So Near and Yet So Far

SN would desparately like to visit North Korea. Unfortunately for him, Mrs SN won't let him go! This is as close as I get. Across the border looking at guards looking at us. The infamous DMZ. So quiet you could hear a mine explode...

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Pohutukawa Time

You know it's nearing Christmas, and therefore Summer, here in Aotearoa when the Pohutukawa starts to bloom. And starting to bloom they are!

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The Lesson

The lesson here is that you can't have too many Buddhas. Although, maybe 438 is the magic number?

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Old Man

I can't claim this photo for my own, but I can claim the photo of the photo! The old man here is decrying the injustice of a divided Korea. I think the photo is quite powerful.

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Stones

Koreans, although mainly Christian, Buddhist or Athiest, still have some affinity with the ancient Shamanist religions. One of the ways this manifests is through the piling of stones, usually around temples or sites of great beauty. If you see these piles, the thing to do is to add your own stone. It's good luck!

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Happy Birthday Deepa!

Dear Deepa,

Happy Birthday for today. I hope you are getting a break from work on your special day!

Ah, to be as young as you.... *sigh*

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Dragon's Roar!

I love Dragonflies. We don't have many here though. Korea, on the other hand, has too many to count! Must be dragonfly heaven. Do they like Kimchi perhaps?

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Shadow's Over Peru

I tried to get a bit arty with this shot. The pagoda is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Bulguksa in Gyeongju, Korea. The sun is part of the sky, seen in a town near you.

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Great Injustice

There are so many injustices in the world. The theft of this symbol is one of them.



Can't see it clearly? Try this image.



In many parts of the world, but especially in Asia, the swastika (from Sanskrit) is a symbol of peace. It infuriates me that whenever I see it on a temple I can only think of a short German wanker with a small growth on his lip.

Wikipedia has a very good, although long, article on this ancient symbol. I recommend you having a look at it. The photo of the Korean temple there is the same temple I took the above photos at.

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Sans Photos (ha ha ha, get it?)

For a change, no photos in this post. I just thought I would sit down and have a chat with my favourite readers. Yes, you know who you are! I am looking at you right now. There I am winking in your direction. Yes, that's right, you! Now you have it!

So, where to start?

I was looking at my iPod and the list of songs on it. There are some freaky titles. Here are the top ten in no particular order (except for no.1)

10 - Ping Island, Lighning Strike Rescue Op.
9 - The Rise and Fall of Ooo Man
8 - Perhaps Vampires is a Bit Much, But
7 - Elanor Put Your Boots On
6 - Ceiling Fan in my Spoon
5 - 2+2=5 (Lukewarm)
4 - The Skin of my Yellow Country Teeth
3 - I Constantly Thank God for Esteban
2 - Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off

and... drum roll please.... My most favouritest...

1 - Disease of the Dancing Cats

Yay!

In my last post I wished all my Yank friends a happy Thanksgiving. Now, this blog is for the people. Not just the American people, but all my people. If you happen to have an important national day coming up. Please let me know and I will post especially for it. This offer does not apply to Australia. I also do Birthdays and Bah Mitzvahs בר מצוה (whatever they are).

OMG, I really wish I was eating turkey today! Unfortunately I can see mince in my stars... C'mon America, have an extra slice for me! And don't skimp on the cranberry sauce!

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Let us give thanks

Dear America,

Let me be the first to wish you a happy Thanksgiving. I hope you all have enormous amounts to eat and have an extra helping of sweet potato pie for your old pal SN. In celebration I give you some world famous American exports. (well not famous in New Zealand, we don't have them!)

Love SN

Krispy Kreme (yummy!)





Cold Stone Creamery (even more yummy!)





Dear Canada,

Yes I know you have Thanksgiving too, but I always forget when it is. Two weeks ago or something right? Well, the only reason I knew it was America's day today was that someone was towing the Statue of Liberty down our harbour (I kid you not!)

Warmest Regards,

SN

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Roof and Leaves

Haein Temple in Mt Gaya National Park is a great place for photos. I spent a night in the temple. It involved eating things that weren't meat (bad) and getting up at 3am... (surprisingly refreshing!). Must tell you about it one day...

