Geumchon

This morning I decided to go to the city of Geumchon. This entailed a new bus route which was managed quite well I might add. The first picture is a bird's eye view as I got off the bus. Geumchon is much older than Ilsan with numerous little streets twisting about. When I saw this sign for the dental clinic I wondered why they have to stress the fact they have integrity...
I am showing you this next shot because one might assume this means a barber shop. Well this would depend .... in certain sections this means an entirely different service!!!




You would never guess this tall building is a hospital. They have several of these throughout the city without much signeage or any entrance for ambulances. Each hospital seems to have a specialty, one for emergencies, one or women etc.

































I have not yet had the nerve to try food from these food stands which are all over the place. Each one serves their own special kind of dish. They seem to be very popular with the locals.










Cities are not what I am used to. There is no rhyme or reason in planning. You can never tell what may be inside a building from the outside. People may be living right in the middle of a shopping area, hospitals are next to or part of a shopping mall. You can walk forever and always see something different. Shops or restaurants are sometimes so small there is only one table or room for one or two customers. They might also just sell one or two articles or only have one selection on the menu.


























































Right in the middle of all the hustle or bustle you might find a beautiful green quiet park area or a theme park for children like this ship.





















Some of the older women still wear traditional dress especially for occasions like weddings.













Fresh eel are popular here. Something else I haven"t tried yet.












My last bit of news is I finally got a haircut today. I bravely walked into a tiny shop with only one girl and managed, after a game of charades , to walk out quite pleased with the results. And the best news is it only cost 10,000 won which is around $9.00. Hope I can remember where her shop is for next time!

Sunday Afternoon Thoughts

Thought I would share some photos I took this morning. I chose the police and ambulance cars because we NEVER see them on the roads. I also wanted to share the ridiculous logo the police have, Never knew until today that cartoon meant the police. Also thought I would try to share some fashions, since I have done little in this area so far. The bus is just a quaint little shop. The cartoon characters are in the children's theme park we visited for the first time at Heyri Village. If any of you are interested in more photos, you can access my public picasa albums.

Al and I have developed some routine in our life. I suppose this may be an indication that we feel more at home. Every morning Al gets up early to go to the gym and then we have breakfast together before he goes to work. His office is only yards from our front door, so there is no travel time to consider. Hours vary depending on the workload, which is often heavy. Some things don’t change.

We now generally eat our meals at home. This can be an interesting experience as I will buy something not knowing what it is and guess what the directions are. The larger stores have tasting stations, so we taste samples and buy what we like. When I buy meats and am not sure what to do with the different cuts, I ask the butcher and they have managed to use the international language of charades to explain. For example I have bought knuckles. Now as far as I know cows have hooves, so your guess is as good as mine as to what we have been eating. I can tell you when it has been marinated and stir fried it is tender and delicious! They have two different meat sections, Korean and America cuts. We have found the quality of the Korean beef better.

I am beginning to experiment with spices. Soy, bean, and chili pastes are generally used. There are also flavoured oils and vinegars. I have mastered the art of making the Korean pancake. Our favorite is made with shrimp, green onion, hot red chili oil, sesame oil and olive oil. I am only beginning to venture into the world of seafood. I have yet to try to cook a fish meal. By the way, life is possible without an oven. We now eat with chopsticks even at home and I am no longer offered forks when we go out to eat!!

Although my time is relatively unstructured, I am busy. Because we have no vehicle, I must take the bus,subway, taxi or walk a fair distance to do any kind of shopping, including groceries. One can only carry so much in one trip! My muscles have felt the strain of adjusting to the uphill and downhill walking. Speaking of subways, did you know that you can watch a sales pitch about magic brooms and buy one while sitting on the subway?

I have taken out a membership to the gym so this has also become part of my morning routine. It is a beautiful facility with all kinds of machines like ellipticals, steppers, treadmills, stationary bikes, rowing machines, resistance machines weight machines and free weights. Then there is an indoor pool and an out door pool on the roof.

Because Al only has limited time to do the tourist thing, he has asked if I would scout out new places for us to see. Of course I agreed enthusiastically! So much of my time is spent deciding where to go, finding directions via internet and planning the route by bus or subway. Finding restaurants that have English menus or pictures is much more challenging than we were initially led to believe. Saturday has become our tourist day and Sundays we like to stroll through Heyri Village.

Well, I think I have rambled enough. Until next time, Cheers.

Seoul Tower

Today Al and I ventured to the Seoul Tower located on Mount Namsand in central Seoul. It is a communication and observation tower 236.7 meters high. The tower built in 1964 has been open to the public since 1980. One can take the cable car or use the stairs up the mountainside. I will let you guess which option we chose.






After riding the bus for almost an hour, taking the subway including having to change lines twice (this can prove complicated) and walking uphill through very busy narrow streets with virtually no sidewalk we reached our destination. Oh, did I mention it was hot and humid? But seriously, we had a wonderful day and enjoyed every bit of it.


































What's your guess ........ stairs or cable?
























This is the top of the tower.






































































































Just happened to look up and saw this.





































































Here is an Italian restaurant with a rooftop patio.




















People purchase locks and write messages on them and can lock them on the fence of the tower or trees around the site. I suppose it could be considered a romantic gesture.... or a hope that they will return.

Heyri Village

The name Heyri comes from a traditional Korean farming song.
Heyri Village has over 500 members consisting of writers, artists including painting, drama, photography, sculpture, ceramics, cinema, musicians and architects. They have built and continue to build artistic spaces, houses, workrooms and galleries.
The entire area is committed to be environmentally friendly and maintain the natural beauty of the area.
There are over 100 galleries and performance theatres, a movie studio, cultural education centres where art classes and seminars or cultural discussions are held.
There are numerous shops including an IKEA.....I was surprised too, museums, cafes, restaurants and even a wine gallery.
There is a whole section devoted to children as well.
Festivals are held weekly and tours are offered daily. The stream of people is constant. The interesting thing is this seems to be geared just to Koreans. Little is offered in English either verbally or written. We have not seen any other foreigners other than ourselves. I think this will become a main attraction in time.
This is our favorite place to go on Sundays, there is always something new and different to see. I hope my pictures and VIDEO can offer some glimpse of the vibrance and beauty of this place. My last picture is a video... hope you are impressed that I was able to download it.