The baby obi and other tales

i went to deoksugung palace on a rainy, rainy day (thus the debut of the super cute umbrella). chaka, i waited till the sun was shining before leaving the hotel. when i stepped out of the metro at city hall, it looked like this.

to grab lunch and escape the rain, i ducked into dunkin donuts, which is not the sad fluorescent-lit 2.5 sqm store that it is back home. in korea they're like starbucks in size and product offerings, and just about as ubiquitous. 

as i was having my sugar-filled lunch (see above), i spotted a woman across the street trying to hail a cab. at first i thought it was odd that she was wearing an obi with house clothes.

until she turned around and revealed a baby tied to her back!

i've heard of baby slings and baby harnesses, but hindi ko kinaya ang baby obi! there are no buckles or straps or anything! it's just fabric tied around her waist. the baby just looked so cute and clueless with its bare feet dangling a few feet off the ground.

deoksugung looked kinda like gyeongbokgung. 

except smaller and with this mini white house-esque building.

so for me, not really worth slogging through the rain for. before i left, i did manage to squeeze in a couple of shots that i liked, such as the wooden screens on the windows...

this pine-lined and puddle-pocked path (i love alliteration, don't you?)...

and my favorite, raindrops dripping off the pine needles.