Buddha's Birthday

Last year for Buddha's birthday the boy and I flew to Thailand to receive our sak yants and stuff our faces with pad thai.  We decided to stay a more traditional (and financially safe) route this time around and rented a car with some great friends and explored Korea.  We drove a few hours outside of Pohang to Cheongju, located in the center of the country.  There lies the biggest golden statue of Buddha located within the country. 

Our Saturday started off a little dreary but soon turned to a summer-like state as we traded our rain jackets for shorts and tank tops.  We had a lot of time to kill after our visit in Cheongju and we ended up making our way down to the beautiful town of Gumi where we went on a little hike and took in more stunning temples. 

The mister leaves Korea in a few days and the weekend was such a nice way to end his two year love affair with the country.  We were able to drive around freely, take in the sites that we love so much, and hang out with some lovely people.  And here, ladies and gents, is our weekend in pictures...

Twas beautiful, no?  Every year around Buddha's birthday thousands of lanterns are hung around the temples.  They're adorned with prayers and good wishes.   I wish I could have gotten a few pictures of them at night.  Most of them are lit and it makes for a beautiful sight.  Makes me wish they kept them up all year round.

And don't worry guys, I've still got a week and half left here and with the boy (and cat) leaving before me, I'll have more than enough time to catch up on my blogging.  So I'll leave you with these two pictures until my next post.  They absolutely slay me.

Some things never change.