TRAVELLIVE 3-2016
Getting up as the first rays of sun enter my room, I can feel in the air that the days of bitter cold and damp have passed and that days of warmth and sunshine are upon us. Good weather is a lucky sign for my upcoming journeys with friends. In this century of technology and high-speed connections, you can travel around the world with the click of a mouse. All the data you could ever want to form an itinerary, from the cuisine to the cultural development of the land, are on your screen immediately upon typing a few characters into the search box. But how long will this stay with you? The things you have just seen, the dreamlands of your fantasies, all fade away someday. Few things in life are more inevitable.
Getting up as the first rays of sun enter my room, I can feel in the air that the days of bitter cold and damp have passed and that days of warmth and sunshine are upon us. Good weather is a lucky sign for my upcoming journeys with friends.
In this century of technology and high-speed connections, you can travel around the world with the click of a mouse. All the data you could ever want to form an itinerary, from the cuisine to the cultural development of the land, are on your screen immediately upon typing a few characters into the search box. But how long will this stay with you? The things you have just seen, the dreamlands of your fantasies, all fade away someday. Few things in life are more inevitable.
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Ideal places to<br />
celebrate the<br />
cherry blossom<br />
season<br />
The two most talked<br />
about places to<br />
welcome the cherry<br />
blossom season are<br />
Gyeongju and Busan.<br />
114<br />
<strong>TRAVELLIVE</strong><br />
Cherry blossom season<br />
When spring returns to Korea, flowers, after<br />
months of being dormant, bloom again like in<br />
any other place. Cherry blossoms here cover the<br />
mountainsides, haules of stream and roadsides<br />
with its pinkish white petals. Depending on the<br />
weather, cherry trees might flower as late as<br />
March or April.<br />
The whole tree turns into a mass of delicate pink<br />
or white cherry blossom petals. Let’s all imagine<br />
for a moment that we’re wandering under<br />
the cherry trees and a gentle breeze carrying<br />
the sweet floral fragrance causes a shower of<br />
cherry blossoms to fall upon us. The scene is<br />
so wonderful that we are forced to look up in<br />
amazement at what we see: The grey sky is gone<br />
and in its place now are the warmly pinkish white<br />
petals. What a scene!<br />
Cherry trees grow almost everywhere around<br />
Korea. Each region has its own festivals to<br />
celebrate the coming of spring, but particularly<br />
the arrival of cherry blossom season. Family,<br />
friends, and couples walk under the flourishing<br />
trees in the cool weather of early spring, then<br />
settle somewhere to enjoy tea amidst the beauty of<br />
nature.<br />
Come to Gyeongju, slow down<br />
in the tranquil atmosphere here,<br />
and contemplate the ancient<br />
beauty of the old capital. The two<br />
colors adorning Gyeongju’s spring<br />
inauguration are the warm yellow of colza<br />
flowers and the subtly pink white of the cherry<br />
blossoms. Watching cherry flowers in such a<br />
solemn scene as the Silla’s ancient capital is so<br />
different from doing so in one of Korea’s bustling<br />
cities. The serene Bomun Lake with the famous<br />
Bomun gazebo is a common favorite. Relax and<br />
savor the beauty of the cherry trees reflected in the<br />
lake. Feel the gentle movement of cherry petals<br />
falling down, and you’ve already taken part in a<br />
most delightful experience.<br />
Busan and Jeju, are the first places in Korea that<br />
welcome the cherry blossom season. There are<br />
several cherry-shaded streets to stroll down during<br />
these cool spring days. Imagine again you are<br />
walking on a street lined with cherry trees with<br />
a light wind grazing your hair. Can you feel the<br />
slight tickle of the pink cherry petals trickling<br />
down from the trees onto your skin? The most<br />
beautiful places to observe the cherry blossoms<br />
are Haeundae Dalmaji Street, Oncheon Park,<br />
the coastline in Igidae Park, Samnak Park, and<br />
Namcheon-dong cherry street.<br />
The list couldn’t be complete without mentioning<br />
Jeju Island - “the kingdom of flowers”. Cherry<br />
flowers here have larger petals than in other<br />
places. For this reason, they are called King<br />
Cherries. On Jeju Island, you can stroll down<br />
roads either lined entirely with cherry trees or by<br />
cherry on one side and yellow colza on the other.
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