Photographs taken by the Clothiers in Hwaseong SK

I am now using “live space” to host full resolution images taken of our little milestones and fun times. You will need to have a windows live access and then request to be allowed into my network.

My Windows Live Space is called The Crime Scene and there you can find links to the photograph albums.

Returning home from holiday.. the August Rush

The girls went on vacation in July. Dad returned to Cape Town to accompany Tara and Rei back home. Sadly, Inez is still in Cape Town. There are some snaps of the time with family and outings which I will post later today.

Here’s a link to the facebook album showing the return trip.

Our Han Bokkie

Our Han bokkie

Tara was given this lovely hanbok, also known as choson-ot – literally, choson clothing (Choson being the other name for the Korean nation). She had to wear it to school last Saturday., I sneaked this snap in as her class was being hurried into order by her class teacher. If you look closely, you will see an expression that says, “Hurry up Dad. I’m at school here”.

It’s an interesting tradition as much as it is a beautiful one. The young lady has to hold the fabric in one hand, as it is traditionally worn very long, almost dragging on the ground. Our young han bokkie walked to school, head tilted in a very regal manner, befitting her title (Sam and I are concerned this princess thing is going to their heads). One can imagine that the girls and boys don’t do the usual running, pushing or shoving on days like this. The boys also wear traditional clothing, though it seems they aren’t urged as strongly to do so at this school. It serves as a nice day to remind kids of their proud heritage, and to educate them concerning traditional etiquette (all of which begins as early as kindergarten).

Here is a link to read more about Goryeo (no, it’s not a spelling error). Interestingly, this and variations of this name for this nation made its way via the silk road, with Arab traders, and then Marco Polo, at the early part of the common era. In truth, the Koreans themselves don’t use anything near this word to refer to their country nor to their nation. For the past fifty years, two names have existed, one in the north, and one in the south [wiki/namesofkorea], leaving us as one of the few nation states without a real name. I always thought we were not alone having SOUTH Korea as another country which name sounds like a geography lesson.

Here are some pictures on flickr, from Choson (that’s North Korea to some).

On the princess issue, we are using it to our advantage, as in: “Princesses don’t do things like that”. I tell you, it’s not working very well. Our middle princess took a pencil to the macbook. Perhaps we should get here a royal seal (erasable of course) then it won’t scratch the surfaces of valuable items.

Daecheon, a friendly getaway

Our trip turned out to be a wonderful three days in the neighbouring province of Chungcheongnam-do (Chungnam-do). We travelled by train from Suwon, and arrived in Daecheon two hours and thirty minutes later. Our accommodation was not exactly what we expected, though it did have its pros. I got the feeling i may be ordering an air con unit for our home in Joam next year after enjoying the one supplied in our little minbak (several rooms in a communal chalet).

We found that a basic meal was actually provided though we got by on our own. The manager of the place went out of her way to make us comfortable. She was kind enough to arrange a loaf of ‘Paris Baguette’ Italian style bread, home made jam and cream once she realised we weren’t going to tuck into the food provided. Perhaps us being a family with young girls, we didn’t have to share bathroom facilities. There was one draw back though: we had to do without hot water. The shower facilities were also about as absent as the legendary Boryeong mud. The cold tap at ankle height, wash basin and the little scoops of cold water cast my mind back to Nqabeni on the natal South Coast where i spent many holidays as a child. None of the “healthful well-bing” black mud was in sight as well, though i wasn’t asking for my money back on account of that. i figure they probably bring it in specially for the mud festival, from a nearby river bed. My eldest put some of the sea side sand on R’s face and arms, and our baby even ate some of it just in case the local dirt does hold some health factor. Hey, some clever people have even built a “Boryeong Mud Institute” of sorts, so i guess that makes it official: the mud is on its way to being scientifically proven as “healthful” and more than a profitable superstition. Wish I had thought of that: selling dirty mud, along with tons of chicken, seafood, and litres and litres of beer to the tourists who flock here once a year during the July mud fest. Talking to locals about the fest one realises there’s not much else going on here for the rest of the year. According to one businessman, 2008 saw substantially fewer tourists in the town compared to 2007.

We notched the whole trip up as a learning experience, from the discovery that the trains don’t have any train numbers, making it imperative that one confirm the departure time precisely before heading for the platform, to the point we met some really friendly people who showed us a nice motel for only 10 grand more than the minbak. That’s around 60 US$ per night for a room large enough for us all. It has air con, and such sophisticated things as hot water and even some furniture like a bed and dressing table. The only thing to remember is not to book your holiday for the weekend because the price is double then (120 grand). I promised to release some useful information for any people wandering upon this little page, so here is a nice picture of one Paradise Motel located next to the Lotteria and within a genuine 30 second hop, skip, jump or rock throw away from the seashore. Paradise Motel (+82) 41-932-9793.

