Silleuksa in Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do

While passing through the city of Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do, we saw signs over and over for a temple called Silleuksa. We weren't in any rush so we thought we'd stop by and find out what the fuss was all about. It turns out, we had stumbled across a temple dating all the way back to the Silla dynasty. It was built around 580 AD, and though the temple has been burned and rebuilt several times, like most temples in Korea, it retains many treasures such as a 500 year-old Juniper tree, a 600 year-old Ginko tree, a Goryo period brick pagoda and the portraits of three important monks from the Goryeo dynasty period.

A view inside one of the prayer buildings

Stones containing the sari of past monks.

The small structure pictured above is Josadong. This is the oldest building on the premise and home to three portraits of Goryeo dynasty portraits of the monks Naong (c. 1320-1376), Muhak (c. 1327-1405), and Jigong (d. 1363).

I always love the doors on temples. Here are a few good examples.

All in all, it's a great, historic temple to visit. Yeoju itself seems to have a lot to see and I hope I have time to make it back again this summer when thew ether is nicer. Next time you're in the area, be sure to make a stop by!

봉정암 Bongjongam, Korea's Highest Temple

 

After our 7 hour hike up to Sochong Shelter we were in desperate need of nourishment in the form of warm food (not PB&J) and so we hiked down about a half an hour to 봉정암, Bongjongam, Korea's highest elevation temple. Not only does this temple have that pretty amazing little name to fame, but it is also home to a very sacred relic. A 사리 of the Buddha himself.

It's a beautiful temple and it has some spectacular views compared to your typical temple.

Below is the pagoda which houses the 사리 of Buddha. It seems to be the biggest attraction of the temple and while it's hard to see, people were continually piling more and more bags of rice when they made their way up to the pagoda to pray.

But, the real reason we came here was not the pagoda, even though it was quite cool. We came here to eat. They offer free meals every day, three times a day. All pure vegetarian food as you would expect from a temple. We hadn't really thought about WHAT they would serve and we hadn't really thought about the numbers of people that would be at the temple around dinnertime on a Sunday evening on a long weekend. We decided find the food line at about 5:20, as the dinner was scheduled to be served at 5:30, but we were shocked to see a horrendous line ahead of us. But, we figured we'd come this far, we might as well join the crowd and we stood in line. After we got in line, the line continued to grow until it started snaking into the woods and then curled back around and doubled back on itself and went back almost to the beginning of the line again.

Spoons were passed around as we waited in line long after 5:30 had passed and we started wondering what we were going to get. Then, without warning the line started moving, and it moved unbelievably fast considering how many people were waiting in line. We couldn't imagine what they could be serving that they could hand it out so fast. Finally we realized how it ran so fast. The were only serving up Miyeokguk.

The bowl full of steaming hot seaweed soup and rice was literally tossed into our hands and we were pushed out of the way for the next person to get their food (explains why the line moved so fast). Then we sat down to eat. The Koreans were clearly prepared for such a simple meal because on all sides of me the Ajummas were pulling out lock & locks (Korean tupperware) full of panchan of all kinds. We were forced to suffer with our basic meal. After eating, we washed our dishes, then we filled up our water bottles at the fountain (because every temple has one fountain with drinking water) and stopped by a booth to buy some rice as an offering for our families. A quick prayer in the temple and then we were off back to our shelter for the night.

A foreigner in a sea of Koreans

While there are lots and lots of foreigners on Seoraksan, I didn't see a single one here at Bongjongam. I don't know why it's off the tourist radar, but I hope you make a stop here on your next trip to Seoraksan. It's a beautiful temple with a lot of significance.

미타사, Mita Temple

Lately I've been taking line 3 a lot and while passing from Oksu station to Geumho station I caught sight of the roofs of what looked to be a temple and I decided that one day I had to find that temple for myself. On my bike ride that brought me to the Dalmaji Park, I found myself right next to this temple and decided to check it out. 

It's truely an urban temple. Only half the buildings inside look like they belong in a temple. It was quite empty too the day I went on a Thursday around noontime. 

But while this temple didn't have the same austerity of some of Korea's more famous temples, I was really intrigued by the artwork and colors that were there.  Unfortunately my camera was in desperate need of a cleaning at the time that I went here and my photos didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped. Fortunately my camera has been all cleaned out and I'm happy once again with my camera.

This isn't a temple which I would say you need to go out of your way to see, but if you happen to be around Oksu station, it might be worth a 5 minute look around. 

Purple Mountain, Nanjing, China

 I'm back from my trip to China with lots and lots of photos. I also went to Andong the weekend before so I know I've been absent from the blog for a bit, but expect lots and lots of posts very soon!

