kenleewrites in 日本

Some photos from my Nikko trip earlier. These photos are of the Shinkyo Bridge or Sacred Bridge or “Deity Bridge”. One of the three mystical bridges in Japan… sadly I don’t know what the other 2 are ><. I’m going to just be a little lazy and quote,

“Legend has it that the hermit who settled Nikko was carried across the river here by two serpents. In feudal times, the sacred bridge could be used only by the emperor.The Shinkyo has long been considered one of the most beautiful structures in Japan, its simple elegance contrasting with the wildness of the river gorge, the green hills, and the tumbling waters.”

Quoted from here. The red really stands out against the green, blue and gray background. It’s quite a sight!

On my recent trip to Jeju for an academic conference, I took lots of photos. The thing with taking photos is, I’m the one always holding the camera! So I’m never in the pictures… So it’s a good thing my friend, ahemo, also has an interest in photography ^^. At least I get to appear in his photos!

This was what I did for group shots. I had my gorilla pod attached to my camera most of the time. So it was easy to just stand/grab something for a group shot. I know what you’re thinking… why didn’t I just use this to include myself in the photos? Well, the answer to that question is, I did. But it’s just a little cumbersome to put the camera down, set a timer (or use a remote) to take the shot and run back to pick up the camera before someone makes a dash for it before me. And sometimes like in this photo, I wanted to make myself look more natural. So I had my back to the camera. I do not want to imagine how sad I would be if I turned around and found it gone ><. Good thing it was pretty early in the morning… No one around ^^.

I met Bonnie at the conference. She dances Jazz Funk! “What’s Jazz Funk?”, I asked. Think along the lines of the Pussycat Dolls. Sexy ^^. Sorry guys, she’s taken already.

What do you do when you go on a holiday? Pass a friend your camera and ask him/her to take a photo of you? Or do you have a friend who likes taking photos too? Isn’t it just a little sad if you didn’t have any photos of you taken at the places you’ve been?

Right before leaving Jeju, we had a few hours to kill. So… where did we go? We went to the traditional market near the airport. Actually, we thought we were going to a shopping area… you know, consumer shopping. However, imagine our surprise when we found fruits, meat, vegetables and lots of seafood at the market! Just like a wet market! So much for our plans to go souvenir shopping… however, all’s not lost! We managed to find a supermarket at the end of the street!

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Photos from two gardens here. The indoor Botanical Garden Yeomiji and the Spirited Garden (Bunjae Artpia). Bunjae is the Korean word for Bonsai. Bunjae Artpia is without a doubt the garden to visit if you had to choose between the two. It’s not just plants. You can also have a philosophical experience at the Bunjae Artpia.

In this post, there are also 2 photos I took with 2 local Korean girls. One our tour guide, who is a pure Jeju local and two, someone who helped me a great deal at the conference (I think she’s from Seoul). Must take photos with some locals right ^^?

Here’s inside Yeomiji. The indoor botanical garden. That’s a fine looking structure.

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Can’t visit an Asian country and not visit temples and shrines ^^. Nothing much to write really… Just for your viewing pleasure.

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