Bongeunsa Temple and the National Museum of Korea

September 22 - Seoul

We experienced the subway system in Seoul which is very clean, very efficient, and a very practical and inexpensive way to get around the city. Unfortunately, we took the wrong turn out of the hotel, so we ended up getting on the wrong train; however, Brian figured it out pretty fast, and in no time we were headed to our destination of Bongeunsa, one of Korea's most traditional Buddhist temples. It is located at the slope of "Sudo" mountain in Samsung-dong, South of Korea. It was founded in 794 and became the nation's leading temple by 1550. Most of its buildings were destroyed by fire in 1939 and the temple underwent several renovations and repairs. (Many of Korea's historic sights were destroyed during the Japanese occupations in the 16th and 20th centuries, and many of them were restored. However, we saw very few original landmarks.) Today the temple is nestled among the many high-rise buildings that literally fill the sky in Korea, making it a very peaceful refuge from the hustle and bustle of the 23 million people who occupy metropolitan Seoul. As you can see from one picture in particular in our Photo Album, there is some spectacular architecture in Korea as the majority of Seoul has been rebuilt since the Korean War. Ann is Buddhist and is teaching Tasha to show respect to the Buddha. When we visited the various temples, Tasha would put her hands together, bow to the best of her 22 month old ability, and would say hello in Thai to the Buddha who she then called a "ghost." We learned that many things are ghosts to Tasha. We had lunch at Coex Mall which houses a huge underground shopping center - and I mean HUGE. Patty and I could have done some real damage there. :) I might add that about 95% of the stores catered to women. After lunch we went to the National Museum of Korea which again is a marvelous specimen of modern architecture. The museum is quite large, and we were not able to see everything that was there. Tasha and Tyana were good sports, but they had reached their limit; and I think all the adults had, too. Unfortunately, I had a princess meltdown as Brian, Ann and I went out to hunt down dinner that night. We did not embrace Korean food as we did Thai food in Thailand, and I refused to eat another meal of Korean cuisine, so Jim, Kevin, and I ended up getting dinner from California Pizza Kitchen!!