The first being Kathy & Charlie.  Set in the beautiful backdrop of Punta Cana (Punta Canada as the locals would often quip when they identified a Canadian) Kathy & Charlie took their vows in a tropical destination with their closest friends and family.  I’ve never thought about destination weddings much until this recent trip in January but I can see the allure.  Beautiful scenery, a week of time to party with your closest family and friends, sun and fun for a week, not much planning of meals if at an all inclusive…the list goes on.

Given we were going to the Dominican Republic, the wedding could have been any time that week as long as the couple had been there for 48 hours. The wedding was on a Tuesday.  It was a bit windy that day but it was a nice breeze.  A party of 25+ on the beach.  Wonderful vows being exchanged.  I’m glad I was able to share in this moment.  The quirkiness of the result suited the couple perfectly and although not everyone knew each other from each side, after a week, it felt like we had known each other for years.

The weather… Gorgeous.  The food…Delicious.  The experience…Amazing.  I’ve never been one to really do the whole all inclusive thing, but I think from now on I must give it greater thought.  It was just so great. I am the type to go exploring into the nooks and crannies of places, but sometimes having everything planned out and ready for you to use just makes life easier. 

The scenery. I was able to wander a bit, through excursions.  I took many a photo of that wonderful place. I need to go back, perhaps walk around the actual city a bit more.  Here are a few choice photos from the collection. The images from the wedding will be displayed shortly. What an amazing wedding it was! I can’t wait to go through it all. 

The entire trip was somewhat last minute. Somewhat is a bit of an understatement.  I was talked into going by a friend who used unusual means of persuasion. Apparently constantly yelling “koreeaaaa” for 4 days straight whenever they saw me online or in person was enough for me to buy a ticket to Seoul for 11 days.  This was 2 weeks before actually leaving for the city.   Everything seemed to fall in line. Sales on tickets. Friends in the city. A friend going as well. Money situation.  You only live once. So I went.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect given I’ve never been anywhere out of north America in recent memory. Trips when I was younger with parents don’t seem to be very memorable. Definitely haven’t gone anywhere during my photographic interest history. I’ve heard a lot about asian cities and what to expect so I began preparation.  In those two weeks I created my usual robust document of everything about the city that may have been interesting to me. Of course I never do get to see everything in that document (in one visit) but it’s just nice to be prepared. I also picked up some tid-bits of Korean which was tremendously helpful since most of my time there would be spent wandering alone.

Seoul blew my mind.  The busy city feel is an understatement. I was also terribly efficient and seemed to put Toronto to shame (which in my mind isn’t too hard when it comes to transit especially).  The people were very nice to foreigners and were extremely helpful. Most of the signs are in English as well, usually in the Romanized form so that was very helpful.  My document guide came in very helpful since I had an idea of where things were before I had to go to them.  I did get lost, but that’s part of the fun of being in a foreign city, it’s how you really discover a place.  That’s also why I chose not to go to other areas of korea. I really wanted to feel Seoul. I wanted to feel what it felt like communing from Ilsan (a suburb) to the city with the business folk and other travelers going downtown to work.  I think I was able to obtain this goal and really wish I could’ve stayed longer.

Without going into day by day details I was successful at experiencing various aspects of Korean life and culture.  From teaching at a public school (where apparently I was a star) to traveling downtown during rush our squeezing myself into public transit.  I saw as many palaces as I could as well as wandered most districts that are “notable” in tourists eyes during different times of the day.  I was able to “get lost” (several times on purpose) in the city several times so I could explore without having a final destination, order food in the native language as well as help other tourists who were having trouble (because I apparently looked like I knew where I was going).

I would without a heartbeat go again if circumstances allowed.  Now onto what this blog usually is about. Photography. The amount of opportunities for “everyday Korean life” photos was staggering but I limited myself. I have several thousand photos from my trip but have really only been able to just dip into a few. I’m sure as the years pass I’ll go through them more and more when I want to remember that great trip. For now I’ve gone over a few and chosen about 100 to post. The weather wasn’t a photographic dream, it was fall so the colours were nice, however the rain during the first part of the trip wasn’t fantastic. Overall the array of photos I have are from typical tourist to just wandering the inner streets of Seoul.

Anyhow here are a few photos. My daily photo blog will showcase nearly all of them (if I remember to update!) along with other photos inserted from trips and everyday adventures.

The distillery District's Christmas Market. Although very young in it's history, it has proven to have made it's mark as it seems to have grown in popularity with each year. This year was no exception with more exhibitors and larger number of free samples.

I encourage everyone to check it out while they still can. The last weekend is coming up quickly!!!! For more information check out Toronto Christmas Market

It was early in the morning when I got there so the water at the bottom of the mine was not as blue as it normally would’ve been but it was gorgeous. I’d like to go in the afternoon if ever I’m in the area again. Here are a few pics: