Golden hour views from a Seongsan hotel rooftop

Another day in Seongsan, another beautiful sunset/golden hour :)

 

The kind of image that looks Photoshopped but wasn't!

 

View from my hotel rooftop of Seongsan town and Seongsan Ilchulbong

 

When I checked into the Seongsan branch of the Co-op City Hotel, I was told that our rooms had been upgraded so that we'd get a nicer view.  At the same time, the receptionist neglected to tell me that the hotel had a rooftop area which was accessible to guests and had all round views of the area.  (In addition, in the warmer months, there are jacuzzis up there that hotel guests can rent by the hour -- how cool is that?!)

 

Fortunately, I found that out on my own -- after spying a couple of people up on the hotel rooftop on the way back to the hotel from hiking up and down Seongsan Ilchulbong -- and in time to take in some splendid golden hour views the day after I had been treated to wonderful sunset and twilight views from both my hotel room balcony and the edge of the lake in front of the hotel!

 

Back when I was a Beloit College student, I was privy on many occasions to beautiful sunset views in that old Wisconsin town that were ascribed to the industrial pollution emanating from such as the Frito-Lay factory across the river from the college (whose Cheetos production also was said to be responsible for what was nicknamed "the Cheese Breeze"!).  And I must admit to thinking that air pollution played a part in creating some of the beautiful sunsets I've seen over the years in other parts of the world (including Hong Kong).

 

At the same time though, it's not escaped my attention that some other places where I've witnessed beautiful sunsets (and associated twilight and golden hours) aren't exactly known for having air pollution.  These include two of the places that I've been treated to fabulous sunset displays this year: Takayama, Japan; and Jeju, South Korea. 

In the case of Seongsan, I find it further interesting that a place which is famed for its sunrises (with it really being quite the thing to view them from atop Seongsan Ilchulbong) also can have pretty gorgeous sunsets; and this especially when they seem to have gone unmentioned for the most part -- unlike the sunrises and the indisputably photogenic sunsets that are very much part of the tourist draw over in the Land of the Rising Sun's Matsue! ;b