Family Fun Tip: Festivals

Originally Posted on May 4, 2018 in Free, Fun, Family

Spring has finally sprung here in Maryland.  In our delightful small city, family-friendly festivals are held year-round.  However the pleasant-weather months of Spring, Summer, and Fall are the heaviest seasons for festivals, since they are usually outdoors.

Every year, our family attends between five and twenty-five festivals or similar events within close driving distance.  We’ve been to farm festivals, history festivals, nature festivals, children’s festivals, Asian/Korean/other culture festivals, holiday-themed festivals (think Fourth of July or Halloween), wine/cheese/maple syrup festivals, and more.  We spend time researching different events in our area and challenge ourselves to find new ones, even as we reprise visiting our favorites.

Such events can be quite expensive, with many opportunities to spend money on food, clothing/gift items, and activities, so it pays to do some work to keep costs down and maximize the fun without a lot of spending.  Here are my tips for maximizing your frugal enjoyment of these festivals:

1. Look for festivals with no or very low entry fees, and watch for hidden fees.  And watch out for “free” entry, but then everything associated with the event costs money (parking fees, tickets to purchase for activities, extra money for tastings, etc.).  Most of the festivals we frequent are free with free parking, but we’ll pay a bit if it offers a lot of entertainment value for our whole family.  I find that festivals sponsored by nonprofit entities (health agencies, parks and rec, churches, libraries, etc.) tend to be better about this than private organizations, but not always.  One of my favorite festivals for our young children is the spring/fall festival at a local commercial dairy farm (where the goat picture came from).  They are very generous with their samples, full of fun activities and performers, and free hayrides up a mountain.
2. Pack most of your food, but splurge on the “special treat.”  Most festivals have food vendors selling very overpriced, mediocre meals.  It’s easy to spend $20 (or more) for a family of four on crappy sandwiches and/or room temperature pizza.  We usually pack a decent picnic lunch, water bottles, and snacks, but plan to spend a little on something unique to the festival–like purchasing some maple candies at the maple syrup festival or ice cream from the aforementioned dairy farm.  That said, we still limit our portions and share (two single servings are usually more than enough for the four of us).
3. Beware impulse purchases.  You are having a great time.  The weather’s lovely!  Your children are happy and cooperative!  These nice artists are here talking about the local sources for their supplies–and suddenly $50 for a pair of earrings for Mom’s Christmas gift doesn’t sound unreasonable at all…  STOP!  Most vendors will have contact information and an online store.  You can still support them if you enjoyed their art and their story, but there is no need to make that decision RIGHT THERE.
4. Look for discounts. One of our favorite carnivals is the local firehouse carnival.  There are two or three nights they offer “Ride All Night” for one price specials.  But even better–if you buy these tickets a month or so in advance, they cost less than half what they do if you buy them at the door.  Some of the sponsors of festivals have deals through their websites or even through services like Groupon.  It doesn’t hurt to look around.
5. Beware crowds. Try to find less popular festivals.  Or go when the weather is less optimal (cold, windy days and light drizzle are still fine if you have proper outerwear and an enterprising attitude).  Or arrive really early.  Crowds usually mean long lines and whiny kids–NOT FUN.

Get out and learn about your community without much cost!  What was your favorite family festival experience?

Family Fun Tip: Attend School Events

 Originally Posted on March 25, 2018 on Free, Fun Family

I’m an educator by profession and a huge fan of public schools.  What you might not know is that local schools provide hours and hours of low-cost or free events.  This weekend, my family enjoyed two evenings of very low-cost entertainment by checking out our local public schools.

Friday night, my son’s  school (a classical charter K-8) hosted an “Arts Night” where the teachers of specials (Art, Music, PE, Spanish, and Latin) each planned an activity for families.  The PE teacher had a volleyball net and soccer field set up indoors.  The Music teacher had youtube videos streaming of those Xbox-style dance video games while we all danced along (“Footloose” was popular with the parents).  The Art teacher had paint markers and pre-treated rocks for the “Kindness Rocks” movement.  She let students design “classical” rocks (my son painted the Acropolis).  The Latin teacher had students create a coat of arms on a cereal box.  Finally, the Spanish teacher had students make a “god’s eye” traditional Mexican craft with yarn and popsicle sticks.

