it seems that most of my adventures start with emails asking if i'm interested in a particular activity..in this case, mel had sent out a mass email (to four of us) asking if we were interested in a tour of the blue house, which is basically the korean version of the american white house..of course i was interested..i love history and politics..so after giving mel all my pertinent information, she made the necessary arrangements..the tour is something you have to set up at least 10 days ahead of time, though according to mel, setting it up isn't difficult..just a few emails..anywho..
maria, mel, sheila and i met up at a particular subway stop, then found our way to the bus, and check-in area for the tour..after checking that we had proper identification (passports and ARC cards) we got on the bus..we were the only foreigners on the tour..(not a surprise)..the bus took us to cheongwadae..(the korean name of the complex)..the presidential office is in the area, and supposedly so is the presidential residence..after going through security (xray scanners and metal detectors) everyone was ushered into a room where an introductory video was shown...since we had to wait a few minutes for another busfull of visitors to arrive, we were given mp3 players that allowed us to have the entire tour in english..(we could've listened to the chinese or japanese versions as well)..subtitles were shown for chinese/japanese/english, so it didn't matter that we couldn't understand what we were hearing..the most amusing part of the video was the shot of the president riding a bike..the subtitles said something about him being able to ride each day, but seeing the video made it clear that the man hasn't spent any real time on a bike in a looooong time..the video also encouraged us to take lots of photos.
after the video, everyone shuffled out of the room, and in doing so, passed a table loaded with white boxes..we got free coffee mugs (neon lime green!!) for going on the tour:)
Showing posts with label tree. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tree. Show all posts
18 July 2010
cheongwadae (청와대)
the tour first took us next to a "park"..probably the best kept section of grass in the entire city..not surprisingly, we weren't able to walk on the grass..we started taking photos as soon as the grass was in sight, but immediately the minders told us not to do so..i was confused..after listening to the spiel, while standing with the group, THEN we were allowed to take photos..in the middle of the grass were two trees, both of which were special..at least, according to the tour they were special..age, or height, or type of tree, something like that..i don't know, to me they just looked like trees..according to the spiel, this park is where events like the presidential gathering for children's day are hosted...
while walking through a few trees, again maria and i got out our cameras..again, we were told by the minders that photos weren't allowed..the group next stopped at a marker that said "this is where the original office of the president was, a looong time ago"..at least, that's the translation i understood..there weren't any physical remains to show such a thing, other than this marker..i tried to take a photo of this marker, but that wasn't allowed..by this point, we were all somewhat confused as to the whole picture taking thing..the video said to take lots of photos, but up to this point, we were only allowed to take them in one spot..
the next group stop took place in front of the official presidential office..it's got a roof of blue tile, so that's where the nickname blue house came from..we didn't get to go inside, and the spiel on our mp3 players wasn't very helpful..it told us there were a couple rooms with special names, in which special receptions were often held..it told us when the building was built, and a bit about the builder, etc..in front of the blue house was a giant grassy area..(way bigger than the "park")..after walking along the circular driveway down to the front, we got to take photos again..woo hoo!!
from there, the last stop was in front of the state guest house..called yongbin i think? anywho, when the blue house was built, there was no state guest house..but over the years, someone figured out that traffic/security management was a pain in the you know where when international dignitaries were staying off property..so the state guest house was built, and ta-da, all those problems went away..the tour had said we'd be going in the state guest house, but that didn't happen..so i have no idea what it looks like inside any of the buildings in the entire complex, other than the initial security building..oh well..
from there, we walked out the side gate, and that was it..mel, sheila and i crossed the street to see a sculpture/memorial, and take a few more photos..while taking these photos, i realized there was a guy directing traffic, very similar to the traffic ladies in pyongyang..although this guy wasn't nearly as professional as those ladies were..he looked bored..check out the photo comparison:)..from there we went to dinner, where i had some of the best mac n cheese i've ever had, and after a stop at tartine for pies (YUM!!) i went home:)
it's fun attempting to see stuff in seoul that not many foreigners get around to seeing, or making any effort to see:)
28 March 2010
a weekend
last weekend i didn't do anything...i left my flat exactly twice, both times to go get ice cream from a shop in my own building...a whole lot of nothing...i still don't know exactly why, but last weekend i just couldn't be bothered to do anything..it happens every now and again..
this weekend was different..i wasn't super busy, but i wasn't so immobile either..i went to contact rugby practice saturday morning..there were only 10 of us there (including the coach, and a korean girl who showed up about an hour late) because of hong kong 7s (the longest running rugby tournament in asia, i think) and cold weather..i'm sure there were other reasons as well..anywho..since there were only 10 of us, we weren't able to do as much as the coach had hoped..it's really hard to work on scrums when you don't have enough people..we ended up playing touch for a little while, on a very much shortened (both length and width) pitch, to force us to work on passing..sometime in the middle of touch, we noticed a whole lot of people taking pictures of us..we continued playing for a bit, then decided to take pictures of them taking pictures of us..as we learned later, it was a photography club that had come to take pictures of us..i wonder what kind of photos they ended up with..
the rest of saturday i didn't do much..i could've, but there wasnt any reason to do so..making it to rugby practice meant this weekend was already better than last weekend..hee hee...
sunday morning i went to church..there is an advantage to having a really early service, and that is that it's over earlier..the weather today was absolutely beautiful..sunny, with blue skies..a perfect day..
