Buddha's Birthday

May 24th, and we got a day off school for Buddha's birthday. We'd decided that we were going to go to the fortress in Suwon. It was throwing it down, as it did all day, but we didn't let it spoil things. Instead of walking the whole of the wall, we decided that we'd go to Hwaseong Palace, part of the fortress complex.

So Samantha and myself met up with Kristin and we all headed into Suwon. The rain didn't dent our spirits, as we spent the afternoon meandering from courtyard to courtyard in the palace. Not having an umbrella and getting sick of trying to share Samantha's, I skirted along the walls, sheltering as much as I could from what had by this point become torrential rain.

After spending most of the afternoon there, we had noticed a huge gold Buddha on the hillside, only a short walk from the palace. Being the big man's birthday, we thought it appropriate to pay our respects.

The walk up the street was something else, as it was somewaht akin to a fast flowing river. The temple was pretty quiet, the rain likely keeping people away. We hung-out long enough to take in the atmosphere, before making our way back down the street and catching a taxi back to the station.

We ended the day chilling at home, with a DVD. It's still raining even now. We've got school again tomorrow, but then its the weekend. I think that we'll be having a quiet one this weekend, as we gear-up for Samantha's 30 celebrations next weekend.