My Couple Of The Week: The Insadong Chestnut Vendors

To continue on with my 'person/s of the week' series, I feature this elderly couple at the Insadong area, next to the Anguk Station's Exit 6. 

Last year, I stayed at a B&B nearby to spend a weekend at the Jongno area as a tourist. Yes, after living in Seoul for many years, as an assignment from the Seoul City government, I booked a room, and shopped and dined in the area like a real tourist.  It was a different experience trying to pretend like a real tourist after having lived in the city and roamed this area on several occasions over the years.

On that 'tour', I discovered a chestnut vendor selling cooked chestnuts at that exit near Anguk Station. That time, he was selling alone. This time, on this weekend when I ventured around Insa-dong, I looked for that stall and saw that there was an elderly Korean lady helping him; I presumed she was his wife. And since I haven't tasted chestnuts since Christmas, I had to buy a small pouch worth KRW5,000 from them.

I wondered how many hours each day they have to stand there out in the cold to even make break-even. But today, I was just happy to contribute to their business. In return, I was able to enjoy chestnuts again since Christmas.

So, on your next visit to Insa-dong, do wander around Exit 6 of the Anguk Station and buy some cooked chestnuts from the couple; they're my couple of the week.

#WorldTennisDay : Tennis in Seoul!

Today is World Tennis Day!

I just want to join all the millions of tennis fans and tennis players from all around the world in celebrating the day of our favorite sport, tennis!

Although I don't regular play during the freezing winter weekends here in Seoul, I am looking forward to the perfect tennis temperatures of spring when I join my other tennis friends at the clay courts of Hannam-dong, or at the hard courts of the Jangchung Tennis Courts.

I have been lucky to have watched Grand Slam tennis matches and met my favorite tennis players at Melbourne a few years back, and even luckier to have watched top ranked female players here in Seoul. But there's no comparison to watching the greatest players of all time, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, and my favorite player, Rafa Nadal, play exhibition matches here in Seoul.

So, to all tennis fans and tennis players around the globe, a happy World Tennis Day from Seoul!

See you in court!  Ha-ha-ha!

"Why Do Birds Suddenly Appear?"

The late Karen Carpenter would have immediately burst into one of her classics if she spotted this mom and her kid in front of the I-Park Mall in the Yongsan District in Seoul. 

The kid obviously was interested to play with some of the pigeons and his mom just let him. Although adults in Korea are scared of pigeons (and practically about anything that flies), kids are apparently oblivious to whatever phobia adults have taught themselves. 

So, to caption the scene, let's listen to the Carpenters..."Why do birds suddenly appear...every time you are near?"

Strollin', Strollin', Strollin' On The (Han) River....

According to Tina Turner, it's "rollin'...rollin'...rollin'...on the rivah!".  

But the ajussi (older Korean man) walking by the bank of the Han River wasn't rollin', he was just strollin'. And so was I. As I joined the hundred other weekenders stretching their legs, walking their dogs and just trying to get some sun, I spotted him walking alone at the edge, and with the river and the floating islands as his background. And snapped a photo.

I continued my strollin' and didn't know where the ajussi went. But I know where he ended up: here!

On Any Given Sunday...

On weekends, when I have the time to really think what I want to have for breakfast, I always wished I had puto manapla or some biscocho. And because last January when I was in Manila, my friend Marlu treated me to a breakfast of churros and hot chocolate at Dulcinea in Greenbelt, I continued to crave for churros here in Seoul.

                      (Dulcinea's churros con chocolate)

And it was as if the universe conspired (again!) to grant my wish! When I recently went to Costco to get my regular box of breakfast cereals, I stumbled upon Tio Pepe's Churros! All I needed to do was to heat them up. 

So, this weekend, I didn't have to rush to a cafe in Itaewon that served churros, I just had to rush to my freezer. And since I was able to finish four of them with my hot tablea tsokolate, I needed to walk off a heavy breakfast. 

   (Hot tablea tsokolate with Tio Pepe's Churros with Nutella)

At the gym where I used to go, the trainer always teased me that I was like a bear; I hibernate during the winter. I skipped going to his gym during the cold months as I just hated getting up early on cold mornings. Just like everyone else, we all wanted to sleep some more.

