Eunhasa....

Mr Chirtoca joined us in Gimhae again very late on Friday night and the guys opted for another stay at the Jimjirbang, meanwhile I decided to crash in my own bed so stayed home.

On Saturday Park dissapeared to a friend's wedding so Mr Chirtoca, Ki Tae and I dropped him off at the bus station and headed off to entertain ourselves....

After a late breakfast we made a quick stop back at the dojang where we picked up one of our students who had turned up just to hang out and headed off to a temple that we had heard was nearby....

Eunhasa is set on a mountain near Inche University. Once you get to the base of the mountain you move quickly from bustling Uni town to a winding road through peaceful, green forest.



This particular temple site was used in the production of a Korean movie about the Korean Mafia and the strength and indomitable spirit of the monks... You can see why they would use this particular temple from the photos below - it's beautiful!!!

There's a very rough walking track that leads from the carpark up to the temple site itself.....

The first sign of the temple grounds themselves is designated by a beautiful gate....

Then you make your way up the stone stairs (the monks here are part mountain goat - am sure of it)....

Through the pond(?)....

Before coming upon the beautiful structure housing the temple bell.....

The base of which is made up of huge tree trunks....

Then into the main grounds....


The sites for these temples are chosen as much for the geographical beauty as anything else....


The unpainted structures indicate scholarly pursuits....

The gardens are filled with simple lines and beautiful plants.....

The painting of these buildings plays a dual role, not only one of beautification, but also of protection from the elements and from borers.... One month a year is dedicated to the repainting of these buildings, and at every temple site, one monk's role is the repainting itself.....

Nothing like the peace and tranquility of a temple to bring smiles to our faces....

Light Fantastic....

Just a quick photo blog.... This was the light show that I caught some of at the Park Down The Road in Gimhae on my return after Wednesday's Busan trip....

Rememberance Day...

So Wednesday here in Korea was a holiday - Rememberance Day to remember those who died in the Korean War - from both sides..... and as with the stat days at home, that meant that we were closed for business and free to explore....

I had been planning to go to the United Nations Memorial Park with Park, but he thought it would be a bit too formal and stuffy with the politicians around doing the formal memorial thing.... Park was going to be my guide, so we flagged it and I started to think about what else I might do....

Park and Ki Tae had to go to Busan for a meeting with the President who had just returned from Canada, so I decided to tag along for the drive and then head out into Busan for the day.

Of course we started with tea on arrival and a quick run down in rapid Korean of the highlights of the World Champs. The President sang the praises of Mr Banicevich and the 2011 bid team, Master McPhail and of course Mr Van Roon who he was wrapped to find speaking some Korean :-)

After several cups of tea I was asked politely what I was planning to do for the day, so I took the hint and headed out....

One of Mr Brown's students - Jennifer, an English Teacher from Canada - had said to give her a call if I was in town, so I did. We decided to head to Busan Tower which neither of us had seen yet.

It had to be one of the most hot and humid days I can remember so far, and not surprising that the streets and subway were packed, although I think the subway might have been packed because it's airconditioned.....

We arrived at Nampodong and made our way to the street entrance to the tower. Luckily they've installed a series of escalators reminiscent of the Hong Kong Water Park, otherwise we might have flagged the visit and just headed for somewhere cool, but the esclators made the trip up the hill incredibly easy and we were back out in the sunshine in no time.....

At the base of the tower are more sculpted gardens, and today at least, hundreds of people sitting around the edge of the park in the shade of the Gingko trees which who unfortunately you can't see because of the way I took my photos.... Jennifer is a blonde which makes her the star attraction of the day - I thought I got some double takes as a western woman, they just plain stared and pointed at Jennifer!!!!

Anyway - here are some photos of the gardens etc at the base of the tower.....

Busan Tower...

I'd tell you why this bell was here, but all the signs were in Korean....

It was huge and looked cool though... :-)

Another statue of Admiral Yi - he's everywhere! I love this dragon, Jennifer thought he was creepy....

We stepped out of the elevator to a spectacular view.... Mr Brown and I wondered occasionally how the shopkeepers in Busan actually made any money as there seemed to be so many shops selling the same thing over and over and over again no matter where you went..... Well, one look at the view from the tower and you understand how they make their money.... There's 4 million people out there...... And Busan is just a small town...... Ok - so here's the 360 degree view....

Sunday.....

Ok - so have you caught up with Friday and Saturday? Let's talk Sunday......

After an interesting night's sleep in the VERY warm room (reminiscent of Bikram Yoga Ms Miller!!!), we finally emerged from the Jimjirbang a little bleary eyed, but relaxed just the same....

Time for a quick brekky before heading off to Busan to meet up with some friends of Mr Chirtoca's to go exploring....

Where did we end up? Yonggungsa temple, the one that Mr Van Roon rated as one of the most beautiful he had ever seen..... Mr Brown and I had been there before, but the day that we had been it was raining, and it seems I'm a sucker for nice temples, besides, it was a nice day, and the company was great.....

After a wee drive (I say that in the nicest possible way cos the drive was extra long as the guys got lost) we finally made it to the temple which, as it was when Mr Brown and I were there, was teeming with people.....

OK - time for some photos....

In the entrance is a set of statues representing the Asian Astrological Signs, which, for those who don't know, are set by year rather than by month.....















Mr Chirtoca's Asian Astrological Sign is the Snake.....


















Park's is the Horse....



















Ki Tae's is the Monkey (very suitable)....


















I'm a Rabbit.....

Sorry? What's that? You want to see some photos of the actual temple? OK - sure....

This is the view that you first get as you make your way down the stairs.....

If you turn left before you get to the bottom of the stairs, you make your way out to a point on which is a small statue and a beautiful view of the temple from the viewpoint of the sea....

I took this photo when Mr Brown and I were at the temple but didn't post it then as the scaffolding for the lanterns for the upcoming celebrations of Buddha's Birthday didn't look great in the photos..... But I love this dragon and had to post it :-)

Wonder if this guy's happy cos he's well fed, or happy cos the sun's out....

One of the things that I love about all of these temples is the stone carvings.....

Do you think Park's got the makings of a dragon? I think he might be close.....

Anyone recognise this guy? Coloured Belts - check your grading syllabus!!

All in all - another great day here in Korea albeit a long one, we were all pretty fried on the way back into Busan with a number of the crew falling asleep in the van.....

Am going to close this post with a photo of the group of us that were at the temple.... signing off for now!