after the service, i took the subway to the tombs at uireung..they are the tombs of king gyeongjong and his second queen, queen seonui..he was the 20th king of the joseon dynasty..the long and short of it is that they both died, childless..he was only on the throne for 4 years, and she was only 25 when she died!! these tombs are different in that instead of being next to each other, one is behind the other..apparently this is the feng shui way of arranging tombs..
either way, the mountain was still behind everything..it was disappointing for me to realize that i couldn't really get up and see the tombs..there were ropes around the bottom of the hill, clearly saying "don't go here"...i wanted to get up and see how everything was arranged, but that wasn't an option...it didn't stop me from thinking about ducking under the ropes, as there weren't too many people there, and at one point no one could've seen me if i had ducked under the ropes and climbed up the little hill..but i didn't..i saw a tree which i thought would give me a better view, so i tried climbing it..but climbing a tree in high heels wasn't my forte..i ended up kicking off one of my shoes and making it up the tree..
sadly, i didn't end up with the view i wanted, so i had to go back down without breaking anything..i made it, but just barely..since i didn't get to really see the tombs, the best part of the outing was when two kids came up to me and gave me little snacks..i should've gotten a picture with them, but i wasn't thinking..
as i was leaving the tombs, i realized how badly my feet hurt..OUCH..i guess i can wear high heels for a little while, but not an entire day...ooops...by the time i got back on the subway i was taking really small steps, and trying to figure out the fastest way back to my flat, so i could get there and change shoes..i FINALLY got home, and it was heaven to take off the heels..i still think it's stupid to see korean women hiking in high heels, but now i have a different view of their level of coordination in that they're able to do it in the first place!! plus, when i took off the shoes, i realized i had scraped up my legs and feet a bit while climbing the tree at the tombs...oops...hee hee...i'm sure my legs will feel good as ever tomorrow..ending up with bumps and bruises seems to be the norm for my weekends:)
the rest of the day involved grocery shopping, and a trip to my favourite coffee shop, coffee bean..they have the best chai lattes on the planet, and a chocolate mousse cake to die for..a perfect ending to a weekend:)
this weekend was different..i wasn't super busy, but i wasn't so immobile either..i went to contact rugby practice saturday morning..there were only 10 of us there (including the coach, and a korean girl who showed up about an hour late) because of hong kong 7s (the longest running rugby tournament in asia, i think) and cold weather..i'm sure there were other reasons as well..anywho..since there were only 10 of us, we weren't able to do as much as the coach had hoped..it's really hard to work on scrums when you don't have enough people..we ended up playing touch for a little while, on a very much shortened (both length and width) pitch, to force us to work on passing..sometime in the middle of touch, we noticed a whole lot of people taking pictures of us..we continued playing for a bit, then decided to take pictures of them taking pictures of us..as we learned later, it was a photography club that had come to take pictures of us..i wonder what kind of photos they ended up with..the rest of saturday i didn't do much..i could've, but there wasnt any reason to do so..making it to rugby practice meant this weekend was already better than last weekend..hee hee...
sunday morning i went to church..there is an advantage to having a really early service, and that is that it's over earlier..the weather today was absolutely beautiful..sunny, with blue skies..a perfect day..
after the service, i took the subway to the tombs at uireung..they are the tombs of king gyeongjong and his second queen, queen seonui..he was the 20th king of the joseon dynasty..the long and short of it is that they both died, childless..he was only on the throne for 4 years, and she was only 25 when she died!! these tombs are different in that instead of being next to each other, one is behind the other..apparently this is the feng shui way of arranging tombs..
either way, the mountain was still behind everything..it was disappointing for me to realize that i couldn't really get up and see the tombs..there were ropes around the bottom of the hill, clearly saying "don't go here"...i wanted to get up and see how everything was arranged, but that wasn't an option...it didn't stop me from thinking about ducking under the ropes, as there weren't too many people there, and at one point no one could've seen me if i had ducked under the ropes and climbed up the little hill..but i didn't..i saw a tree which i thought would give me a better view, so i tried climbing it..but climbing a tree in high heels wasn't my forte..i ended up kicking off one of my shoes and making it up the tree..
sadly, i didn't end up with the view i wanted, so i had to go back down without breaking anything..i made it, but just barely..since i didn't get to really see the tombs, the best part of the outing was when two kids came up to me and gave me little snacks..i should've gotten a picture with them, but i wasn't thinking..as i was leaving the tombs, i realized how badly my feet hurt..OUCH..i guess i can wear high heels for a little while, but not an entire day...ooops...by the time i got back on the subway i was taking really small steps, and trying to figure out the fastest way back to my flat, so i could get there and change shoes..i FINALLY got home, and it was heaven to take off the heels..i still think it's stupid to see korean women hiking in high heels, but now i have a different view of their level of coordination in that they're able to do it in the first place!! plus, when i took off the shoes, i realized i had scraped up my legs and feet a bit while climbing the tree at the tombs...oops...hee hee...i'm sure my legs will feel good as ever tomorrow..ending up with bumps and bruises seems to be the norm for my weekends:)
the rest of the day involved grocery shopping, and a trip to my favourite coffee shop, coffee bean..they have the best chai lattes on the planet, and a chocolate mousse cake to die for..a perfect ending to a weekend:)
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