Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Throne in Seoul

The Gyeongbokgung (palace greatly blessed by Heaven) built in 1395, is the biggest palace in Korea. It was totally reduced to ashes during the Japanese invasion in 1592. It was then rebuilt again in 1867. Again, it was torn down in 1915 by the Japanese. It is from 1990 that the palace has been restored and renovated to its present glory. Korean history is such a sad story. Always filled with war, slavery and fear... Even now, North Korea seem to pose a pertinent threat to the South.

The palace was a must visit place when my parents visited Korea in August. They liked the Korean building structure and were impressed by its size but were totally tired by the amount of walking involved in seeing it!

Gyeongbokgung subway station
Long walk in the Gyeongbokgung subway station which was filled with pretty patterns
Entrance to the Gyeongbokgung
Entrance to the Gyeongbukgung 
Throne Hall of the Gyeongbokgung
Throne Hall of the Gyeongbokgung
Guardians carved on top of the palace
Guardians of the palace find their place in the top of the palace structure

Artifacts from the palace
Artifacts from the palace

The Throne room
The King's Throne at the Gyeongbokgung
T for Throne for ABC Wednesday

The golden dragon, symbol of good luck at Gyeongbokgung
The golden dragon, symbol of good luck at Gyeongbokgung

Beautiful decorations adorn the walls of the throne room
Beautiful decorations adorn the walls of the throne room at the Gyeongbokgung
Slopey roofs of the Gyeongbokgung
Slopey roofs of the Gyeongbokgung
The lake in Gyeongbokgung
This is where the king entertained important guests, in a beautiful place in the middle of a lake. 


The changing guard ceremony in front of Gwanghwamun
The changing guard ceremony in front of the Gwanghwamun

Gwangwhamun
Gwanghwamun gate encloses the palace and demarcates it from the skyscrapers in Seoul



Changing guard ceremony in Seoul
Changing Guard ceremony in Seoul
Beautiful blue sky at the Gwanghwamun Palace in Seoul - For Skywatch Friday

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Sea shores in Korea

Sorting through the files of pictures taken previously, I found myself reminiscing over these photos taken close to seashores in Korea. Such wonderful memories it brought with it! Sea shores are truly amazing places which always just seem to put my thoughts into perspective and also lets me appreciate the power, grandeur and permanence of nature. I just found some interesting quotes which just amplifies the beauty of the seas and also just how I feel about them.


The cure for anything is salt water- Sweat, tears or the sea. ~ EE Cummings 
Oh, yes! How true. My favorite seaside quote ever :)
golden waters in Seonyudo island
Golden waters of Seonyudo beach
To go out with the setting sun on an empty beach is to truly embrace the solitude. ~ Jeanne Moreau 
It eventually happens, doesn't it? Walking out in the beach with sand crunching between the toes, simply brings me face to face with my true self. Also brings out my emotions, passion and ultimately, a smile.
Sunset at Seonyudo beach
Sunset in Seonyudo beach

We are all tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether to sail or to watch- we are going back from whence we came.~ John F Kennedy.
rocky beach of Busan
Rocky beach in Busan
Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after the footprints in the sand are gone. ~Anonymous

Playful times in Jeju beach
Playful times in Jeju beach
 
http://highlifeinthelowcountry.wordpress.com
buggy beach Seonyudo
Beach in Seonyudo

Catch a wave and you're sitting on top of the world! ~ Beach boys
waves from Busan Haeundae beach
Haeundae beach in Busan
The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever~ Jacques Yves Cousteau
sunrise from Haeunae Beach
Sunrise from Haeundae Beach

S for Seashores ~ ABC Wednesday
Skywatch Friday


Friday, November 14, 2014

Weirdest of weathers in Seoul

Very cold a snowy start on a glorious sunny day!

It was a snowy start today with snow on red leaves.

First snowfall in Seoul for 2014
I totally need to get ready for winter now!
Snow on a sunny fall day


Green leaves with snow.

Snow on red and yellow leaves in Seoul


Fall colors and snow adding beauty and enigma to the Seoul weather. Skywatch Friday


Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Reds of the week


Looking back at the last few days, I just discovered that that I had clicked a lot of reds. Warm color for this cold season :)

Red alstroemeria in Korean flower arrangement
Red Alstroemeria in my latest Korean flower arrangement
Happy Pepero Day!
Happy Pepero day! 11/11
Winter is here, get the fruit teas ready! Dried fruit for the teas
Dried fruit for the soothing winter tea. 
 Samung Philaharmonic Orchestra
Had an amazing time listening to the Samsung Philaharmonic orchestra play and the lady in red making magic with the piano
Wedding essentials at Seoul
Dried fruits, other sweets which form the wedding essentials at the Gwajang market in Seoul
Crab kimchi at Gwajang market in Seoul
Crab Kimchi anyone?
Fresh veggies for Bibimbap  at Gwajang market in Seoul
Colorful veggies for Bibimbap  
Reds in Nature
Awesome reds in nature


 R for Red~ABC Wednesday http://abcwednesday-mrsnesbitt.blogspot.kr/

Friday, November 7, 2014

Top 6 Korean Drama

I wasn't surprised when I saw Korean drama on a local channel in South India. I had heard from the giggly girls of my family that dreamy, romantic Korean drama was on their daily menu. I was surprised to see, though, was dream boy Lee Min Ho sweet talk in Tamil :D Few reasons why people get hooked on to K Drama:

