Christmas Trees On A Freezing Night

The Korean weather bureau warned everyone of a freezing week, but some (like me!) who were not afraid of a "minus 10 degrees Celsius" (and the provocation from North Korea), braved the outdoors to see friends, dine and maybe, shop.


So, on Tuesday night, when everyone's idea of a nice evening was staying at home, having dinner or watching TV dramas with the heater on, I hopped into the subway and rushed to Gwanghwamun to meet  up with Wan-Soo, a friend whom I haven't seen in a year, for dinner. 


And while it was warm inside the Japanese restaurant where we passed the time chatting and munching in between sentences, the temperature was steadily dropping!


And by the time we were done (burping and all! Ha-ha-ha!), it was almost 9 PM! And hopping to a bar to get some drinks wasn't part of the plan as it was 'back to work' the next morning. So, we just got coffee and off we went to separate directions. He, back to his office to work (yes, a normal night) and I, towards the City Hall, to explore what Christmas scene was there to snoop.


So, with a warm peppermint mocha cafe warming my left hand, I walked into the freezing night pretending I was a polar bear and didn't feel that cold (but I didn't have to crawl on the sidewalk. Ha-ha-ha!).


And along the way, a few Christmas trees were already up at the Sejong Arts Center, the Cheonggye Stream and the most interesting of the three, the one at Seoul Plaza, which was next to an uncompleted skating rink.


As expected, I wasn't able to appreciate how they all looked like. Through my bleary eyes due to cold winds, I just saw these tall trees full of blinking lights, decorations and an excessive electric bill. So, I just let the camera do its job and prayed that it worked. And looking at the photos above, it wasn't all bad, considering I risked my exposed right hand to frostbite. Ha-ha-ha!


I am not sure I'd want to pass that freezing way again. But I did enjoy the dinner, the chat and the coffee.


Ciao.