On any given weekend in South Korea there will be a festival happening somewhere and this weekend is my favourite of them all – the Lotus Lantern Festival in Insadong, Seoul where there is an all day street festival of crafts and activities followed by a Lotus Lantern Parade at night which lasts for 2 whole hours! I loves me some lanterns and have been looking forward to this weekend for a long time. It is held as part of a month long celebration of Buddha's birthday which is on the 21st May and a national holiday.
So, after spending two days in Gyeongju on some EPIK Training with my fellow teachers, we headed up to Seoul. We were really lucky on the bus, and there were only us 8 foreigners on the bus so we go the remote control for the TV (yes, they have satellite TV on the buses here) and chilled out to some movies for the 4 hour journey.
We had all booked into a hostel called Sky Dorm Backpackers in the Sinchon area of Seoul which is known for having lots of students, good bars and great food. What I did not realize when I had booked us in was that it was not so much a hostel as an 8 bed dorm which as just a studio apartment in a tower block which the guys rents out as a hostel. Not really a problem as we had our own kitchen (the fridge was another story – DO NOT OPEN was the rule as it smelled so rotten) but we had only booked 7 beds due to a last minute add on of Ramy and the eight bed was taken up by a young Lithunian male. The hostel guy was cool and Corey and Paul agreed kindly to share a bed for the 2 nights so it all worked out well.
So, after spending two days in Gyeongju on some EPIK Training with my fellow teachers, we headed up to Seoul. We were really lucky on the bus, and there were only us 8 foreigners on the bus so we go the remote control for the TV (yes, they have satellite TV on the buses here) and chilled out to some movies for the 4 hour journey.
We had all booked into a hostel called Sky Dorm Backpackers in the Sinchon area of Seoul which is known for having lots of students, good bars and great food. What I did not realize when I had booked us in was that it was not so much a hostel as an 8 bed dorm which as just a studio apartment in a tower block which the guys rents out as a hostel. Not really a problem as we had our own kitchen (the fridge was another story – DO NOT OPEN was the rule as it smelled so rotten) but we had only booked 7 beds due to a last minute add on of Ramy and the eight bed was taken up by a young Lithunian male. The hostel guy was cool and Corey and Paul agreed kindly to share a bed for the 2 nights so it all worked out well.
Our hostel dorm room with a Lithunanian sleeping in the bottom right bunk.We went out that night and ate tasty Indian food! Its been a while and was not a bad curry, limited in choice but cheap and tasty. Ole Mr Burns retired to bed but the rest of us went out for some Soju Cocktails and found a bar that had a student party going on which was pretty good fun.
Subway map of Seoul.We went out that night and ate tasty Indian food! Its been a while and was not a bad curry, limited in choice but cheap and tasty. Ole Mr Burns retired to bed but the rest of us went out for some Soju Cocktails and found a bar that had a student party going on which was pretty good fun.
In the morning, Corey and the boys (minus Matt) went to Yongsan Electronics Market to buy camera goodies so me, Kate and Matt decided we would check out some more cultural finds. We headed first to Deoksugung Palace and watched the changing of the guard which was not quite as ceremonious as at Buckingham Palace and was slightly interrupted by a drunk Korean man passed out on the pavement.
In the morning, Corey and the boys (minus Matt) went to Yongsan Electronics Market to buy camera goodies so me, Kate and Matt decided we would check out some more cultural finds. We headed first to Deoksugung Palace and watched the changing of the guard which was not quite as ceremonious as at Buckingham Palace and was slightly interrupted by a drunk Korean man passed out on the pavement.
Mr Caspar Jay Mabry. Always has a smile for the camera.We decided we would also check out Nation Treasure No. 1, Namdaemun Gate – partly because we are all elementary school teachers and a whole chapter of the English textbook on directions is dedicated to finding your way to Namdaemun (we childishly thought it was very funny to ask random Koreans for the directions in English and almost wet ourselves when they textbook answer was parroted back at us). However, what we did not realise is that National Treasure No.1 had been burned down a few years before and was under-reconstruction. It was rather disappointing.
So we forgot our sorrows and went for a long luxurious walk through the narrow winding streets behind the palace, found some museums and a really amazing Italian bakery that made the most delicious tomato bread and even sold chorizo! We wandered into the Gwangwhamun area of Seoul to see Gwangwhamun Gate (secondary to Namdaemum) but found this also to be under construction. Oh well, it was a really nice area and in the centre is a statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin, one of Korea’s greatest national heroes, who repelled wave after wave of Japanese attacks in the 1950s and is reported to never have lost a battle. Apparently the whole area was renovated in 2009 and, for once in Korea, people were given more space than traffic and there is a wide plaza with water fountains, performance areas and places to just sit and people watch.
