Street fights, surprise charitable donations and ice cream...

That title was catchy wasn't it!  You'll have to wait for the good stuff.  We'll get to it later.

I fell to the allure of the nap Sunday morning, deciding sleep was more important than heading out to explore at the moment.  But after a very refreshing nap I saw the sun blazing and knew this wasn't a day I could afford to waste just hanging around home, especially with winter knocking on the door.

I got a late start, as I didn't leave until 1 p.m., but I decided to set off to Seoul with Insa-dong as my goal. Insa-dong is an area of Seoul famous as the art galleries, antique shops, souvenir joints, tea houses and traditional restaurants.  Between walking the street, checking out a bell tower and a Buddhist temple, I figured there was plenty for me to squeeze in an afternoon, especially since it would take me at least 90 minutes to get there on the subway.

My first stop was the Bosingak Bell Pavilion.  It dates back to the Joseon period (it was build around 1400).  Supposedly, it tolls everyday at noon except during December, but my laziness prevented me from finding out firsthand.

Across the street from the pavilion is a distinct member of Seoul's skyline, the Jongno Tower.  I've been told the Top Cloud Bar & Grill Cafe has great food and an even better view.  It's on the list.

Then it was off to my first "real" Buddhist temple in Korea.  This one, Jogyesa, is the head temple of Korea's largest Buddhist sect.  It was definitely worth the stop.  It was tucked right in the heart of the city.  I observed an ongoing chant led by a monk and slowly started to hear the chanting of all the people.  It was hard to hear at first, but when I really listened I could hear the slow buzz.  That was pretty cool.  And I met a U.S. embassy employee whose daughter is a freshman at UW (he was wearing a UW shirt).

Money, water and other gifts are appreciated.

After the temple it was on to Insa-dong, the reason I set out on this adventure in the first place.  Insa-dong is basically a street with all the goodies I described above.  At the head of the street, I stopped to check out some water features and take everything in for a moment.

As I stowed my camera and was about to head down the street I was stopped a monk/huckster, maybe both.  My guard was let down because he's a monk right, so I didn't think anything of it when he presented me with this Buddha metal print and wanted me to sign my name in his little book.  Only then did I realize what he was really after was my wallet.  As I reluctantly dug for my wallet, he put some beads around my wrist.  I gave him 10,000 won, thinking that was pretty generous, but he insisted on 30,000 and when I balked, 20,000, but I stuck with my offer and made my way, lesson learned.

My gifts from my charitable contribution.

My little learning experience with the monk behind me, I finally made it to Insa-dong.  Expecting to take in all the street is reported to offer, what do I run into first but an Irish heritage celebration.  This is Korea, right?

Shortly after resuming my way down the street I got stopped by a quartet of high school students who wondered if they could interview me.  Flying solo and without anywhere to be, I said what the heck.  Two cameras and a couple of sets of batteries later the interview was done and I was back on my way.

Insa-dong was pretty cool, and I'll definitely go back again when I have some more time and a better grasp on Korean.  I decided to walk through Myeong-dong on the way home and almost witnessed my first street fight, as a guy about my age was not about to back down from a senior citizen who had a beef with him.  But sorry to disappoint many of you, but nothing really materialized (sorry for the headline tease).

I snagged some ice cream (more frozen yogurt-ish really) at a familiar place in Myeong-dong and then set off for the subway stop.  The trip was capped by the sight of a brilliant orange moon in a pink sky over the river.  And tomorrow's Monday.