The whole evening was stress-free, fun for both my son (who saw his friends from school and played with them) and his younger sister (who loves to think of herself as going to school like big brother).  As a parent, I made connections with other parents at the school and got to know his teachers outside of his normal classroom teachers.  There were even door prizes for visiting each activity.  Best of all, my son learned a new favorite craft (guess which one?).

Check out what your child’s school might offer.  Many schools have fairs, talent shows, competitions, etc. with little to no entry fee.

Another great option is to look at the local high school offerings.  Until February when I got a promotion, I was a teacher at our local high school, so I had an “inside scoop,” but these days most high schools publish an e-mail newsletter to inform the public of events. Even though our children are young (6 and 2), many high school events are appropriate for all ages.  We go to sporting events, music nights, science fairs, plays and musicals, and art shows.  Some have small entrance fees (in the $5 range for adults, often children younger than 8 are free or reduced cost), but these fees support the student events and programs you enjoy.  Also, high school students LOVE young kids (often their siblings are older than my kids).

Saturday night we attended a male “beauty pagent” (Mr. OurTown) for the senior class.  It’s sponsored by the National Honor Society and all the proceeds go to charity.  While some of the jokes are aimed at the adolescent male mindset (one boy’s escort was his “girlfriend” that was his best friend’s mom *eye roll*), mostly it was funny and sweet with some neat musical, dance, and performance talents.  The kids loved watching the antics and the excitement of a live performance. Full disclaimer: I was asked to judge this event as a former teacher, so my husband was fully responsible for managing both kids during the show–not recommended!

The crazy thing is that if we’d wanted even more things to do this weekend, the public schools had more offerings than we could have possible enjoyed.  There was a science and social studies fair, many sports games, and a spring musical.  That happens just about every weekend!  Check out your local schools for some great, low-cost family entertainment.

Flashback Travel: Haeinsa Temple, July 2010

Temple art detail.  I would love to know which Buddhist story this comes from...

During the rainy season in Korea last year, I ventured to Haeinsa Temple with my friend Paul. The miserable rainy weather here reminded me of this trip. Despite the cloudy skies and constant, unpleasant drizzle, it was a pleasant trip to one of my favorite temples.

The Tripitaka Koreana and the reason for this temple's fame.  It's the print panels for a really old and awesome Buddhist text, preserved in traditional wood structures.

I had an epiphany walking this maze back in March 2008 when I came here with another friend.

Check out the full album with lots of cool temple art details:

Haeinsa, 2010

Jeollanam-do Part 2: Daewonsa and Tibetan Museum

Small chipmunk on one of hundreds of red-capped Buddha statues at Daewonsa Temple.
People who've never been to Korea ask me if it is a nice place to visit. I have a hard time answering. Korea is full of history and beauty and charmingly delightful people--all things that should make it an ideal place for the adventure tourist. However, I tend to say that it is an awesome place to live and a good place to visit if you know people there, but that it's probably not the greatest place in the world to just travel around with a backpack for a few weeks. Although lovely and relatively unknown to the backpackers of the world, Korea remains a country that is a touch overcrowded (though not with tourists and lacks the tourist infrastructure of other Asian countries which can be both refreshing and frustrating for the lone traveler). What's more though is that Koreans have limited self-appreciation of the kind of cultural sites that appeal to such foreign tourists. One is more likely to be directed to a plastic reconstructed "historical village theme park" by the locals than to the preserved ruins of the actual former kingdom a few kilometers down the road; to gaudy and badly-run festivals and tourist villages than to local markets and active village communities that show the true daily life of rural Korea. Until the Korean tourist department realizes the general dislike Western travelers have for such falsified experiences (the worst I've personally seen was a museum in Jeju of preserved insects set up in carefully done dioramas that depicted scenes from Hollywood movies with not one bit of English information about the local insects of Korea. I still have nightmares about praying mantis ET), the country will be obscured and overshadowed by its Far East neighbors who have figured out how to get our tourist dollars.