  • K Dramas are fast paced. There is all the love, hate, deceit, vengeance that you need and more, but at a very accelerated pace. In around an hour, we come to know that the hero's father has been wronged and the hero is told about it when he comes of age, he wants revenge, plots with his step dad, goes to the US to study, returns from MIT with top honors and a lands a job in Korea that puts him a room away from the President of South Korea! How's that for speed? 
  • Korean Dramas leave you hanging for more. Each episode ends at the exquisite moment when the great terrible truth is about to be unveiled or that the Korean Queen has been kidnapped by the Chinese forces or when the Doctor understands that she has indeed traveled through time, not caught in a movie set like she previously thought. 
  • Not even close to real life experiences. This is the best part of watching K Drama for me. Because it makes me enter a fantasy world where men come up with extremely cute ways to woo their girl friends, Man and woman exchanging bodies (not so bad as it sounds, infact it was quite fun), time travel in a blink of an eye.
  • Songs. Feels kind of weird but the Korean songs are so melodious, nice and catchy. By the time you have finished watching the drama, you almost know the theme song by heart even though you have no idea what it means! 
In no particular order, my favorite Korean dramas are:


My love from the Star: 

Loved this one! Latest and the most popular drama about an alien who is waiting 400 years in Earth to return back home while putting up with a very popular actress next door. The alien is too cute and the female lead is quirky and funny. Their apartment is amazing and their love story so dreamy.
This out-of-the-world love story along with heroine's favorite snack of chimek (chicken and beer) surged in popularity here in Korea and also in China while the drama was on air. Will she ever understand that he is an alien? Will he ever confess his love to her? Did the alien return back home, leaving his true love down here? I finished this drama in 2 days. So riveting!











City Hunter:


Urban super hero doubling as a computer expert in the Presidential Blue house fighting to expose the corrupt while keeping his step father away from murdering them. The heroine is naturally an optimistic, sweet, innocent and extremely poor girl juggling jobs, taking care of her comatose father, keeping up the family home, cooking and cleaning for the hero and also for the dog while protecting the first family. Plot is not new but totally gripping and the love story of will he? won't she? urged me to finish this drama in a few days.













Secret Garden:

Magically, she ends up having his body and the vice versa :) Extremely strong characters in the bodies of the opposite sex makes them bungling while it kept me entertained as well as a Kollywood masala movie. Had to keep going until the end...


















Faith:

I am sucker for Raja-Rani stories. Even more so, if it involves time travel and magical abilities. A King's protector travels through time to bring a surgeon to save the queen. The beautiful doctor thinks that she is stuck in a movie set! The powerless Korean prince tries to overcome the Chinese pressure and build his rightful reign and help the suppressed Korean people. Hero's hairstyle and mannerisms :D As usual, heroine's innocence bordering on dumbness... nice one, in the end.









Sunkyunwan Scandal:



Periodical drama (from when women were not allowed to study) where extreme poverty drives the heroine into college impersonating her brother. College, competition, love, secrets, cute cast! So much fun and scandals. Finished this one in 3 days.









Goong:

Every girl's dream. She is chosen to be the bride of the current prince, who is her schoolmate, unfortunately though, whom she despises. She is anyhow subjected to the bores of the traditional and tedious rituals of the Korean royalty. With the second in heir vying for her affection as well and the princes' ex-girlfriend in the fray, this was a unstoppable drama to watch as well. This took me 3 days as well. :)





I also enjoyed The deep rooted tree (Drama around the creation of Korean language by King Sejon), Moon that embraces the sun, Dae Jang Geum (lifestory of the chef cum physician of the olden times), Heirs (where Lee Min Ho acts as a gay person to find a hidden secret), Roof Top Prince, Iris. Korean drama could be fun if you give it a shot :)

Heros for the Saturday Photohunt

Sunday, November 2, 2014

The colorful walk

It has been so weird in Seoul with the weather being so topsy-turvy. I am waking up to cold, frosty mornings and I end up being over dressed and sweating in the next few hours. Anyway, fall is here and there's a burst of color in Seoul!

SongPa county in South Seoul had organized a walk for charity and Samsung had promised to donate 1 won for every meter its employees walked. Taking this chance, S had registered for all 4 us for it. I was totally happy to participate as I wanted to finish my goal in my latest app S Health. Every day S Health wants me to take 10,000 steps and I am hardly able to cover half of it :(

Anyway, we took the taxi to Olympic park early on a Saturday, cursing the forecast of rain and clouds on this day. It took a good 15,000 won to reach the park. We at least could see some interesting sights on the way.
Tallest building in Seoul
Lotte World Mall will become the tallest building in Seoul when it is completed. But unfortunately it is plunged in controversy because of the cracks on its floors 
Sculptures on the way to Olympic park
So many interesting sculptures on the way to the Olympic park.
Olympic park Songpa county charity walk
The grand entrance to the Olympic park.


Registration for the charity walk
Fun Registration: Indian names are soo huge compared to the three syllabled Korean ones  :)

Fun programs before the walk
Fun programs before the walk included an energetic display of skipping rope by the boys

exercise before the walk
After watching the enthusiastic kids, we were all asked to do a bit of warm up before the walk. It was fun to exercise with so many people!

Walk in the colorful park
The park was looking all pretty in the fall the colors.
Fall colors of the Olympic park
Fall colors of the Olympic park
We walked close to a brook.
We walked with a lot of people and it made it that much more fun!
We walked close to a brook
We walked over the bridge


Sights of soft reeds
brushing reeds

watching the local fauna
watching the local fauna

Walking through the tunnel
Walking through the tunnel
Greeted by the volunteers
Greeted by the volunteers with water
Making sure we were on time!
Making sure we were on time!
Cheered by some music
Cheered by some music
Until we reached back to the starting point.
After 5km of good sights and chatting without interrupted by gadgets, we reached the starting point again, where we got some souvenirs for the walk. 


I made my 10,000 steps mark and even went to make my own record of 13,000 steps that day! What a fun Saturday!

Exercise done for the day.




The colorful walk for Our world Tuesday
The Colorful walk for Skywatch Friday



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