Drifting Along Line 6

Been using the line 6 subway all along without knowing what's in store on the surface...well, subway..means we're being subbed into the dark zone of not knowing what's up there. So, after meeting up with a friend of mine, I decided just to stop at one station and went up to see what's it like there.

It's near the exit 5 of Yaksu station 약수역. 

There seemed to be a tunnel. 

and..then..okay..let's just go down again..riding the subway. 

This time..I stopped by at Line 6's Dongmyo station on purpose..to take some pictures of.. 

This. Yes..the old CD vendor who sells mostly oldies. 

Korean oldies are available in cheap packages.  

For anyone who wish to look for antiques and oldies stuffs..Dongmyo Market could be the place to go.

Line 6 Dongmyo Station.

When Even ONE meter DOES matter!!!

We're transferring at Gongdeok Station (line 5 & 6) when we encountered this funny sign. 

The pictures speaks for itself.^^

I wonder whether it was meant for a real purpose of indicating direction or just for FUN.^^

Either way it INDEED works.^^

ㅋㅋㅋ

Going Back from Seven Springs

 Full tummy+drowsy eyes+warm compartment= a recipe for stay-out-of the-trouble.

Been back from celebrating our December's fiesta @ our favorite restaurant: Seven Springs. 

Rain, why did you have to cover up your face like that? 

Oh come on, what's up with the face?

Mey, Windy, and Eunbie.

Gangnam Station (DX Line) part 1

First time riding the DX line. It's the new subway line operating as a commuter line between Bundang and Gangnam. Even the tagline of its service is "It's only 16 minutes from Bundang to Gangnam"--which is considered as the downtown of Seoul for Bundang area. 

So, the operational service of this new line is an added value for those living in and out of Bundang--when it comes to reaching the Gangnam area.

I just so happened to find out about it when I was going home after taking a Sunday-walk. 

Intrigued by the numerous artistic installation perked on the walls across the station, I started to take as many pictures as possible... 

Since it's relatively new, I had a hunch that this is a bit deserted for a new line this impressive. 

One of the characteristics of this DX line is that it is fully automated. No one operates the train, but the computer. *correct me if I am wrong. Coz this is only based on what I saw on both ends of the trains. It's just glassed-wall through which I could see the whole line and rail-tracks along the way. 

And It's a new color of subway that I have ever been into.

The color of the seats and the central pole into which people would dangle tight when it's crowded....IF there would be one.^^--which I bet there is--considering this is a Gangnam-bound train. 

And the feel of freshly new operated station emanated from its shining silver-like floors, ceilings, and pillars.... 

it's just creepily cool!!!

now let's see the video I managed to take from within.

ouch that's too short...now let me get the longer one:

opps it's even shorter. Oh..gosh..I am afraid I may have deleted the longer version.

Blimey....!!

Got time to Play?

Sure! We're waiting for the subway. Summer means less subways. Yes..from 10 am until 4 pm, the number of subway operations are reduced to accommodate the government's appeal to prevent the blackout. So..fewer subways mean longer waiting time or longer interval for subways to arrive. 

We got to wait 10 minutes that day...so....

It's hot. But...Eyra and Freya..always found time to smile and play!!! 

Let's make a heart with our own reflection on the mirror. 

Thank you, Eyra and Freya..for always making your parents smile.

I know it's hot outside...even at the platform while waiting for subways...at times it needs our patience..and you've shown us that we can always have fun everywhere.

Les Schoolzeribles

At around 10 pm, I noticed one high school boy (judging from his uniform) who was going home from school or any private night classes (?). Anyway..the thing was that..he must've been so tired of all-day long at school or all-day long studying...or may be..the whole year studying and ...having to be home late at night everyday..

that's why he just laid down on empty row of seats...

I know how he must've felt (no..of course I did not know)...but judging from the look on  his face, he really needed a time off....*oh..he moved from one compartment to another....trying to find empty seats to lay himself down...

Oh...it reminded me of a parody about how high school students in Korea who got to cram their time and energy to achieve their goal of ....getting admitted to universities of their dream.

