A Temple A Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Growing up in the U.S., I never really had access to many historical sites. Sure, there was Colonial Williamsburg (still on my bucket list to visit before I die) or the Alamo (always remember the Alamo), but the U.S. is so young there are not many places that are centuries old. That is one thing I truly admire about Korea; there are historical landmarks all throughout the country. There were two temples I was dying to see, and I managed to knock them both out within 2 subsequent weekends.

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

Haedong Yonggungsa is one of the only temples located on the shorelines of Korea, with the majority located in the mountains. The Buddhist temple was built in 1376 during the Goryeo dynasty. Unfortunately, it was destroyed during one of the Japanese invasions, but was later reconstructed starting in 1970.

Walking towards the temple, I was met with the beautiful site of cherry blossoms. What better time to visit a temple than right in the middle of cherry blossom season in Korea? Tom and I met up with Nicole at the entrance before beginning our little Saturday adventure.

The first stop was to see the Chinese zodiac statues. I am the year of the snake (gross, I know), and I just had to take a picture with my year twin; it is the proper tourist thing to do, after all. I managed to have only one person walk in front of the camera while I was posing, so I'll take that as a win. We then continued down the path towards the actual temple. The day was gorgeous, albeit a little overcast. The bright colors of the temple still stood out beautifully against the gray clouds.

Beauty on the water

Feeling like cattle being herded, we walked towards the main structure of the temple before veering off into a tiny underground cave. There was not much to see other than a small shrine of Buddha, but I did it for the memories. Back in daylight, the three of us meandered around the main buildings while I stopped to take pictures every 5 seconds (I was the only one who had yet to visit out of the little trio). The peak of the temple showcased a stunning view of the grounds, ocean, and Haeundae. I am not a religious individual, but there is something so calming about walking around a temple.

Yes, I did rub the little piggies for luck

Wanting to explore more of the area, we headed back towards the entrance where there was a lookout point. Apparently everyone else had the same idea, so there was a little bit of a wait. The lookout point led to a path that took us along the water. There was not too much to see other than the shoreline, but Tom insisted on heading more inland. Shocker, we got stuck and had to backtrack all the way to the path, and then walk all the way back to the temple. It was a nice day, so no complaints on that front, but Nicole and I did say there was nothing to see back there anyways. Men, am I right?

Back at the temple, we decided to head over to Centum City and see a light exhibit on display. It was a little underwhelming seeing as how it was just a big room with some lights on display, but it was still a unique experience. We then finished off the day at the Seomyeon arcade. We played darts, and not to brag or anything, but I scored 504 points. If I do not aim, I am just about the best dart player in the world (Olympic Committee, hit me up). Nicole and I also rode the Disco Pang Pang again, and we were recognized by the DJ from our last adventure.

Beomeosa Temple

In honor of the final days of the cherry blossom season, Tom and I headed to Beomeosa Temple the following weekend. Beomeosa is only about 40 minutes or so from my apartment, so we did not have to rush the morning. I was even able to talk with my best friends from the U.S. for a couple of hours. Nothing beats a friendly catch-up where there's lots of drama and gossip to discuss.

Setting out at about mid-day, we arrived at the temple at the peak time. The weather was nice and warm, and the sun was about to hit some cloud coverage. The temple itself is grandiose and beautiful. First built in 678 during the Silla dynasty, the temple was built to honor Buddha, and thus housed several renowned monks in Korean history.

Various areas around the temple

The area was quite serene as people would pray at different altars or simply gaze upon the structure, myself included. There were many buildings to visit, each with their own unique designs. I really enjoyed gazing at the underside of the roofs, trying to identify all the various animals or patterns that had been painted. Just when I thought I had seen everything, some tiny detail would draw my eye, and I would go back to staring. There have been several restoration projects throughout the years, but I appreciate the level of detail that remains and the weathered look that tells the story of age.

Beauty is all in the details

Once we had our fill of the temple, we headed over to a hiking trail. I met the absolute sweetest Chow Chow, complete with the bright blue tongue. The hike itself was about 57 miles in length, but according to Tom it was only about 5 from start to finish (listen, my legs know accurate distance, so I definitely walked all 500 miles that it felt like). The hike was mainly uphill across various large stones and rocks. I was incredibly careful where I was walking (thanks, bum knee), and the cloudy skies helped to keep the temperature down; I was still perspiring, though.

Me with my new bestie, Mr. Cutie Patootie

Finally at the end of the trail, we made the decision to continue further to reach the tallest peak in Busan. My legs were quite tired and I was huffing and puffing, but I figured since I was already there, I may as well walk just a little bit more. I will say the view was well worth the extra 20 minutes. Even though it was a cloudy day, I was still able to see far in every direction. We sat at the peak for a solid 15 or so minutes, watching the skyline and the various people coming and going.

On top of the world

By the time we were ready to head home, my legs were somewhat like jelly, and my knee was quite sore. I am not a quitter, however, so I mustered up all the energy I had left to hike back down. Going downhill is far quicker, but walking downhill on large rocks requires a certain amount of precision. So many times I was about to walk off the edge of a rock (not really, but Tom was constantly grabbing my arm because he thought I was going to veer straight off). See why I basically hiked 1,000 miles that day?