                         (I hope this will be Coffeesmith)

Instead of going to the gym (which actually closes a few days during the month), I just walked around the neighborhood whenever I want to, or play tennis at the nearby tennis courts.  For walking, a few times I'd go as far as the Banpo Fountain Bridge, or as far as Itaewon. And while roaming around Hannam-dong today, a noticed a few changes here and there. What caught my eye was the renovation of an old building where the office of a real estate agent used to be. It now looks like the familiar facade of the Coffeesmith franchise. If it is, there will be a new coffee shop right at my doorstep! I hope they'll close past midnight! Ha-ha-ha! Starbucks on the other side of the street sadly closes at 11PM.  Although Coffine Gurunaru closes at 2AM, they have a horrible iced cafe mocha. The only thing good about Coffine Gurunaru was there patpingsu. And although there is TomnToms that closes at midnight, I noticed some shady characters there last weekend. Or maybe I was just paranoid. Ha-ha-ha!

                         (The view from the outdoor gym)

So, today, as I enjoy a very sunny Sunday morning, I hope you all have fun this weekend, too. I should write more about this outdoor gym we have on a hill here in Hannam-dong, where, the view is interesting with a few birds singing around you. At the gym where I used to go, the 'view' is just the TV monitor at the treadmill and no birds are singing; only a few familiar K-pop celebrities also running next to you on the treadmill. (I recognized a few Korean celebrities in the gym and inside the locker room. Oops! Not sure if I could write about what I saw. Ha-ha-ha!).

See you around the neighborhood!

               (An area of Hannam-dong as seen from the
                           hilly side of Bogwang-dong)

Fly Me To The (Full) Moon: Spring's Jeongwol Daeboreum

Jeongwol daeboreum is a Korean tradition celebrated at the start of spring, the day of the first full moon of the lunar year, 15 days from the start of the new lunar year.

This year, jeongwol daeboreum is on February 12, Wednesday.

In Korea, people will wish everyone for good fortune and good health by cracking a peanut or walnut with their teeth. Everyone will also drink rice wine to wish for good news all throughout the year, and share and eat with neighbors boiled rice mixed with five grains and seasoned vegetables.

In Seoul, you can experience the celebration of jeongwol daeboreaum at the Namsangol Hanok Village, where the First Full Moon Festival will be held starting 3PM (read blog here).  

If you have work, you need to get there fast if you plan to watch the finale of the festival which is daeljip tae-u-gi, or the burning of the daljip. The tradition involves the gathering of twigs and straws, binding them together, and burning them to ward off misfortune throughout the year. It will be an interesting spectacle. It's like arson but with a fire truck standing by.😀

At Namsangol, the organizers will create a wigwam-like structure made of twigs and straws, and burn them at sundown as part of the tradition. As a precaution, there will be a fire truck standing by to make sure the fire consumes only the dried twigs and straws, and not the things that would otherwise turn the festival into a disaster. Although this is held on a weekday, I expect a huge crowd to gather around the burning daljip tonight chanting "Burn, baby, burn!"  Well, if nobody chants that way, I will. Ha-ha-ha! If you unexpectedly hear that chant, you know who it is.  I'm thinking of bringing hot dogs and marshmallows; I don't want to fire to go to waste.

The burning of the daljip is scheduled at 7PM. So, if you want to watch it, be there before that time. You can call the tourist information hotline for more details of the events that day.

Namsangol Hanok Village is accessible from Exits 3 or 4 of the Chungmuro Station (Lines 3,4). Do dress warmly as the forecast says it will still be very cold. Or, you can always stand next to the burning daljip to warm you up. Kidding!😛

And since it's the first full moon of the lunar year, everyone will be making their way to a higher ground tonight to catch the rising of the full moon. Some may go up to their apartment's rooftop, while others may just trek to the nearest hill.  

But if you want a really high vantage point, head up to NSeoul Tower after the event at the Namsangol Village (read blog here).  If it won't be cloudy tonight, the view of the full moon will be spectacular. The fastest way to Namsan is (1) take the subway from Chungmuro Station to Dongkuk University Station - just one station away; (2) after getting out of Exit 6, make a U-turn and without crossing the street, turn right where you find a bus stop for Namsan buses; and take any yellow bus (02, 03 or 05). Any yellow bus will go up to Namsan.

Here's wishing everyone their first full moon of the lunar year!

Here's a link to Namsangol's event page:

https://www.hanokmaeul.or.kr/ev/event/

#jeongwol #daeboreum #대보름

Nobody Dust It Better: Yellow Sand in Korea!

