Twilight

Twilight near Hoehyeon Station.
Central Seoul.

Christmastime

Christmas tree in lobby of Millennium
Seoul Hilton Hotel.

Swinging Santa.

Millennium Seoul Hilton Christmas train scenery.

Christmas train.

Nativity scene.

N Seoul Tower from entrance to
Millennium Seoul Hilton.

Christmas tree at Seoul Plaza.

Ice skating rink at Seoul Plaza with City Hall
in the left background.

Winter's Chill

The chill of winter settling in over the Korean peninsula can at times bring on a yearning for the warmer days of summer.

Women sit and visit.
Seoul Iris Garden near Dobongsan Station.
North Seoul.

Women and pink parasol.

Observing dragonfly on woman's hand.
Seoul Iris Garden.

Feeding fish.
Namsangol Hanok Village.
Seoul.

Rental bikes and young woman
on periphery of Yeouido Park near Han River.
Central Seoul.
 

Hwagyesa Temple

Iljumun Gate at entrance to temple grounds.
Gangbuk-gu, Seoul.

Hwagyesa Temple.

On temple grounds.

The temple on a late autumn, Sunday afternoon.

Bronze bell.

 

Intricate eaves of Hwagyesa.

Buddhist prayer beads.

Icons.

Temple grounds stream.

Fallen leaves.

Leaving temple grounds through
Iljumun Gate.

A Grand Lady Passes

This morning, we were saddened to learn of the passing of a dear, beloved aunt.  She possessed an unsurpassable elegance and abundant grace.  She brightened any room she entered.  Although she would surely scoff at such a notion, I always thought her arrival at a gathering should have been heralded by trumpets.  Something good was about to happen.

She was noble and dignified, and yet, at the same time, humble and unassuming.  Her dry wit was uncanny and spot-on.  She was a master of the gentle ribbing followed by a flash of smile and a wink of the eye.  I found her and her delightful mannerisms deeply endearing.

As John Donne noted long ago, any death diminishes us all.  I'd probably add, some more so than others.

Emart

Emart retail store through bus window.
Yeoju, Korea.

First Snow

First accumulating snowfall of the new winter season.
Kids actually had to pocket their cell phones
so they could use both hands to pack snowballs...

...while men cleaned up.

Forget-Me-Not

At Yeoju, South Korea bus terminal following a Sunday afternoon
of visiting and instructing North Korean refugee children
at Mulmangcho (Forget-Me-Not) School in
rural Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province.

On return bus from Yeoju to Seoul.
What time does the Packer game kick off
on the big screen?

Serenity Now

It's good to find a place to linger and listen.  I prefer places that wrap me in silence tinged with subtle sounds.  Wind in treetops, gurgling water, chirping birds.  I don't even mind an occasional human intruder if on the same quest.  Maybe we exchange a slight nod and knowing smile in passing, but nothing more.

I've wanted to check out the Suyu Junction area for some time now.  It's situated a few kilometers northwest of us.  Quite close, but we just never had the time or motive to head that way.

"Junction" in Seoul implies hubbub and ado.  It's busy up that way, maybe busier down the other way, and it's a madcap rush of mankind and machines where they all collide at the junction.  You really need to be alert to emerge unscathed.

In looking at a map, what fascinated me about Suyu Junction was its proximity to the mountains.  Deongneung-ro heads west from Suyu and becomes Hwagyesa-ro before ending at the border of Bukhansan National Park.  A dead end implies either peril or something really good lies ahead.  The map indicated a Buddhist temple.  Surely, peril was thwarted.

Stacey and I rode up from Miasamgeori on the subway and emerged like subterranean critters from Suyu Station.  From a city point of view, Suyu is impressive.  We were greeted by a broad avenue, spacious sidewalks, and glitzy commercial high-rises.  All the trappings of a busy junction were present: honking horns, weaving scooters, a multitude of buses coming and going, street vendors, people on the go.  We could easily have passed the late afternoon and early evening there, but the allure of the dead end pulled us westward.

