And Surprise! A Budhist Temple!

My neighborhood is comprised of tall skyscrapers, blinking neon lights advertising bars, little carts everywhere that sell fresh produce, and Korean saunas. I haven`t explored my area thoroughly because I`m the type of girl that craves green space, and so I`ve been hopping on public transit to different parks, zoos, and sports fields in the city. On Sunday, I bought an ice cream cone(green tea flavored, which is surprisingly refreshing) and decided to walk around my area and do a little local sight-seeing.

To my great surprise,I live near some awe-inspiring mountains. They were hiding behind two blocks of skyscrapers and low hanging smog clouds. These mountains are covered in cherry blossoms, elm, and black spruce trees, and look like something out of cliched Disney movie(specifically Mulan). I didn`t have time to hike on Sunday because the sun was setting.

Today after work, I raced home, threw on my running shoes and went off to explore. I hiked for about an hour and then came across a giant marble statue of Budhha, lanterns were strung all around it, and four elderly men were sitting cross-legged in front of it. Twenty minutes later I walked into a grove of cherry blossom trees surrounding huge, ornate, tombstones that were covered in Hangul script. I turned a corner and was astounding to discover eight huge temples covered in painted dragons, script, and flames. A sign near the entrance read World Heritage Sight.

It was also completely desserted save for one old man kneeling on a bamboo mat. I have no idea how, in a city of 2.5 million, a world famous temple could be devoid of visitors. I didn`t question my good luck and explored until just before sunset, reading all of the signs(English signs! I was so excited!) that explained the significance of the temple, which amazingly had been built in the ninth century.

Tomorrow I`ll return and take some photos!