MOUNTAINS

Looking back at the last 18 days of holiday.

And so the journey begins, Seoul, South Korea…

The Dongaemum Design Plaza

Pink character in the The Dongaemum Design Center

1st night of arrival, we ask a taxi to bring us to the centre of Gangnam and he drops us off in front of & Other Stories, I work at the Paris Atelier of & Other Stories!

The City Hall water wave of glass over the Metropolitan Library

Cycling through the traffic at Yeouido

A modern shopping mall

Bike ride along the Han River

The city seen from the National Museum of Korea

Interior Ceiling of the National Museum of Korea

Buddha in the National Museum of Korea

The city rising at Yeouido

A face sculpture near Seoul Station

The Lotte World Tower seen from Lotte World (think Disney in pastel shades)

The city and Namsan Mountain seen from the N Seoul Tower

Namsan Mountain, Seoul

The N Seoul Tower seen from the Namsagol Hanok Village

Interior of a house in the Hanok village

Taekwondo in Action at the Hanok Village

Traditional Costume (Hanbok) at the Hanok Village

The changing of the Deoksungung palace guard

Deoksungung palace

British colonial architecture on the Deoksungung palace grounds

Bell on the grounds of Deoksungung palace

Deoksungung palace detail

Traditional Hanbok costume at the Gyeongbokgung Palace

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Girls taking pictures at the Changdeokgung Palace

Relaxing at the Changdeokgung Palace

Hand painted detail of the wooden roof at the Changdeokgung Palace

Gyeonghoeru Pavilion at the Gyeongbokgung Palace

Gyeongbokgung Palace

The Secret Garden and Pavilion at the Changdeokgung Palace (Joseon Dynasty 1392-1910)

The Secret Garden, Changdeokgung Palace

Changdeokgung Palace

The Men’s quarters in the secret garden at the Changdeokgung Palace

Changdeokgung Palace

Ready for the hike at Bukansan National Park Mountain Range

Buddhas at the first Temple along the mountain trail

Buddhist Temple along the mountain trail

Going up

Another mountain Temple

Mountain Temple Bell

Temple entrance gate

Golden Buddha in the hills

Temple roof detail

Buddhist Temple

Top of the mountain

A view from the top.

To be continued…

All photographs by Damien B. Donnelly

I am airborne,
Life is being lived
Beneath me
Amid the flickering lights,
In the daunting darkness,
Like festive fairies twinkling-
All myth and mystery,
Miles away
Amid mountains
That look like molehills,
Meandering mechanically
In moving motors.

I am now living
In the breath held,
Passing through time,
Pausing,
Passive,
Patient,
Pondering possibilities,
Playing ability
Against probability
Wondering where I will rest
One day, that day
When wings ring out
With weariness
And my feet find their land again
And path to plod along.
I know
What lies beneath,
Have seen the suction
Of the cites
And their seduction,
Have seen the wonder
In the wilderness
Where wolves are wild
And winds are free,
But I am ignorant
Of what rests above,
Up there,
Out of reach,
Far from sight
In the darkening deafness,
Beyond the burnt out stars
And all understanding of existence.