Tag Archives: cats

January 9, 2016

Went to Seomyeon.

fish-IMG_1249Saw fish drying on the sidewalk near Ion City.

Watched Youth (2015) directed by Paolo Sorrentino at CGV Arthouse. Requires a second viewing.

Bought a Korean/Japanese/Chinese picture dictionary at Kyobo and The Talmud (condensed) at Aladin 알라딘.

cat-IMG_1256 Met this grumpy old cat at a stationary store. Bought some red and blue Japanese marking pens.cat-IMG_1258Had a chimichanga and quesadilla at Bibcock, a small little Mexican joint run by a mother and her daughter.

A cat named Karen~ respuesta de memoria

A cat named Karen~ respuesta de memoria

Madre: Lo unico del pequeño bullshit de tu parte, era que era una de esas casa super antiguas. Subimos por una escalera oscura y angosta hasta el segundo o tercer piso y ahi entre varias piezas habia una con la puerta cerrada. En la pieza vacia habia una mama con varios gatitos chicos y una ventana abierta que daban a los techos. (en todo caso por no saber de naturaleza, jamas aprendio a escalar arboles).

En Los Andes, la casa y patio eran tan grande para ella despues de haberse criado en una pequeña pieza it somewhat freaked her out y se mantuvo en la cocina en alto, sobre mesones, sobre refrigerador, por eso aprendio tan rapido a abrir el freezer.

Fall in Ulsan 蔚山 and a cat named Karen

Sunday, November 15. We took a city bus north to Ulsan, about 1.5 hours from Banyeo-dong. We had ourselves some lunch.
fries-DSC_0944Fries.chicken-DSC_0956Spicy chicken and beer. chicken-DSC_0948We walked around Munsu Football Stadium to see the fall foliage.   
leaves-fall-DSC_1008
We saw 단풍 leaves. (Asian Maple 紅葉). leaves-DSC_0965 reflections-ulsan-DSC_1009People fed 비단잉어 at Ok-dong ji.cat-ulsan-DSC_1049A tomcat snacked on scraps outside a bubble tea shop. puppy-DSC_1055Later that night in Busan, an old man got on bus 80 near PNU. He was carrying a large paper shopping bag. While he stood near the back doors in the crowded bus, the bag’s bottom ripped open and a puppy fell onto the bus floor. The puppy looked dazed. The man picked up the puppy and put a finger to his mischievous smile.  Over 25 years ago, I went with my mom and dad to Valparaiso. My dad was selling his mother’s house on Cerro Mariposa. After doing his tramites at the notaria, we walked up a hill to a big house that was giving away kittens. My dad used to say gatos porteños were la ultima chupa del mate in terms of cats. We had to get a new one in Valparaiso as the last of our porteño cats had passed away. According to him, these gatos porteños were among the best roof crawlers in the world and had most likely descended from a fine lineage of British cats brought to the port by Lord Cochrane during the early days the Chilean War of Independence. So the cat lady at the big house lead us down a long corridor and opened a white room with a high ceiling and the floor covered with newspapers. The cats were all over. It smelled of piss and shit. I picked a black and white cat that had batman mask fur markings and a mustache. My dad shoved the cat inside a blue bolsa de feria. The cat was not happy. Back on the plano of the port we hailed a trole and rode around the city with the cat growling from the bag. Because the cat had attempted several escapes while in transit, my dad folded the bag around the cat so the whole package looked like a pissed off blue salchicha. In Los Andes, my mom christened the cat Karen after her own sister. Karen the Cat lived a peaceful life on the roof of our house until her death in the early 2000s.karen-reflection

Cities on the Han

Saturday, September 26. Seoul to Chunju along the Namhangang bike path.

I take the night Mugunghwa train to Seoul. I arrive at 4:30 am and begin biking south towards the Han. I pass the high walls of the American military base, and the Dragon Hill neighborhood.

jangseung-stone-seoul_DSC_8673I reach the river sometime after 5am.

haetae_seoul-DSC_8694A Haetae 獬豸near Hangang Bridge.
As I cross the bridge, I hear a siren and look back. A small convoy of emergency vehicles enter the bridge behind me. They drive slowly. I dismount my bike and walk to the edge of the bridge. The water below is an empty field of darkness framed by a constellation of hovering window lights kept on by an army of hardworking Koreans.
From around an island, an emergency response speedboat floats quickly in my direction. It scans the water with a searchlight. They seem to be looking for someone.
speedboat_DSC_8711I travel east. The sun begins to uncover the city.
seoul-morning-DSC_8737Twenty seven bridges cross the Han in Seoul.
seoul-lotte-tower_DSC_8743Up ahead the unfinished Lotte World Tower rises in the morning haze.
monsters_on_the_banks_of_the_hanDSC_8758Kilometers beyond the capital, camouflaged creatures meet me at the banks of the Han.
han-river_DSC_8776A city on the Han.
han-river-DSC_8782Gun emplacements guarding the waterway against possible northern aggression.
han-bike-path-DSC_8789bridge_han-river-DSC_8798bridge-iron-train-han-DSC_8803
cat-at-cafe_hanriver_DSC_8813Lunch time. A cat and bikers outside a cafe near Paldang Bridge 八堂大橋.
fliers-on-the-road-DSC_8836Plenty of small roadkill along the path.
tunnel_han_DSC_8845Railroad tunnels turned into bike tunnels.
camels_han-river_DSC_8851Camels in the Korean wilderness.
korean-flag-tree-DSC_8855Nationalist trees.
branch-han-river-DSC_8862Trees with tiny purple pumpkins.
sotdae-jangseung-han-river-DSC_8866Jangseung 長承 and Sotdae at Ipobo weir.

hill-river-DSC_8879
jangseung-DSC_8888Jangseung in twisted anguish doing their best to keep demons at bay.
Jangseung-DSC_8905jangseung-DSC_8912
jangseung-DSC_8925

river-tree-island-DSC_8938The day ends at Chungju Tangeumdae, about 120 km from Paldang Bridge.