived at Dongdaegu (East Daegu) Station where we had 20 minutes to rest before changing our train into the Mugunghwa train (the less expensive intercity train). We were about to embark on the 2 pm train that would transport us directly to Gyeongju. 

Freya and Eyra were having cups of milk before departing...yes..it's better to drink something warm instead of iced-beverages in the unbelievable 'heat' in the summer. 

Even the air-conditioned coach seemed to be hapless to retract the heat that 'bombarded' the window panes of the coach. We felt a little hot...so as to make the kids enjoy the 1-hour trip (Dongdaegu --> Gyeongju), their Mom made ponytails out of their hair. 

We arrived at one of the several small stations along the way. 

Another group photo: we did not travel by ourselves, in fact another family (mas Wawan and Mbak Ulfa) were also on the trip together with us. It's their first trip to Gyeogju, too. So ...the more the merrier, right? 

With gleaming smile on their face (including mine?)^^ we're trying our best to make every second counts (counted). 

my turn.... 

Another small station. Oh, this one really captured our attention since there was this petai cina tree. Yes, petai cina (Leucaena leucocephala) that we can easily find back home in Indonesia. Well, of course, I am not sure if they were petai cina..or lamtoro or mlandingan...anyway..it just captured our attention. 

Back to the coach...now let's take a picture with om Wawan and mbak Ulfa. 

One-hour trip never felt so bored if we knew what to do...and always kept the spirit high and positive...and oh...we started to see the glimpses of hanok houses...Korean traditional houses that we knew we would encounter a lot in Gyeongju.

so..it meant only one thing: we're approaching to arrive at Gyeongju.

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....:^^

Busan: Last Day in Busan, and Back to Seoul

Another shot of the Daejeongdae beach. A splendidly spectacular view of the beach. A  deliberately slanted view of the beach to give it an unusual perspective...and THAT...if it even worked...^^

On our way down the hill toward the parking lot after visiting Daejeongdae. Though it may not be that clear....far beyond ...the seaport city of Busan was visible. I just wanted to say that this so-called Daejeongdae was practically situated on a slope of the hills...

..that's why visitors were going up and down the hills should they want to enjoy the view.

But what I mostly remembered was how blue the sky on that day.

With Ms. Kim M.S. who was kind enough to take us around Busan and its vicinity. 

What would a Busan Trip without having to go to Jagalchi market where most of the fish and seafood are freshly or dried sold. ^^

In that sense in mind, we went to a market selling all kinds of fish products. Well, we just bought ojingo or dried squids and anchovies.(?).

Right before leaving Busan, we had lunch at China Town. It looked so empty, right? I did not know why. It surely says that this place was  and is...the place for foreigners..but I did not see many of them. Oh, well..maybe it was not the right time to visit? Anyhow, I managed to capture a pic. of my wife in front of one of the many gates gearing towards China Town. Oh, for anyone who might be wondering as to where it was, it is located just in front of the Busan Station. 

Now..we are on board KTX train. The fastest train on the peninsula or in the world? Its speed  boasts as fast as 300 km/hour. What? Yes, the electronic signboard inside the train indeed showed that fact. But, as soon as it reached 300 km/hour it slowed a bit into 299, 298,297..or I could say that this train runs at the average of 290 km/hour. 

That's the reason as to why it takes only 2.5 hours from Busan to Seoul. (remember my story of taking Mugunghwa train that took us almost 6 hours from Seoul to Busan?)

So, this train indeed speeds up the activities and goods & people's exchanges inside the Peninsula. 

As for us, it saved us ...some energy and valuable time, though frankly speaking.....it did not help us whatsoever in saving some money. ^^hahahahahaha.

Finally got back safely in Seoul. 

Lots of families with their children were on the same compartment as we were. Guess, weekend trip in intercity train like this speed KTX train ...to some extent.....does help boost the tourism industry in Korea. 

Bye---Bye...KTX train. Till we meet again..on our trip to other cities soon.^^