Seoul Forest

Last weekend Russell and I ventured to Seoul Forest, for a relaxing walk around the grounds.  I would call this a park rather than a forest, and one of the nicest parks I've seen anywhere!!!  The weather was perfect, the shade was abundant, and many Seoulites were out enjoying Spring. There were people just strolling, bikes for hire, and a lot of groups kicking soccer balls or throwing frisbees.  Here are a few photos from our day:

As with everywhere in Korea, there were plenty of sculptures, some of them very interesting!!!

The bushes behind the azaleas are 'snowball bushes' - just like my Mum had!

Kids can climb in this one!

This sculpture has the word for "love" carved in it, in 95 different languages!!!

Russ trying to work out where he is....... 

One of the entrances - the pansies are particularly nice this year!

While we were wandering, we bought coffee (of course) at a lovely coffee shop.  The posters on the walls were very interesting, and gave us a chuckle.  Here's two of them:

In case you can't read this one, it says: "Caffeine isn't a drug, It's a vitamin"..... hehe

We made it to Spring..... again

After an interminable Winter, Spring has once again arrived in South Korea, and it is SO worth the wait!!!  This is my favourite time of year, by a long way, partly because we are tired of the cold, but also because this place is so pretty at this time of year.  It isn't hot and humid yet, so that's a bonus.

Here are some of the pretty places around where we live:

This path runs just below our apartment building, along the creek.

Our creek.

Koreans love statues, and this is a particularly cute one - note the doves on top of the tree.

That's me giving a 'cute' Korean look for the photo!

Along the creek near our home.

The gardens and playground in our apartment complex.

That's our building in the background.

Right near our bus stop.

Grandpa Reinke

We said farewell to Russell's Dad last month - a wonderful, kind, gentle person, who was always thankful for his life, his family and friends and the experiences he had.  He passed away at the age of 91 on April 12.  The whole of his family, as well as many friends, gathered to say goodbye and celebrate his life. We are grateful that we have known and been influenced by such an amazing man.

It was very special for us to have our family with us - Russell, Alice and I flew back to Australia, and Hayden, Mitch and Peta-Erin come up to Maleny (just north of Brisbane) to join us for a few days.  We really love these guys and it has been a long time since we have all been together, so that made it all the more special.

Hong Kong in March

Spring brought with it the promise of warmer temperatures.  Now that we are into April, the temperatures are warmer, but not quite at the level we are looking forward to in the next few weeks.....

We decided that we needed to head somewhere where we were guaranteed some higher temperatures, so in the first few days of Alice's Spring break from school, off we went to Hong Kong.  Russ met us there from The Philippines, and we had 5 days relaxing and exploring.

The thing that stood out to me was that Hong Kong is not just wall-to-wall buildings and people (although, there are a LOT of buildings and people).  There are plenty of green areas and the scenery is magnificent in it's contrasts.  It is a beautiful place and somewhere I'd love to go back to.

We stayed out of the city, in the New Territories, with about a 30 minute bus ride into the city.  This meant that it was quiet (we could sleep with the windows open at night, with little noise!), and the bus trip was a great way to see more of Hong Kong.

The city is amazing - very modern and well-kept, beautiful contrasts of buildings, mountains and water.  We loved the harbour! You could get lost exploring for days and days..... what fun!!

Here's a few photos of our trip:

A mix of old and modern buildings, and LOTS of shops - from high end brand shops to cheap markets!!

Despite the weather being hazy, the harbour was lovely!

Looking towards Hong Kong Island from Kowloon (on the mainland).

Alice with a friend.....

Another one on the harbour.  This Chinese junk just goes up and down the harbour, presumably paid for by the city for tourists to have photo ops!!!

Don't think I really need to say anything here.....

Russ and Leanne waiting for a bus (of course, we always wait for buses just like this...)

On our way into the city....

Russell was very excited about his coffee shop!!!

At Hong Kong Park

Part of the skyline at night - very pretty!!!

An interesting shop - not sure what they are selling...

After much searching, we finally found the shop that sells dragon bait!!!!  Phew!!!!

The entrance to the Temple Street Market - a fun little market that was worth seeing!!

The beach near where we stayed - not quite an Australian style beach, very very pleasant.

Me being creative....

The little 'house' where the lifeguard sits while watching the swimmers.  There was one of these every 100 metres or so....

We shared this 'treat' on our last day - it's an egg made out of white chocolate, filled with cake, vanilla custard and cream, with a mango 'yolk'!!!  Very yummy - almost 100% sugar and fat!!!

Sammi

At the beginning of March, our lovely little Maltese dog, Sammi, died.  She was the most wonderful little thing, with a fun-loving, bright personality, and we enjoyed many years with her in our family.

When we moved to Korea, Sammi was adopted by the Frost family - Julie, Bill, Alisha and Nicola, and was loved equally by these wonderful people.

She had a great life, and gave us all many happy moments.