Sunday, 23 October 2011

Icheon Rice Festival 2011





 Icheon is famous for producing the best rice in Korea. In fact Icheon rice is so good that it used to be served to the king of Korea, and is still highly thought of today. 


 The Icheon Rice Culture Festival celebrates its famous rice and also the local agricultural practices. 
Major events of the festival include a reenactment of the parade that transported rice to Hanseong (the old name for Seoul) for presentation to the king, and the huge rice cauldron that is capable of feeding thousands of people.





Not only the color of the leave changing but also the green fields of rice is goanna colored yellow and the fields of rice become more attractive. Yes, the harvesting season is coming up. Korean people are long waiting for this season. They are crazy to get their rice crop. It is the real time of celebrations.



 In fact they perform many traditional ceremonies at this moment.
I heard that since very long, these traditions are maintained and promoted. A big festival is celebrated in Icheon every year last week of October. The rice festival is held at the same park as the ceramics events; Seolbong Park




.
This Time I have an opportunity to go with my friends and explore the traditions of Korean culture. Actually My School Hanyang University have arranged a trip for the Internationals to have a taste of rice festival.
 As we headed into the festival area we saw a massive line of people waiting for something. At first we thought maybe you have to pay for entry or something this year, but actually everyone was waiting to get a free plant .



We have much fun encoded with games, performing arts, musical show, traditional paintings, and much more. There were a number of foreigners participating this festival. They were a good participation from Korean as well. Especially there were lots of children with their parents and School organizers.


Stamps collecting on a Card leads me to win 5 Kg of rice.. I was really crazy for that…J Many of my friends participated in many games and fortunately we won many games.
It was a nice day having much opportunity to bring smile in our faces.
Period
10.25.2012 ~ 10.28.2012
Address
Gyeonggi-do Icheon-si Gwango-dong
Location
Seolbong Park

Transportation
Take a bus to Icheon Bus Terminal.
From Seoul Express Bus Terminal (06:30-21:20/ departs every 30~50min/ takes 1hr)
Or, From Dong Seoul Bus Terminal (06:20-22:40, departs every 15~20min/ takes 1hr)
From Icheon Terminal, take a free shuttle bus to the venue and get off at Seolbong Park
(Bus operates from 08:30 to 18:30 / runs every 20mins and take 15-20mins to get to the event venue).
Homepage
www.ricefestival.or.kr (Korean, English, Japanese)

Saturday, 15 October 2011

Danyang Fun



Friends are the most precious gift of Allah. They can help you making your life the happiest and easiest. If you are home or in your country, you might have  a number of friends,, But if you are abroad and you have a company of your choice, you are the luckiest person of the world.. and I think so I am..:)


 Eid al-Adha ( "festival of sacrifice"), also called Feast of the Sacrifice, the Major Festival, the Greater Eid and Bakrid, is an important 4-day religious holiday celebrated by Muslimsworldwide to honour the willingness of the prophet ʾIbrāhīm  to sacrifice his young first-born son Ismā'īl  as an act of submission to God's command and his son's acceptance to being sacrificed, before God intervened to provide Abraham with a ram to sacrifice instead. 

Eid prayers are offered in big gatherings followed by the sacrifice of camel, cow, goat and sheeps in the name of Alalh. the meet is distributed among the friends, relatives and a part of it is given to the needy people in the name of Allah. Also before offering the EID prayers , a specified amount is given to the needy people under the law of Islam. This kind of practice not only reduce the poverty level in the society but also promote the sharing of resources, feel the pain of poor and to bring close relationship among the members of the society.


 My friends, IKram khan, Hammad Khan, Arbab Khan, Iqbal Qasim, Bilal Khan, Irfan ud din, ,Tom Uzair ans Waseem lanned to have some fun these two days of celebrations outside Seoul. we together select the place "Danyang" becasue of many reasons, as it was convenient to take some goat from ikram Bhie Ftaher in laws home, also we have opportunity to stay overnight in Dayang Ressort arranged by our friend in quiet lowest prices.






 Yp... We did it with lots of fun.. It was a nice experience cutting th goat like this and then finally enjoying the meet. the Korean family was looking very surprisingly at all our acts, as it was something new for them. the weather was really very pleasant, as it was dizzling all the way.. I know Korean people may not like this weather but for a Pakistani people like us, it was the best weather for hang out... So every body was enjoying it a lot.




Every one of us did their job, it was  a collecetive effort to campture and Halal the goat and the role of " BAGWAN" was also pretty nice. as he was the one who just capture the gaot and let it down like a hen,,..hahahhahha it was amazing,, Iqbal Qasim and Irfan were just afrai , however they were showing to be strong..hahahah.




Soon after the cutting od meet into small pieces, every body got  anew job to make what so ever he can.. Like Thikka boti, Karhaie, Pulao... and each of us was so hungry that one can just imagine.. specially the look of mmmet and food made us more crazy.. 



