A trek to Dosonsa Temple

Had some nice weekend weather.  Took advantage with a 3 hour bicycle ride along the Hangang Saturday and on Sunday afternoon made the journey across Seoul and then hiked up to see Dosonsa Buddhist temple.  Let’s go to the photos:

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I don’t often ride the buses here in Seoul, but I did on Sunday.  And here’s a photo of the bus stop in Itaewon to prove it.

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An Itaewon street scene

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“where is that damn bus anyway?”

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oh, here it comes…

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There ain’t nothing wrong with riding the bus by the way.  They are clean and relatively comfortable.  And sometimes not crowded…

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But as it turns out this bus wasn’t going to where I wanted to be, so it was off the bus and onto the subway…

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Ok, I think this train is right…

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Maps are quick to note “you are here” but rarely shed much light on where you are going…

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Not many travelers joining me on the platform…

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Fellow riders…

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Transferred to another bus and an hour later was on the streets of Uidong…

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Old style house…

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Bukhansan Park attracts lots of hikers traversing the numerous trails…

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…but I followed the road that followed the stream flowing down from the mountain on which the temple sits…

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…where I observed some of the last blossoms of my last spring in Korea…

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After a walk/climb that tired me out more than I care to admit, I reached the temple gate…

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I’m not a Buddhist so I can’t tell you much about these idols…

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But it was a fine day to be out and about enjoying them..

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Nice overlook of Seoul from the temple grounds…

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Buddha’s birthday is May 21 and his follower’s have purchased traditional lanterns to hang on the temple grounds.  I’m thinking you write a wish for blessings to hang with the lantern or something like that.

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Some of the detail on a temple building…

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The man of the hour.  You can see the discoloration on Buddha’s belly.  See folks stick their thumb in the navel and rotate the hand counter clockwise and receive Buddha’s blessing.  It was probably a good thing that I kept my shirt on to avoid any possible confusion…

And so ends another fine Sunday adventure in Korea…

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