Seoul Surviver

Back in Seoul, we decided between all the climbing and Sangwon’s training, we would sightsee…since this is my first time to S. Korea. This photo is on the bridge by the Olympic stadium.

Everyone here that has read my blog over the past year and a half should all be well acquainted with how much I love local markets. I just feel like local markets is where the ‘good stuff’ is at….kinda the same feeling I get when going to thrift stores too. So of course, we had to go!!

Never has a pancake in a cup made more sense….it has a MESSAGE folks…a message!

The spices and foods for sale were incredible, there were so many things that I had never seen before, similar to the way I felt in S.E. Asia. And it smelled so...interesting...yet really good!

And yes, I am attracted to shiny objects....I think I was a rodent in my past life.

One of the climbing gyms that we frequently visit is located outside at a park.

It is an outdoor climbing wall with cushioned floor, and the locker rooms and restrooms are located inside of it. There is also an indoor bouldering gym for warming up before doing the routes outside. So rad!

These are war memorials that are located within the park as well.



This is a pretty little frightening spider that was crawling on my pants....YIKES!

Sangwon and I at a coffee shop before his competition.

The weather was pretty chilly and windy…the nice people next to me shared the thermos of hot coffee with me. Very kind!

The climbers were kept in isolation before the competition in order for the people to set the routes without the climbers seeing. The athletes are then allowed to come out and study the wall briefly as a group. Then they go back into iso where they warm up until it is their turn to climb.

This is the video of Sangwon climbing at the comp, he won first place..great job!

Victory dinner....Mmmm....

Another day Sangwon took me to Namsan tower. It is a popular tourist attraction. It it is similar to the Seattle Space needle, and is located upon a mountain above the city.

We took a cable car up to the tower...the view of the city was really nice. We were blessed with nice weather!

I think that this was really interesting, all along the fence bordering the patio of Namsan Tower, there were locks with love letters written on them. Apparently couples would come up and put a lock on the fence each keeping a key and representing their love. Key to your heart and all that...really neat.
















I really enjoyed my visit to Korea. My health has returned thanks to Sangwon and of course to the Monks back in Thailand and the people of Bonpong. With out such amazingly kind and generous people I don't think I would be alive right now.

Time to head home and see poor Lucky!!!

Finding my Seoul Part 2

Finding my Seoul Part 2
After I had been in Seoul for a little while and resting a lot, we decided to go camping for the weekend in another area of S. Korea to go climbing.

선운사 is famous for green tea, there are lots and lots of fields just like this one throughout the national park.

선운사 is a popular place, and the rock is really nice.

It’s a bit of a hike but not bad at all compared to some places I have been. The feeling of getting out of the city and be back to nature.

I know that all you climbers out there reading this are totally jealous of the STAIRS leading up the mountain to the climbing area; pretty much amazing. The rock here is over-hung so even if rain you can climb some, often it is the humidity that can kill the day. But it’s nice having the stairs so you won’t slide down the mountain on your bum if you slip

It was so nice to be up in the mountains again…last time I was in the mountains like this??? Well probably back home last fall. It was actually cold here! How strange for my body to adjust…not only have I been in a continual summer, but also the fever was doing a number on me all the time too.

After I did a little climbing Sangwon made me a다람쥐 nest (squirrel nest) for me to bundle up and keep warm while resting.

After climbing we went to a restaurant that is famous for its eel…unagi. So delicious, unagi is one of my favorite types of sushi, and what a treat it is to have it from the source, instead of how I ate it back in Idaho where the sushi places always ship their fish…not a lot of ocean in Idaho these days.

The next day we visited the Buddhist Temple that is located within 선운사 National Park. Really felt refreshing and peaceful to be back at a temple. It is not an easy thing leaving Thailand and the monks. Being here helped me feel better, and it was what I needed.

The colors here at the Korean temples are very different than the colors used in the S.E. Asian ones I visited. My first impression seeing all these bright colors reminded me of a children’s coloring book. The colors don’t belong together when you quickly get a glimpse of the temple, but the more you look, the more you understand. It all becomes so beautiful …just the dog that is colored purple in the coloring book; it’s amazing for reasons we don’t always expect, but it is none the less still amazing

This is a natural spring from the mountain, people gather here to take a sip from the sparklingly fresh water. So tastey!

This is a photo from inside the gates of the temple complex, it is very different in style and structer than the S.E. Asian temples.

We did some more climbing this day after visiting the temple, it is such a wonderful national park…temples and climbing in once spot!

And of course….we had to have Korean BBQ Bul-Gogi 불고기전골 since it one of the most famous dishes in Korea.

What a great weekend get-away! But back to the city we go!!!

Stay tuned.