Hmm...it's tough for them. 

'Tis Upside Down!

I thought I had something wrong with my eyes when I saw the TV. It's upside down. I couldn't make out what it was. Was it because I was a bit 'disoriented' after having some 'house chores' in the morning? 

Had it been my eyes that did the trick? 

The right-side TV indeed showed something strange. 

I couldn't read what it was saying..until I realized that indeed...it was downward. 

Hmm...it was a trivial thing to see...but, being a very very amateurish photographer who's always ready to take pictures as stuffs do happen, I felt like having this urge to take the moment to zap the ad with upside down footage.

This has been an exercise for my eyes...

Civil Affair Train!!! 365 Days A Year On The Train!!

Now there's something that not all carriages in every line of Seoul Subway could brag about. But this one surely can. Line 1 that connects the outskirts of Seoul where most of its inhabitants live (Gyeonggi Province) is the one I am talking about. I knew about this particular compartment back then..but I always did not take any notice until I really had time to take a look closer of what it is all about. 

Okay...this particular compartment is OFFICE on-the-GO. Yes..I call it this way. This is basically a government office ( I think ) on the train. The main goal of setting up this office on the train is to cater the need of anyone who does not have time to go to the governmental complexes. So...instead of 'waiting' for the 'customers (a.k.a. the civil), Gyeonggi-province government take a leap by cooperating with the Korail to set up one compartment and change it into an on-the-go office 365 days a year. 

But, first..let me take a look at one small booth in the compartment, I thought that it is also a section to help customers, but it's not. But..in some way..it DOES. It is actually a nursery booth where parents could change the diaper of their babies while on the train..or   mommies who need to breastfeed the baby could just go inside and use the booth. Cool, eh? 

Okay..back to the 민원전철 (minwonjeoncheol) or the civil service train! This compartment is divided into small booth or sections complete with officers in charge to help anyone who may want to ask any civil-related matters. Job interviews, job vacation, debt, health insurance, real estate-related issues, anything....I guess. The thing was that..it is a great idea in essence. People could just walk into the compartment and meet and talk to the person in charge and hope for the best of any solution they could come up with while ...they were going somewhere else.

Killing two birds with one stone? Anyway..

this is what I saw the other day on the train.

Salute to those who set up this idea.

Hope this indeed helps!!

Goyang International Flower Festival (Finale)

Before we went home, we took some more group pictures since we knew that it would be a long way for us to think and consider coming back here again unless....there is another better or greater exhibition.^^ 

The whole group. Om Wawan and his wife, me and my family.

May 4, 2013. Goyang City. 

This one, a vertical-shaped size pic. 

One more pic. of tulip fields which somewhat became the pseudo-symbol of national flower here.^^ of course, I am just kidding...but judging from the mere fact that similar tulip festivals being held simultaneously across the peninsula....has somewhat given me a vague idea as to whether it is time to call tulip as one of Korea's national flower.^^ 

On our way back home on subway. Look how deserted the subway was. Well..we were taking the wrong subway....and that's the reason as to why it was deserted. oh well..it's a looooooooooooooooooooooooooong story.

Walking Alone @ Midnight Through...

     The subway's closed. It passed midnight. 
Sure..I was dumb enough not to think of it before. I should've known that it only operates just minutes before midnight. Had I run faster...had I skipped waiting for the end credit to roll on....had I ....
     But it did not do any good to what I'd been through. Not that something 'grandiose' or 'magical' happened or anything..it's just that..last night's walking-alone-at-midnight-through-the streets-in-one-part-of-Seoul did give me an intriguing experience of what to do and what not to do.