Fishing Dragon. Temple detail at Daewonsa.
So even as relatively under traveled and undiscovered to the Western travel world as Korea is, it's not often that I feel like I've stumbled upon hidden travel gems here. One such time was our trip last year to the small island near Geoje-do of Somaemul-do. Certainly without the benefit of my own transportation, my travels are often limited to where the bus goes (which in Korea, luckily, is almost everywhere!). However, very far from the beaten path--off a poorly marked "scenic highway" and well outside any real city's limits--lies Daewonsa and the connected Tibet Museum.

More temple detail. Notice the tiny, individual artwork on each supporting beam as well as the roof artwork that runs along the wall panel. This is not the typical level of detail in Korean temples.
Rather understated for something so unequivocally lovely, Daewonsa features natural and cultivated beauty (indeed I saw more wildlife in a temple than I've ever seen before) and temples of extraordinary detail, very well maintained. The atmosphere is unusually mysterious and reflective (although this could be because we arrived at the start of the temple-stay silence period, but I think it's also the design and intention).

A preserved example of intricate Tibetan sand art housed in the museum.
It's also notable because one of the leading monks has a fascination with Tibet and the Buddhism of Tibet and has collected so many varied and eclectic artifacts and information from that country that it is now housed in a separate, lovely, three-floor structure devoted to informing Koreans about the country and culture. Especially strange is the basement "death experience" where you learn about Tibetan Buddhists' understanding about death and you can go through a zen-like exercise where you "die" to come to an understanding yourself. Min Gi was too afraid. I was about to do it, when a family with two young children wandered in. Somehow dying in front of children who were shyly saying "hello" and staring at me seemed a bit too awkward, so I ultimately declined.


Overall the temple is well worth the long trip out there. If we'd had the time, I would like to have done the temple stay, but we were unprepared for the meditation and silent reflection and fasting that they had on the schedule. So we continued on to Gwangju for dinner.

See more from our Jeollanam-do trip:

Jeollanam-do

Gyeongju Spring Flowers

Scenic bridge in Gyeongju on the perilous drive up to Seokguram.
Although you'd never know it from the weather this week, spring has arrived in Korea. Spring means lots of flowers, especially the numerous 벚꽃--cherry blossoms (many originally planted during Japanese imperialism as a way to demoralize and imperialize Korea, which have thankfully lost much of their negative associations for young Koreans). Last weekend, Min Gi and I drove out to Gyeongju to visit our friend Hayoung, partake of the spring flowers, and finally see Seokguram one of the most famous historic pieces of Buddhist art in all of Korea that I have managed to fail to see on each of my many trips to Gyeongju.

Min Gi in front of the grotto that houses the stone buddha of Seokguram.
Seokguram, along with Bulguksa, make up one of Gyeongju's two UNESCO World Heritage sites. Although it is only a few kilometers from the temple I've visited many times, I've never actually made it out there. Carved in the late 700s, the stone statue in the cave is quite stunning and well-preserved, although it is behind glass and photos are not permitted. The winding path up the mountain was terrifying in Min Gi's old Korando, but the walk to and from the grotto was peaceful and natural.

We even observed this guy, a woodpecker (딱다구리).
We had a traditional Korean lunch with our friend Hayoung, who was one of the announcers at our wedding. We then had some coffee in a small park near his apartment.

And I revert to my five year old self.

Finally, Min Gi and I battled the intense traffic of every other Korean person in Gyeongsangbuk-do who wanted to see the cherry blossoms near Beomun Lake resort and took two hours to drive less than five kilometers.

But the peaceful afternoon views were worth the crowds.

Gyeongju Spring Flowers

Visiting Ben; Ko Kret Pottery Village

Our friend and my first swing dance teacher, Ben, lives in Bangkok. The first night we arrived, Ben met us at the hotel and showed us around a bit by taking us to an amazing Thai seafood restaurant. We sat right on the river and ate delicious curry as we caught up on Ben's life since we'd last seen him at the wedding.


