Haedon Yongugsa Temple Part 1

One of the coolest things in Korea are all the temples.  They're sort of like churches in Europe, in that they're all basically the same, but you keep going just to see them, because that's what everyone does and because they're beautiful, peaceful places.  And in Korea finding a beautiful peaceful place is rare and awesome.  Haedong Yonggugsa Temple in Busan dates back to 1376 when it was founded on this spot overlooking the sea.  This is a pretty rare temple in that most are built in the mountains, and not this close to water.  It's one of the only ones, if not the only one in Korea like it.  It's a beautiful complex tucked right into the rocks.  Re-built in 1970 it's now a place where people go to pray and sight-see and take pictures.  It's one of the best temples I've seen in Korea and I highly recommend it.  If you're at Haeundae Beach and you hop a cab, it's only 10,000 won.  And takes about ten minutes depending on the traffic.  You can also take bus 181 north from Haeundae and get off at Yonggugsa Temple.  As always, here's 10 pictures and some foolish comments.

The Couple

My favorite shot of the day.  Koreans really don't like having their pictures taken, despite the fact that they themselves have no problem taking pictures of me.  So, when I can get a moment like this, I take it.

Wishing Well

A lot of the temple is obviously set up for praying.  Praying for good fortune, praying for students school tests, praying on New Years Day for a good year, things like that.  Here we're standing on a bridge where you chuck money, 100 won(10 cents) or 500 won (50 cents) into a stone sculpture of a turtle with a bowl on its back.  Like making a wish.  I bounced a couple coins off of his head, but none in the bowl.

Well Wishing

Here I am making  my attempt at good fortune.

Close Up

Wow, that is really close to my face.  

The Big Man

This Buddha was a good 2 meters high.  

Going Up

The Temple and The Sea

The views are really beautfiul.  It's hard to believe that 10 minutes up the road is a city of 2.5 million people.  It's one of the few rare places you don't feel completely surrounded by grey buildings, you can't even really see them.  It's a great spot.

Get a Haircut

Because this lens is so wide we can take a lot of pictures of the two of us, which is great.  Because I really need to capture this hair-do I got going.

Little Men

The temple is surrounded by stone carvings and little figures which I'm sure each have symbolic meanings that I do not know.

Five Wise Guys

Also, any time you can set a 100 won into a space, that space gets filled with 100 won.  It's cool to see the coins resting all over the temple.