Yesterday’s echo.Tomorrow’s mystery.Today

Hiking Mt. Geumjeong Fortress

This hike is about an hour subway ride northeast of Saha, the area I'm living in. The first time I climbed this mountain I didn't have a camera. Now that I have a camera, I returned for photos of the fortress wall. Unfortunately, night started falling before we made it to the top. Most of us were unprepared for the colder weather & night hiking. Mt. Geumjeong Fortress is the largest fortress in Korea and covers a 17km site with walls up to five meters high. The history of this wall dates back over 2000 years. Next time I'll hike up to the main scenic area & take some better photos!

This is a view of the northern most tip of Busan. The city hosts a population of about 4 million.

The East Gate of the fortress wall.

This portion of the fortress wall drops below the grass strips. You can see the white colored city to the left of the ridge. It almost looks like it's part of the rock.

The fortress wall extends over the tip of the mountain in the background, but it's difficult to see.

Here we are with the hiking group, enjoying a Korean style barbecue.

Jirisan National Park

Here are some photos from a two day camping trip with my friend Adrienne. This park hosts the third highest peak, Cheonwangbong, in South Korea.

This crossing starts as concrete, changes to wood & finally turns into a metal bridge.

It was pretty crowded on top!

It was definitely a matter of negotiating our way to the front of the Cheonwangbong elevation stone. After some time, Adrienne & I made it for this quick photo! I've now been lucky enough to hike on all three of the highest mountains in S. Korea.

Hiking back down the trail.

For more pictures, please view them here.

Goseong Dinosaur & Bird Footprints

Since this is prior to my digital camera purchase, I have http://www.dinopark.netenggo_dinointroe_marks_01_v.htm to thank for these teaser prints. This has to be one of the most fascinating pieces of history that I've been able to view! Apparently, this area has one of the third largest concentrations of dinosaur prints in the world.

Seoraksan National Park Near Sokcho

Look at the writings engraved into the rock.

It's quite a climb!

Night activities in Seoraksan!

View more photos for Seoraksan National Park.

Mi Casa

Space is quite limited here & studio apartments are very common. That being said, this is where I'm living.

Daytime view out my window.

This is my attempt at being creative with my camera.

In the photo above, I've extended the dining room table for your viewing pleasure.

Nope, there's no shower curtain in the bathrooms.

If you need to use the bathroom while the floor is still wet, you have three options. Perhaps there are more alternatives, but these are the ones I'm currently presented with.

1) Wipe the floor dry.

2) Next to the sink is a wooden floor cover that can be placed down.

3) Lastly, use the bathroom sandals seen here.

OK, I guess a fourth option is to get your feet wet.

Yes, I suppose you could choose not to shower.

There you have it! This is my place!

Just for the record, I didn't clean my place for the pictures.

Learning How to Make Songpyun- Rice Cake

Here I am learning how to make songpyun. It's more difficult then one might guess. This group of people are kind enough to invite foreigners to learn more about their culture. I greatly thank the http://busanbuddhism.org/ for their kindness in providing these free events.