SEOUL!

Seoul is only 1 h 10 min flight away from Qingdao (our closest airport) and we finally made it there last weekend during Chinese Qinming festival from April 4 to April 7....VERY NICE, VERY CLEAN, VERY RELAXED!!!

Very delicious tarts, cakes, waffles, donuts, etc!!! 

Seoul seems to have hundreds of cafeterias and it was a true pleasure to be hungry there!

Hello Kitty cafe

Cheonggyecheon Stream - 5, 84 km long stream running through down-town

Insa-dong - probably the best neighbourhood to be based in Seoul!

Gwangwamun Gate

Bukchon Hanok Village: perfect for idyllic and quiet walks

Gangnam - walked more than 4 km and didn`t see a single person doing Gangnam moves... what  a cheat ;)

Noryangjin Fish Market

A cool place for "window-shopping" and also buying fresh seafood (don`t forget to bargain ;) and getting it cooked in a  restaurant of your choice on the 2nd floor of the market! Highly recommend!

Fish market restaurant of our choice and our purchase - way too many mussels and the biggest shrimps we could find (that had already been eaten at the moment of taking the photo ;)

Wedding area in a shopping mall 

Strolling around your regular shopping mall (I`Park Mall in Yongsan) we came across an area for weddings!!!!

So along with other guests we hanged around the waiting area and even peeked into a couple of weddings :))....looked like a true wedding conveyor amidst the shopping craze!

Modern romance ;)

Trick eye museum - located in Hongik Uni-town area, it`s one of the coolest museums I have ever visited!!! Extremely interactive! The whole neighbourhood is also real cool!

Mt. Namsan park and Seoul tower

for a hike uphill, forest & fresh air in the very centre of town! 

Now that`s a perfect gym!

The disappointing bridge otherwise known as Banpodaegyo Bridge
which is registered in Guinness Record book as the longest bridge fountain...
After having waited for all the possible listed evening show times (with many other Guinness Record experience seekers)...all I can say is "what fountain???" 

But...there is a direct bus from under that bridge that will take you very close to the heart of ITAEWON - very lively neighbourhood catering to very different foreign tastes (read: bars, pubs, restaurants, cafeterias, shops..)! 

And now the newest spring season 2013 trends from South Korea!

1) Vampire pale skin

2) Mix and match!

3) Focus on your best assets!

4) Fancy hill-hiking footwear!!! 

5) gadgets - the more the better and preferably Samsung!

The End :)

South Korea: raw fish & red carpets of Busan Film Festival

First visit to South Korea and what a visit!!!

My friend had a business trip to South Korea - Busan film festival & it seemed just too tempting not to join ;) (especially considering it`s less than a 2 h flight away from my closest airport ... almost like flying to Shanghai or Beijing ;)

So Busan...

...maybe it`s because of the blue sky & the bright sun that greeted me every day while there...

...maybe it`s because Korean language (unlike Chinese) sounded like music to my ears...

...maybe it`s because I never heard anyone spit while there...

...maybe it`s because no squatting was required...

... maybe it`s cause it was really CLEAN!...

...maybe it`s because the city felt green & didn`t look like a construction site (home sweet home Rizhao ;)...

...maybe it`s because of the whole Film Festival package - the red carpet effect ;) ...

...most definitely it`s because I shared it all with a friend... 

I just loved it!

Busan film centre & the breathtaking open-air/roof-covered cinema...

...the only regret is that there was not enough time to see a single film out of an impressive selection...

...but then again - I see movies often enough...while being at a film festival with all it`s fancy red-carpetness, receptions and parties was kinda new :) & kind of a little dream come true!

We worked hard to attend as many as we possibly could..maximum being 5 events@1 night ..just to make sure we didn`t miss anything really good :)

European directors showing their films at the festival

Film people sure know how to please a crowd ;)

Very pleased :)

My dose of K-Pop : with Korean pop band Tiny-G 

(at the time of taking picture we had no clue who they were...they looked funky & definitely stood out in the slightly aged film crowd..a couple of people asked to take a picture with them and I followed :) 

..and trying the chair that the Princess of Thailand was sitting in earlier that night ;)

Wide angle party..with a very movie kinda title

Haeundae beach - told to be the most popular beach of South Korea

...and somewhere in between the work & busy evening agenda we also managed to squeeze in some sightseeing :)

The very looooooong Gwangan bridge 

Shigatse shopping mall holds the current Guinness World Record as the biggest shopping mall in the world! 

Happy Busan police shaking it for Police Promo video...which should also feature me filming them & then happily waving to the camera :)

Yongungsa temple

Bulgogi - one of the many kinds of Korean BBQ

Pleasure to watch the youth absorbed in technology :))

If you have a dog, you like kimchi & you can`t sit still when Psy K-Pops his Gangnam style...that`s the latest "it" trend from Korea especially for you :)

(I guess it`s kinda better than eating it...?)

Street food "a la Busan"

Every Asian loves a good bowl of noodles :)

The famous Busan JAGALCHI FISH MARKET had a festival opening that day ...so we sampled plenty of sea-food (raw & not so raw) washed down by yummy plum wine

Pic-nics in the fish market area...beer, soju, kimchi, raw fish, dried fish...

I did the same with my bare hands...more than just once ;)

Raw fish feast! :)

It`s one of the staples of Busan, so how could we skip it!

YUMMY & WAY TOO MUCH!

And then the part I`m still excited about - fireworks with songs and (my dance moves) to match :)

South Korea is definitely on the radar now :)

Thanks for the fun times in Busan - I could sure repeat it any time...Moet & Chandon...2 am Gangnam style dance workshop and maybe an Indian film ;)