Seoul Land

If you all remember I had posted a blog about Seoul Grand Park a while ago. This is Seoul Land, a huge amusement park which is right next to it.  For information on directions to Seoul Land, please check our earlier blog on Seoul Grand Park. For more information on Seoul Land, you can visit their website  http://eng.seoulland.co.kr/eng/ Ladies and Gentlemen let me tell you that I was the only privileged gentleman allowed to hang out at this exclusive ladies day out event of my mom and her friends at Seoul Land recently. It was a gorgeous sunny day with clear August skies and the view was to die for. This is what it looks like on the way there …awesome!!And this is what Ms. Park looked like on all the way till we got off ….ahhhhhh! 어떻게…어떻게…. I kept staring at her in amusement, coz I have absolutely no fear of heights, he he…View of the theme garden from above. I have already been to the rose garden and the children’s zoo with my daycare gang.  Keep a lookout for a blog about that visit in the near future. I felt like James Bond surrounded by gorgeous women, so I decided to try to pull off the solemn 007 look.On our way to buy tickets to Seoul Land.I was so excited I was already sprinting my way inside.Mom’s friend Yayah looks shocked that she is strong enough to stop the leaning tower from falling over.Darn it! They had this height measuring thing all over the place.  You have to be at least 110cm to get on most those rides.  I am only about 90cm sob…sob… The Columbus ride. It was like a huge swing in the air that rocked to and fro. Mom’s friends said it made their stomachs churn and that the feeling was akin to having your stomach drop to your feet. We could hear Jessica’s screams of excitement and fear from a mile away.But there were a few I could ride along with mom like this musical carousel.   This giant rollercoaster looked surreal set up against the blue sky with wisps of cottony white clouds.And the people on it looked as if they were riding off into the great wide open blue sky…The Peter Pan ride. Even this ship looked like it were sailing in the sky.Mom’s friend Mita is from Indonesia and she had a cool hat that she let me wear.Of course, I am getting to be quite an expert at posing for solo portraits thanks to all the modeling I do for mom. This particular ride literally made people’s hair stand on end… There were quite a few water sprinklers that sprayed fine mist to cool off in the heat.Wherever there is water I am 100 percent delighted.People were lined up to get on the World Cup ride. It had a spinning deck that tilted as it spun. It looked even better at night with all the multicolored lights adding a dazzling effect. The Zeppelin, a ride with giant balloons.King Viking is what they called this ride which literally makes you go upside down. I hope nobody pukes. I got tired with all the walking and decided to roll around on the ground for a bit. The Rock cafe. A cool ride with rock music accompaniment and they also covered you with cloth while the ride spun faster and faster. I guess an ideal ride for couples.You can see the scariest ride of all in the background- the Sky X swinging as high as 55 meters.  Only recommended for the brave of heart.It was night by the time we left and all the rides looked even prettier with all the lights switched on.Can someone explain to me how the taps were floating in air with the water flowing from them, spooky!We were an assorted bunch alright, clockwise from left to right: Mita and Yayah are from Indonesia, Jessica is from El Salvador, Ms. Park teaches Korean at Seoul National University, my mom, Asmaa is from Morocco and last but not least is the privileged lone gentleman (a.k.a. Kaibu) who tagged along for protection, he he…

Blogger Labels: Seoul Land,Grand Park,amusement,Ladies,Gentlemen,gentleman,event,friends,August,View,theme,garden,children,gang,Keep,James Bond,friend,Yayah,Darn,Columbus,Jessica,excitement,clouds,Peter Pan,Mita,Indonesia,hair,mist,People,World,lights,Zeppelin,upside,Rock cafe,music,accompaniment,cloth,background,Braveheart,ElSalvador,Korean,National,Asmaa,Morocco,Kaibu,protection,tickets,feet,portraits,meters,blog

Seoul Tower

 Last night we visited Seoul Tower.  Seoul Tower is located  on top of Mt. Namsan. It is 370 meters above sea level and has a 360 panoramic view with a range of more than 50 kilometers.  The tower itself is 236.7 meters tall.  The construction of the Seoul Tower began in 1969 and it was initially built as a communication and observation tower.  It was only opened to the public in 1980.  For more information on the tower you can their website here - http://www.seoultower.co.kr/eng/main/main.php.  You can even find information on the world’s tallest towers around the world.  The world’s tallest tower (CN TOWER, Toronto, Canada) is almost twice as tall as the Seoul Tower.  My dad who had visited the Seoul Tower before during the day said it was not as impressive as it was at night. The shimmering lights and the spectacular view of the city was absolutely breathtaking.There were all sorts of people - cyclists, couples, first dates, evening walkers, locals, kids and tourists. There were even some caricature artists and people were lined up to get their portraits sketched.  A few human wire installation art figures hung from above looked quite eerie and yet cool lit up against the black sky. We bought our tickets….. and we took a family picture with the teddy bears.  There is also a teddy bear museum at the Seoul Tower. I was also inspired to pose like the teddy bears. This is the entrance to the tower. We had to stand in line to ride the lift to the top of the tower. Our Troupe - My grandma is visiting us for a month and I am super happy to be with her.  The ladies next to my grandma are my teacher at my daycare and her daughter.  My teacher’s husband is carrying me and the one on the right is my mom.The lift was so fast we didn’t realize we were already at the top.  It's quite a view from the tower overlooking Seoul at night.  You can also have a wonderful dining experience at the rotating restaurant while you enjoy the dazzling view of the city. We were all mesmerized by the lights and Seoul looked like it were lit up with a myriad of sparkling jewels and glittering diamonds. One can stay there for hours enchanted by the lights, just like bugs drawn to a light bulb. There is a Pagoda style pavilion outside where people were just lounging and enjoying the cool Autumn breeze and the serene ambience. It is definitely a tranquil break from the hustle and bustle of city life.On our way back another art figure looked as if it was bowling the moon and the colors somehow added to the uncanny effect.  Use your imagination…

Blogger Labels: Seoul,Tower,Last,Namsan,construction,communication,observation,world,Toronto,Canada,lights,kids,caricature,human,wire,installation,figures,teddy,Troupe,teacher,daughter,husband,restaurant,bulb,Pagoda,pavilion,Autumn,breeze,life,imagination,Blogger,figure,meters,walkers,tourists,artists,portraits,tickets,tallest,grandma

Mortal Combat

Battle of the Day care center.  Baby weight Championship. Gorkhali Vs. Shaolin Monk September 6th, 2009 @ Myeongji Day Care center, Seoul, South Korea.  Not to be missed, its going to be kick ass deadly!!

Just kidding!!  We were just having fun getting dressed up in traditional clothes in our day care.  South Korea is sure getting to be multi cultural.  I am wearing traditional Nepali Dhaka Topi and Dhaura Suruwal,  My friend on the left is wearing traditional Vietnamese dress, my friend standing next to me is wearing traditional Chinese dress, and the girl on the right is wearing equivalent to what Princesses used to wear in Korea a long time ago.  Now you really didn’t think we were fighting right???

Blogger Labels: Mortal,Combat,Battle,Baby,Championship,Gorkhali,Shaolin,Monk,September,Myeongji,Care,Seoul,South,Korea,Just,Nepali,Dhaka,Topi,Dhaura,Suruwal,friend,Vietnamese,Chinese,girl,Princesses