속리산 (Songnisan)

So this past weekend was really special...we got to travel to Songnisan National Park, visit a Buddhist temple, stay in a nice hotel, eat lots of delicious food (I'm calling this my fat weekend), and relax. We've been so busy the past two weeks that I didn't even anticipate how much of a relief it would be to just sleep all day on Saturday! Anyway, immediately upon our arrival we walked over to Beopjusa Temple, which houses a 5-story original wooden pagoda with a temple inside as well as a bronze Buddha statue which is the tallest free-standing Buddha in Asia. Wow! Check out these pictures.

We also got to see the monks perform the evening drum ceremony. It was really incredible. The whole place was really beautiful, and on top of all that, I realized that I had been there before! Apparently Songnisan was one of my grandfather's favorite places in the world. I've probably been there more than once, actually, but I only remember the last time. I remember Justin running around in the sand. He was just a little kid. At first I questioned whether it was the one I'd been to, since there is another large Buddha statue at a different temple, but then my friend told me that it looked different, and was not sandy. So i was sure! Then of course, my mom confirmed for me :) It was very exciting to return to somewhere in Korea I've already been to.






















Here are some more pictures of the temple grounds, and of our hotel room. We stayed at the Lake Hills Hotel, where they provided us with floor mats to sleep on, Korean cable TV, which we found endlessly entertaining, and a buffet WESTERN-STYLE BREAKFAST both mornings. AMAZING. I have to say, I love Korean food but kimchi and pap in the morning gets a little old.






























































So, the next day (Saturday), it poured. We were warned not to go hiking because of a typhoon warning. So instead of following our ambitious plans of hiking up the mountain, we stayed inside all day and watched Korean TV, only emerging twice: for lunch and dinner. I have to say, it was excellent to take a well-deserved break. Surprisingly, it was sunny on Sunday morning, although more rain had been expected. We had yet another delicious meal, and then the bus headed back to Chuncheon. Overall, the food was great, the setting was beautiful (aside from the torrential rain), our hosts were generous and very nice, and it was a great weekend. Very relaxing.

Now I am paying for it, though! Today I started tagging along with the people in the taekwondo workshop to use a room in the gym to do yoga. I'm horribly out of shape because we've had barely any free time to breathe, let alone work out. So now I'm trying to fight the fat weekend I just had by doing yoga, which I think will help with my general sanity level. I already feel better.

So I think it's really time I got back to my lesson planning and filling out of forms...yay!