     I guess I was walking for about 10 km at night. Yup..I was maniacally crazy. Others would just hail a cab and go straight home. But not for me. I once had to pay more than what I had to pay if it passed midnight and sometimes some drivers charged me more. I thought that it only happened in Indonesia, but it also did happen (at least to me) here.^^ But, that's another concern.
     The thing was that...walking for about 10 km from one point to where I live was a what-the-heck-had-I-been-thinking afterthought. Only the problem is...I realized it when it's all over.:-)
Some flickering lights were there. Apartments were there, calm and breezy night accompanied my solo walk. The night was a bit cool or cold I could not make out, for the only thing that mattered most was whether I would be able to find my way back home. (Sure I did, otherwise I would not be able to tell all about it now ;-))
     The taxis were there for me to grab, but my stout ignorance or rather my persistent pride-turned selfishness gave me something to pay the price for.
Thank God...the subway line was just on the straight line from where I walked. And from what I learned (or so I thought), my home would be just at the same direction as the subway line was. That's where I made the first 'well, call it big' mistake. I did not know that at times map even the online one could still 'blur' the exact location. Or was it I who was so obliviously not-smart enough to read the guide as written on my app? Oh, well...
Okay, let me get it straight...being a male/boy/man or whatever I call myself...did not guarantee that I would be brave enough to walk alone at night, let alone in the middle of nowhere....
     So here it came...
I stumbled upon an intersection where not a single person was visible. But as I learned more...it was not the intersection that I was worrying about...but..rather how I could cross this seemingly impenetrable streets because there was this huge construction projects underway that sort-of obstructed my view as where to look and go...and that was the time when I noticed that all pedestrians should go underneath the tunnel ( a long one) to cross the intersection....
....my hands trembled. I was shivering since as soon as I went down the hole (tunnel)..I saw two CCTV that shows what the tunnel would look like. Through it we could tell as to whether other people were also inside the tunnel. I felt like a chicken who turned into a pale-looking lad who seemed lost.
What I did next? I was running through the tunnel........without one single pause...until I reached the end.
     And..as I looked up into the sky that embraced me as I came out of the tunnel, a bright street full of noraebang or karaoke salons with all of their glimmering lights with here and there... girls on their mini skirts being escorted. The 24/7 convenient stores full of people....which looked like aquariums to me simply because of their glaring white neon that brightened their shops. All the too familiar scene for me.
And..that's when I realized ....I did not have to worry about anything after all.^-^
     People still went around and did their chores even at hours after midnight.
Yes...Seoul, even in its suburbs, is a city that seemingly refrains itself from sleeping.
And...interestingly..that's where I gained my courage again....
the journey still took me another 30 minutes before I reached my home...with a small twist again.
     Just when I thought that by following the subway line would bring me home...I was wrong. Not all subway lines are constructed beneath streets, at times..some of them steered a way a bit to cross-cut the distance...and that's where I lost it again.
I got to struggle again to find my way back home...
but like what many of my friends told me " Seoul is safe city to wander around, even at midnight"
And....if now I am writing this blog..it definitely means that I did make it.^^
(and that's another story)

Got Lost/Trapped in Seoul Subway

I was going to Uijeongbu with my friends that day. Since we were busy talking, we did not have the slightest idea that the train we were taking was only going until Seongbuk (way too far from Uijeongbu^^).

There are some trains whose destinations are not the last stations on the line-track, instead, they just stop in between, so passengers should keep it in mind that they should be aware of it. Well, of course the authorities or the train  would always announce all about it to the suspecting passengers. But, for unsuspecting or better yet.....indifferent passengers like us....we did not even hear the announcement! It was our fault of not listening to the announcement.
So, that was exactly what happened.
 

 We were so busy talking and chatting that we did not realize all of other passengers had got off the train...while.....we were trapped inside the train...which was going to its parking ground!!!!
aha...that was when we realized the eerie feeling of as to why we were the only people on the compartment. Luckily, it was in the morning. Can't imagine ...had it happened at night.^^
So, to make the best of our moment, we captured the amazingly empty ride on Seoul Subway. ^^
So, we were not LOST...but ....TRAPPED inside the subway...

...it's the best experience to date.
NEver have we been able to be in an empty subway like this.....because it is always crowded and fully jammed packed with people.
So...it WAS indeed a nice day ---if I looked at it with a different perspective in mind.