Bulguksa!

Here is the UNESCO recognized Bulguksa in its grandiose bucolic setting. It took alot of riding up and down really big hills to get to this point, so I was hoping for something spectacular. Sure, the temple was beautiful and there was plenty of scenery. However, this touristy historic type of stuff always makes me kind of say: "Anh". I am more a fan of the non-controlled environments such as mountains or very big rocks in Thailand. Since I was here, however, I decided to have a look around.



Here is a scene that typifies the temple. Yes, there are lovely pagodas, statues, shrines, and architecture. Despite the preponderance of artifacts set in an ancient architectual wonderland nestled in the basin of a lovely mountain, there's something askew. When I think of a buddhist temple in the mountains, I picture a solemn scene with monks walking around in quiet contemplation. The monks in Korea talk on their cell phones. The temple was crawling with noisy bustling tourists who were eager to take pictures of anything and everything.

In the midst of the commercialism, there is still some actual Buddhist practice. Even though it's forbidden, I was able to sneak a picture of one of their pagan golden shrines. Some lady saw me and yelled at me, and I replied by saying: "Oooooh. I'm so scared! Is your angry Buddha going to strike me down with lightning? Ooh, Buddha, please spare me!" At least I had the decency to turn off my flash. It was the shutter noise that gave me away. I tried to keep it on the down low, but was busted. I just played dumb (I didn't have to try very hard at this point) and moved on. And as a reward I have this picture for your viewing pleasure.

I find myself getting quickly bored in environments such as these, so I didn't stick around very long. There was another monument nearby that I wanted to see--The Sokorum Grotto. The grotto is one of Korea's great national treasures. It is a massive ancient stone statue of Buddha set in a room carved into the mountain with many other carved treasures in a neatly painted room. Sound neat? Well, I couldn't get any pictures of this one no matter how slick or sacreligious I wanted to be. I wish I would have known this before I took the hour hike up this mountain path.

After coming back down the mountain, it was getting late in the afternoon. I took a long bike ride back to town, which was a beauty since I coasted three quarters of the way. When I got back, I returned my bike and thanked the nice gentlemen who so faithfully rented the bike to me. Being very tired from the weekend activities and having a very sore rear from the long bike rides, I eagerly returned to the Hanjin Hostel after a dinner of Bi Bim Bap (I'm sure I've mentioned this dish before). Later that evening, I donned my teacher's hat and introduced Mr. Kwon to the ancient art of calligraphy. The fact that he invited me to pose with his hat on next to him with the wonderful poem he transcribed for me goes a small way to show the character, hospitality, free-spiritedness, and fun-loving of Mr. Kwon. There are many things I didn't see in my first visit to Gyeongju but, thanks to Mr. Kwon's hospitality, I'll surely return.

Halloween

First of all, I have to acknowledge that this week was officially the one year anniversary of my first blog entry. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my readers for their encouragment and loyalty, all five of them. One year has flown by and I enjoyed it so much that I signed a contract for another year. I am resolved to remain committed to the blog and will continue to post meandering gobbledygook accompanied by pictures. Without further to do, here's a little taste of Halloween.



The above picture was taken in the teachers' office in between festivities. Left to right are Erica, yours truly (don't ask me what the costume is supposed to be), Joan, and Charles. Halloween is a busy time at Boston as it is our biggest party of the year. I had arrived last year just after, so I hadn't seen this firsthand. There was a ton of work leading up to the day, but admittedly very little was done by me. I did chip in with the haunted house and stayed up til 3am painting on the 30th. When the actual day came along, most of the guys were exhausted.


The kids made the hard work worth it. We had a haunted house (because it was so dark and tight-spaced, I was unable to get any decent pictures. I spent most of the time in said haunted house hiding behind a wall and scaring the kids as they came through. It was alot of fun except for the time I was hit in the crotch with a plastic trident. When I wasn't scaring the children, I was on pinata patrol, which consisted of blind-folding kids, spinning them around, and then getting out of the way of their wildly flailing bat. The night was full of festivity, candy, and laughter. I'm happy the kids had so much fun, because I was completely worn out afterwards.

Here we have a nice shot of Sacha and Shannon in the office. Shannon was a good sport to wear her witch costume, but I was a little disappointed in Sacha. He could have at least worn a mask, or put together some sort of impromptu costume. Seriously, the teachers had a great time as well as the kids. We're just happy this only happens once a year.

Another "Pathetic excuse for an entry"

You wanna know the best way to make a vacation last?? You drag it out for a month after returning by slacking on your blog, that's how. On the third day I decided to take a trip to Bulguksa temple. Bulguksa is a UNESCO heritage site and is one of Korea's great historical treasures. First off, I had to get there. I spoke to Mr. Kwon that morning and he gave me specific directions to reach the temple by bicycle. He made it sound really easy, but, wow, it was a trek!



The ride started by going the opposite direction down the river I had crossed two days earlier. I was to take the bike path as far as I could until it ran into an overpass. Then I would take the road through the mountains, past a lake resort, and follow the signs to the temple. Normally, directions this concise backfire and I end up getting lost. Mr. Kwon knows his stuff, though, and the ride went precisely as planned. It was just a longer ride than I imagined. My rear was already sore from the long ride the day before, so the best remedy would be a long journey through hilly terrain. It paid off when I rode past places like this lake. It is a rare thing for me to find a place in Korea this clean and quiet.
This is the road I took after the lake. This hill is much steeper and longer than the picture leads to believe. It must have taken half an hour to make it up this hill. However, the great thing about laboring up a gigantic hill is the payoff of riding down it. After this climb, I coasted all the way to Bulguksa. I enjoyed my bike riding adventures in Gyeongju so much that I bought a bike as soon as I returned to Suwon. You wonder where I've been lately? I've been riding my bike everywhere and loving it.



I got to the temple and was greeted on the way in by these two gentlemen. I believe their names are Lenny and Karl. Lenny and Karl were carved over 900 years ago when the Spanish invaded Southern Korea and were defeated with the help of the Roman army. The great thing about the trip to the temple was the fact that I learned so much about history. Whereas I should have written these things down to be sure, I'm fairly certain my memory has preserved the historical accuracy (tongue is firmly in cheek). I'm sure everyone is dying to find out what the rest of the day was like and what treasures lie within the temple... but you'll have to wait until next week. In between, I'm adding a Halloween bonus (a week and a half after Halloween).