Cigarette smoke and the Korean man's spitting call, the most unamorous mating call in the world, but audible for two city blocks, was only a little more appealing than women vomiting in the street. Walking is a very good way to meditate and clear one's head. Ascending a pathway as one gazes at sculptured flora, mountain peaks, and other vistas not only conditions the cardio-vascular system, but also excites the eyes, nose, and ears. Its also self-paced, in a world of automation and regimentation. People don't realize, that one has to retrain the body and mind to relax, not just stop moving.
Inaction trains the body to become less perceptive and responsive.
The ascents to Bulguksa, the Land of Happiness, and Sokkuram are both excellent ways to train the mind and body to leave this lower world of automation and enter a higher heaven of clarity and awareness. Multi-hued flora suddenly curls over and around, segregating one from the other world outside. There is only one path to walk. At Sokkuram, a long, serpentine promenade leads from the gate to the shrine, sometimes rising, sometimes falling, but placed precariously against the mountain side. Below are dry river beds full of gnarled trees plunging down into the sides of the mountain.