Taekwondo & Lotte World Hotel Chinese Restaurant

So another spectacular week in Korea. One I will not forget!

So last week I forgot which park I went to. So it was Seoul Forest and here is the link if you are interested in going:

http://www.seoulforest.or.kr/index.php

I have been to so many nice restaurants lately I have decided to post a bit more information about where i am eating these days.

This week was a fine dining experience at Toh Lim Chinese Restaurant in the Lotte World Hotel.

This was a private dining experience meaning that we had our own dining room overlooking Lotte World and Jamsil skyline. It was a delicious 6 course meal with appetiser and desert.

The room was spacious and spotless with a dining table and a seated lounge area by the window for a moment of relaxation after a pleasant meal. The courses were served to precision by the staff and everything was perfectly delicious even the sea slug. Although the courses looked small by the end I was feeling pretty full and content. Lovely music was also present being played softly in the background. At the end of the meal there was no pressure for you to leave and there was plenty of time to enjoy the view.

The experience will set you back 74,000 won per person but if you appreciate a good night out (perhaps even "high rolling" a bit) then I highly recommend this as a place to spend a nice evening.

I took some pictures with my "hand phone" or cell phone so they are not the best quality:

The link of course to Lotte World Hotel:

http://www.agoda.com/asia/south_korea/seoul/lotte_hotel_world_hotel.html

If you are not too keen on the high rolling thing but would like to enjoy a good pasta or a pizza and are in the Hungdae or Hongik University area i would suggest Pavarotti. As best as I can recall (correct me if I am wrong although I am 98% positive) take the subway to Hong Ik University (just after Sinchon) and get out at exit 4 take an immediate right down the first street and look to your left and there it is.

A relatively cheap pasta and pizza await you starting from around 10,000 won for pasta and about 14,000 won for a pizza. The place has a nice atmosphere and the staff there do take pride in their service.

Saturday was all about Taekwondo... well the morning was anyway. One of the students (Nicole) from the Taekwondo class I attend was having her black belt test that day so we all turned up to support her. I was amazed at how quickly things were being actioned. First was the Poomsae (similar to a Karate Kata) and then sparring and its all over. Nothing like my Kempo black belt grading which spanned over 1 Friday and 2 Saturdays.

So here are the boys and girls of Dongin Takwondo:

I also have a small compilation of the later in the morning sparring which was a little more exciting than the early morning stuff:

I will have to get permission to show Nicole's sparring before I can post it so maybe next week...?

Well another update done. No photo slide show this week (yeah I was surprised too!). I have no idea what will be the next update so I am anticipating the excitement ahead this week as much as you may be :)

I will however leave you with this clip which has me excited and motivated as ever:

Jamsil Park and Kpop Dancing

This weekend was fairly relaxed with a trip to a park near Jamsil... yes I don't know the name of the park... But I will do my best to find out later on.

It was a very large park with kids playgrounds, cycling tracks, playing fields, a lake with fish and ducks and just a lovely place for a casual walk a sit and a talk.

I have also been fortunate enough to have the opportunity of visiting many fine restaurants and will probably have to begin evaluating them in the future. This one was just outside Deokso, a little Italian restaurant where at the time we were the only customers!

We ordered some delicious pasta at about 28,000 won a dish and had a quiet meal accompanied by some soft classical music. There was a cafe upstairs as part of the restaurant over looking the river. There was some construction outside as it appears that they are putting in a stone path and some features so that patrons can enjoy a walk near the river after a meal.

On my way home I stumbled upon this not far from where I live:

Quite fortunate really as I have wanted to see one of these events for some time. So check out a couple of the acts.

Here is this weeks photo dump:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54304440@N04/sets/72157625180846090/show

Stay tuned next week for some Tae Kwon Do action!

Here is a bonus K pop vid for you all to enjoy :)

Namyangju Movie Studio's

This is probably going to be my last post. As you can see from the picture to the left I have decided to teach English in North Korea and crossed the DMZ line on Saturday...

Did you buy that one? Well it looks convincing enough.

Namyangju Movie Studio's was this weekends outing and boy it was a fantastic day to spend there. Panmunjom was of course my favourite place to hang out and cross over to the north side.

At the time there was some filming going on here and there all over the lots but I assume it was break time as everyone was around the tents relaxing.

There is a mock up of a village there and you can walk into the buildings and some of them were quite impressive inside. Well of course there was nothing inside them but still it was exciting all the same. I guess this is another couples hang out as there were many pairs walking around and even though there were a reasonable amount of people you could find yourself all alone in an ancient village back street.

On top of the hill is more of a castle or mock up of a wealthy area with larger buildings and bigger spaces.

I did see this sign warning of dangerous smoking squirrels:

There is also an inside area where you can look at movie props, movie miniatures and I also believe you can watch a movie there somewhere but I could be wrong.

Here is some more information if you want to get there:

http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/HA/HA_EN_7_2_3.jsp

Here is the rest of the photo set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54304440@N04/sets/72157625131652330/show

And here is a bit of fun for those who have a sense of humour even if the situation is a serious one:

Legend of Flower and Building 63 Yook-Sam

This week has truly been a significant and wonderful one to remember.

