Lauren in South Korea :

After  parting with Shawn in Bangkok, I headed to Busan to meet up with some friends from high school who are there to teach English. The morning after I arrived we took a bus to the nearby Beomeosa Temple to participate in their educational temple stay program for one day. During that day, we spoke with the resident monks about monastic life, meditated, bowed the traditional 108 times, made prayer beads, learned and practiced the traditional meal ritual and went on a hike in the surrounding woods.

Temple-goers walking in the adjacent woods.

 

the view from our porch in the morning

 

our "dorm"

 

the women's changing room

 

where we slept, heard lectures and bowed a whopping 108 times

 

the traditional meal set

 

 

view into the valley

 

the wise ones

 

practice makes perfect

 

enlightened

 

back in busan at katie and dan's apartment. playing monopoly. getting their asses kicked.

 

a morning hike with katie revealed this little gem....

 

work those legs

 

batwoman

 

can you imagine little old ladies doing this? because they do.

 

view over busan. smog from china.

 

port of busan

 

the only bit of fall i got to see the whole trip....

 

war memorial

 

 

china-russian town. an odd pairing. this place was more russian than chinese. and apparently the russians like boobs because there was boob "art" everywhere.

 

korean BBQ. DELICIOUS.

 

 

Hooch  and Slamma

 

 

breakfast. mmmmm...

 

at the modern art museum

 

some of these speed demons looked to be barely of walking age. start 'em young.

 

nighttime in Busan.