Suseong Lake Festival

This past weekend we were able to attend Suseong Lake Festival. I walk/jog there every morning, weather permitting, with Jensen. It's nice to see the lake in a different setting.

The food vendors were abundantly stocked with the usual fair of corn dogs and french fries, but also a few food items I wasn't used to seeing. Even growing up in the Philippines where we serve and eat quite a bit of strange and unusual food, I have never eaten or nor will I try silk worms.

Silk worms along side with hot dogs and fish cake patties.

Can you see the tentacles?

Vendor roasting chestnuts.

Cotton candy

The festival not only had Korean singers and dancers, but also had other cultures perform their native dance and song. We caught an Australian Aboriganie group on one of the four entertainment stages.

There was a mascot, but I can't for the life of me recognize what it is suppose to be. Does anyone recognize what type of animal or force of nature the mascot is suppose to be? It looks like some type of water creature which would make sense since it is a lake that is being represented. 

I tried to get a photo with Jensen, but he was too scared of the mascot.

This gentleman in traditional clothes is sitting in front of what looks like a formal tea setting. There were old and modern Korean traditions that were represented in the festival.

These ladies are wearing traditioanl Korean dress called hanbok.

We decided to go back the following day after sunset to see the lights and possible the fireworks. Unfortunately, they only had it for Saturday night. We could hear them setting them off, but since we are only on the 9th floor and facing away from the lake, we weren't able to see it. These two photos of our apartment building was taken by Christian. 

View of our apartment building from the lake.

Repurposed plane converted into a restaurant located right next to the lake.

Day trip to Seoul

A friend invited us to spend a day at Seoul this past Saturday and we decided to visit the Korean War Museum and Deoksugung Palace. We opted to take the 2 hour KTX train ride instead of driving 4 hours to Seoul.

The Korean War Museum was located just right outside of Yongson. It was much larger than I thought it would be and there were impressive monuments right outside the front entrance. We weren't able to see the entire place, so we will be making another visit to see what we missed.

Jensen had a great time at the Museum.

Notice Jensen on the bottom of the photo trying to look at the colorful shields.

Our next stop was Deoksugung Palace which was located near the KTX station. There were 3 palaces listed on the hotel guide, but I decided to go to this one which had the changing of the guards that was scheduled for 2 p.m. I was also pleasantly surprised that an Art Museum was also located inside the palace grounds.

Guard at the entrance of the palace

I was trying to get Jensen to pose with the guard, but he was too scared.

I love the fact that this photo includes the palace and the high rise buildings in the background.

Nice photo taken by Christian.

 On our way back home, Jensen was having a tough time sitting still. I had to keep walking him to the middle part of the train so he can stretch his legs. A family was nearby and I guess they noticed how Jensen was being so fussy and whiny. On one of the many walks that I took Jensen, the grandfather just grabbed him and sat him on his daughter's lap. Keep in mind, I have never met them before. I guess if that happened back home, I would have flipped out, but Koreans feels as if you are part of  a large family. I was so appreciative that he "adopted" Jensen. They were returning to Deagu from Seoul as well. They had just attended a cousin's wedding. It was nice to talk to them and even the children spoke English. One of the grand-daughters drew a picture of Jensen and gave it to us to keep. This is one of the many things I love about Korea.

Jensen making new friends on the the KTX train ride back home.

Drawing of Jensen by Anna.

First trip to Apsan Mountain

Less than 10 minute drive from our apartment, we finally went hiking at Apsan Mountain yesterday. This post is going to be photograph intensive since there was so much to see. We only hiked a mile into the trails since it was mostly up hill and pretty steep. We will be making numerous trips back to try and see what else Apsan has to offer. One of the first places we encountered on our climb up, was this temple.

You can't see him, but Jensen is in the pack.

Dragon located on the ceiling as you enter the temple.

Jensen checking out the Dragons.

Further on the trail was this monument. Wish I knew what it said, but I'm sure he was someone important. I can't wait to see this same trail once autumn arrives and the leaves changes colors.

Another temple and this time it was much larger and had more Buddhist statues. What I suspect adjacent to this temple is a residential quarters for the caretakers. I noticed a lady was sweeping up the altar when we first arrived. Christian mentioned that it could be the Korean version of a park 

ranger. 

Residential quarters

Next was the cable car station. We didn't take a ride this time, but will definitely do that once the leaves turn. 

Last stop was a memorial garden for the fallen during the Korean War. They had a list of the countries that participated and how many soldiers died. A great view of the mountain from this site.