Dinner with Ben. We made his girlfriend wait too long and she went home before we met her--oops!
Ben recommended a day trip to the small traditional pottery island, Ko Kret, which was just a little north of Bangkok proper and accessible from the main river. Although we had wanted to find an independent boat to take us there so we could explore at our leisure, we were only able to find a group tour boat. It was ok because we got to see a number of small temples and some interesting scenes along the river, but we only had one hour to explore the island of Ko Kret itself and both Min Gi and I felt like that wasn't really enough time.


One of the royal longboats housed in the Royal Boats Museum

A pottery artist works on Ko Kret.

Typical family home along the river running through Bangkok. This one is pink! Yay, pink!

Ko Kret and other Bangkok Nights

And so I have arrived at the end of our honeymoon travels. It was an amazing two weeks, through two beautiful countries. We ate a ton of awesome food and saw lots of cool stuff and even came back with matching tattoos. I think we're going to do this honeymoon thing every year!

The Sights of Bangkok

In front of the Royal Palace.
We finished our honeymoon in Bangkok. We stayed on a nice hotel just off Khao San Road called Rambuttri Village Inn--our only hotel of the entire trip with air conditioning and a pool, but both were worth it by this point in our journey.


The stone guardians had such funny expressions.
On our first full day in the city, we simply walked around the city and visited the three main historical/cultural attractions: The Royal Palace which houses the "Emerald" Buddha (actually jade), Wat Pho a temple that houses the famous gold Reclining Buddha, and across the river Wat Arun or the Temple of the Dawn.


The huge Reclining Buddha statue of Wat Pho.
The day we visited, there were supposed to be some huge political protests and all the taxi drivers told us not to go downtown, but other than a strong police presence near The Royal Palace, there was absolutely nothing going on. I was actually a bit disappointed because it could have made for some cool pictures.


Min Gi attempts to blend in with the giant guardians of the Royal Palace.

The steps of Wat Arun, Temple of the Dawn, are quite steep. They reminded us a bit of the steep climes at Angkor.

After viewing the Royal Palace in Cambodia and the temples in the capitol city, the obvious difference in the economic situations of the two countries is very noticeable. Too bad they have to be practically at war with each other over sites of their mutual heritage.

Bangkok Sights Album

Ko Chang: An Island Paradise

Unbelievably blue and warm, swimming in the water here was more like soaking in a giant, picturesque bathtub.
After we finished touring Phnom Penh, we hopped a bus that would take us through the land border between Cambodia and Thailand on the Gulf of Thailand all the way to the ferry and then on to the island of Ko Chang, Thailand. Ko Chang is rather large, with several beaches along the coast and lots of mountainous jungle and waterfalls in the center. We stayed in a tiny, rusted-out, dirt cheap bungalow with no air conditioning or hot water, located a five minute walk from Lonely Beach for four nights. It was perfect.


Lonely Beach, one of the less developed "backpacker" beaches on the island.
Ok, I did not plan to get a tattoo. Min Gi has wanted to get one for awhile now, although they are associated with gangsters in Korea and are illegal. (He's a rebel about this kind of stuff. Notice the earring.) But I have never been interested in cutting myself for decoration.

However, in Thailand they use a bamboo needle technique that the artist, a friendly fellow named One, swore to us was less painful than regular tats. Rather than cutting into your skin, they set the ink in by poking you about a thousand times with a very sharp needle. It doesn't hurt so much as tingle. Afterward, the area was a bit sore and swollen for like an hour, but we could go swimming later the same day, which I understand you cannot do with regular tattoos. Min Gi really wanted us to get tattoos together.

I decided that I wanted a moon design because my name, Diana, comes from the Roman goddess of the hunt and the moon (Artemis in Greece). I suggested Min Gi get a sun, but after working with our tattoo artist on my design, Min Gi liked it so much, he decided that he wanted the same one. We each got some Thai writing, mine reads "today" and his reads "Diana tomorrow" because of the song we danced to at the wedding.


