Strolling Through Gangnam

I guess the spring weather makes most couples want to get married. So, I took a bus from Hannam-dong to get to Ramada Hotel in Gangnam-gu to attend a colleague's wedding.

Gang-nam means 'south of the river', and that means I had to cross the Han River to get there.

Ji-hoong 's wedding was held in the hotel's huge ballroom. A lot of tables, a lot of well-wishers, but a few familiar faces. It lasted an hour, and everyone was off to continue their weekend. So, after wishing the bride and the groom a blissful married life (while still burping! Ha-ha-ha!), I thought of walking off the heavy meal.

With my busy workload, I hardly cross the river these days. And the stretch from the hotel all the way to the Kyobo Tower looked more like an exercise route for me than a six-lane Gangnam avenue that afternoon.

I would have wanted to wear my Nikes while doing this long stroll. But since I was attending a wedding, I made a little concession. I wore loafers. Ha-ha-ha!

And because it was a weekend, I found the stretch quite empty of pedestrians. But still a lot of cars though.

And on a cool spring afternoon, one pedestrian was walking through the avenue looking more like a tourist rather than someone still full from a wedding banquet. Ha-ha-ha!

The street was lined mostly with office buildings. This area was obviously not a residential zone.

If this part of Gangnam was full of cars even on a weekend, I wondered how it is during rush hour!

I would have enjoyed the long stroll had there been more picturesque things to see other than the street lamps and tall buildings.

And the afternoon sun provided some shadows.

Upon seeing this building with holes, I realized I was at the end of my stroll.

Up close, this building looked like Swiss cheese with holes.

My long afternoon stroll ended at this bus stop near the Kyobo Building intersection. I took a bus to cross the river to Hannam-dong, while the newlyweds took a bridal car to their honeymoon.

An Orange Full Moon Over Seoul!

As I'm not exactly a werewolf, I didn't pay much attention to the lunatic event when the moon this weekend was supposed to have been 'up-sized'. I saw huge photos of the full moon on Facebook uploaded by friends, and more on the Internet. But tonight, I decided to see for myself. 

                (That's the moon above the Gangnam skyline.)

And since my neighborhood is just next to the Han River, I walked to the elevated area near the Hannam Bridge, and lo and behold!  An orange full moon!

It was a rare sight, indeed. And since I didn't hear any howling in my neighborhood while the moon was rising, I guess my neighborhood is free of werewolves. But if you're growing fur and fangs while looking at this photo, well, you can just leave a howling comment.

Good night!

Is There A 2012 Seoul Friendship Fair?

I only learned from friends that there's a Seoul Friendship Fair this weekend. 

In the previous years, weeks before the Fair, flyers, emails and notices were everywhere trumpeting the Fair and all its events.

This year, I wonder why it's only a whimper. The Fair's Facebook page doesn't even have announcements in English. I asked the 'admin' of that page and he/she told me that there is no English website, too.

Oh well. It's a friendship fair, where the international community gathers this time of the year and share their national products, culture and cuisine with everyone in Seoul. These are mostly non-Korean speaking population, and there isn't even an English website?

I wonder what happened.

I Need A Break!

Just like this very tired, very sleepy 'quick service' delivery guy, I also need a break! He must have been working non-stop, and his weary body just wanted to slow down. Unlike his bike, he ran out of gas.


I have been working non-stop, too. Day and night, weekdays, week nights and even weekends. I sure need a break, too! And when I do, I need to sit down on a quiet corner in one of the cafes in Hannam-dong, and blog away! 


But before that, let me take a nap first. 


Zzzzzzzz......

Missing Those Cherry Blossoms?

I wasn't able to run to Yeouido to see those cherry blossoms. I didn't want to go to there as I was sure a million other people would be heading there to see the blossoms, too. I thought of going up Namsan, which was near and had the same cherry blossom trail.

But last weekend, when those millions of cherry blossom fans were about to head to Yeouido by bus, by subway or by car, the clouds opened up and had their own rainy show.

But this weekend, when the sun's out, there may no longer be any cherry blossoms left to enjoy. Those petals have wilted and fallen.

There's always the next spring, you know.

White. Cherry. Blossoms. Spring.

A few trees along the street have turned white. Must be the time of the year.


This time last year, those trees have attracted millions. This year, maybe more.


From Yeouido's cherry blossom lane, to Namsan's cherry blossom walks, I expect those millions to fill the parks, the streets and of course, the mountain!  Day and night!


I am not sure if I can squeeze into those crowds again. But I can try.

        (A photo I took today. They must just have bloomed.)

My Muffin Fix!

With all the work and long nights in the office, I couldn't find the time to rush to Costco.  And finally, over the Lenten weekend, a window of opportunity to rush to Mang-u Station and sprint across the street, and into the spacious halls of Costco, where the air is deodorized with the freshly-baked pepperoni pizza.

Finally, I descended upon the baked goodies section and claim  a whole pack of a dozen muffins that even the 12 apostles would have fought over for. 

Lent over. Fasting done with. Muffins on hand (and eventually, in my tummy).