It started on Saturday when I took the long bus ride up to Incheon airport. I had never actually done that ride during the day (I have done it three times overnight) and it is actually a fairly scenic ride.
We met and went in to town. She was staying in Myeongdong right downtown so we went there and she quickly fell asleep. The next morning we went to Gyeongbokgung where we met Jenny, Kwangho, Jin and Chae eun. We saw the changing of the guards, elbowed overly aggressive Chinese tourists (an aside, Chinese tourists are the new German tourists..... lots of fun) and managed to tour the castle. We then went to Insadong for dinner.
Admira Yi Sun-sin's statue on Sejong St.
King Sejong's statue
the palace
Inside the palace
Imperial pond
Chae-eun enjoying the pond
On Monday we started the long trip down to Busan via my house in West Daegu to drop off excess luggage. It was mostly a travel day.
We then spent the next four days in Kyoto, Japan, the ancient capital and home to many Japanese relics including virtually every one that escaped bombing during the Second World War. We arrived on Tuesday and managed to see the Imperial Palace but heat and exhaustion were setting in so we opted to head back early, rest a bit, and go out for dinner. We met a wonderful old lady and her family who owned a very nice restaurant in Gion and we ate and drank there.
The next day we met friends Chiharu and Takashi, who were both exceptionally nice and took the day off to drive us around their city. We then finished that day off with an amazing Japanese dinner.
Entrance to the Kyoto Imperial Palace
again
again
streets of Kyoto
Buddha
walking towards a major temple
again
Outside Nijo-jo
Chiharu and Takashi
On Thursday we did more temple sightseeing but by Thursday night we were a bit templed-out so we went back to Kyoto city for food and a stroll in the main city. We saw most of the historic sights of Kyoto and had a great time.
Friday was back to Korea and Daegu and was another travel day.
Saturday we explored Daegu a bit and relaxed. we ended up meeting Zeke and Julie for outdoor bbq. Korean mountains are a major part of what makes Korea great so it is nice to spend an afternoon in them. Korean bbq is fairly amazing too.
On Sunday Yen came along and we made the trip up to Haeinsa to see the Tripitaka Koreana and the temple. Despite terrible weather Mom said it was her favourite sight of the trip, followed by Kiyomizu dera.
Monday we made the almost familiar tourist trip to Nampo-dong in Busan to visit the Nampo tower, Jagalchi fish market and shop in nampo.
Haeinsa
Haeinsa with mist covered mountains
Nampo is quiet on a Monday at noon
view from the tower
Tuesday was our last full day so we decided to go to Palgongsan to see the temples and mountain. The weather was rainy again (we had had rain on the weekend but escaped in Monday morning in Busan). It was a day out that also included a Daegu city bus tour thanks to the lengthy ride back on the #1 Express bus.
Daegu's Giant Buddha
Buddhist art in Donghwasa
On Wednesday We got up and went out to Dong Daegu station where we said goodbye and she got on a train bound for Seoul.
It was a great trip. It gave me a chance to see a new city in Japan and gave me a new appreciation for things in Korea.
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