Sungkyunkwan Univeristy Logo on the Earth

Alaköl Audani bearing a very close resemblance to the Sungkyunkwan University Logo
I was browsing the Earth as you do (or at least as I do) following this tweet from Tim Peake on board the ISS:

Tims tweet
While trying to locate those mountains I zoomed in on a rather intriguing formation which looked like a bit of human engineering - it was indeed a river delta which has been massively utilised for farming right in the far reaches of the east of Kazakhstan near the border with China. I then realised that the formation looked quite like a ginkgo leaf which is the logo for my Father-in-law's university in South Korea - Sungkyunkwan (also the oldest). Sadly when I checked the logo online I realised that the land formation is instead the mirror reflection of the logo. Here they are side by side. For your interest the geographic coordinates are: 46.040012N, 81.036736E near the town of Alaköl Audani

Alaköl Audani bearing a very close resemblance to the Sungkyunkwan University Logo

Purple/blue calendula on the slopes of a Jeju Volcano, South Korea

This glorious bright blue flower (some type of daisy or calendula?) was on the Korean island of Jeju, which is a volcanic playgroud. Something like 130 volanoe cones in an island not much bigger than the Isle of Wight. A fabulous place to visit, also for the tasty and cheap satsumas that grow there and the island culture which is quite different from mainland Korea.

blue daisy on a volcano on Jeju Island in Korea

at least I think it's some sort of daisy (or perhaps calendar)

Jeju Island is littered with extinct cones, a geographers playground
2014-11-22

Forget the Balsamic

This combination is almost divine - light soy and sesame oil. Wrap rice and some raw vegetables (ideally include pickled radish) in seaweed leavers and then dip it in this and enjoy. Mouth joy. Note that the sesame oil should be good quality - not the typical rubbish you find in the Amoy range at Sainsburys - just like with olive oil, the oil quality is paramount.

oil and soy - the Asian equivalent of balsamic vinegar and olive oil
2014-11-10

Futuristic Seoul

Seoul looking like something out of Blade Runner.
So futuristic.

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