We spent a few hours at this amusement park called “Fill Land” (pronounced in Korea like the word for the male member in the Cape, very amusing name for an amusement park, we agree). The gentlemen in the photo here is Mr. Charlie Lim, a kind gentleman who insisted we spend a few minutes with him in his air conditioned office. All the staff at Fill Land were very helpful toward us, even going as far as offering our kids a few complimentary rides. We never waited more than five minutes to enjoy a ride although a longer wait can be expected on this most popular ride at the little park which is adjacent to the big water theme park at the big hotel on the main street.  This wheel not only spins but is also controlled from the DJ box to bounce the riders up and down. Riders and spectators enjoy this one immensely.

My eldest daughter went on the Hurricane ride at Fill Land and insisted that i join her instead of her mom on the second night…. NEVER AGAIN! I don’t seem to have a tolerance for heights nor the unwavering faith in the mechanics of these rides that my daughter possesses. i spent the ride grabbing onto her chair next to me, opening my eyes briefly to try and regain some of my manhood lost on that one 7 minute ride in hell. She was kind enough to point out that she couldn’t finish the Alley of Horrors with me, so we were even stevens. She screamed after the first horror-filled surprise, and wouldn’t stop until i walked her back out. i finished the walk alone, and it was also quite a thrill. but NOTHING like the hurricane of death.

The beach waves on the second day were perfect for a family outing at the sea, and the water and sky were crisp and clear, making for a perfect day and night at the sea shore. There are many things to do, eat and see. We enjoyed the performance provided at a kind of seashore amphitheatre on two evenings during our stay here.

The seafood is fantastic, and fresh – most outlets have you choose the fish from a tank. There is also a nice chicken and bulgogi (beef) outlet next to a motel and nestled between the two university buildings at Daecheon. We were lucky to be guided there by the owner who found us wandering back from Fill Land. We wouldn’t have found it very easily among all the seafood places. The chicken is served stuffed with rice and plums. Mouthwatering stuff.

A walk in-between rains

We are hoping for good weather for our visit to the beach tomorrow. It’s been raining for days here. We only ventured up the hill yesterday because mom had three kids and their parents in for some language exchange. We left the little one at home to benefit from the discussion and some kimchi, and i carried the fourth little baby up on my shoulder, accompanied by T & R here. So this is another sample of what the newbie can do with the newling. Admittedly, this shot is out of focus and shouldn’t make it onto the pixelsofdreams blog because it is also overexposed. I touched it up with GIMP to present it here because the expressions were so special, we have to share with you. As an after thought, i posted it to the photoblog because dreams are more than technical details afterall.

The Family heads to Daecheon Beach

Our good friend Cha Yeong Jun helped us to reserve tickets to Daecheon and accommodation just a minute away from the famous beach. Daecheon is located on the west coast of the Korean peninsula, at Boryeong, Chungcheongnamdo province (almost midway between Seoul and the Busan). The tickets were purchased online (like almost everything else over here). Our accommodation required a deposit of 50,000 won, with the balance payable once we check in. It consists of a self-catering apartment room (one of six in the complex) with shared bathroom facilities (one bathroom per guest apartment). We decided on Deacheon for a few reasons, its close proximity, the costs and convenience of travelling there (under two hours’ ride by a single train leaving Suwon at just over 50,000 won for the four of us). It’s also not a crowded location this time of year when everyone flocks to Busan or the east coast. The only time it does get over-crowded is during the Boryeong mud festival when many foreigners pollute the area doing what they do best, waddle around like pigs in mud, and spend obscene amounts of money at the bars. Fortunately for us, the herd left town last week, so we should be fine. I took this picture as I am starting to learn how to use the new camera.

I just thought you’d all like to see I and R posing (pretty much “Asian style”). The two fingers against the cheek are supposedly cute. I don’t know, our daughters seem to make the snap cute regardless of the customary pose What do you say? We will be sure to snap a few of us in our new bathers and our water resistant SPF 30. And OH YES! I’m heading to the designer this morning to try on my little pink two piece number – (I can’t wait). Watch this space for new images (i can sense the bated breath and raised pulse rates from over here – no, neither of us have been working out so don’t expect to see a six pack).

Coming Home

It’s been six months since i wrote anything on this blog. It’s not for lack of significant things that have happened. Tara entered elementary school and Rei started at a new kindy, with Sam helping the same school with their English language course.

We moved house in March, and i was hosted by some influential and powerful Koreans in April .. so, i have decided to come back home, to writing on this blog.

Of course, your comments will prove to me i am not doing it all in vein.

To come, some more snaps on Flickr and videos which i will host at fileden instead of posting them to YouTube as before. This way, you will be able to download them and watch them later.

It Snowed Seriously today

I have to say “At Last”, because the girls were starting to wonder. It was a bit of an anti-climax in any case. I guess there are so many new experiences for them that they hardly notice anymore. Just after Christmas, we experienced a light snowfall after having dinner at our favourite restaurant (Cobaco). That night, the girls wanted to go on the rooftop and make snowballs, but I told them that 2mm of snowfall was not enough to make something that could be decently flung at someone else. This morning, Tara had donned her new pair of gloves.. so fashion came before snowballs, and I was given the “Like, no way daddy” look when I suggested they make some.

Inez’ playgym