An afternoon in Suwon

On this lovely bright, hot Saturday afternoon I went out to Suwon for the first time. There I met Lee's friend, Young, and we did lots of traditional touristy things!

I guess first up in any Korean outing is the food. We ate Ju Gu Mi (쭈꾸미) which is little boiled octopus in spicy sauce. You add the octopus to the rice, along with any/all other vegetables on the table, mix it all together, and eat! The soup on the left is cold and is there to help refresh your mouth if the spicy sauce is to much, hehe.

After lunch we drove to Hwaseong Fortress in West Suwon. Suwon is kind of divided into the 'older' Western side, and the new/modern Eastern side. The fortress is a wall with several gates at intersections, and runs around the edge of West Suwon.

We ended up just exploring Hwaseong Haeng Gung, which is described as a 'part-time palace'. It was basically in use only when the King decided to visit Suwon (for the marriage of someone important or to pay respects at the temple) and the rest of the time it was used as government offices.

The bells below are used as a musical instrument.

And these hanging blocks of stone are used as a kind of xylophone. (Note that ducks are not usually used as animal of choice for embellishments...)

Below is a map of Korea with 100 tigers in it. Sadly tigers are extinct in South Korea (though the national soccer team uses a white tiger as their mascot) but there are probably still tigers living in the mountains in North Korea.

These are the wedding clothes for when a prince (or high ranking official maybe?) gets married. The headdress for the woman is VERY heavy. On her dress, called a 'hanbok', there are lots of pairs of embroidered peacocks - because peacocks mate for life, and they are supposed to be in love forever.

The man had a dragon and phoenix embroidered on his hanbok... I think to represent strength...

Here is Young havong fun with the swords (kal)

This ornamental... sculpture... was used for burning incense.

I asked Young about the story behind these paintings - of a tiger and a rabbit - and he said he had no idea.

There was a performance out the front of the main gate for local students who study traditional drumming. It was really cool!

And this is just a picture when walking out of the palace complex. It was a beautiful day, but very hot.

I might go back to Suwon again to actually hike some of the fortress wall, and to see up close the other gates. I also heard there's a nice lake in Suwon...

Heojun and long walks

I decided today to go to the 허준박물관 or 'Heojun Museum' which is dedicated to a man who wrote several books of medicine and surgery during the Joseon dynasty (around the 1600s) - things like what herbs work for what maladies etc. He has even had a TV drama (or two) made about his life.

However, after a nice pleasant bus ride out there... the museum was closed for renovations!

(I didn't read the sign properly, so I went in and took a few photos... Then left.)

After that I decided to go to a 'Guam Park' which was in the neighbourhood, and on the way I saw this...

(I wonder of the kids at the elementary school next door argue about whose turn it is on the swing hehe...)

The park was just a nice green community park with lots of old ladies sitting around. The park then had a walkway under the highway and connected to the Han River Park - which at that part was all walking/bike track. So... I set off walking.

Beautiful day, no? And can you believe, this is still in Seoul city - the area that has 10 million residents!

Eventually I found another underpass and went in search of food (i.e. a convenience store). My lunch was kimbab and banana milk - a steal at $2.50! When I sat down to eat in a little park there was a group of older people, and a set up with three uniformed police women. The sign said something about 'Police Community Counselling'. I went up to ask about it, and one of the policewomen was very nice and explained that it was an event where elderly people could come and get counselling (I wish my Korea was better so I could have understood more!) and that the police went to several places each week with a trained counsellor to help people with their problems.

Afterwards, she gave me this adorable little pink cloud phone chain. She explained that if you pull a little tab on the keychain, it emits a loud beeping sound - it's to be used if you are in trouble and if you cannot yell loud enough for help. I said it was a great idea, but she could keep it and give it to one of the elderly residents. But she insisted it was a gift and said they had plenty.

Korean people are so generous ~ ^_^

1 Waiting

14:32 waiting at Adelaide Airport for boarding the flight to Perth.

The guy across from me has a container of green and pink frog cakes - hope his Perth friends enjoy them.

Thank you Aunty Cathy for the pizzas from Panini Brothers and to Michelle for the almond and orange cake with home made cream - feeding me up so I don't waste money on snacks at the airport.

I'm sitting here, in four layers of clothing, and I'm not even hot.

Adelaide. Cold, wet Adelaide, I won't miss you. See you in SUMMER!

(p.s. there is one dark brown frog cake in the container.)

(p.p.s When style and functionality intersect - coloured wheelie bins on the tarmac!)