Today we decided to go to the lovely town of Suwon and go for a walk along the wall of the Hwaseong Fortress in hopes of enjoying the fall colors. Jennifer pointed out recently that most outings in Korea don't yield the expected result, but always provide a wonderful surprise. Today was no exception. It turned out that autumn still hasn't gotten into full swing here, but it was still a great day.
Our first surprise was a parade of dancing musicians and people in historic garb. Suwon is a UNESCO World Heritage site, so it made sense that the people wanted to celebrate their history. We just didn't know what the occasion was.
A suprise parade down a backstreet in Suwon
After the parade we took a right turn and headed up a few hundred steps until we reached the defensive wall that encircles the town. It was a spectacular blue-sky day and the views were tremendous.
We had to climb a lot of steps to reach the ridge above the city
It was definitely worth the climb
We paid 1000 Won ($1) and got to ring this huge bell!
We had a lofty view of the city from the top
We finally found some fall colors as we followed the ramparts along the ridge
Eventually the wall dropped back down into the city
One of the charming things about Korea is that you often see people wearing traditional hanbok clothing when they go to places of cultural importance.
We eventually came to the main gate of the old walled city...
...and went looking for some good Korean food.
It was a glorious day, but we're still waiting for the big fall color show that we've heard so much about. Last weekend we got a little taste of it when we visited a traditional folk village that is close to Suwon. I posted pictures of it on Facebook, I'm putting them here as well.
We also got to see a cool traditional dance performance.
The dancers wore these funky hats that had twirly streamers attached to them. Check this out!
Well that's it for now. Next week we're planning on doing a 12 mile hike along the wall that encircles Seoul. Afterward there is a lantern festival along a stream that runs through town. Hopefully I'll have some nice photos to share.
