I was really impressed with the sound of a 9 story stone pagoda at Woljeongsa temple. I also wanted to see what a Korean National Park was like so we made plans to go there.
It was a problem just getting to the right bus station. I will not trust the bilingual tourist line which told me the wrong station! We travelled on several subway trains - at one stage in the wrong direction- and were sent away to a different bus station because the bus didn't go from there which meant a further two train rides. Once we to the bus station we got our tickets pretty quickly and were on our way.
I have written previously about Korean driving - but I have to mention it again. The bus drivers are crazy! We hurtled along the motorways out of Seoul and into the next province Gangwon-do. We seemed to be racing other buses at some stages. If you like theme park rides then you will be at home on a Korean Bus service as you are jostled in every direction and your luggage flies about.
We arrived in Pyeongchang-gun - the subprovince of Gangwon in the town of Jinbu. It was a cold and empty town being the off season but it felt quite refreshing to be able to walk on the road and not feel as though you would get run over. The air was really dirty as Korea was covered in the yellow dust that comes from a desert in China. All of us felt thirsty and like we were getting sick because of the dust.
Pyeongchang was a contender for the 2010 Winter Olympics so there were a few signs around promoting the area. The area is pretty underdeveloped so it isn't surprising that it wasn't chosen. Interestingly enough the area is at about 700 metres above sea level which is the ideal elevations for humans to live. I wonder if that is why the Buddhists set up a decent camp there?
Our first mission in Jinbu was to find accommodation so that we could travel light to the park. We managed to get lucky with a motel which only charged $US20 per room. It wasn't the Ritz but they gave us tooth brushes and towel so that was good enough for me.
The first temple I wanted to go to was Woljeongsa - I really wanted to see my 9 story Pagoda! The bus took us from the tourist office to Odaesan National Park and it was a short stop from the drop of to the temples.
We were immediately struck with the vivid red and green combination that the temples were painted in. Everything so beautifully crafted and every beam or tile was either painted or cast in an intricate design.
I wish that we had someone to tell us a little more beind the paintings on each building. I am sure like Maraes there will be significance to it all.
We wandered into the courtyard with maybe 6 buildings surrounding it and I kept looking for my 9 story building. 
Clare and Kelly found the Pagoda - which dates back to 645AD. Here is a picture of it. I was a little mislead in that it is 9 stones- not nine stories! The upper stones are not the originals as there have been many conflicts so that they have been ruined. The stones underground are the oldest. Pretty cool that they have been there for so long. Certainly is older than anything that NZ has!
At Woljeongsa Temple we met a monk at the main temple. She didn't look like the monk in this picture . She was 20 years old and was very unsure of her English but she perservered and managed to teach us how to pray at the temple in front of a massive golden statue in a room surrounded by 1000's of little copies of the statue on 3 sides of the room. She invited us to have rice at the temple for lunch but we didn't have time. We thought that we might make it back the next day but ran out of time.
We had a great meal out at a Galbi restaurant. We ate beef which was a real treat - we paid through the nose for it though. Drank some soju and mekju (Mekju is beer) I think partly to numb the pain of paying for the dinner. Then we went to a Nori Bang and sang for a while. The Nori Bang was themed like Aliens which was a bit creepy but we had a fun time.
Then we wandered the streets f Jinbu trying to find a Sauna at 11:00pm. Being a small town no one was open but we must have woken up about 5 Motel owners just to see if they were open.
Sauna's are a big thing with the foreign teachers. I don't know if it the crappy hot water in the apartments or the dry environment but a lot of them go. I haven't been yet - it will require a little courage as you have to go nude. Even the towels they provide are not meant to hide anything -they are the size of hand towels.
This photo was taken at Sangwonsa Temple. The steps are huge and it was good exercise going up them. Half way up looking down is Julia and then Kelly is below her looking away.
It was absolutely freezing there. The wind was blowing and we were not really equipped to manage the cold. The sky was very clear compared to the day before and the hills and temple roof tops looked awesome against such a blue sky.
We spent a little time looking around the temples and then retreated to a tea shop where we had strawberry mountain tea. It was warm and sweet and we really enjoyed our time sitting inside in some sunlight.
Because of the freezing conditions we decided to cancel the visit to the botanical gardens. It was just as well as we had an hour long wait for the bus! The park officers took pity on Clare and I standing out in the freezing cold and invited us into their tiny office. We were surrounded by 5 Korean guys who didn't speak very much English. One of them had spent time tramping in New Zealand but that was about the extent of our conversation. I did get to feed some tiny little birds peanuts by hand. Overall, I was a bit disappointed with the lack of wild life, but I am sure Iif I return to a park in Spring or Summer I would see more. Mountain Leopards, Wolves, Foxes, Musk Deer and River Otters are either extinct or seriously endangered. Therefore much of the large wild life you would hardly ever see. Apparently there are frogs, snakes and rabbits in the area - or at least crossings as indicated by the road signs!
Eventually the bus back to Jinbu turned up. We were so glad it had arrived that we all ran for it. I don't remember ever being so cold where the wind blows right through your trousers and takes all your warmth away.
We got back to Jinbu about an hour later. Half of which was a very bumpy ride. We only had time then to pick up our stuff and send a quick e-mail at the PC Bang before the bus headed back to Seoul.
In total it took us 5 hours to get back to Uijongbu. The National Park was so peaceful compared to the city and I was really glad that we had visited it. It was nice to get away before our first big week of teaching and I hope that we will have plenty more trips to break up our working year.
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