Blossoming

During the first full weekend of April, we welcomed spring by journeying to see the country's most beautiful cherry blossoms in the southern part of the peninsula, in Jinhae and Gyeongju.

We embarked our tour bus at ten til midnight on Friday and traveled through the night before arriving in Jinhae at 6am. We climbed off the bus to see cherry blossom trees as far as the eye could see. And so wandered the streets, sleepy-eyed, breathing in the fresh morning air.

 After three hours of relaxed exploring in Jinhae and another two on the bus, we arrived in Gyeongju, a famous destination for travelers - Korean and foreign - especially during this spring season. In our opinion, the tour was not well organized - we were given rental bikes and five hours to locate various points of interest on a hard-to-follow map. In reality, we struggled to bike through the crowded pathways and couldn't find a single monument from the brochure. Instead, we cycled around the area, got iced coffees, got lost, took some pretty pictures, and ended up ditching our bicycles to enjoy ice cream in the sunshine along the shore of the beautiful lake.

Finally, we checked into our accommodation (typical cheap travel style: sharing with strangers a small, square room filled with floor mats for bedding) and stopped for dinner in a local restaurant with our new roomies.

In the morning, we boarded the bus to a nearby mountain: Namsan. We climbed to the peak to find scenic (though foggy) views, as well as an unexpected mailbox offering free postcards to send home!

A small temple we passed during our hike

Spring.

At the peak.

Across the area, these notorious Buddha statues had been beheaded (look closely!)
because of religious struggles between the people and the power throughout history.

Finally, after descending Namsan, we toured a nearby temple, Bulguksa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built over fifteen centuries ago, this temple has survived devastation - and time - and has been reconstructed time and again after Japanese occupation and religious opposition. At this historical site were found some of the oldest woodblock prints in the entire world.

Before heading back north at the end of our trip, we meandered through a grove of endless cherry blossom trees once more. Having lived in the Washington DC area for two years, I knew that these famed trees were an icon of springtime revival, but nothing I had ever seen before could compare to the infinite cotton candy-pink blooms that spread across the hills and valleys of this region. After viewing these beauties for an entire weekend, each new glimpse took my breath away once again; their magnificence cannot be overstated! The blush confetti that rained down from the branches as a breeze passed by was spectacular, and even the fallen petals that remained on the sidewalks looked like the leftover decor of a springtime wedding ceremony. Truly, these delicate, ephemeral blossoms gently reminded me of the sweet and simple transience of the season and the promise of a beautiful, if fleeting, tomorrow.