Out and about: Killing time

Yesterday I found myself with three hours to go before work and desperate to avoid going back to my computer again. I decided to take the time out to enjoy the decent weather and try to appreciate the surroundings of Autumn. I took my camera with me as I usually do and tried to picture what I would be seeing. I was surprised with how well the results came out.

The first thing to mention is the beautiful blue sky. No clouds in sight, very sunny. I can only imagine how dull and colourless back home in England will be right now. Omnipresent grey filling the skies, depressing all but the few. Though apartment buildings dominate large parts of the skyline here they cannot block out everything.


The slogan for Daegu (my city of residence) is Colorful Daegu, which is a bit ironic as it is far from the truth. Most times. However as these photographs illustrate, Autumn is a very rewarding season. The trees which can be found lining most roads right now are striking.

The area I live in is dominated by some close-by mountains and hills. The one which is closest is called Unamgee. Many times have I gone hiking there and always have I enjoyed myself. I prefer to go alone with my MP3 player for company, sometimes for exercise and sometimes for pleasure. These days, despite going to Hapkido, I feel out of shape and the change of weather makes it perfect to get out there and maybe have some fun too. So I decided to go hiking again and here are some of the things that I saw.



There are probably hundreds of ways to go up this hill/mountain and I don't think I even hike all the way to the top but the way I go in enjoyable and familiar and eliminates the chances of stumbling. The way up is steeper than the pictures suggest, but we can also see there are places where you can take a well earned breather. As you can see the sun is extremely bright so I had no idea how good/bad photos would be.


I wonder what the rock-piles like this mean. Perhaps nothing. The surrounding trees allied with the sunlight make for an enjoyable hike though the shadows do make it easier to lose your balance when walking but equally more enjoyable.



I have reached the top of my hike. It didn't take too long, maybe twenty five minutes or so but as most of it was very steep my legs were burning at times. A chance to sit down if needed and also to see part of the area I live and work in. As you can see its not just people of my age who can go hiking here.



The walk down is more treacherous because of the consequences of falling but again that makes it more interesting. I have slipped here many times though never doing myself much harm. Again another place to rest and appreciate the brilliant sunshine and your surroundings or perhaps just to think by yourself.



The journey home is not over. I have to walk past an outdoor gym where middle aged Koreans exercise in the fresh air. A good idea I think, when it's not too cold. Again I wonder if this could ever happen back home.




And still not away from Unamgee as there is a man-made lake with some fish to be found and fountains sometimes spraying jets of water (though there is not much to do ON the lake). People of all ages come here at various times during the week. Weekends are pretty packed too so I tend to go hiking, when I do, during the mornings. Autumn is clearly here and it won't be long before Winter displaces the colours from view, so time to enjoy.

By now the battery had ran out of power on my camera. Time to go home again and then to work with a smile on my face.