Outside the temple, the entire temple complex lay under a sky of lanterns.
I think this Buddha looks like a cartoon character.
Another beautiful door. What is it with me and door decorations?
A monk banging a really big drum. 
We saw some really fantastic lanterns at the festival.
Caught in the rain and still waiting for the parade to begin, we ducked into McDonald's for a little bite to eat after almost choking on some truly disgusting chicken-ball street food. When we emerged, the parade had already began and we were able to get a spot on the street for all the action.
Ajumas are sort of the terror of Korea. An Ajuma is an old woman who thinks she is queen and will take no notice if you are in her way. I once heard a story about an ajuma who pushed a bride and stepped on her train when she barged her late self into the middle of a wedding. I've had a few run-ins myself. This picture makes me think of Seoul's ajuma un-dead, roaming the streets at night with lanterns as they search for souls to eat. Muwahaha! 
One some-what frustrating part of the festival parade was the constant route changes. We think the parade entries were being separated by vehicles/floats and walking groups as the parade moved toward the temple because one set seemed to continue down the same street while the other turned the corner and moved toward Bosingak. Consequently, we were constantly on the move. But that wasn't too bad I guess. We did get some exercise and it did keep us warm since the night was a little chilly.... This particular float (pictured above) was really cool. The dragons shot flames from their mouths!
A really big elephant lantern. There were also dinosaurs. :)
It was a pretty fun evening but we were beat by the end. There was a lot to see and a lot of running around too. But we did run into a few friends and had a good time observing one of Korea's special cultural traditions.
Hot Aussie in the flesh with your's truly. :)
1 comment:
Awesome photos!
Awesome Aussie! :)
Hee.
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