Saturday, October 24, 2009

Han River Ferry RIDE

IMG_0811I am back after a brief break, as we had family visiting us for the Nepali festival of ‘Dashain', but more on that later.  I got to visit plenty of places in Seoul with them and this was our trip to Youido Park.  Above is Building no. 63, which at 249 meters (817 ft) high is the 3rd tallest building in South Korea. It represents “Miracle on the Han River” symbolizing the nation's rapid economic achievement in the late 20th century. However, our destination that day was to the take the ferry ride on Han River in order to see the rainbow waterfalls at Banpo bridge.IMG_0810This is three generations of the men in our family walking in the park, while we waited for the evening ferry ride. IMG_0818The Han River looked beautiful with flowers along the shore and I even saw some people rushing about on jet skis, which looked really exciting.IMG_0821Far off in the horizon you can see Seoul Tower standing tall and majestic in the background.IMG_0836I had a great time munching snacks and relaxing with my mom and my grandparents, while my dad went to buy tickets for the ferry ride.IMG_0843Eventually, I got restless and decided to accompany my dad to the ticket counter.IMG_0850As the evening drew closer, the colorful lights slowly started to come out like fireflies in the night.IMG_0855 Customary pose with my mom, though I was far more interested in the water.IMG_0862This one is more like ‘my’ pose and I was getting impatient to go on the ferry ride.IMG_0881 As more lights started to appear…it was time for us to head to the ferry.  We took one with a concert on the way to see the rainbow water show at Banpo bridge. IMG_0891 Ferry lights was awesome. I had a fun time running down the sideway till more and more people started filling in.  There were certainly more local tourists than foreigners.IMG_1064The dazzling lights reflected on the dark water surface also made for a pretty picture. IMG_0938 There were a lot of couples on the ferry who seemed enchanted by the romantic ambience.  One guy even proposed to his girlfriend on the ferry.IMG_0930As we approached the Banpo bridge, people started flocking to the front of the deck with the South Korean flag fluttering in the wind.  I was excited wondering what was going to happen next…IMG_1035 and……. Tada! This was the spectacular event everyone was waiting for with bated breaths and oh so well worth the wait.  The rainbow of water colors gushing down to the river and lighting it up in a myriad of colors was spectacularly beautiful.IMG_1072Then the colors changed and everyone was spellbound and gushing with joy.IMG_1075The other ferry got so close to the water rainbow that I am sure the passengers must have gotten soaked.IMG_1079The show just went on and on with colors that kept changing from one spectrum to another and the waterfall that kept fluctuating from high to low and undulating like a giant sea serpent.IMG_1105This gentleman was the one man concert on the ferry and the ladies enjoyed singing along with him and clapping to the beat.  He was singing Korean love songs and ended with the popular Korean folk song ‘Arirang'. IMG_1120I highly recommend that you go watch this wonderful feast for sore eyes at least once if you are in Seoul.  For more information on the ferry ride you can visit their official website - http://www.hcruise.co.kr/xe/home (but this website is not entirely in English, so check this other one as well for more - http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=266932).  IMG_0841and once again this is your faithful blogger Kaibu signing off and I promise to keep you all posted in the future…

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Saturday, October 17, 2009

Himalaya, where the wind dwells

히말라야 바람이 머무는 곳

Himalaya where the Wind Dwells

We haven’t had a chance to see this movie yet, but after seeing Choi Min Sik in “Old Boy,” this one is a must see.  Choi Min Sik is our personal favorite in Korean Cinema.  Born on January 22, 1962 in Seoul, South Korea he is one of the premiere Korean actors.  He started his career as a theatrical actor before he went on cinema.  His first roles were in Park Jong Won's films Kuro Arirang and Our Twisted Hero and in the 90s as a police investigator in No. 3, which won him much cinematical acclaim. His role as a North Korean agent in Shiri, which is one of the Korea's most successful film ever during the 1990s, firmly established him as an icon in Korean cinema.

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‘Himalaya, where the wind dwells’ was nominated for ‘crystal globe’ (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival) awards.  Directed by Soo-il Jeon the movie came out on October 7, 2008, but I suppose due to its non-commercial nature we did not hear about this movie until searching for Choi Min Sik’s new movie on the net.  Needless to say this movie was shot in Nepal, so I will take it for granted that the visuals in this movie must be stunning.  The movie is about a Korean businessman who upon death of a Nepali migrant worker in Seoul takes his last remaining to his hometown in Jharkot, Nepal.  Those of you who have already seen the movie, please add a comment and let us know how the movie was.  We will put another review after seeing the movie.  Till then friends…….

Watch the trailer of the movie here -

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