A Walk Through Hahoe...

And here we are in the charming Hahoe Folk Village...

Hahoe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a traditional village that dates to the Joseon Dynasty. The name of the village comes from 'Ha' - a short for river and 'hoe' means to 'turn around, return, come back'...

The village preserves Joseon period-style architecture, folk traditions, valuable books and an old tradition of clan-based villages...

A house from 1836...

A charming house...

A thick straw thatch - for sure it keeps the elements at bay...

What's around the bend?

And here we are at this holy tree - a great 600 years old zelkova tree stands at the highest point in the village...

The tree is called Samsindang in which a goddess called Samsin is believed to reside... 

The goddess ‘Samsin’ governs pregnancy and childbirth. Thus, the tree is known as ‘Samsindang’, and is treated as a sacred place...

A green corner...

Men in traditional attire...

A calligraphist at work...

Charming Hahoe...

A two hour bus ride from Gyeongju brought us to Hahoe Folk Village in Andong...

An interesting ride...

Traditional scarecrows...

And with no birds around, they do seem to do their job very well...

There is a sense of calm in these sprawling ricefields...

All about Hahoe...

But it's hard to get away from the lovely green fields...

Experimenting with shots...

A layout of Hahoe...

And we enter the folk village...

This is like a living musueum - people still live in these traditional houses yet tourists can come and explore the charms of the era gone by...

And the place is famous for masks...

And we hope to see a mask performance later today...

The Splendor Of Anapji...

And the highlight of the day was the visit to the incredibly beautiful Anapji Pond, which us also called Wolji Pond...

On our furst trip here, we vsited the pavillions in the afternoon, but there is a different appeal to the place after sundown...

The lighting adds to the charm of the place...

A view of the pond from the pavillion...

Pretty reflections...

Indeed the prettiest scene...

The still water of the pond made for a near perfect reflection!

The pavillion looks bejewelled...

Reflections...

And I was pleased with myself for that shot!

Now that's beautiful...