Herb is about a 20 year old girl with the brain age of a child. She’s very much into her fairy tales and follows the advice her Mum gives her. One day while walking somewhere she spots a police officer being picked on by a class of children. It’s love at first site but will he be her prince charming. More info: imdb - Cine21

I was quite surprised by this gem as I went into it not expecting much. I actually really enjoyed it. The protagonist’s, Hye-jeong Kang (강혜정), acting was excellent; there were some nice graphical touches and effects; the story flowed along quite well; and the cinematography was well worked out.

Wales is a beautiful country - a beautiful country that I have honestly not really explored. However, a chance of exploration (on a small scale) was presented to me by visiting friends. Our first full day was spent in a very interesting open-air museum - St. Fagans. It was huge! There are all these old period houses which you can enter and explore. Often there are staff at hand to explain the historical difficulties one might have. After touring the houses we walked into the wonderful, living gardens. Being spring, the flowers are in full bloom looking radiantly beautiful.
After that we headed over to the closest decent sized beach - Barry Island. I’ve actually been there a few times but one friend really wanted to see the sea as a chance to do so hadn’t came up in over a year. After eating the traditional seaside food, fish & chips, we spent a couple of hours walking on the beach, taking silly photographs and playing in the sand and on the rocks. It was quite a pleasant feeling - almost like recapturing one’s youth.

The next day was frustratingly hindered by having a sofa delivered. We couldn’t leave early as we had to wait until everything was in the house and the delivery men had left. Anyway during the space of the collection of the old sofa and the delivery of the new sofa, we took the chance to go and see a 100 year old and slightly unusual bridge - Newport’s transporter bridge. It hasn’t a road across the river but a hanging platform that carries cars, bicycles and people across. Unfortunately it wasn’t in operation as some the wood had wood worms eating into it. So the people who look after the bridge are repairing it best they can with a grant they received.
In the afternoon we headed over to a fairy tale castle that was used simply as a holiday home - Castell Coch. It’s really inspiring. I mean the amount of detail and thought put into each and every room is incredible. It took years and years to finish but the craftsmanship is simply breathtaking.
Finally we headed into the city center and wandered into the cities indoor market - Cardiff Market. It’s nice to see the small businesses still in operation selling there goods that are difficult to find on the high street or in shopping centers. While we were there we decided to eat some Welsh pies as we were getting peckish.

It was nice to take in the scenery and history of my country and practice a tiny bit of Welsh (a language which I seldom use these days). I’ll post a selection of pictures soon to take the strain off your imaginations. Also just google these places for more information, if you so desire.

I spent the weekend in west Wales. My grandmother lives in the countryside there (see big pic). She has a wonderful garden full of beautiful flowers and wildlife. I like the country sometimes because it’s an escape from the business of the city, quiet and beautiful. However I could never live there unless I was with my soul mate (who I probably haven’t met yet). I think when you are with that one person you love the most then you can live just about anywhere as long as you have each other. In my youthful 20’s and 30’s though I’d like to be living in the heart of the city in a stylish apartment. After I made some money and can afford to work less I’d be up for moving to a quieter place. The health advantage alone is enough to move. The dirt and fumes in the city are enough of a cause for anyone to die early. I’m really just thinking aloud right now. I really haven’t though in depth what I want to do in the future.
Anyway the weekend, I just spent it quietly reading and talking to my grandmother. The only time I left the house was to explore her magnificent garden and to take some photographs. I feel rested now.

20070331 Papertainer
I went along to Papertainer (페이퍼테이너) in Olympic Park (올림픽공원). It’s a museum or exhibition space that is constructed of 373 paper tubes and metal containers. It’s a pretty impressive building and looks like nothing else I’ve seen in Seoul. Inside is pretty interesting too. I mainly took photographs of the architecture rather than the exhibition of African and Asian masks, statues and the like.

20070407 Insadong
I always seem to end up in Insadong (인사동) every couple of months. I go to check out new art exhibitions, buy small gifts and eat traditional food. The area comes to life at weekends with street preformances, events and street stalls. The area is densly populated by foreigners as it close to the palace, traditional and great for tourist shopping.

I decided. I decided to go back to Korea in May and take a job offer. It’s just an English teaching job but the nice thing is the hours are short and I’ll get a good wage. Around 5 hours a day (as little as 3 somedays). In the mornings I’ll continue to study Korean but not at University. I can self-study from here on out so that’s what I’ll do. The plan is to listen to the news and read newspapers to get my advanced level up. Then I’ll study the fun stuff (daily language) with Korean friends as a kind of language exchange. Also I’ll be refreshing my design skills. In the evenings I’ll be hitting the gym or heading down to where I used to live to meet friends. It seems like it’ll be quite a productive lifestyle. I’ll be saving a lot of money, living in an apartment, and starting a new adventure. Welcome to episode II.

I haven’t been taking much in the way of photographs because I haven’t really been doing any sight seeing as such recently. Although that should change soon enough now that the weather is getting nicer. Anyway here is the March batch:

20070331 Killer kimchi
1 - Asami giving me the look. 2 - Studying again. 4 - Fighting! Exam time. 5 - Yeah she’s tough. 7 - Asami in a bird. 8 - A temple of heaven? 9 - Graduation for some friends at the language school. 13 - One of the poorer areas of Seoul. 17 - Drinking tea and blend coffee in Cafe Byul. 21 - Gotta love that lamp. 24 - So the Nike commissioned painting of a tiolet got tagged with “Sweat shop”. 28 - Cute live music in a park in Hongdae. 29 - Drinking world tea in a tea house with Jinny. 36 - My room looking into the hallway. 37 - Jinny and Asami chilling. 39 - Me and Jinny reunited with Nancy. 40 - Drinking with Donald, Jinny and Asami. 44 - Working/Studying in an art cafe. 48 - Meat (which I can only watch people eat)! 49 - Stopping for ice-cream on the way home from school. 50 - More from the park in Hongdae. 56 - The queue for delicious Fukuoka ramen is always like this. 58 - My basic room in a busy part of Seoul. 60 - Drinking again. 61 - Happy Birthday Donald’s aunty. We prepared a cake for her. 64 - The heat glowed pink! 65 - More meat I can’t eat. 67 - Jinny’s outfit for a party. 70 - Waiting for spicy food to cook.