South Korea - 2017

There are over 80,000 carved wooden blocks. Each is effectively one page. They were carved around 1250, after a previous set was destroyed by Mongolian invaders. The treated birch blocks are housed in an ingenious ventilation structure which minimises variations in humidity, allowing visitors to gain glimpses of the incredible collection.

Hahoe Vilage, near Andong, is like a living museum. It is not a recreation of an old Korean town, for tourists. Rather, it is a village which is still occupied by descendants of those that built the magnificent houses there. Ranging in age over many centuries, it was wonderful to walk around, with photogenic houses, gates, and doors around every corner.

Even without speaking any Korean, and the extremely limited English coming back. When you sit down for dinner, they know you're there to eat. When you point at something on another table, they know that's something you would like. Make a drink gesture, and a beer arrives. Despite the language barrier, we will not go hungry in South Korea. Sliced beef, octopus, scallops, and ALL the trimmings! Korean dining at its best.

Another quirky sign spotted while out and about. When we see things like this, Jo and I just look at each and ask "Why wouldn't you just find a native speaker to proof read it before you made it permanent?"

Jo went to separate some stacked plastic chairs so we could sit, and there he was. Hiding between two chairs. Nervously, he just peered out at us, trying not to move. We let him be, and found another chair to sit on.

As we were walking around, I noticed a string of kites. About 50, at a quick estimate. A while later, I commented that it appeared to be more, maybe 70. Walking through the park, we found four men, letting them out, 1 at a time. By now, around 100. We enquired how many there were, and were told they had about 200 in total. As it was, it would have come down over a few blocks. Best to leave these sorts of things to the experts.

A magnificent Buddhist temple near Gyeongju.

A bridge on the approach to the temple.

A cheeky and playful fellow peers over a rock at us, playing hide and seek as we tried to get his photo. In between scurries, he would sit motionless for a few seconds to take everything in, and that was our chance to snap.