입성 (入城)

I played the video game "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" in the plane and "won" a million pounds. The million-dollar question was, "which of the following is part of a hand?"

I chose "Dactylion" (the tip of the middle finger) which turned out to be the right answer.

I have another million-dollar question. Where was the final resting place of Leonardo Da Vinci? I don't know the answer until yesterday.

A French castle fronted by a beautiful jardin (garden) fit for royalties

The world outside the castle where commoners eat and shop

고고씽

Sis: Where are you going?
Me: I am going to Tours
Sis: Yes I know you are going for tour, but where are you going?
Me: I am going to Tours at Loire Valley.
Sis: Oh I see. What are the places you planned to visit?
Me: I read about 20 places, planned to visit 10 but will probably do only 5...

경축

After a glass of wine, my face was as red as the cake served with sparklers. "Celebrate first, work later" is my motto today. Tomorrow is going to be bright and sunny again.

핫한 데이

The day is as hot as the ongoing summer soldes (sales). There are many genuine good deals around but I am taking a day to walk down the city's river, even if it means applying a lot of sunblock.

또 여름

It has been a long day and I mean it literally. Almost twenty three hours of daylight in a single day before night arrived. Summer is in full swing but I am tired and sleepy.

2016서울빛초롱축제

The main theme of the Seoul Lantern Festival 2016 is "Han River". In view of that, the first section of the festival ground was dedicated to lanterns depicting the folklore, history and the social life around the Han River. But I am sorry to say, I was actually more excited about the giant-size lantern of Taekwon V located at the end.

During time before Transformers, there was Taekwon V to save the Earth from destruction.

Water-spouting dragon in folklore was believed to have formed the Han River

Amsadong archaeological site along the Han River reveals history dated back to the stone age

History of Han River unfolds as you walk down Cheonggyecheon

Life of people who used to ply their trade at Mapo port along the river

Lantern of the bridges along Han River. From right to left: Sogang bridge, Line 2 track, Yanghwa bridge and Seongsan bridge.

Duracell bunny that never runs out of battery

Christmas tree lanterns created out of supposedly used skincare product bottles

Lantern with a foreign theme

Every festival must have a wishing tree, board or something. Here, it is a rooaster because 2017 is the year of the rooster.

School of colourful mountain trouts "swimming" up Cheonggeycheon. It is the longest lantern at the festival.

파인애플 빙수

My quest for authentic Korean bingsu brought me to 경리단길, near Itaewon. In a cafe called "Reverse Brother",  they make specialty bingsu from fruits like watermelon, melon and pineapple. The bingsu has wholesome good look and as for taste, not far from expectation, it tasted like ice-blended real fruit juice. The portion is large enough for two persons and would be challenging if a person is to finish everything alone. An afterthought: maybe it is not a good idea to eat bingsu on a cold day. I was shivering from inside out after it.

A-plus for presentation with a price to match (KRW12,000)

싹 먹어 치웠음. Only the shell was left. Where has all the bingsu gone?

From 경리단길, I can clearly see Myeongdong Cathedral. It's amazing there is no high-rise building in this part of city Seoul.

나 홀로 나무

What do you call a tree with no other trees around it? They simply call it "I'm Solo Tree", seriously. This particular tree is famous enough that if you key in "나홀로나무" in any of the Korean map applications, you will find its exact location inside the Seoul Olympic Park.

The tree inspired many thoughts. One of them: we have to remove clutter in our daily life to create space for beauty to enter. A beautiful place, just like a beautiful mind, has little clutter. Being a solo also does not equate to loneliness, it is just our uniqueness has become rather obvious. Look at the people having a good time around the tree and perhaps, you will know why.

양떼목장 - 가을편

On the way to Daegwallyeong Yangttae Ranch (대관령 양떼목장), my taxi driver tried to impress upon me that there is not much difference between Samyang Ranch and Yangttae Ranch. I did not know how to tell him that I do not get to see big open space, watch sheep grazing and breathe cool air of highland every day. If I can, I want to do ranch-hopping. Another visit to a ranch is never too much for me.

My last visit to Yangttae Ranch was during mid winter and the ranch's walking path was buried deep in snow. The freezing cold temperature also made staying outdoor quite unbearable. However, this visit, I was able to walk one complete round around the ranch under beautiful autumn weather. Now that I did that, the ranch was much smaller than I thought. It did not even take me half an hour to make one round.

The most scenic part of the ranch

Sheep are grazing in a fenced up area at top right corner

The walking path has gentle slope to climb but won't cause you to be out of breath easily

Half a view of Yangttae Ranch from the highest point

Nice autumn weather

After completing the walking path, the next thing to do was to enter the shed and feed the hungry sheep

Cuddly sheep

It was only about 1:30 pm but the long shadow make it seems like late afternoon

Annyeong, we meet again. How do you do?

Blue sky, rolling hills and autumn weather are all that are needed to re-energize a worn-out soul

하늘, 바람 그리고 목장

I finally made my way back to Samyang Ranch after seven years. My first visit was during early autumn. The high blue sky, cool breeze and wide open space made it a "healing" and memorable experience. This time, I was back during late autumn to the same sky, breeze and ranch. I would like to believe nothing much has changed but the road inside the ranch was quite busy with tipper trucks moving in and out, leaving thick trail of billowing dust behind. Pyeongchang is preparing for Winter Olympics 2018 and there is a lot of construction going on at Daegwallyeong area. Samyang Ranch is not spared. This is probably not an ideal period to visit Daegwallyeong. Despite that, I kept myself far away from the dirt track and still enjoyed my time walking down the ranch's meandering path. There is not much thing to do and think about at the ranch, that is why I consider a trip to the ranch a "healing" experience.

A welcome sight at Samyang Ranch- the wind farm and meandering walking path

Wind turbines harvesting wind power from the East Sea

The sign read: Grazing grass is beef and milk. Please do not enter.

The land has taken on a yellowish hue of autumn

The sheep's fleece has thickened in preparation for winter. Grazing season is coming to end soon and so is year 2016.