The pic above is from one of the two temples I visited today. They were both amazing. And it was especially meaningful to me as I have been dipping my toe into the pool of buddhist practices - and enjoying it.
The first temple was the Bongeunsa - which was a short walk from my hotel. It was founded in 794 - so it is among the oldest here in Seoul. It has been Korea's leading temple since 1550 and represents Korea's past 1200 years of history and tradition (that was straight out of the tour pamphlet).
The Buddha's birthday is next month, so the temples and city are preparing. One way they celebrate is to hang these paper lanterns at the temples and throughout the city. Each one represents the specific wish of an individual. I liked that.
Here are some more pics from the Bongeunsa...
And below is a pic of that tall statue just above - but taken from my hotel. You can see that Bongeunsa is sitting right in the middle of Seoul on probably some of the most expensive real estate in the world...
After I did my early morning visit to that temple, I met up with co-workers from the states and here in Korea and we went to a great shopping area - Insadong. Great because it was a street full of traditional food and crafts. Here is the street.
I founds several things i really liked. More on that another day. But here are some more pics from Insadong...
After shopping, we went to another old Temple - the Jogyesa. It is the largest shrine in Seoul.
It really had a celebratory feel today - as people were decorating and rehearsing traditional dances...
And I just love this pic with the sun peeking through. You can see the handwritten wishes on each of the lamps...
More pics - if you can stand it - at my flickr account...here.
Beautiful pics. I want to do a temple tour of Kyoto and looks I'll have to swing by Seoul as well.
Posted by: Manu | April 26, 2008 at 09:21 AM
Very beautiful photos!
Posted by: T-Train | April 21, 2008 at 10:22 AM
Great captures :-)
Posted by: Anthony | April 20, 2008 at 04:07 PM