Today was a great day to go exploring Inwangsan mountain near downtown Seoul. Diana and I went there a few times already, as it’s a not-too-steep climb, it’s really near the city center, and it offers great views of the area.

We went up another path than our usual. Some parts had ropes for the climbers to grab!!! That was fun!

The view from the top was great.

We took another path back down that was only stairs. Darn happy it was on the way down and not up, I would have cried!!!

And then, after all that climbing, a good reward was de rigueur!

Bukchon Hanok Village, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

Last Saturday was a nice sunny afternoon so Diana and I braved the yellow dust (yep, in fall this year, aren’t we lucky!) and headed for the area of Seoul called Bukchon Hanok Village. To call that place village is a wishful thinking, as the place consists of a few blocks, but it’s still really worth a visit. Several ‘dongs’ (street/blocks) of well-preserved traditional Korean houses grace the slopes of a hill, overlooking downtown Seoul.

The contrast of old and new is interesting and I’ll try to go back there when the sky is nice and blue, like it usually is in autumn. It would also look good with a bit of snow!

Houses in that area are insanely expensive and are mostly passed on from generation to generation. Some of these courtyard houses are open to the public as they host art galleries or shops. It’s a good opportunity to look at the architecture and imagine members of the ‘yangban’ (elite) living there a mere century or more ago!

What is your favorite historical neighborhood in your city?

Beet salad, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

I haven’t posted recipes in a while, so here is a really simple one. Sorry for the saturated picture, it’s not the most photogenic salad in the world!

Beet Salad:
- shredded boiled beet
- shredded apple, about 1/4 of the amount of beet
- raisins, according to taste
- walnuts, according to taste also
- mayonnaise, enough to make a nice creamy salad
- salt and pepper.

Mix and enjoy!

What is your quick and easy salad you can’t stop eating these days?

60th anniversary haircut, found on a chinese website.

Here is a guy getting a special haircut for the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China, picture taken from the Chinese press. I was looking for a cool pic to illustrate this special day, I think this is quite unique…

All that to say: happy anniversary China!!!

For the occasion, QQ.com  (the most popular Chinese portal at the moment) asked users to put pictures of their family over the decades. You don’t need to read Chinese to appreciate the pictures, just click on any given picture with a number and the page will pop up. Enjoy!

kimono (from the Mitsukoshi website), originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

Thanks to Mrs. Bao, a long time friend and asiophile, I got to get my fix of kimono and yukata culture through this really nice blog, Japan Now & Then, kept by a Western woman living in Tokyo. She is posting frequent updates about where to buy kimonos and how to wear and coordinate them. Makes me want to visit Japan again, and of course own a few of these gems!
Enjoy!

Photo by Adeline Cassier, inspiration by China, the one and only!

I discovered Adeline Cassier’s blog on Elodie’s blog, both French expats living in China. Chinopsis showcases fabulous pictures of ever changing China. Please go have a look! This doesn’t help me missing China in any way though!

Shinjuku Incident, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

I watched this movie last night and was amazed at Jackie Chan’s performance. The movie relates the story of illegal Chinese immigrants in Tokyo in the early 90s. Very far from the usual Chan character of a nice guy that gets into a lot of kungfu fights, this movie shows a dramatic Chan. His character is complex, not all good and not all bad, and Chan is very very credible in his portray. There are some fights in the movie and a lot of violence, which is very different from his usual style.
Well worth seeing if you like anything related to the underworld or Asia! It’s my new favorite Chan movie. I specially like it because it illustrates the plight of Chinese immigrants, for whom life is seldom easy, wherever they chose to go. But thanks to their community spirit and their hard work, they often make it big and help out their fellow countrymen. A lot to be said about that, specially when I think how individualistic most western expats are overseas… Granted, most of us are here for one or two years, do our thing, pack our stuff and go back home to ‘real life’… But for the ones, like me, that chose to be long term expats, it’s always funny to see how our networks pale in comparison to, let’s say, the Chinese diaspora abroad!

Read the description of the movie on Wikipedia

What is your favorite Jackie Chan’s movie???

Home Delivery, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

What can this box contain??? The explanation on my flickr pictures…

Ok, if you live in Korea already, this is boring, but if not, I guess, like me, you had never seen that before!

Farewell Lunch for Nadine, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

With the end of the semester comes another round of departures… This time it’s my good friend from France, a former colleague from last year. At least she’s on Skype often, so we’ll keep in touch! Her farewell lunch was nice, I got to see other former colleagues as well. Miss that bunch of people actually, it was really the best work environment I’ve had so far! But like they say: ‘location, location, location!”
Good luck in your move back home N. and see you on Skype! (Please enjoy the great French food and scenery on my behalf!!!)

Dalki, Heyri Art Valley, originally uploaded by Elise in Asia.

I don’t know where time went, semester is over and now it’s summer vacation. I finished watching the 20 episodes of previously mentioned Winter Sonata, and it will take a little while before I watch another drama again, as it was too ………………… [ a) tacky ; b) brain damaging; c) an insult to intelligence and common sense; d) all of the above]

Here is a picture of Dalki and her friend, Korea cartoon characters, taken at Heyri Art Valley, visited a few weeks ago. That visit was a bit disapointing as most ‘museums’ were for toys, teddy bears and cartoon stuff. I was expecting art stuff but no such luck. The architecture was however really interesting, but most of these pretty places are private houses. Well, live and learn!