Our first stop in Nanjing was Purple Mountain (Zijin Mountain). The mountain is huge and is worth at least one full day, if not more than that if you want to see every single sight on the mountain. We started our day around 10:00 with a cable car up to the top of the mountain. The ride up was nice, but we found there wasn't much at the top so I'm not sure if I'd recommend it to other travelers. 

At the top of the mountain, there was one small park. Besides the nice views there wasn't much to see, and not worth the entrance fee. This Buddha was the most interesting thing in the park. There are much more interesting things near the bottom of the mountain.

We hiked down and found ourselves at the tomb of the first emperor of the Ming dynasty.

The place was huge and quite impressive. We spent about half an hour walking around the tomb area plus more time in some of the gardens. Because we wanted to see the rest of the mountain, though, we missed quite a bit. This part of the mountain alone could be worth a whole day trip. 

The next stop was the Sun Yat-Sen mausoleum. This seemed quite a bit more popular than the Ming tomb. We saw lots of school groups and group tours here. 

The actual resting place of Sun Yat-sen at the top of the mountain was the main attraction here and people flocked to the entrance to get a glimpse of the tomb. I guess when we went it was not a busy day, but we saw an area to form a line outside the tomb for busy days. The actual tomb is not visible, it is located in the doors behind this statue.  

Next stop was the Linggu Temple area. Here there are several sights, it was actually my favorite part of our visit to Purple Mountain. First stop was the Wuliang (beamless) Hall. This hall is famous for it's unusual beamless architecture. 

Then we walked over to the actual temple area and enjoyed the sights here. 

Last was the Linggu Pagoda, a pagoda built in 1929 as a memorial for soldiers who lost their lives in war. We climbed all the way up to the top of this 9 story pagoda for some amazing (though smoggy) views of the city of Nanjing. 

If you happen to be in Nanjing, be sure to stop by Purple Mountain. You can arrive here by subway or bus, and there are hiking trails and bus routes around the mountain.

Admission prices (in RMB):
Cable Car: 35/70 (one way/round trip)
Park at the top of the mountain: 4
Ming Tomb: 70
Sun Yat Sen Mausoleum: Free
Linggu Temple:30

청평사: Chongpyongsa Temple, Chuncheon

The first stop on our day trip to Chuncheon was the temple 청평사, Chongpyongsa. From town, it was a half an hour bus ride up a mountain, past a dam, another 10 minute boat ride and a 20 minute hike. But don't let that stop you from getting here, it's not as bad as it sounds. Just be warned that there's a lot of people that go here on the weekends now that the Seoul subway runs to Chuncheon. When we got on the bus downtown it was nearly empty, and when it passed the subway station, it looked like the above photo, wall to wall people.

Then it was on to the boat port where we caught our boat to 정평사, which was 6,000 won round trip.

From there it was another hike through the woods. Nothing strenuous, so don't worry if you're not a hiker. As you can see, it was decorated for Buddha's Birthday which is coming up on May 10th (April 8th on the lunar calendar). 

Here was a statue dedicated to the story of a Chinese princess. The story goes as such: There was a man who was deeply in love with a princess in China. Because the man was a commoner, he could not marry her and he died of a broken heart. He was reborn, though, as a snake, and he wound himself around the princess and attached himself to her. The princess's attendants tried as they might to free her from the snake's grasp, but they could not, the snake would not budge. The princess was forced to live with a snake attached to her. She went from temple to temple trying to find someone that could release the snake from her body. Finally she came to Chongpyongsa temple. Here, she said to the snake, "I'm tired, let's take a rest." and the snake unwound itself from her for the first time since it had attached itself. The princess washed and went into the temple leaving the snake behind. A storm broke out and the snake worried about the princess. It climbed up the mountain but as soon as it entered the temple it was struck by lightning and was killed. Its body washed down into this river and the princess found it later. She felt both relived to be released from the snake, but also felt pity for the snake that loved her so much. She stayed at the temple and and commissioned the construction of a pagoda at the temple.

The hike up is quite beautiful and you pass some great sights along the short hike up to the temple. 

Here is the front gate to the temple. The gate in the middle is called Heojeonmun and has been designated as Cultural Treasure #164. 

This is the best time of year to visit temples as they're full of lanterns in preparation for Buddha's Birthday. 

How to get here: Take bus #11 or 12 to 소양댐 So Yang Dam, which is one of the largest dams in Korea, located about half an hour from downtown Chuncheon. From here walk down the hill to the boat dock where you can buy a round trip boat ticket for 6,000 won. Be sure to purchase the boat for 정평사 (Chongpyongsa) because there are other boats that depart from this dock as well. The boat ride is about 10 minutes and from there just follow the the other tourists up the hill until you reach the temple. During peak tourist viewing times, boats run often, about every 10-15 minutes.