The Pond at Changdeok Palace

I'm a little downtrodden as I add these photos, quite possibly the worst of the bunch. This was the most beautiful of the tour: the ponds, and the colours didn't photograph well. I'm probably using the camera wrong or something. It was rather bright...maybe the ultra bright sunlight isn't easily combated. Anyway, I am sure you can absorb some of this magnificence from the rear gardens of this palace.

The whole place was just bursting with possibility. Practically every plant (aside from those who had already taken the plunge) was ready and waiting to bloom. I'm sure if we could capture the potential energy in each one of those buds, we could have powered the world for a few hours. It was remarkable. Here, the fabulous forsythia blooms on the left (lordy, do they have some fine forsythia in Korea!), the cherry blossoms take up most of the pond's opposite bank, and three girls sit among these nearly budding pink flowers, taking it all in. What a day.

One of my favourite shots. The trees are almost there...almost fully alive with leaves. It's a remarkable time of year.

Again, with the old men.

In fact, I was so enamoured, I asked someone to shoot this one of me.