Deongneung-ro from Suyu Junction heading west is a delightful city street.  Narrower than the other streets feeding the junction, it is lined with mature broadleaf maple trees.  Traffic is relatively light and appealing shops and businesses entice the passerby.  I had to drag Stacey past one floral shop.

The incline steepens approaching the end of the route.  Iljumun Gate, which stands as the gateway to Hwagyesa Temple, comes into view.  Traffic flow is reduced to a slow trickle and the world has taken on hushed tones.  Hikers descending the heights of Bukhansan are largely silent as they pass through the temple grounds.  Even dogs seem to know not to yap.  A stark contrast to the clatter and clang just ten minutes back down the road.

The temple grounds and the trails branching off to the high country are serene.  The limbs of tall trees sway in the breeze and clear, spring fed water speaks softly as it courses its way to lower ground.  A slab of stone seems a comforting place to sit and let time pass.  The same perch that in a parlor at home would elicit groans of  "man, this is hard as a rock" seems fine.  Hardships are softened and life's sharp edges are dulled out here.

I've come across places in my lifetime which draw me back, time and time again.  Quite often, they are seemingly solemn places a bit off the beaten path.  Many are relatively uninhabited in contrast to their nearby environs.  Must be something in my genes.  Maybe it's the spirituality of a curmudgeon.

Nothing lasts forever.  We all live out the chapters of our lives as change unfolds around us.  But, for most of my lifetime, I was well acquainted with a particular forty acre wood that I often visited.

There, I enjoyed walking silently on soft, spongy layers of decaying pine straw below towering, old white pines.  Naturally free of dense undergrowth and low hanging limbs, it was cathedral-like in its grandeur.  I lingered and loitered there.

For a span of many years, I frequented a favorite trout stream where I liked the feel of cold, black water surging and pressing against my hip boots as I waded the meandering ribbon of creek through a tunnel of dense alders.

I've known special mountain haunts where I gleefully tolerated the pain in my calves as I hiked uphill in search of higher ground and a better view.  We've all encountered such places that elate and rejuvenate our senses of spirit and well-being.

The woods and waterways surrounding Hwagyesa Temple impart that same, good feeling to me.  I'll be back.

Taking it to the Street

Man working in front of shop.
Near Mia Junction, Seoul.

Looking Good

Well clad hikers just hanging out near
the Dobongsan Entrance
to Bukhansan National Park.
North Seoul.

Lady and the Tramp

The lady, posing in her favorite milieu,
wishes everyone back
in the States a happy Thanksgiving.

Just out bummin' around Seoul.

Tale of Two Cities

People on the go.
The hustle and bustle of the city can at times
seem a blur...

...other times, not so much.
Elderly men sit
and reflect.

Bed & Breakfast

Recently, we stumbled upon this charming guest house in a hilly, terraced neighborhood of Seongbuk.  I found it photo-worthy.

The Open Guest House B&B.
Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.

Street view alongside the inn.

Looking down on rooftops from street
running past the inn.

Rooftop garden.

View back down street after passing the inn.

Seoul Lantern Fest 2012

The 4th annual Seoul Lantern Festival along the Cheonggye Stream was on display from November 2nd through the 18th.  "Seoul's Roots, the Lifestyles of Our Ancestors" was the 2012 theme.

We took it all in on the first Saturday of November.  Viewers began to trickle into the area at dusk.  After dark, the trickle became a torrent, as long lines of people waited patiently to descend from street level to the stream walkway, which afforded them a close-up look of the lanterns.

Near Cheonggye Plaza, at the headwaters
of the stream.

At dusk, before the arrival of
throngs of people.

Overhead lantern.

Still early in the evening, looking downstream as
the streamside walkways begin
to fill with people.

Ancestral lore on display.



Kite flyers.



Woman and child viewing the spectacle
from street level.

After dark, the walkways are teeming with people.

One of the larger lanterns.

Leaping fish on display stand with
suspended swimming fish.



Lantern tunnel on bridge over the stream.

These three young gentlemen asked Stacey to take a snapshot
of them with their camera.
They proved to be fine judges of beauty as they
told me I was handsome.

Lantern panorama on Cheonggye Plaza.