Yesterday was the Buddha's Birthday holiday in Seoul, which means a three day weekend and hours of traffic for anyone crazy enough to try and leave the city. It also means that for the past few weeks parts of Seoul have been festooned with lanterns.
The lanterns are quite simple really, nothing fancy, but en masse and in such gorgeously bright colours they have quite a magical effect. It helps that - whilst the date varies year to year - the Buddha's Birthday generally coincides with the mass of fresh green growth and colourful blooms that mark Spring in Seoul.
Cheonggye Stream looks especially wonderful at this time of year. The stream is such a vibrant public space in all seasons, but now that the weather is warming up it's even more so. Crowds of people stroll along in the sunshine, jostling for prime photography positions (it was getting pretty dangerous on the stepping stones at one point!); office workers take a coffee break in the shade of the many bridges; kids throw off their shoes and dip their feet in the cool water as little silvery fish swim by. All in the heart of the city! File this under 'things I will miss about Korea'.
