I’ve been in Korea a week now, and there continues to be something new to see every day. Today we went hiking up one of Seoul’s many mountains. The entire mountain was made of granite, so the path was mostly rock. Because it rained so much earlier, the waterfalls and streams the trail follows were full. We even had to walk across a few streams, using river stones as a footpath. I don’t think anyone’s shoes were dry by the top of the mountain. The mountain rivers were incredibly clear, which was impressive. It was even safe to rinse your hands in. However, the path followed the river incredibly closely, which meant that when we came to a waterfall there was a very steep climb. I was very glad I brought water.

When we got to the top we came to a Buddhist temple, decorated for Buddha’s birthday with lanterns, just like Jogyesa temple. Unfortunately, it was up another flight of stairs, but these were real stairs this time and not river stones. Once we got up there the temple staff were very kind and gave us rice cakes to snack on. But there was one more flight of stairs to go: 108 steps up to where a giant Buddha had been carved into the face of the mountain. The final trek was hard and long, but the end was already insight. Eventually, we all made it up to the top, where we could even see Seoul’s skyscrapers and the tallest tower in Korea in the distance. The carved Buddha was very impressive up close, looking down over all the mountains.

The hike was a wonderful way to spend Sunday, and cleared my head for the next week, when we will go to many more factories and companies before we leave.

Until next time!