Incheon, and the "cool" city of Seoul,Korea

Although we were docked in Incheon, there was
really not a lot of separation between that area
and Seoul.  Seoul (proper) has over
11 million people, but the satelitte cities surrounding
it are highly populated as well .
There were so many bridges, and they are all nicely
decorated.  Also, there were some really long bridges!

Korea has about 23 parks,  and
there is an emphasis on the outdoors.
This shows in the fact that the parks
represent about 6% of the Nation's
habitable area.

As we were approaching the center of
Seoul, it was amazing to see the
areas that had been developed in order
to decentralize the city.  Only about 20-30% of Korea
is habitable due to the mountainous
nature of the country.  About 80% of the population
live in Urban areas, so they are building
planned communities with green areas and
advanced technology, including the use of
Solar and wind energy where possible.
  This is to cut the pollution
and spread the population out.

The ship was dwarfed by the whole area of
industry where we were docked in the port of Incheon.
  Lots of
action and noise during the day.

Although Incheon  is a mere 24 kilometres away from
Seoul,  the trip in by bus took about 1 and 1/2 half hours, due
to the heavy traffic.
 Loved  these old antiques and the old bell which we saw
in the market in Incheon.  If only they could talk.

The market in Incheon.

The bus into Seoul dropped us off in front of City Hall in Seoul and it
was a national commemoration day for the students lost in the capsized
ferry accident.  It was quite emotional to see some of the images
that were displayed, including an area where the pictures of each
student were displayed.  These are the Deoksu Palace guards
taking part in the ceremonies.

The whole downtown area was filled with yellow banners and flowers.  Each yellow banner had the name of a student on it.  They were everywhere.

Five little birds in a row.  Such symmetry.

There was a large central area dedicated to the
lost students, and also a whole area
where people could sign their names
and gather together.

Very tough to see some of the emotion in people
leaving messages.  Mine is top left.

Another row of
yellow banners with
the name of a
student on each one.

The tents in the center of Seoul commemorating
the students.

This is such a high-rise city!

Very interesting buildings and modern
architecture.

Some of the art
on the landings between
floors in the store.

Shinsegae- an amazing department store.

This is the women's washroom in Shinsegae.
Incredible.

Each floor had a different kind of art
display.  This one was so beautiful.

The art in the entrance to the women's washroom.

Just a quick look at the kind of displays
this store had for each section.

The central stair case in Shinsegae.

The food floor in this store was absolutely huge.  Each
section was different and the displays
were out of this world.

The "Food Court" in the Food hall.  There were
noodle bars, sushi bars, Dim Sung, and many
more!

Somehow the traffic manages to separate out,
but the streets are wide, and it is a challenge
crossing the streets sometimes!

This is so "Seoul".  The modern, and the markets, all combined
together in this amazing city.
Such contrasts.

A mini Trafalger Square, complete with pigeons!

Motor bikes and buses, and
of course Hyundi's and Kias.
A good range of Audi's and
Ferrari's as well.

Even the underground entrances are well
done!

Such a mix of architecture and design, and it makes for an interesting
skyline from almost any vantage point!

Heading into the city.......

You can always find a little
coffee retreat.
Lots of them here.

The palace at the end of the main street in Seoul.  It is right
up against the mountain.

Our bus driver was Formula One worthy.  It is each man (car, bus etc...) for himself!
We thought our driver had a pedal stuck to his shoe, and glued to the floor!
And we think we have traffic issues????

Somehow it all works.  Love it!

Yet another amazing sunset.  I was out on the deck of the apartment
for this one, in the industrial area where we had docked in Incheon.  We left there
at midnight, on our way to Dalian, China.  Bye bye Korea!

An Anglican church smack in the middle of Seoul.   Religion here
is a mix of Confucius followers, Buddism, and Christianity, and
there were a lot of traditional looking churches.

Busan Korea, Bali Beds, and a "Blood Moon" - a Total eclipse of the Moon.

Storms produce amazing skies I think.  After leaving Hiroshima
early and spending two days bobbing in the sea,
we finally got into the port of Busan South Korea,
one of the world's largest ports.

South Korea has done an amazing
job of building up their industrial strength
which is evident in the amazing port.  

The coast guard and fire boats were all based in the area 
where we were docked, so they did a little demo for
us.  Lots of shouting on foghorns!

Ship-building is one of the main industries in Korea. 
There was a tour of a ship-building factory
close to where we were docked which apparently was amazing. Very high tech.  
I have never seen cranes as large as the ones in Busan, and there were literally
miles of them.
The city is not pretty, but it is busy and Korea's economy has been steadily building, 
despite a few set-backs over their history.  They had to create their own industries in 
order not to be dependant on Japan, and clearly they have succeeded. 
 Samsung and electronic products are another of their exports.  The majority of the 
resource asset is in North Korea, which has been a problem, but through their work 
ethic and determination, South Korea has become independent and definitely a world 
player in trade.

It was great to get off the ship after a few days of bobbing
around
in the Korean Strait, and we took the shuttle into town.
The fish market was huge, and very busy.  Just choose a
from the tank, take it to a restaurant, and they will
make a raw fish lunch for you.

Miles and miles of live, or dried fish!

The little back streets are busy and
full of people and goods.  This was
an area around a film festival 
that was going on.  Most of the shopping
was pretty cheap and not high quality,
and lots of imitation of high end brands.
Not great shopping, but great people watching.

On October 8th there was a a Full Hunters Moon and 
Total Lunar Eclipse.  The moon was directly opposite the Earth 
from the sun, and passed completely through the Earth's dark
shadow (umbra).  The moon got darker and darker, and then turned 
a rusty or blood red colour.

These are the "Bali Beds" which are on the back of the ship
on the top deck.  A small group of us had
booked them for the night, and so got into
our jammies and went up to view the moon.
There were 5 of us, and we made a
lot of noise before going to sleep after
the eclipse!

The start of the eclipse.....

Leaving Busan.  

Busan in the distance.  The view from the Bali beds, as Busan fades away.

A stealthy selfie.  Bank robbery anyone?

I did not have the camera or lens to magnify the moon as it changed but it was
pretty cool to see.  It was white, and then dark.  

As the moon was passed into the dark shadow of the
earth, it was very clear to see the movement.  I was surprised
at how quickly it all evolved.

Et voila!   The moon changed to this rusty blood
colour.  Wish I had a telescopic lens!

"Full Hunters Moon", also known as "Travel Moon" and "Blood Moon".  By any name it
was the first eclipse that I have seen with such detail.  I take for granted the sun and the moon
and the stars, but seeing this phenomenon made me so aware of how complex and
miraculous the universe really is.  

Love being tucked up in bed with a good book, especially in the open seas off the coast of
Korea.  Perfect. 

The Bali Bed experience was really something, and I especially loved the feeling of being in the open air.  Well, 
kind of.  At least my face was in the open air.  I was the only 
one of the group that had a hat, and it matched the blanket, so they had to
keep checking to see if I was in there!  Live lump hunting!
Bye Busan! Bye Blood moon!  
Next stop Seoul.