Felici Lives Here

Talk about making the most of your day, on Day 3 we were busy from 4am till 1am (and Jojo until 4am)!!!  Since we were still on California time, we automatically woke up at 4am. So we got to see the sunrise over the East Sea, it was amazing!  For a motel with oceanfront views on 1 side and rice terraces on the other, you can’t go wrong!

We headed back to Seoraksan around 7am to ride cable cars to the top.  Jojo, of course, did not make the trip up…scared of heights. ;P  After a quick ride up 1700 meters, and a 10 minute climb up a steep rockface, we were rewarded with amazing panoramic views of the mountain range and the ocean.  I think the coolest thing about that climb, however, were all the Korean ladies (ajummas) passing us up and dancing around at the peak.  That was hilarious!

A torturous ride back to Seoul, 4 hours with half of that in gridlocked traffic!  Without wasting anytime, we headed straight for Namsan Tower in the heart of the city.  While the elders took a cable car to reach the base of the tower, us kids climbed hundreds of really big stairs to reach the top.  Leaving Jojo safely on the ground again, we went up and got great panoramic views of Seoul and the Han River. By this time, we were all beat and ready to rest.  No time to waste though!  We head straight for Jogyesa (the chief temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism).

To end the day, Sunim treated us all to a feast at Sanchon, an upscale vegan restaurant owned by a monk, serving Korean temple food. The food was delicious and exotic, I’ve never tried pure anise seeds or fresh lotus root in my life!  The traditional rice wine we had here was the best of the whole trip.  And the traditional Korean dancers were amazing to watch.  On the way home, our host Do-Young took us kids for a ride on the Seoul subway with MJ.  It was very clean and the passsengers are all so polite.  We had zero energy left, so we stopped at Dongdaemun Market for half an hour to see the bustling nightlife of Seoul.  Let me tell you, it’s bustling!  Super crowded, tons of great shopping, all of it cheap or very affordable, and all the meal worms you can eat!

Sunrise over the East Sea:

Rice terraces behind our motel:

Cable cars heading up Seoraksan (Seorak Mountains), about 1,700 meters, which is over 1 mile high:

I wonder who’s taking this picture of these caged animals, who’s missing from our group?

The peak at the top of Seoraksan:

Tiff and I braved the steep rock face to reach the top, totally worth it:

Here’s Tiffany sliding on her butt to get back down the mountain:

Venerable Yangil Sunim:

Jojo’s super cool panorama of Sinheungsa:

I love this sign, it just makes so much sense:

Jogyesa (Jogye Temple):

Namsan Tower (N Seoul Tower):

Some of the good stuff at Sanchon restaurant: lotus flowers, lotus root, mushrooms, and a jelly-like cake made from acorns:

Street food at Dongdaemun Market in Seoul:

Yangil Sunim and the owner of Sanchon Restaurant:

South Korea Day 2: Seoraksan, Naksansa, & Sinheungsa
South Korea Day 1: Arrival and First Meal
South Korea: Beautiful Country, Delicious Food, I Love This Place!
South Korea: Back to Civilization