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Cheomseongdae Revised

I spotted this arty remake in downtown Seoul. A new comment leaver, Jon, took a much better photo here. Made from car headlights apparently... Go figure!

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Cheomseongdae - Say that one three times fast!

One of my favourite buildings in all the world. So simple in it's construction and yet so magnificent... Cheomseongdae!

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Don't Ever Leave

Did I say before how much I love Autumn leaves? Well it's true! Again, Mt Gaya puts out for me on the leaf front. Go Mt Gaya!

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Patterns Alive

To patterns from my recent trip. The first is a temple roof high in the Bukhan mountains.



The other, a wall in the National Folk Museum....



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Sense Overload

From Mt Gaya in Gyeongsang North Province, Korea, a photo of the autumn colours. We don't get autumn leaves here, so I always appreciate the beauty.

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Korea - It's not all about...

Earless bunnies and colourful spiders. Nope, Korea also has alien space craft sneaking on to the planet disguised as green buildings...Cergie has suffered a similar fate!

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Everyone Loves a Squirrel

My trip to Korea put me in touch with squirrels. We don't have them here in Aotearoa, but I always manage to see them in Korea. This one was amazing as he didn't seem to be the least bit worried about my presence. He was sitting on a traditional thatched roof eating... well, I am not sure what he was eating, knowing nothing about squirrels as I don't. He was great to watch though!

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Geomi

This is one reason why one of my friends says she could never live in Korea. Never.

Say hi to a Daegu, Republic of Korea, resident. I think she's cool. Then again, I am a big fan of spiders! Anyone out there know what species she is?

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Hare and the Turtle

At Queen Min's birth place, I also found this turtle, burdened with carrying a rabbit for all eternity. Poor bloke. Turtles traditionally represent long life, didn't help in Queen Min's case though did it?

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Korean Roof

I was going to post a bunch of photos, but it is too late and I am tired! Here's a Korea roof. As I look at my photos I notice a lot of roof shots. Hmmmm... I didn't know I liked roofs that much! Anyway, they are quite impressive don't you think? This one belongs to a building which was the birthplace of Queen Min. Everyone knows that San Nakji loves a bit of monarchy action!

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Soju!

The smiling bottle in a previous post is a soju bottle. Soju is Korea's national drink and is about 21% alcohol. Not the most strong thing, but also not like your average beer. One of the most dangerous things about it though is the price. Less that one US dollar... Imagine getting a couple of six packs of those for a Saturday night!

Anyway, as I said in my last post I went to Icheon and visited a soju factory. It was pretty much like any other factory of it's type, nothing too exciting. The guie proudly told me however that this factory is the largest spirits factory in the world. In the last ten years they have sold 1 billion bottles... That's 100 million a year or over two bottles for every man woman and child in Korea... Quite a lot of alcohol I think you will agree!

The best part of the tour was the end when we were able to taste all the different soju. I have to admit in being a little tipsy, but this was merely preparing me for the rest of my trip!











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Happy Birthday Mistri!

It's Kira's Slave's birthday today! Happy birthday young man, enjoy your youth and don't waste it like I did...

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Yes

The continuing saga. After getting to Korea I met a great blogfriend. It was great to meet her and I hope I didn't scare her too much! After that I headed to Icheon, about an hour from Seoul where I had planned to visit a Seoju (Korean alcohol) factory. I had some time before the factory tour began and so wandered the town. It is a nice little place. I met a man who felt that his daughter could have been Miss Korea, but had run off to Australia to be a diplomat. He claimed to be an author, I have my doubts, being a literature major... There was a cool little shopping arcade and that's where I came across this shop sign. It is brilliant! All shops should include such prose on their advertising signs!

Can I also say it's hard to blog with a cat on your knee???

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The Journey Begins

So this is the first shot I took on my journey. It's from the plane window somewhere over the South Pacific Ocean. It just blew me away when I saw what was happening outside. I think the photo captured the moment well too. Have you ever looked at clouds and just refused to believe that you couldn't walk on them? Well, that's how I felt right at that moment!

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Smile Again

Yes, Smile Again! San Nakji returns! He returns with some 600 photos... Are you ready???

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