Greetings all!
This week is one of the "Golden weeks" in China...a 3 day national holiday for their independence days, and most schools, banks, post offices etc are shut down for the entire week. It's a beautiful time of year, so Rod and I went to Seoul, South Korea for the week. We really enjoyed it! It is only about 1.5 hour direct from Shenyang to Seoul. We found Seoul to be a huge city (somewhere around 25 million people), and very clean. The subway system there is just excellent...clean and orderly and easy to use. We especially liked the shopping (retail therapy is always good for the soul!). One of the nice things we found was a tailor who was able to take measurements one day and produce a new leather jacket..in 1 day! Gotta love it!
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| The tailor and his wife and me with my new jacket in the Itaewon shopping district in Seoul, South Korea |
We also did some of the touristy stuff, but mostly just enjoyed the city and a change of pace from Shenyang.
Below are some pictures from our trip.
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| Rod and I went to a nice show in Seoul...one of the performers came up to our table before the show and Rod snapped this cute photo! |
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| One of the trips we took was to the De-militarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea. |
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| The mountains in the background are North Korea...there is a line on the ground, in front of which, you cannot take photos...so all photos must be taken behind the line...and you can only see N. Korea and the barbed wire boundries clearly from the observation point. The mountains you see in the above picture are North Korea. From the observation area (by the mounted binoculars, on a clear day like we had, you can see everything, including the flag poles on both sides. I heard one person get told to remove his camera memory card by the S. Korean military police for having his camera out taking pictures of North Korea...they meant business too...it wasn't just for show...so I stayed behind the line! |
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| At one of the boundry areas, there are ribbons of messages left for family members on both sides for family members on the other side. A tough way to live....and that is real barbed wire and concertina wire. |
Seoul has some nice Buddhist temples, and we went to one that was near the hotel.
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| Sarah in front of the Maitreya Buddah ("The future buddha who vows to save sentient beings after the era of the original buddha). This statue depicts Miatreya coming down to earth to save all those who are suffering" ) in Seoul , South Korean |
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| Rod & Sarah in front of the Bongeunsa temple in Seoul South Korea |
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| The creek at the Bongeunsa Temple, in Seoul, South Korea. The presence of water is very important to Buddism in Korea. The pond depicts one of the nice ponds with full blossoming lotus flowers in the paradise protected by another Buddha. |
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| One of the faithful around noon on a Thursday at the Bongeunsa temple in Seoul, South Korea |
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| The inside of the Bongeunsa temple in Seoul, South Korea. I'm sure there is a significance to the 3 buddahs...but I don't know what it is... |
So that is about it for this week's update. We're back in Shenyang, relaxing and enjoying the crisp, sunny days of fall...before the big chill hits here in North Eastern China!
Thank you for your continued prayers and emails...we love hearing from you all!
Sarah & Rod
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