We were up and checked out of our lovely hotel by 9.30 and grabbed a taxi (another adorable taxi driver - he was so happy and kept telling us we were a lovely family) to the station to drop off our luggage in a storage locker and grab some breakfast. Again we split for breakfast with Ian and Han choosing Korean and Kim and I opting for western - but we were all well fed. The lockers at the station were really cool - for $3 we had the use of a locker for the entire day which required Ian's fingerprint to open and close it. It was great to be able to leave the luggage for the day at the place we would need to head back to in order to get back to Seoul.
Our day began with a longish taxi ride to Beomosa Temple - which is located up in the mountains high above Busan. Our taxi driver at first didn't know where we wanted to go - but after consulting with about 3 other drivers he worked it all out and got us there safely - although the 50 km/h up the winding mountain side with the boys and I in the back was a little scary!
The temple was quite lovely - not as beautiful as Haedong Yonggungsa yesterday - but still very pretty and serene. There was a temple service happening when we got there - so again lots of chanting and praying. You can do a temple stay there - but I think that it would be very full on and maybe a little intense, especially for the boys.
After the temple we began the 'hike' - hmmmm - where do I start? It began at the temple and headed up the mountain to the North Gate (Bungmun). Now when I say up - what I really mean is UP. Up long steep inclines, with lots of rocky steps. I had been told that this was what it would be - so I was a little prepared. However, what I didn't know (and I must add - nor did Ian - and he feels really bad about how the 'hike' turned out) was that the rest of the journey beyond the north gate was pretty much the same. The north gate was lovely - with very light drizzle to keep us cool. From the north gate we headed to the East Gate (Dongmun) along the Geumjeongsanseong - which is the Mount Geumjeong fortress wall.
The track was sooooo hard. I knew it was going to be at least 8.8km but I had not anticipated the hard terrain that we were going to cover. When we weren't climbing - it was quite pleasant - but when we were it was hideous. The east gate was lovely, and along the hike we hugged the fortress wall. The views from the top of the ridge were amazing and we walked through soft misty clouds. From the east gate we headed to the South Gate (Nammun) but I didn't actually make it to that gate. The last 400m detour down the hill - knowing that we had to turn around and hike it back up was just too much and I opted to sit it out. Han - who had saved me along the way by pulling me up inclines - opted to stay with me (I think he was worried I might keel over) - so in the end it was only Kim and Ian who made the trek.
With the hike over we crawled into the cable car station and took an awesome ride down the mountain in a cable car - giving us incredible views of Busan below. Then after a short walk (walk - not hike, along civilised roads) we grabbed a taxi back to the station where we got our tickets, a well earned donut and boarded the train back to the agency.
Now - home again - we have had a bite to eat, a lovely warm shower, chatted to some new families and will collapse in a heap in about 10 minutes.
Smart lockers at the station.
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