Thursday night I went to an amazing show at the Walkerhill theatre. Legend of Flower is something amazing to see with traditional dance mixed with contemporary and of course a dash of Tae Kwon Do.

I have posted below an embedded video from Walkerhill from their facebook page so you can see what all the fuss (or my fuss) is about.

I was sitting at the absolute front with a friend of mine and was dazzled by the colours, the scent of flowers and the theatrical display. I do love a good show and I hope this is one of many.

Eating dinner at "W" after the show was something of a treat as well. I have not dined somewhere such as this since going to "Dine" in the Sky City Grand Hotel. If you have been to Dine you will also be familiar with their prices. It is much the same at "W" with meals starting around 30,000 won which are delicate dishes such as one I will post in the picture show. There was a hamburger on the menu for 150,000 won and a New Zealand rack of lamb for 45,000.

A non alcoholic beverage was to follow at what I could only describe as a lounge room or bar. There is of course a bar and a DJ playing and three tiers of couches and comfy seats. Of course being in the hotel this is an exclusive area for those with some money to... well... burn. Our 2 drinks set the old wallet back 45,980 won... yes that's 2 non alcoholic cocktails. Why yes you are right once you get into the alcoholic range the prices spike remarkably.

So here are some Links to information about the show if you with to head on over:

(The show runs till 31 December 2010)

http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=1019428

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/04/145_63594.html

Saturday was a trip to Building 63 or Yook-sam (abouve is a stock photo as I didn't take one?!)

http://www.seoulkoreaasia.com/Yook-Sam.htm

You can spend the day here with friends or a loved one and the are several attractions to go to. IMAX, The Wax Museum, Sea World and The Art Gallery (observation deck)

At 32,000 won per person we decided to do Sea World, the Wax Museum and the Observation Deck.

Not quite like Kelly Tarltons; Sea World still has a lot to offer in terms of photography and pure enjoyment. There is even a little tank of fish that will eat your fingers... well a few nibbles anyway :)

The Wax Museum is another nice attraction where you can leisurely walk around taking pictures with your favourite personalities. The best part however is the little spook walk. The sound of screaming can be heard well before you know what's coming and it well worth a little fright :)

The view from the top of the building is amazing and even on a rainy night the lights of the city shone bright.

Here is the photo set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54304440@N04/sets/72157624960098825/show

This appears to be quite a popular piano piece that I have heard for weeks on end here:

Bucheon & Lotte World (Folk Museum)

Wednesday was Chuseok and I was off to visit Bucheon. I arrived and was immediately impressed with all the activity surrounding the subway station. Even though many of the stores were closed for the holiday I was still able to get a sense of the place. I had yet to see a "spacies parlor" or entertainment arcade but in Bucheon there are 2 in very close proximity along with a movie theatre, clubs, bars and fashion stores. All of these things are in a compact block from the subway station so you can shop Georgiano, Lacoste, Calvin Klein and many other branded stores with ease. I went for my usual exploration walk to a park (probably 5k's from the station) which had a wonderful cycling track around it and many water features and art scattered about.

One thing that is starting to get noticeable is the cold. For the first time in three and a half months I have had to close my windows. I think I had better get some warmer clothes shortly!

Yesterday I had to go on the roof of the neighbouring apartment block as there was this tiny kitten up there yelling... and yelling for hours. So I went up there and got it as it seemed it somehow got up the stairs and was locked up on the roof as the door to the stair well was closed. I was thanked with a hiss and a scratch for my troubles :)

Saturday I was invited for a quick lunch at Insadong at a traditional Korean restaurant before having traditional rice tea at a tea house. I did not have much time to see any of Insadong so it is on my "return to do" list.

I did however have another appointment at Jamsil to visit Lotte World's Folk Museum. It cost's 5000 won for a ticket and is an educational tour through the ages showing tools and historical places and is worth a visit if you have roughly 40 minutes to kill. Another thing I added to my "return to do list" was the Adventure Land part of Lotte World... here is the link:

http://www.lotteworld.com/Global_eng/Main.asp

There is just so much to do and I know I have said this before but it is really difficult to find the time to do it all!!! The other great thing about Korea is when you start making friends with the Korean's your social networks (or friends) just keep expanding with friends introducing you to their friends who then become your friends also.

I did finish Saturday with a very pleasant walk through Olympic Park (and now having been there twice I still have not seen the whole park!) possibly one of the last times before the cold really settles in.

Here is the rest of the photoset:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54304440@N04/sets/72157624912356261/show

I know I promised last week to show you a picture of a t-shirt I got last week so here it is:

You can get this t-shirt here and also find out more about Spudgy :)

http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/t-shirts/

I will also leave you with how they spent their Chuseok this year:

Seoul "N" Namsung Tower & Han River

A fantastic clear and sunny day it was and a brilliant one to go to Seoul "N" Namsung tower.

I have heard a few horror stories of lines stretching for miles to get up and down the tower and being the weekend prior to Chuseok I expected many many people. However it was a relatively relaxed day with a comfortable amount of people about that it all turned out to be an easy exercise.

