"What I Love About Sunday"

After a hectic start to the weekend, and several late night parties the past few weeks, all I wanted to do was relax. Originally, Hwayoung and I planned to hike up Surisan (aka Suri Mountain - yes, san means mountain). But we were both too tired to attempt it this week, and Hwayounga had just got back from a company retreat on Jeju Island where they hiked for 10 hours.

Instead, we got some fruit and veggies and headed out for a relaxing picnic near her apartment at Sindaebang Park. (신대방역) I was so happy she brought me there as I have been looking for a decent park since I arrived. In Seoul there are few places that you can lay out on the grass and be surrounded by nature to relax without getting trampled by other people. Sindaebang Park is HUGE compared to the other parks I've seen here, so we camped out on the large green and just enjoyed a quiet afternoon together.

A view above - all that brown is the park. 

Not a bad size considering there are millions of people around.

 Here is a panoramic view of the main green

click the photos to enlarge

The leaves are slowly starting to change. Come on Autumn!

They have a large pond in the middle of the park, half of it is covered with these ginormous "mutated lilipads" I don't know what else to call them.

I suppose Surisan can wait for us another day, as the leaves are only now just starting to change. I want to hike to the top of the mountain and see the vast array of colors that I love seeing back in New England.

As a side note: Some people have inquired to my camera, so I think I'll post some info on it. (I might have done this already though). I'm shooting with a Canon Powershot G10. Thanks to the recommendation of my friend Rob (an amazing wedding photographer along with his wife Kathleen who you can find at robertandkathleen.com), Also thanks to Rob's advice, I bought the G10 from B&H right before I left for Korea. I admit, it wasn't cheap - but it's worth it compared to most of those crappier models, especially if you're traveling and want to cherish memories.

I couldn't be happier with the outcome. It shoots 6.1-30.55mm, 14.7 Mega-pixels, the zoom is incredible and image stabilization is phenomenal. Video is pretty decent too, and I love the panoramic stitch function as well as the software that Canon provides. I highly recommend this to people who want a decent camera that gives high quality photos but isn't a huge burden to carry around. Even though it's bigger and heavier than I would like to carry, it's worth it compared to strapping a big SLR around my neck.

Here's a rundown of the highlights:

• 14.7 Megapixels
• 5x Optical Zoom Lens (28-140mm)
• 3.0" LCD
• Manual Exposure Control
• High Sensitivity (ISO 1600)
• RAW File Capture
• Optical Image Stabilization
• Advanced Face Detection
• E-TTL Flash Hot Shoe

The only negatives I can think of off the top of my head, is that the shooting speed can be a little slow. I miss a lot of good shots because of speed. Also, when switching to the stitch mode, it recognizes the manual setting - not the automatic, so if my last manual setting shot was over or under exposed, so too will be the panoramic shot I'm trying to take unless I change the manual setting back to normal. (Which I have yet to figure out how to get it back to the default setting).

Anyways, I hope you are all enjoying life back at home! I know I am having a blast here!