November 19th 2007 - Unmunsa
November 19th 2007
Yet another Mystery Tour
And so the autumn arrived in Ulsan ! All of a sudden we went from 22 degrees and shorts to 5 and big woolen jumpers and winter jackets. It's pretty traumatic for me but Paula has waited a long time for this - she had had it with the heat! She was feeling ill the first days of the week, but as the weather turned, she gradually felt better. The colder, the fitter. Unlike me. Although I have now finally gotten over an allergy attack and an annoying tooth ache.
Last week was busy. First we had to say goodbye to Renata, then play squash, another day a poker night with the boys, movie night ... In the end we only had Tuesday and Saturday off. I had to work most of Saturday of course, so I welcomed a quiet evening. Sunday we went on a mystery tour - that is, driving around without other purpose than to check out the scenery. This time it took us to the mountains by Gyeong-Ju, temples, lakes and road racing bikers. At night we were invited for dinner at Pauline and Stuarts, which explains the belated update of this web page !!
"Our" shipyard is not too popular with the neighbors ! It is not unusual that we find the local fishermen striking outside the main gate. This is a permanent banner, though.
In Korea the number 4 is considered an unlucky number, so in some elevators, like this one in the yards new administration building, the number 4 does not exist, but has been replaced by an "F".
Tordur and Ole came over for a movie Friday, but I guess Ole didn't care much for the movie !!
The first stop on Sunday's mystery tour was at a memorial for the unification of the three kingdoms in 600-something, near Gyeong-Ju.
The main building showed the three kings at the time of the unification and the perimeter, under a half roof, had big paintings displaying scenes from the battles.
Autumn has definitely arrived. A biting cold wind was blowing !
Near Unmun there is a nice lake and this octagonal pavilion. The bikers loved the place with its winding mountain roads, so we were passed right and left by road racers lining up to have their videos taken as they came through the curves.
Here I'm taking in the lake, thinking about how nice it would be if only it was 30 degrees warmer !
The scenery is amazing and even though it is cold, it doesn't get as depressing as I make it out to. The sun has been shining all day every day for the last week, so there is plenty of light - not like back in Sweden/Denmark !
This fruit is in season now. I don't know the name of it, but it looks like a yellow khaki and tastes like a mix between a papaya and an apple.
We came across a road sign for a temple and decided to check it out. As it turned out, Unmunsa is a very popular and important temple with LOTS of visitors.
The temple is a little different from many other temples because of the location. Often the temples are located on a mountain side but Unmunsa is situated in a valley without the protection of the mountains.
The temple is still in use so only half of it was open to the public. But maybe because it is still in use, the buildings are very well preserved.
This is labor intensive farming ! Notice that as a finishing touch every lettuce plant has been tied up by a string. No wonder the farm produce is on the expensive side here in Korea.