Happy New Year!

Happy New Year... from Ulsan, South Korea!!

As mentioned yesterday, my friends and I planned to ring in the new year on a freezing cold beach. Fortunately for all of my body's extremities, that plan fell through due to an H1N1 advisory from the Korean government. Instead of subject ourselves to below average temperatures, we opted for a nice dinner of Korean barbecue at a nicer restaurant in downtown Ulsan.

After that, we migrated to warm little restaurant/lounge/bar overlooking part of the city. It was quite nice because there were only five of us hanging out together in a little sectioned off corner of the place. Did I mentioned that this place had an indoor stream (on the 6th floor) with floating candles in it? It was quite nice. We were enjoying some kiwi and strawberry soju cocktails. Soju is typically referred to as the vodka of Korea (Remember: When in Korea...). Some Koreans nearby were playing a game and the loser was dared to ask to take a picture with us and buy us something from the menu. We definitely weren't complaining. In the final seconds of 2010, I played Auld Lang Syne on my iPhone and we all held hands (apparently) in proper British style. It was quite the international celebration for us. There was one Scottish person, two English people, two Americans (including myself) ringing in the new year in South Korea.

Today, my best friends from England and I decided to start 2011 by doing something culturally enriching and relatively relaxing. Therefore, we visited Tongdosa Buddhist temple. The temple is one of the oldest in Korea (it dates back over 1,300 years) and has relics from Buddha himself (brought over from China by Korean monks). The temple candle has been carefully maintained and never extinguished after 1,300 years. In all, it is a beautiful place to visit. Also, it is conveniently located just south of Eonyang and a few buses run directly from the Eonyang bus station. Although the museum was closed for New Year's Day, the temple was rather busy.

In the land of homogeneity, Buddhist temples seem to be one of the few places Koreans don't seem to awkward stare at and judge you. For the most part, it seems that people appreciate foreigner's attempts to learn more about their religion and culture. It was really nice to see so many people attuned to their faith and completely at peace.

Here are some pictures:

~ Kiwi soju cocktail ~

Entrance to the Tongdosa temple complex

At the entrance to the Tongdosa temple complex

Chinese writing on some rock on the hill.

Lantern along the path to the temple.

I thought this was a cool statue outside of the Tongdosa temple museum.

Tongdosa temple museum.

This bridge would definitely be required to have safety rails in America...

This building is thought to be at least 1,300 years old.

I like the view of these buildings with the mountains in the background.