Danyang, my final stop turned out to be my favorite city. I actually didn't see much there, but I like the feel of the place more than anywhere else. It was beautiful and peaceful.
This was the view from my hotel room.
...and on the bridge.
A twenty minute walk from the hotel, I decided to go spelunching in Gosu Cave, but when I arrived, I discovered it was flooded (about waist-deep). There was a man guarding the entrance ensuring no one goes inside. From the photos, once can sort of see the water running down the path.
I walked back toward my hotel, to catch a bus to my next stop, the real reason for coming to Danyang. While waiting for the next bus, I walked around the market.
If I remember correctly, a bus ride of about 45 minutes took me to the entrace of Guinsa, an expansive temple unlike any others I'd visited. It is the headquarters of a specific sect of Buddhism (Chontae).
The temple wends its way up and up and up, seemingly endlessly, up the moutain.
The temple is distinctive among Korean temples in that the buildings are several stories high (due to the contraints of the mountain terrain, I believe) whereas they are usually one or two.
They serve a LOT of people.
The final structure at the top is the "Great Teacher Hall" in honor its head monk (Sangwol Wongak) who chose the temple's location in 1945.
Then I began my decent choosing a different path down.
On my way down, I was stopped by the man and his mother. Actually his mother stopped be and really wanted me to be her son's friend. They're from Busan and he, I was assured numerous times, was single and the same age as me. They were quite friendly and we chatted a bit, but what sort of relalationship could I start in Danyang with someone from Busan?
I thought that I'd missed the final bus, so I took a very expensive taxi ride back to the city and ate quite a feast.
That's a whole fish (actually two whole fish).
The bridge was beautifully lit at night.
One of the floors at my "love motel" was neon blue.
Finally, I went to sleep. Took a bus to East Seoul, then a train to Anyang. I slept a lot.
This was the view from my hotel room.
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