 Arbab the specialist of Pulao made some tasty Pakistani rice,, Bilal, made his Karhaie and that was a bit salty but good enough to cope with of hunger.. Hammad and his team made the thikka..that was some thing very special .. oooh I have still slive in my mouth..:)




 We were so tired after the lunch,,, and specially after the lost of hunger.. It was the time when we feel ..ooh we did a great job..:) so every body was just like this ... hahaha.. although still a hard job was remaining to go to our residence.. but finally we did it.


 we had fun , talking  alot, as we always do..:)  gossiping, sharing our experiences.. and much more.


 Irfan ud Din , our friend is very famous for his Rice making skills,,, We had a number of discussions on this topic , however i didnt know about the story behind the scene.. But When i came o know about it,, I have a fun with all other friends.. Irfan made some delicious Rice for dinner,, and he put all his energy and skills to made it tasty and he had  a success..

 We had a fun over night.. Went for looking cookies around..  But everybody had eaten too much..so were not able to eat..or might be afraid of one other,, that they can say,,ooh he is eating too much..how mean he is..:)
 next morning we had a tea from Iqbal Qasim,,although he did well,, but no body like that tea...hahahha and he was angry for that. We had a visit to Danyang river, the forzn river at that time..and it was really nice to walk on it.. Its my first time i had a walk on frozen river,,and i enjoyed it in real terms. :)


 we also have  visit to the caves of Danyang which are very famous for its historical existence.. We had a fun all the way making movie and enjoying the commentry by all..:)
 Finally It wa stime to go back home as tomorrow we have labs, and work..so we took our back to Hanyang... It was awesome trip and I am gonna remember it for ever..:)

Sunday, 18 September 2011

Caribbean bay





Summer is at peak these days in Korea. People want to get relax by playing in water and get some cool to done. Everybody is looking forward for Caribbean bay. The other plus point is that summer vacations are in and it’s really a time to go out from the busy life of Seoul and enjoy something new and something interesting.






 It was the only motto behind our visit to Caribbean bay August 8,2012. I along with my Pakistani friends enjoyed that trip very much.The address of Caribbean bay is Gyeonggi-do Yongin-si Pogok-eup Jeondae-ri 310. It is a part of Ever land theme park. One can not only enjoy swimming and water amusement rides, but can also relax in hot spring waters all year round. 





They offer a nice picking facility from the bus stop, These are lemosine buses travelling after each 5 minutes and the destination is also 5 minutes away from the work place.The seats are quite comfortable,  However some times there are many people so you need to stand while travelling. Anyways you can enjoy those  5 minutes of travel even if you are standing,,




The water park has various facilities, such as the indoor and outdoor pools, a spa, a sauna, a wave pool, and slides like the Water Bobsleigh. The water park is a favorite family destination. Caribbean Bay Water Park has been designed with a Caribbean theme, and it is the largest water park in the world. 





One of the most popular attractions in the water park is the Wave Pool where you can experience strong waves similar to those of the Caribbean Sea. People are really get excited with this kind of experience. I along with my friends also have a lot of fun in this part of Caribbean bay..



Actually Caribbean Bay is part of Everland theme park. Here, not only can you enjoy swimming and water amusement rides, but you can also relax in hot spring waters all year round. The water park has various facilities, such as the indoor and outdoor pools, a spa, a sauna, a wave pool, and slides like the Water Bobsleigh. The water park is a favorite family destination.


Caribbean Bay Spa contains various hot spring pools and sauna facilities. The Jasmine Tea Spa is believed to make women more beautiful, the Lemon Spa relieves fatigue, and the Jade-crusted sauna is also beneficial for your health. With the Caribbean Bay pass, you can use all these facilities. 



The Kid’s Pool is shallow and has been specially designed to ensure child safety. Its design is pastel-colored and inspired by children’s books. There are various water toys available so children can have fun in the water. The infants’ pool is even shallower, so parents can introduce their babies to water in a comfortable environment. Although the pool is very shallow for adults, it is a perfect place for parents and kids to have fun together. 

 Relax Room has massage machines and “relax capsules” for adults. Visitors can also receive an aromatherapy massage. In relax rooms you can stay for a while along with your friends and family. You also have the opportunity to spent some free moments.








 It was really fun to play at Caribbean bay with my friends. We have enjoyed every part of Caribbean bay, and have the best Sauna and steam room. We spend around 5 hours in Caribbean bay . the location and facilities provided at Caribbean bay are awesome.











Address
Gyeonggi-do Yongin-si Pogok-eup Jeondae-ri 310
Available Facilities
Life vests, beach chairs, towels, lockers, etc, can all be rented for a security deposit and rental fee. The security deposit is returned to you upon your return of the rented items. Swimsuits and water caps are mandatory inside Caribbean Bay and can be rented from June to August. It is highly advisable to wear a safety vest when entering the Wave Pool and it is mandatory to wear a safety vest for inside the red line. The yellow line area is a place where frequent collisions happen.
Operating Hours
10:30 - 19:00
Local Transportation
* By bus 
# 5002 at Gangnam and Yangjae station, # 1500 at Seoul Nat'l Univ. of Education, # 6000 at Suwon station