Showing off our honey-moon moons. Get it? I know, I groan at my own puns, too.
One day, we rented a motorbike to navigate the winding, mountainous roads along the coast of the island. This is very dangerous. However, it was really fun, and Min Gi is an excellent driver. We made our way to one of the hiking paths for a waterfall and decided to check it out.


Min Gi approves of the waterfall.

However, by far the highlight of our time on the island was taking an all day snorkeling boat trip to some of the coral reefs on the surrounding islands. I had never been snorkeling before, but after a bit of adjusting to the pressure of the mask and breathing through your mouth, I was quickly swimming with the fish. I floated along with iridescent, neon, rainbow-colored fish, darting about giant black sea urchins and clams the size of my head. Absolutely incredible.


Jumping off the second story of the tour boat. I can fly!

I tried so hard not to get sunburn, but I forgot about the backs of my legs while facing down with the snorkel mask and got a pretty nasty burn that faded to a tan you can still see, one month later. Min Gi got burned because he foolishly thought his browner complexion would protect him. He underestimated the power of the sun that close to the equator.

All in all, this was the most relaxing portion of our trip, and the most beautiful views of nature. I would definitely return here for another round in the future:

Ko Chang Album

Jack of All Trades

My husband is on a mission to find out what his true passion is.

After being a computer programmer for a contracting company to Samsung (and getting fed up with the extensive hours and Korean work culture) and then owning his own networking/computer repair business until the world economic crisis dried up contracts, he's decided he no longer wants to do anything with computers for his career. For awhile, he thought he might want to own a bar or restaurant, so he had taken a job as a bartender and that's how I met him, but he's since realized that it's a pretty unhealthy lifestyle. About a year ago, he happened into a nine month contract as a temp for the Department of Labor which brought him a steady salary doing data entry and site visits, but he quit that job so he could take enough time off for the wedding preparations and then our honeymoon.

Although he is now picking up odd jobs with friends, this has left him with a lot of free time. He has started filling it with new hobbies.

One day I came home and was greeted with the question, "What do you think about wire art?"

"Wire art?"

"Yes." He shows me some pictures online. "I want to learn how to make it. I ordered a book about it!"

"Sounds great, honey."

A week later, I find Min Gi on the floor of our bedroom with beads and earring backs and pliers surrounding him. He is making jewelry. Over the next few weeks, he repairs my two broken necklaces and makes three new pairs of earrings for me. Thank you, honey.

"I found a soccer club that meets on Tuesday nights near our apartment!"

"Great, hon!" And let me kiss the knee you've scraped up.

Next, he begins visiting the library every day to read about American culture and study English. He even gets his first library card. He is very proud of this (and rightfully so... library cards are AWESOME). Let's read together, honey.

This weekend he announces that a mutual friend of ours has offered to teach him to play the guitar.

"But you don't have a guitar."

"He has an extra one that he will let me borrow."

After one lesson this Saturday, our house has been filled nonstop with the irregular strums of a beginning guitarist. You're doing so well for just two days, honey!

He hasn't found it quite yet, but at this rate, I'm pretty sure he'll figure out what it is that he truly loves doing. Or at least we'll both be entertained...

I love this man.

Last Day of Angkor Temples

On day three of the honeymoon, we rode the tuktuk a bit out from the main temple sites to see Banteay Srei (the women's temple--so called for its superior, finely detailed artwork) and one other temple. We also stopped by the Cambodia Landmine Museum, founded by a man called Akira who was once a boy soldier for the Khmer Rouge but now spends his time assisting the Cambodian government in de-mining Cambodia. It was our first taste of the more tragic recent history of a country once so glorious as to produce these beautiful sites:

Angkor Wat: Outlying Temples and Landmine Museum

The Landmine Museum also runs an orphanage. We met a retired American couple who have been volunteering with Akira for the last two years. The man does outreach, education about mines, and fundraising, while his wife teaches English at the orphans' school. Their work and Akira's story were very sobering, but very inspiring. We ended up donating a bit to the museum's various de-mining and orphan assistance programs.

