Bukhansan National Park

Tuesday, my friend and I went to Bukhansan National Park. It was a beautiful day, so we decided to go hiking. We left home at 8 AM and took a series of subways and busses to get there. At 9:30 AM we began our hike. After abour 45 minutes of walking up a steep, winding road and dodging fast-moving cars and trucks, we made it to the base of the hiking path. We also arrived at a Buddhist temple. We walked into the temple area and saw so many cool things! Lanterns were hanging from the building and we could smell incense burning and hear chanting from the buildings. It is very different than the church I go to, but, nevertheless, I am interested in what others believe and how they practice their faith. It was really great for me to see everything--even though I didn't know the rituals or reasons for what was happening. Anyway, after the temple, we started climbing and hiking. It was very different from the hiking I have done in the past (Australian Blue Mountains, Alps, Lake Superior:), Tatr Mountains), and was pretty difficult! I am quite sure that this kind of hiking would be extremely restricted in the States!! It is a steep climb, especially towards the top, and can be extremely dangerous! However, I saw many older people and also very young children doing this hike. The mountain air is breathable (in contrast to the city air), and the view is breathtaking! Something cool that I saw was a variety of different birds that I am sure I have never seen before in my life. Again, it was a tough hike and I was happy to see that I wasn't the only one trying to figure out how much longer to the top! On the way down, many many people asked how much longer it was going to be and when we guessed it would be an hour or so, they sighed with exhaustion! We finished our hike about 4 or 5 hours later and were safely home by mid afternoon feeling pretty sore and worn out! This destination was definitely worth the trip!