Sorry, this one is a little late, and it's going to be a little big on photos, light on text because I'm getting a late start today (the morning after, which is when I end up doing these posts) as I actually got a full 8 hours of sleep for a change. Yay me!
Yesterday, I decided to venture to the other side of the Hangang River and see if there were any blossoms left on the trail around Seokchon Lake, one of the places known for spring blossoms. I got back on the subway and ended up in Lotte Land. Lotte is big business here in Korea, they own stores, real estate, and Lotte World Adventure, a Korean Disney clone. Lotte World Adventure Seoul is on an island in the middle of Seokchon Lake. So, I just followed the signs...
To Lotte World Adventure. This is the Korean substitute for Mickey. Don't know his name yet...I suspect I'll find out if/when I decide to go to the park. When I was getting close to the entrance to the walkway around the lake, I started to see azaleas.
It seems that I may have missed cherry/plum blossom season, but this is the best time for azaleas.
I found a stairway down to lake level and found the Disney clone hiding amongst skyscrapers.
I decided to walk around the lake to enjoy the azaleas. Unfortunately, the rains we had experienced a few days ago washed away the last of the cherry blossoms. I could see the petals all over the ground, but nothing on the trees. However, the azaleas were a welcome substitute.
Here you can see them encirclinng the lake along the walking path. The path itself is quite nice as it is a rubber matting and kind on the feet and knees. Lots of senior citizens were out getting their daily walk on.
Here is the entrance to Lotte World Adventure. From what I could see, it's your common amusement park. I'm still undecided if I will be going. I hear the one in Busan is bigger, but I only have a few days there with lots to see.
As I was walking the path, I heard drums and saw a set of stairs going up to what appeared to be some sort of outdoor performance area. Curious, I climbed up and was happy to see that I had stumbled upon a very cool experience.
I tried to do some research, but all I could find was that this is some sort of drum dancing performance. I did find references to specific drum dances, but most of them were about dances with 3 drums. This was not that. Still I hung out to watch a bit. It is obviously a rehearsal, as none of the women are in costume. However, it seems that they are very near a performance, as there was very little stopping...it appeared to be a complete run-through.
I did manage to capture a portion on a Video of the dance
After I finished the circut of that side of the lake (there are two sides divided by a bridge) I decided to head in the direction of what appeared to be a mall. It is attached to
After I finished the circut of that side of the lake (there are two sides divided by a bridge) I decided to head in the direction of what appeared to be a mall. It is attached to
Lotte World Tower, which I believe is the tallest building in Korea. I was too late to take the tour of the top of it...maybe another day.
Heading toward the mall entrance, I found some of my favorite flowers in bloom...lilacs. They smelled lovely. I headed into the mall and decided to find something to eat. I ended up in the food court of Lotte Mart, a grocery store.
I settled on a lunchbox with Korean fried chicken and seafood kimbap. It was yummy!
The mall was just a mall. Mostly high-end and not much for me. They did have an art gallery cafe that looked kinda cool and the signs to an aquarium actually led to an aquarium cafe that was closed by the time I got there. Still, there were cool fish.
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