It all started with a walk up the hill with a friend of mine to meet her sister and her sisters husband. I must say that the scenery of nature was amazing and I need to get out and about and do some hiking soon... I'm not exactly sure when it will get too cold to comfortably do so.

This is the first time I was not able to keep tabs on the costs on things as if you are familiar with Korean custom its first to the ticket booth or first at grabbing the cheque who pays (and then that's not always the case). Luckily I have a link to costs of admission, cable car and other things that may be of interest to you:

http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264550

The tower is not as tall as the Sky City tower in Auckland New Zealand but it still has remarkable views and for me it truly was an eye opener when looking out into a sea of white buildings where millions of people live. The windows around the observatory level have indicated on them the names and distances of major cities all over the world so of course I had to have my picture taken in front of the New Zealand section.

I have been told that the night view is worth coming back for so maybe at a later date I will have some night photos but still there is much to see and do and my social calendar seems to be filling up... I need to find more time somewhere.

So from here if you are super excited about bears or maybe a little curious you need to visit the bear museum.

There are bears in there as you would expect but you have to keep your eyes out for the naughty ones that are doing things they just shouldn't be:

Head on back outside and you just might see a Martial arts performance:

Probably one of the nicest ways to get back down from atop this peak is to take the cable car or gondola... (not sure what the difference is).... Ok so Yahoo answers says:

A "cable car" can be part of a system of train cars that all are driven by an underground network of cables that are kept in motion by a large central power plant. That is how the cable cars in San Francisco, California have operated for many decades.

The type of gondola you are asking about is a "car" that is suspended beneath a moving cable.

So here is a video of the gondola ride back down:

So then here it was a cab ride to Seoul to take a rest and have a drink and then onto the Han river by subway and then another taxi.

So once again I was unsure of the cost of this but here is another link:

http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/53

This is worth doing!!! Believe me. For the cost of a round trip you get amazing value! The cruise lasts about an hour or more. On the cruise we were on there was a magic show to keep everyone entertained until the boat reached the bridge for the water and light show. All the cruise boats seemed to mill around or congregate like salmon swimming upstream and then the show begins and it is amazing... (like I said) and lasts a substantial time. This is where again my data runs out on my camera card... looks like another 4Gig or an 8Gig card is needed... :/

The cruise continues passing the night city scenery and to my surprise there is a fireworks show with an impressive display (arrrhh no data left on my camera... forgot to bring my back up camera!!!!........Lesson learned!).

Then on the way back we were entertained by a singer. Overall a fantastic way to spend an evening.

Here is an idea of what the water/light show was like:

Finishing the night with a late bite to eat it was an amazing day (there's that amazing word again :)

Chuseok this week http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuseok so I am going to have a little rest. Well at least on Monday and then I will see what is going on and maybe do some travelling with my new T-shirt (I will be sure to take a picture with me in it for the next post) most likely to Bucheon finally!

Here is the photo slide show:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53007881@N03/sets/72157624987774906/show

Well to finish up I have finally been sucked into this Dub Step craze that's going on so here is something for your speakers :)

A Wet Weekend

So as life goes sometimes things happen and other times they don't. This was a week of "they don't s".

Tuesday was supposed to be a big soccer game between Iran and South Korea. However by Tuesday everyone was sick and I mean everyone. Teachers, students, random people I don't know all with deadly illnesses just begging to be adopted and nurtured into full blown blah.

So yes I got sick too and it was a bad week hitting rock bottom on Thursday and crawling back up toward recovery by Friday. All you teachers will know that I am not exaggerating when I say that the kids cough and sneeze over everything; books, pens, board markers the board, door handles and if you are lucky like this guy.... maybe in your mouth:

Saturday I was supposed to go to visit one of my adult students at their home but after what seemed like 24 hours of rain that was a no go as things had flooded out that way. So in-stead I went back into Seoul to get me a iPod nano 16GB as my shuffle 1st gen finally died after many a year of hard work. 180,000 won from an apple store (4 generation so no camera on it but having now 4 cameras on various things do I need more...). I then went for a little walk and discovered some kind of market where people were dressed up as though it were hundreds of years past...!

(See slide show for pics).

I also whilst walking in the direction of Dongdaemun found a little park with some statues and various other art pieces I took some photos of.

Sunday went 10 pin bowling with my friend and their church group... Koreans take their sports very seriously and there was some heavy competition going on.

So I found out how to move in/out of a high rise.... :

Bought some goodies... yep back into the weights....

.....and finally got my epic t-shirt I have been waiting for in the mail today (Sunday delivery).

If you don't know Miyagi-Do Karate... I pitty the fool... well... OK then here is some education:

I have another t-shirt on the way this week so I am looking forward to getting that one and wearing it... show you the pics next week.

So another promising week is coming up and I hope to have some real good juicy tidbit's for you next time.

Until then.... here's a random cultural performance and some subway dancing for you to enjoy:

Slideshow:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53007881@N03/sets/72157624938650920/show

My two cents:

The Birthday Massacre has a new album coming out this month... not sure if any of you are fans of Synth Rock but anyway here is something different for your jukebox: