South Korea
September 2015
Seoul
Changing of the guard at Deoksugung Palace…
Jogyesa Temple...
Learning to make
lanterns… She couldn’t speak English, but she
made up for it by cracking the whip!
Streets of Seoul…
Eat street in Seoul…
Crazy Korean ice cream…
Joining the Korean
language tour at Jongmyo Shrine... We assume the
stories were interesting.
Changgyeonggung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace…
These animal figures
represent the importance of the building…
The traditional houses of
Bukchon Hanok Village…
Gyeongbok Palace…
Kimchi jars in the
grounds of Gyeongbok Palace…
Museum of Modern and
Contemporary Art …
This installation is by
Leandro Erlich. If you look carefully, you will see
that the reflections are not real…
Leeum gallery, designed by
three architects…
Anish Kapoor sculptures…
Dongdaemun Design Plaza, designed
by Zaha Hadid…
Gwangjang Market…
Pig’s head… anybody?
The architecture of
Gangnam (of Style fame)…
Jinan
Maisan Provincial Park, named
after the horse (maisan) ear peaks…
Tapsa Temple, within Maisan… These stone pinnacles were built by a Buddhist
layman
over a 30 year period from the late 1800’s…
Cheeky chipmunk taking
advantage of the offerings to the gods…
Waiting for the bus at
the bustling Jinan bus station…
Jeonju
The preserved Hanok village of Jeonju…
Handmade paper…
Hwaeomsa Temple, Jirisan National
Park
Templestay (overnight) at the
beautiful Hwaeomsa Temple in the mountains…
We were provided with
temple outfits for the duration of our stay (right hand over left!)…
Tea ceremony and
hand-made bracelets…
Serene and mesmerising
evening chanting by the resident monks…
Ssanggyesa Temple, Jirisan National
Park
Evening drumming…
Order two dishes, get
nineteen (mostly unidentifiable pickled products)!
This is what a lifetime
of sleeping/working on the floor does to you…
Order two dishes, get 18…
Haeinsa Temple, Gayasan National
Park
Hike up Namsanjeildong peak…
Hotel owner ladies making
kimchi (back breaking work on the floor!)…
Gyeongju
Our beautiful little
guesthouse (Gallery Jin Hanok)
for a few nights…
Gyeongju, dubbed “the museum
without walls”, is surrounded by these Tumuli. They are tombs
of past kings, similar purpose as the pyramids of Giza…
Gingko fruit…
The former Anapji Palace…
Bulguksa Temple…
Our home for 8 hours,
heading north…
Seoraksan National Park
After a long day on the
bus, a lack of pubs in the tiny town of Osaek didn’t
stop
us from having a beer in the sunshine at the corner store…
A spectacular gorge walk…
Korean bbq… and a few pickled side dishes…
Seoul
Back in Seoul…
One last visit to Jogyesa Temple…
