Seoul, Korea

During the school fall break in October Judith and Scott travelled to Seoul, South Korea and spent 5 days exploring this Asian city of contrasts. The weather was perfect - in the high teens and low 20s - and we spent as much time outdoors as possible. We discovered this small city park not far from our hotel. 

Many small cafés and restaurants are either below street level or located on floors above. 

Each panel along the walkway through this park depicts an historic event.

This detailed and precise painted underside of the roof on a pagoda in a neighbourhood park is indicative of how well maintained the government keeps the parks, monuments and buildings. 

A walking path has been developed along this creek on both sides, with multiple entry and exit stairways to the street and the city above. The walkway meanders for several kilometres, with occasional stepping stones across the creek. It is frequented by walkers, runners and cyclists. 

A roving bookmobile, set up on a busy city sidewalk. 

There were many delivery scooters in Seoul, but not many were as beautifully adorned. 

The multiple street vendors were a fascination!

A re-enactment of a traditional Korean wedding ceremony in an historic replicated village.

The garden view from one of the traditional homes in the village.

The National Museum is built on the site of a park allowing visitors the opportunity to tour the museum and to enjoy the park as well. This is a view of the front of the museum from across across the pond on one of the park pathways. 

A beautiful example of original celadine pottery. 

We found the parks in Seoul to be numerous and well-designed, thus allowing many visitors without seeming too crowded. Many included small vegetable gardens as well as fitness circuits, along with unexpected and unusual objects of art. 

It was a city trip but we were happy with the opportunity to balance the busyness of this welcoming Asian city with many walks in multiple parks. 

Traditional Mongolian Wedding

In October Scott was invited to attend a traditional Mongolian wedding held 400 km west of Ulaanbaatar in the Arhangai aimag outside the small town of Tsetserleg. It took many hours by car to reach their destination and they arrived well after dark. The following morning Scott took this shot of the gers and the surrounding area. The wooden shed to the left of the ger was erected to keep wolves away from the family's supply of meat. 

There are no words in Mongolian that directly translate bride and groom. Here, in the gers of the "woman's side" they await the arrival from the "man's side".

And finally they arrive from over the mountains to the east.

The happy couple, as they wait for the wedding festivities to begin.

The traditional exchange of snuff bottles takes place. Many of the bottles are extremely valuable and are worth a great deal of money, sometimes in the thousands of dollars. 

Then there is the presentation of the aaruu, a collection of bread-like, firm oblong "cake"pieces that are arranged in a particular way, always in an odd number of layers representing happiness, sadness, alternatively but beginning and ending with happiness to invoke a good fortune.

As at all traditional Mongolian festive occasions there is much food and drink offered to guests. To the left at the back of the table the mutton carcass is visible. 

The wood stove in the centre of the ger is always stoked to heat the gallons of milk required for the Mongolian traditional milk tea made of a hint of tea, lots of milk and salt and sometimes with an essence of mutton.

Airag, fermented mare's milk, always in abundance

Symbolic shots of vodka are always given with

some money underneath to balance the energy;

alcohol is dark and money is light.

It wouldn't be a party without singing to the accompaniment of the morin khuur, a traditional horse head fiddle. 

Gifts are offered, accompanied by the

daavuu, the ceremonial

prayer scarf.

The bride receives good-bye kisses from her family ...

... then makes a circumnavigation of the ger, always in a clockwise direction, and officially becomes a member of the "man's side.

She lights her first fire, a tradition once the wedding is complete.

A photo of the immediate families from both sides. 

The only person not a family member is the man in the suit. He is the shaman who presided at the wedding.

The Hustai National Park

In May 2013 our friends, John and Daphne, came from Vancouver to visit us in Ulaanbaatar and to see  some other areas of Mongolia. One of our shared excursions was a day trip to Hustai National Park located about 100 km southwest of UB. This park is a conservation area dedicated to the preservation and protection of Mongolia's wild horse, the takhi. Along with the park rangers, these semi-wild cattle keep a close watch on the visitors. 

In Daphne's estimation this is one of the most beautiful cow faces on the planet. We had to agree.

We travelled to and around the park with a driver and guide. Just as well, as Hustai is vast, at 50,620 hectares and it's easy to become disoriented in the steppes. 

In addition to the takhi, Hustai is populated by deer, gazelles, boars, manuls (small wild cats), marmots, wolves, and lynx. We saw a number of small herds of deer, displaying all manner of prowess. Marmots were in evidence, as well. 

The park is rich in birdlife, many of them raptors including eagles, falcons, hawks, buzzards and vultures. 

The takhi, are also called Przewalski's horse, thus named after the Polish explorer who first "discovered" the horse in 1878. The takhi became extinct in Mongolia in the late 1960s but a few remained in European zoos and as a result of the dedicated work of some conservationists they were successfully reintroduced in 3 national parks in Mongolia in the years following Soviet withdrawal from the country. Hustai National Park is home to about 250 takhi. Visitors to the park are not guaranteed they will see these beautiful animals but the park rangers are helpful in directing drivers and guides. We were lucky in having sightings of several small groupings. It was foaling season and we had the good fortune to see a few very young horses. The takhi are the only truly wild horses on earth with a genetic make-up that is different from all other horses; they have 2 more chromosomes in their DNA. Visitors are watched closely and are not permitted to get too close to the takhi, for all the right reasons. 

Our sighting of the graceful - and watchful - demoiselle cranes.

However arid and barren the steppes appear from a distance up close there was an abundance of colour in the alpine flowers that were in bloom in May.