Blind man's crossing

It that my eyes or does this sign show a blindfolded person crossing the street / zebra-crossing? I don't know what the Korean characters mean, but even if we used the image as a universal language, the meaning on this sign seems inexplicable.


Well, ok, I'm just pulling your leg. I think the paint is peeling on the signboard, so it looks as if the person has a blindfold on. It certainly is not my camera, I can assure you.

Flight of asiana

This is the plane that I flew back on 13th August 2005 from South Korea. It is seen parked at the Korea's Incheon International Airport, preparing for its direct Korea-Singapore flight around 4pm Korea time. I took this picture near the passenger gate. Incheon Airport has wide clear glass walls that allows passengers to look right onto the tarmac for a breadth-taking view of the airplanes.




Asiana Airlines pilots were on strike then, but these striking pilots only flew the Boeing aircraft. Airbus aircraft pilots were not on strike. According to what we were told in flight, this is one of Asiana's newest aircraft. This is borne out by Airbus' website (www.airbus.com), which confirmed that Asiana Airlines took delivery of these A330-300 aircraft last December (2004). The plane is comfortable and the journey home was uneventful, except for too frequent announcements over the intercom, which disrupted my movie viewing.

I can't complain, though. Quite a number of movies were available on demand basis - Million dollar baby (now I know why it won an Oscar), Kingdom of Heaven (lousy show), and a couple of others. For a 6-hour flight, I could easily cycle through two full movies and have time left-over for some short films. Great entertainment! And I was flying economy! A really good deal!

Poison Food

The puffer fish is known to be the most poisonous fish, yet it is caught, cooked and eaten as food. This restaurant in Seoul advertised this deadly fish on its menu (actually, on its entrance). It looks like it is the restaurant's star item on the menu.

According to sources, puffer fish can be eaten when prepared and cooked correctly. Nevertheless, it is a 'delicacy' that is rarely available, must less featured, in any restaurant menu. If you must eat, learn a little more about it first: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pufferfish

Signs and wonders

I snapped this sculpture of a pointed finger in downtown Seoul. I wonder what it signifies. I never went close enough to look at the base of this sculpture to get enlightened on its meaning. I suppose one of the purposes of a sculpture is to stimulate thinking and imagination and elicit some personal meaning or inspiration. That's why in almost all images you see in print or media, the sculpture is featured more than the description of it.

So my not taking a closer look is deliberate. But what does this sculpture mean?

We are No. 1 (in/of what?)
Look up in the sky, its a...
Ouch, my finger hurts!

I leave it to your imagination. Be inspired.

A Bar Fight

Whatever is a tent bar? A place where people unwind with a glass or more of liquor in a tent? That seems to be what this picture suggests. Unfortunately, I didn't go much further than across the road where this picture was taken, so I can only guess.

This bar (if it is one) is quite prominent, what with its gigantic orange-coloured tent sticking out of a building. It's just across the road from Hard Rock Cafe Seoul. I suppose the people who set up this tent bar are trying to give Hard Rock Cafe a run for their money. Both places have prominent markers - this tent for the Ju Ju bar and the signature guitar for Hard Rock Cafe along a boulevard just outside its premises.

A Tent Bar

Hard Rock Cafe

P.S. If this blog is starting to look like a travel blog on Seoul, I have no apologies. I spent much of last week there and used the opportunity to take photos of some interesting things I saw. Don't worry, the photos will run out and the memories will recede, then I'll move on...