Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 56 of 58

6pm Bell ringing at Bongeunsa Temple

Thursday, March 4th

Learning Moment: Seoul, Korea

Every evening at 6pm, we can hear the ringing of the bell at Bonguensa Temple, across the street from our hotel.

Tonight we ran across the street to watch the ceremony.

The monks ring four different bells - the large bell pictured above, a drum, a fish bell, and a cloud bell.

The temple was quiet, so we wandered around a bit and enjoyed the atmosphere.

Votive Candles

After visiting the temple, we dined on Korean Barbecue and Cold Stone ice cream.

All-in-all, a pleasant evening.

Le Grand Tour D'Asia: Day 45 of 58

Sunday, February 21st

Learning Moment: Seoul, South Korea

We spent the day wandering the area around our hotel.

We visited Bong Eun Sa, a Buddhist temple, and then went to Seolleung, the royal tombs of King Seongjong. The tombs were built in the 14th century.

After that, we went to COEX, a large shopping mall, where we ate dinner at "On The Border". It was our first Mexican dinner (or approximation thereof) in 6 weeks. And we needed it...

Anyway, I've seen temples before. I've even seen royal tombs before. But, I've never seen a divining (or 'dowsing rod') class being conducted.

I'm not sure if they are learning to find water. It seemed as though they were learning to track energy. The instructor (who spoke Korean, so I am learning interpreting actions, gestures, and the occasional English word like 'energy') kept demonstrating that his rod wanted to point to the top of any nearby pagoda or stupa.

Whether it works or not, I cannot say (science says, "no"). But, it was pretty funny watching a group of serious looking guys in suits play with these fancy sticks.