This is what I hate about spring. Not only dust, er, does it bring flowers, cherry blossoms and more tourists, it also brings yellow dust! 

Last weekend, even though it was still officially winter here in Korea, the whole peninsula was suddenly blanketed with yellow dust. If there's an annual migration of wildebeest in Africa, there's also an annual migration of yellow dust in Asia. 

It's not as if this was my first inhalation of yellow dust. Over several years of living in Seoul, I must have inhaled a lot of these heavy metals from the Gobi Dessert, and I'm not talking about Guns N' Roses or Motley Crue; I'm talking about arsenic, lead, copper and other metals mostly found in the periodic table of elements. And in someone's lungs. Ha-ha-ha!

Years ago, I made a mistake of playing tennis outdoors on the day Seoul got doused with a high quantity of yellow dust. I paid for it with an itchy throat that didn't go away for three days and my lungs wheezing at night. It was worse than a second-hand smoke. With cigarette smoke, at least, I could tell if it's an expensive brand. And according to reports, this recent batch of yellow sand is even scarier and more dangerous to anyone with respiratory problems.

Yellow dust (yellow sand or hwang-sa in hanguel) originates from the Gobi Dessert in Mongolia and China when it's carried by strong winds towards this part of Asia. Not only does the yellow sand carry those heavy poisonous metals. This time, more industrial pollutants have joined the trip as well!

                         (On the day of the yellow dust)

                                   (A few days after)

According to the yellow sand alerts, less than 400 micrograms of dust per cubic meter of air is not that bad. If it's 400 to 799 micrograms, the advisory is moderate and everyone should take precaution, such as wearing masks and eye protection if heading outdoors. If it's 800 micrograms and above, well, let's just say strolling around the park to smell the flowers won't be a good idea. The flowers would probably smell metallic, and will definitely taste metallic, too.

Last week's reading according to the news was the worst in recent years: 1044 micrograms in Seoul. Of course, I stayed indoors until the whole thing blew over, literally.

                         (I couldn't see Gwanak-san 
                           on a yellow dusty day)

                         (Gwanak-san on a clear day!)

Here are my healthful suggestions in case it's your first time in Seoul or Korea when the yellow sand hits the Korean peninsula:

1. Wear a mask. I'm not talking about the one you use for masquerades or the decorative ones from Bacolod's (my hometown!) Masskara Festival. Buy the thick ones from a pharmacy and make sure they cover most of your face. You can also buy those masks with smiley designs. At least, in your selfie, you'd look like you're actually smiling even if you're wearing a mask.

2. Use protective eyewear, especially if you're wearing contact lenses. These minute particles can irritate the eyes.

3. If you have to head outdoors, make sure you wash your face and eyes upon returning indoors, and best if you can take a shower to wash off the dust from your hair or any other crevice in your anatomy the yellow sand may have fallen into. Your clothes would definitely need a good washing.

4. If you're bringing in food items from outdoors, you have to wash them thoroughly. I sometimes buy strawberries, bananas and apples from the fruit vendor on the street. I always make sure I wash them even if there isn't any yellow sand alert on the day I buy them. As the yellow sand covers the whole peninsula, the vegetable and fruit farms must have had their own dose of micrograms, too.

5. Totally avoid outdoor activities if you can. Walking your dog around the neighborhood, or letting the kids play at the park won't be fun.

6. Monitor the news and weather alerts. Aside from the online weather news, my other reliable source is the view from my window. From my apartment, I can always see Gwanak-san (Mt. Gwanak), that mountain behind the Seoul National University which is popular to mountain hikers, especially during autumn. If I can see the observatory on top of the mountain, then it's a clear day. If I cannot, then it's either cloudy, hazy, snowy, rainy, foggy, or....yellow sandy!

7. Close doors, windows or any ventilation opening of your home where yellow sand can get through. 

8. Drink lots of liquid, and do visit a doctor if you develop breathing problems, eye irritation, or any other health issues during or after experiencing an episode of yellow dust. 

9. If you're a tourist and carrying around a camera, make sure you clean your lenses. 

Although this annoying occurrence is unavoidable, I hope we see'll less of this yellow sand this spring. And if it must, I wish it doesn't come on weekends! :-(

       (Is it too much to ask for a yellow-dust free spring?)