Angkor: Day Two

Angkor Wat is big. Really big. It dwarfs even Hawaiian-shirt Min Gi. It's hard not to wonder how on earth these structures were built so long ago.

The second day of the honeymoon, we rose at 4 a.m. to make it out to the main temple, Angkor Wat, for a 6 a.m. sunrise. Walking to the temple in the dark was very spooky--especially because we forgot our flashlight back at the guesthouse. Fortunately, Min Gi had brought his cell phone!

Sunrise--minus the sun. Very crowded on the hill where we could view it, but definitely worth the trip!

We spent about three early morning hours exploring Angkor Wat, before the crowds overrun it. It is by far the most impressive temple in the park (hence why the whole park is named for it). The grounds and towers are massive and from the top you can see out over most of the whole city. The innermost temple (quite a steep stair climb up) is still a sacred site for the Khmer, so you have to cover your shoulders. I had stupidly worn one of the few sleeveless shirts I wore all vacation on that day, so I almost missed out on the experience. Fortunately, a kind tour guide loaned me his scarf so that I could go up with my husband. In the album there is a sad picture of Min Gi looking down at me left behind.

Making himself at home.

The other temples on the "Grand Circuit" were less crowded than the "Little Circuit" and much more interesting. My favorite temple site in the whole complex was Ta Prohm, known as the "jungle temple."

Ta Prohm was half nature, half ruin. It was amazing and totally kicked the Tomb Raider temple's butt for awesome gnarly trees destroying the stone walls.

Min Gi leaves a wake of destruction in his farmer-hat-wearing trail. (caption credit to Leah).

I think I took many of my favorite pictures from the whole trip on this day, so you really should check out the full 104-picture album:

Angkor Wat and the "Grand Circuit" Temples

Angkor: Day One!

Let me entertain you!

I'm finally starting to post about the honeymoon--it's only been a month since we departed Korea for Siem Reap, Cambodia. Siem Reap is best known for being the city nearest the Angkor Wat archaeological park. We spent three days exploring the temples and surrounding areas. On the first full day, our tuktuk (a passenger trailer pulled behind a motorcycle--perfect for transporting two people) driver, Tee, took us to Angkor Thom and then around to some surrounding temples on what's called the "Little Circuit."

The main temple at Angkor Thom, Bayon, is distinguished by the 51 towers, each featuring four large faces, said to resemble the great Angkor king Jayavarman under whose reign most of the structures of Angkor Thom were built. You can't go anywhere in this area without the king looking at you. Creepy.

Min Gi imitating one of the many Hindu art reliefs.

The terrace of the elephants at Angkor Thom.

The small children selling souvenir trinkets all around the temple sites are persistent, heartbreaking, and clever. Both Min Gi and I had a hard time saying "no" as often as we needed to. This young lady had an especially snazzy selling technique--speaking to me in both English and Korean--so I bought a bracelet for Min Gi from her.

Memorably frightening and quite a hefty workout, all of the temples had steep stone stairs, seemingly more suitable for monkeys than people. This temple had some of the steepest. Struck by lightning and therefore abandoned by the superstitious builders who believed it was unlucky, Min Gi in his flip-flops chickened out halfway. I took this picture of him from the top. Ha!

At the temple where Tomb Raider was filmed.

To see all of our pictures from the first day at Angkor, check out the photo album:

Angkor Thom and "Little Circuit" Temples

Seoul Adventures (Hongdae Night; Jongmyo)

I briefly mentioned that the last weekend of January Min Gi and I traveled to Seoul. We had two main goals: 1) File the first round of immigration papers for Min Gi's becoming a U.S. Permanent Resident and 2) Go skiing for the first (and only) time this season, the second time in Min Gi's life (the first was my Christmas present to him last year). However, I'm not going to blog about either of those here. I'm going to blog about the extra adventures we took while we had a chance to visit Seoul again, sans the whole family clan.