After this, we met up with the others and a camera club day out commenced, with Garry, Corey, Caspar and Ramy vying for the best shots.
We walked down Cheonggyecheon (Cheonggye for short) Stream, which is nearly 6km long and was buried under the city until an urban renovation project in 2005 opened it back up and made it into a public recreation space. It is a real oasis in the centre of the city, set down about 10 feet from street level, with lots of plants, seating areas and large stones to cross the stream, and I love it. At night it is lit up in various patterns and colours but we had to leave before nightfall. I will return.
Cheonggye Stream rainbow.
Papped.
Fountain at the top of the Cheonggye Stream.
Monica planning her kidnap of a very cute one indeed.
This mum has tight grip of hers.
Beautiful flowers in spring in Seoul.
And what is a relaxing day by the stream without masked gunmen. They were actually Amnesty International Protesters but it was difficult to find out what they were protesting about.
Amdiral Yi Sun-shin in the Gwangwhamun Plaza.
Children playing in the fountain at Gwangwhanmun.Sadly, but a must, we went back to the amazing Mexican restaurant in Gangnam for dinner and had another great meal! And for the highlight of our evening, we were attending the BBC Symphony Orchestra in Seoul Olympic Park for an outdoor performance which had cost on 5 pounds each per ticket.
We arrived slightly late as we hadn’t planned for the lengthy walk through the park to get to the performance area but were soon shepherded in to our ‘picnic’ seating area. We each got a canvas mat to sit on and were placed under some trees with the other cheapos. It was a beautiful night and amazing to be listening to the BBC orchestra in Seoul, in a park, drinking beer and relaxing. Good find Mr Mabry, we thank you.
We arrived slightly late as we hadn’t planned for the lengthy walk through the park to get to the performance area but were soon shepherded in to our ‘picnic’ seating area. We each got a canvas mat to sit on and were placed under some trees with the other cheapos. It was a beautiful night and amazing to be listening to the BBC orchestra in Seoul, in a park, drinking beer and relaxing. Good find Mr Mabry, we thank you.
BBC Symphony Orchestra at Seoul Olympic Park.
Our picnic seating area.After a good nights sleep (despite being woken again by the Lithunanian returning at 6am drunk as hell) we went to Myeong Dong for some quick H&M shopping and then had a Pizza Hut lunch.
A girl we met on the underground with her cute pet ferret.
In Myeong Dong having an awesome time.
Just hanging out with Garfield.
Cute teddies.
Dancing animals.But I was so excited as the day had finally arrived for the Lantern Festival! As we walked down towards Insadong, it was clear this was the festival of my dreams - lanterns, soap making, lantern making, music, Buddhists, yoga. Some of the things we did include:
- Made a natural soap that is good for ageing
- Made a very intricate little Lotus Flower from little pieces of paper
- Garry was interview by Arirang TV (an English TV station here and appeared on the news)
- Made a Lotus Lantern Candle
- Saw a man with the best eyebrows ever
- Made actual Lotus Lanterns
Mouth painting.
Modeling balloon art headwear.
Matt rocking the alternative look.
Me and my poodle and lotus lantern tattoo.
Making my soap with hot water and some powder.
The finished product - a strawberry soap.
Street yoga.
Ramy and his ladies.
Wooden butterfly that balances on your fingertip.
Writing my wish to Buddha.
Tying my wish to the wish tree.
Massive jenga.
Fingering indeed.
Me and Kate and a lion.
The paper pieces we made our paper lotus flowers from.
Kate working the lotus earring look.
And me with lotus earrings.
Ramy and Kate with their award winning Lotus Lanterns.
Ramy and the best eyebrows ever.
My lotus candle that I made.
The area outside the temple had been filled with millions of lanterns for Buddha's Birthday and this was in the pattern of the Korean flag.
Children playing in a fountain.
Tiger lantern at the lantern parade.
Fish lanterns.
Lanterns and bearers in traditional dress.
Almost home time, tired little legs.It was a fab day and the Lantern Parade at night was amazing - so many lanterns and big floats with lit up paper lanterns of tigers, Buddhas, and even a fire breathing dragon. It did go on for a rather long time and soon we had to leave and catch the 11.20pm bus to Pohang.
Arriving in Pohang at 4am was not a pretty sight. And neither was getting up 3 hours later and teaching 7 hours of children. But it was well worth it.
Another amazing weekend in South Korea and I am a happy lady x x x x x
Arriving in Pohang at 4am was not a pretty sight. And neither was getting up 3 hours later and teaching 7 hours of children. But it was well worth it.
Another amazing weekend in South Korea and I am a happy lady x x x x x
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