Naejangsan National Park

On the 5th we set off for our first exploration of Korea together. We stayed within the Jeollabuk-do province of South Korea. First up was Naejansan National Park. Last weekend we bought a GPS system which definitely came in handy during this trip. After a lot of frustration in finding this park, we finally got to what we like to do, hike. Hiking is one of the great past times of Koreans and their trails are serious. Not a whole lot of switch backs (some trails are just straight up), and throughout the trail there were plenty of narrow metal staircases, ropes and rails to help us up and and down the peaks. Plus it is very humid here and its July so the air temp was pretty hot (so we were pretty sweaty). The first picture is Ben in front of the Konaejangam temple with the mountains in the background. If you want to go into the actual temple (with the Buddha in it) you have to take your shoes off. We only went into one temple because we didn't want to disturb people praying in them. We then hiked to the top of the Soraebong and Bulchulbong peaks. Our last stop on this trail, was the temple for which the park was named, the Naejangsa temple. You could stay overnight with the Monks here for about $40, but we didn't do that. The last picture is of a pagoda with one of the many small temple building in the background. It was a very relaxing place. After the hike Ben and I had a melon pop which was kind of like a melon flavored ice cream Popsicle. Very good.