Gwangdeoksa(n)

April 3, 2014. Cheonan, South Korea.

The Gate.

Spring was barreling in to South Korea. It was the day before Fulbright's Jeju conference and I happened to have the day off, so I hopped on a couple of different buses and made my way to yet another temple and yet another mountain. Gwangdeoksa (광덕사) is the name of the temple, and it's found at the base of Gwandeoksan (광덕산). I hiked, strolled, and generally just pictured my way around for 4 hours.

And here is what I left with:

Not the main temple, but I don't remember the name.

The magnolias were in full swing.

After the main temple complex, I made my way up a random trail and found a fairly creepy abandoned building. As with most other creepy abandoned buildings I come across, I daydreamed about showing up one night with my tripod, some steel wool, and a few good matches, but I'm sure that would have resulted in some kind of raging inferno.

Then came the actual hike up Gwangdeoksan. I told one of my coteachers that I was going hiking there and all he had to say was something to the effect of "wow, that's a really tough hike." Alas, I never discovered just how difficult it is. I came across some burial sites and took a break on a rock surrounded by the purple blossoms that plague mountainsides across Korea every spring. It was there that I decided to make my way back. I was only halfway up the mountain, but I had what I went for. There was a hectic week behind me and a fun-filled weekend ahead of me, but there I had a quiet mountainside all to myself.

I have so many pictures of these.

Above the entrance to Gwangdeoksa.

Pyin Oo Lwin

February 3, 2014. Myanmar.

It was Kaley and I's last full day in Myanmar, and we started very, very early. It was dark. We were in the more or less open bed of a truck with a handful of other people - most of them women - and there were no empty spaces. The women all had some kind of bags, probably off to the market in Pyin Oo Lwin or somewhere on the way. I will never forget how cold it was, or how jealous we were of the one lady who was smart enough to bring and cocoon herself in a blanket.

Found in the small cafe where we had breakfast and regained the feeling in our limbs.

The trip from Mandalay to Pyin Oo Lwin lasts about an hour, and the road is winding and very up or down, depending on which direction you're going. The town was a British hill station back when they were running things, and was used primarily during the hot summer months because it was so much cooler up there. It's now famous for its gardens.

Enough wiki. On to the pictures. First, the morning stroll through town:

Market time!

The main thoroughfare through town.

Retired Captain D.R. Sharma, who learned English from the English.

Kaley and I were making our way to the gardens, and this random old guy stopped us. He introduced himself as an English teacher, and we talked to him for five or ten minutes. About English. About his life in Burma. His story. Before moving on, he gave us his card and asked if we would send magazines, newspapers, even books, as the censorship in Burma doesn't leave him much to read in English. I'm not sure how much we could manage to get into the country, but we have yet to try. Someone remind me later.

Now about those gardens.

I'm guessing this is the name of the gardens in Burmese.

The Kandawgyi Botanical Gardens of Pyin Oo Lwin were pretty cool. We roamed around for over three hours. There was a pond. There were birds. There was a ridiculously large collection of orchids and a not so large number of people. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful place. Not to mention the company.

What a creeper.

You have now seen the beginning and end of my time in Myanmar, but there is much, much more to show and say of the time in between. 

Chicago. Again.

October 17th, 2014.

Yesterday, I returned from my second trip to the Windy City in two months. Here are some photos from a night on the town with my brother-in-law, cameras (and tripods) in hand:

From the northern side of Navy Pier.

Long exposures are a must at Cloud Gate (aka the Bean).

We arrived at Buckingham Fountain about two minutes before they stopped the light show and turned off the fountain.

And here's the cold and windy view from Adler Planetarium, around midnight, with a four minute exposure.