Hongdae Night

We arrived in Seoul on a Friday evening, hungry and excited. We decided to look around the Hongik University area (or "Hongdae" as it is more popularly known). Although it was very cold and we had our backpacks on, we wandered all over the area that I've come to know secondhand through the lovely bloggers of Doing It Korean Style and I lost my mind in Seoul. I even saw the infamous TinPan, advertisements for something called "The Donkey Show" which looks absolutely terrifying, and a bar called Boobi Boobi (you can see photographic evidence of these things in the photo album above). It was club night, but we were there around 7 p.m. so the action hadn't started yet. We would have loved to actually hang out for the party scene, but waking up to go skiing at 7 a.m. is not conducive to a late night.

A night view of the second-floor restaurant.
We found a beautiful little Spanish restaurant called La Paella (guess what it serves?). The chefs were Spanish and the food deliciously spiced and savory (and since we ordered the vegetarian paella, also rather healthy). We devoured it quite fast. I continue to maintain that if I lived in Seoul I would be broke and fat, but my tummy would be very, very happy.

Min Gi, trying to look "cool," with our amazing cafe desserts!
After dinner, we were looking for a coffee shop to rest and talk and discovered a little gem a bit off the main Hongdae strip called Cafe Atre (I believe... it may have been Arte, but it was next to a "Piano Cafe" if that helps you find it). The menu was amazing. Min Gi ordered an iced coffee drink and a scone, while I got a tea called "Snow White's Apple" (complete with apple slice in the cup) and a piece of chocolate "cake" that was more like a brownie. The atmosphere was very comfortable and although cutsey (like all of Korea), the wooden beams made it feel like a converted barn and was kind of rustic for Seoul.

We found a nice motel in nearby Sinchon and met our tour bus to Phoenix Park the next morning. We returned to Seoul late on Sunday, ready to file the paperwork at the U.S. embassy on Monday morning.

Jongmyo, Royal Ancestral Shrine

After filing the paperwork, we headed to one of the few remaining UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Korea that I have not yet visited, the Royal Ancestral Shrine of the Joseon Dynasty, Jongmyo.

A rare finding in a Joseon monument--a memorial shrine honoring a king from Goryeo.
A small bit of historical information: Most of the ancient sites and palaces around Seoul and Gyeonggido are relics of the Joseon dynasty, which was the last Korean dynasty lasting from 1392 until the Japanese occupation of Korea in 1910, or from the dynasty before that, Goryeo. However, the area surrounding Daegu is Kyungsang-do, which contained the Silla kingdom from the period of the three kingdoms before Goryeo dominated. I must say that, in general, I find Silla art and architecture to be far more compelling and emotional than the more severe and sombre Confucian designs of Joseon. I believe, although I have not done nearly enough research on the matter, that this preference comes from Silla's stronger connection to Buddhism and religion. I admire Joseon's attention to geometric unities and impressive structures, but I am not stirred by them in the same way I have been at temples throughout the Kyungsang provinces.

Min Gi stands on the immense stone platform, upon which the Royal Ancestral Rites and ceremonies were observed, in front of the main shrine building.
However, at Jongmyo, I did feel a bit moved. Perhaps the gray sky and remaining snow and ice enhanced the impressiveness of the architecture. Or perhaps I was just relieved of the burden of filing those immigration papers, but either way, I was quite speechless in the face of the main shrine area.

Said to be the longest traditional building in Asia, the perfect symmetry of the shrine lends an eerie feeling to the place--like the entrance to the Labyrinth.
After passing through Jongmyo itself, a small foot bridge over a busy Seoul street leads you to one of the less important of the five main Seoul Palaces, Changgyeonggung. Although we were tired from carrying around our backpacks all this time, we explored the grounds a bit.

In front of Changgyeonggung.
All in all, I'm glad I got to see a bit more of Seoul. I'm finally starting to feel a bit more comfortable in that city. Enough so that I think I might be able to live there if I get a job there in the distant future. That's a good thing to know.